American Girl Takes Fans Back to the Nostalgic ’90s With First-Ever Twin Characters Isabel™ and Nicki™

New historical duo find their inner girl power growing up during the dial-up decade

American Girl’s popular historical collection inspires fans—era by era—with courage, confidence, and strength of character

Today, American Girl, a cornerstone in the Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) portfolio of purposeful brands, is expanding its flagship historical collection with the introduction of its first-ever set of twin characters from the 1990s—Isabel and Nicki Hoffman^™! These fraternal twins join the brand’s long line of historical characters that feature inspiring role models from pivotal eras in American history. With their stories set in Seattle in 1999, Isabel and Nicki bring the dial-up decade to life for fans, highlighting the tech boom and society’s embrace of the Internet, as well as the ground-breaking music, fashion trends, and television entertainment of the era. Though they share the same birthday, these twin sisters are as different as glitter and grunge. Isabel is bubbly, extroverted, and loves dancing to pop music—while Nicki is thoughtful, introverted, and happiest while skateboarding, writing lyrics, and listening to the alt-rock sound that got its start in Seattle. As Isabel and Nicki discover who they are as individuals, they realize they share the same girl-power goal: to be true to themselves and learn to face their fears with confidence.

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American Girl announces its first-ever set of twin characters from the 1990s—Isabel and Nicki Hoffman. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Given the prevalent wave of ’90s trends and pop culture nostalgia, we’re excited to celebrate like it’s 1999 with our newest historical duo Isabel and Nicki,” says Jamie Cygielman, General Manager of American Girl. “From the start, The American Girls Collection^® has been central to our mission in helping build girls of strong character through inspiring stories and products that show them how the past is full of lessons that can be applied to the present. We know our fans will love getting to know more about the ’90s with Isabel and Nicki and discovering the girl power in all of our beloved heroines.”

To write the stories, American Girl worked with real-life twin sisters, Julia DeVillers and Jennifer Roy. Together, they co-authored each character’s illustrated journal (included with the dolls), along with a full-length novel, Meet Isabel and Nicki, coming out this summer. “Jennifer and I are both longtime fans of American Girl, which makes our work on this project even more thrilling,” says DeVillers. “One of our favorite parts was having access to American Girl’s archives, where we reviewed the brand’s ’90s-era materials—from the catalogues and books to past issues of American Girl magazine and all the fan mail that came with it. We love thinking about how those readers are grown up now yet helped to inspire Nicki and Isabel.” Along with the authors, American Girl collaborated with an advisory board of experts to ensure authenticity of the historical, geographical, and cultural details in the books.

The twins’ story comes to life in a ’90s-inspired product collection that reflects the era and the girls’ unique styles and interests. The 18-inch Isabel^™ doll features green eyes and medium-length blonde hair with platinum highlights and comes dressed in a purple sweater with attached pinstripe shirt, a multicolored plaid skirt, and pink platform shoes. Further reflecting her love of pink and preppy fashions, Isabel’s accessories include a beret with replicas of American Girl’s ’90-era Grin Pins attached, pink sunglasses, beaded flower necklace, and transparent mini backpack.

The 18-inch Nicki^™ doll has blue eyes and long straight brown hair with two blonde face-framing highlights and arrives in a gray T-shirt under a navy T-shirt dress, a purple plaid flannel shirt, and platform sneakers. Her skater-style accessories include a baseball hat with faux American Girl Grin Pins attached, black sunglasses, ribbon necklace, and messenger bag.

Each twin also has her own bedroom set with nods to vintage American Girl accessories sure to spark nostalgia with original fans of the brand, including a doll-sized plush of the popular Miss AG Bear from the ’90s; a mini version of American Girl magazine from 1999; and a replica Grin Pin Banner with images of real ’90s AG Grin Pins. The twins’ world also includes the following ’90s-inspired items:

• a premium wooden desk and desktop computer that illuminates and plays dial-up effects and comes with pretend CD and floppy disk drives;
• an era-authentic Pizza Hut^® Set, complete with a doll-sized personal pan pizza;
• and for double the fun, a 2-in-1 Tennis Court & Skate Spot, where fans can arrange a tennis match for Isabel on one side—with net, racket, and tennis-ball launcher that really works—or flip it over and practice their skater moves, just like Nicki, using ramps, rails, and a skateboard that fits the 18-inch doll perfectly.

To celebrate the twins’ debut, fans can also participate in the following activities:

• Visit American Girl retail stores on launch weekend to explore Isabel and Nicki’s product world and receive a free sticker giveaway (while supplies last), plus enjoy other twin-inspired activities and treats, like Isabel & Nicki’s Toaster Pastry Milkshake.
• Enjoy content on both American Girl’s popular YouTube and YouTube Kids Channel, including Isabel & Nicki’s Twin Adventures Animated Series, new music and product videos, and other digital and social content throughout the year.
• Check out the twins’ bedroom, play the AG Photobooth Game, get fun ’90s-inspired stickers, frames and filters, plus learn more about each American Girl character via the brand’s free Virtual Museum experience.
• Learn more about Isabel & Nicki’s story with authors DeVillers and Roy on americangirl.com.

Celebrating Girls Who Code and 10 Years of Empowering Girls in Technology

To recognize women in technology, like the twins’ mom who’s helping to fix the Y2K bug in the story, American Girl is also supporting Girls Who Code (GWC), a leading nonprofit that’s on a mission to close the gender gap in technology. The brand is donating $25,000 to underwrite student and alumni tickets to attend CodeFair, the organization’s 10^th anniversary celebration that invites the public to play, discover, and code using the latest technology. To learn more, visit girlswhocode.com.

Bringing the ’90s and More to Life in New, Immersive Experience on Roblox

Additionally, beginning March 6, 2023, American Girl is expanding its storytelling through the popular immersive online platform Roblox. Families can sign up to visit American Girl World^™ and interact with their favorite characters in a fully immersive and evolving environment, such as Isabel and Nicki’s ’90s-inspired bedroom. The expansive experience also allows users to engage as their own unique avatar; shop for fashions and accessories at the American Girl store; visit the AG Airport to travel and discover new worlds; and have fun exploring and playing in the AG Salon, Spa, and Cafe. To learn more, visit americangirl.com/roblox.

Isabel and Nicki’s product collection is available beginning February 22, 2023, at americangirl.com and at all American Girl retail locations nationwide, as well as at American Girl specialty boutiques at select Indigo^™ and Chapters^™ locations in Canada and online at Indigo.ca.

ABOUT AMERICAN GIRL

American Girl is a premium brand for girls and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT, www.mattel.com), a leading global toy company and owner of one of the strongest catalogs of children’s and family entertainment franchises in the world. Headquartered in Middleton, WI, American Girl offers an inspiring world of dolls, content, and experiences that nourish a girl’s spirit and help develop her strength of character. Best-selling lines include Truly Me™, Girl of the Year™, Bitty Baby®, WellieWishers™, Create Your Own^™™, and American Girl’s classic historical characters. The company sells products through its award-winning catalogue, on americangirl.com, in its proprietary U.S. experiential retail stores, as well as at specialty retailers nationwide. By inspiring girls to be their best, American Girl has earned the loyalty of millions and the praise and trust of parents and educators. Connect with American Girl on:

Facebook: @americangirl

Twitter: @American_Girl

Instagram: @americangirlbrand

TikTok: @americangirl

Pinterest: agofficial

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