The ‘Polly Pocket’ movie marketing blitz has begun

The L.A.-based fashion brand Lisa Says Gah just teamed up with Polly Pocket for a new limited-edition collection, and it appears to be a sign that Mattel is already gunning to recapture the marketing magic of the Barbie movie.

Polly Pocket Says Gah! is an assortment of cardigans, baby tees, accessories, and PVC slingback kitten heels, all rendered in a pastel palette and topped with playful details like ruffled edges and quilted stitching. Prices range from $50 to $198. It debuts today exclusively on the Lisa Says Gah website.

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

A Polly Pocket film has been in the works with MGM since 2021, but it faced a bump in the road last July when Lena Dunham, who was going to write and direct the movie, ultimately dropped out of the project. Communications on the status of the Polly Pocket film have been quiet since then—but the movie is still in the development, Mattel confirmed to Fast Company. The studio has yet to share a release date.

On the design side, the collaboration merges an ongoing interest in coquette aesthetics and Y2K nostalgia. But more broadly, it’s also harbinger that Mattel’s next blockbuster marketing campaign is launching sooner than we thought.

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

Coquette core meets ’90s nostalgia

The seed for Polly Pocket Says Gah! was first planted when Mattel reached out to the fashion brand with an Instagram DM. Lisa Says Gah founder Lisa Bühler felt the partnership would be a natural fit.

“Growing up in the ’90s, Polly Pocket was such a core memory—playing with those tiny outfits, mixing and matching looks—it was all about creativity and self-expression,” says Bühler. “LSG has always had Polly Pocket undertones in our playful cuts, graphic tees, and vibrant energy.”

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

The limited collection represents an evolution of the coquette core trend that emerged last winter: An aesthetic that fully embraces feminine touches like bows, ribbons, and lace. For the past year or so, this look has come to encompass a cultural movement online toward accepting the trappings of “girlhood” (e.g., “girl dinner” and “girl math”) that some women say they previously felt compelled to repress. 

Coquette core has enjoyed a longer-than-usual trend cycle thanks to the influence of rising stars like Sabrina Carpenter, whose Brigitte Bardot-esque look highlights soft, flirty touches and light pastels. According to Pinterest, the trend is expected to continue into 2025: per the site’s Pinterest Predicts 2025 report, searches for both “ultra-feminine,” rococo-inspired looks and “doll-like” makeup are on the rise. 

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

It makes sense that the Polly Pocket Says Gah! collab would incorporate nods to coquette fashion (like heart-shaped jacket pockets and tiny ribbon bows on handbags) given that Polly Pocket was created as a line of miniature doll toys for young girls. The collection adds its own spin to the trend, though, by fusing its whimsical details with recognizable ’90s Polly Pocket IP as a nod to grown-up fans—building on a current Y2K resurgence that’s popped up everywhere from the cereal aisle to music and tech.

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

Lisa Says Gah’s life-size Polly Pockets

Instead of incorporating the Polly Pocket brand’s current logo, the Lisa Says Gah collection uses the brand’s original logo, which ran from 1989 to 1998. It also takes clear inspiration from the packaging of vintage Polly Pocket toys, which recently began selling for upward of $1,000 due to a burgeoning market of collectors. In fact, one of Polly Pocket Says Gah’s signature prints is made up of various Polly Pocket compacts, a must-have portable toy in the ’90s that was meant to mimic real makeup packaging but contained a whole tiny dollhouse.

“This was a true collaboration,” Bühler says, noting that Mattel provided her team with ’90s Polly Pocket images and prints from its archives for inspiration. “Our goal was to bring Polly Pocket’s tiny, magical world to life in a way that feels fresh, wearable, and true to LSG and its community.” That comes through in the apparel. Each detail of the new collection seems crafted to allow ’90s babies to dress like life-size Polly Pocket dolls.

[Photo: Lisa Says Gah]

The first sign of a ‘Polly Pocket’ movie

Long before the Barbie movie debuted in theaters on July 21, 2023, the world had already been introduced to more than 100 Barbie-based brand tie-ins, including a signature XBox console, a line of Ruggable rugs, a Hot Wheels car, and a collection at Gap.

Mattel and Universal’s wide-reaching marketing effort made the Barbie brand virtually unavoidable (and forced Fast Company to issue a moratorium on any new Barbie collabs.) It was such a smash hit that it arguably changed the way that major movie studios approach adapting recognizable IP, as in the case of 2024’s Wicked, which similarly engaged in a months-long brand collab blitz. 

Now it looks like Mattel is gearing up for an even more drawn-out movie marketing play. Alongside the Lisa Says Gah collab, Polly Pocket has also recently debuted collaborations with The Office, Cotton On, and Funko (the latter two also use the brand’s ’90s logo.)

For now, it’s unclear whether there is a Polly Pocket summer on the horizon—but if there is, we can be sure to expect plenty more collaborations to come.

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