virgil abloh-designed action figures released by mattel creations

virgil abloh’s masters of the universe

With a newly unveiled collection of action figures including He-Man and Skeletor, Virgil Abloh‘s impressive body of work reveals more to be discovered, even after his passing in November 2021. The collaboration with Mattel Creations began early in 2021, and comprises a series of figures from the Masters of the Universe media franchise — which was popular largely throughout the 1980s — this time rendered in monochromatic neutrals.

While the iconic designer had passed before the project’s completion, it was taken over by his company Virgil Abloh Securities and his design studio Alaska Alaska, a research-based creative agency based in London.

images courtesy Mattel Creations

re-contextualizing the iconic action figures

Through the collaboration with Mattel Creations, the Masters of the Universe became Virgil Abloh‘s canvas, resulting in an elevated series of action figures as art. The new Masters of the Universe c/o Virgil Abloh™ “TOY” figures was released by the company, which is known to work with artists to curate collections of more exclusive toys. The collection includes four collector figures — He-Man, Skeletor, Battle Cat, and Skele-god. Together, the set showcases neutral color palette.

The project seeks to ‘re-contextualize the figures’ through ‘text-based interventions’ along the individual packaging. What Virgil referred to as ‘loaded messages’ are inscribed across the transparent cases in the designer’s recognizable capital letters and quotation marks, and call for the reader to ‘look at these iconic toys in a new light.’ These include the words ‘woman’ for He-man, ‘her’ for Skeletor, ‘war’ for Battle Cat, and ‘she’ for Skele-God.

He-Man, ‘woman,’ by Virgil Abloh and Mattel Creations

Skeletor, ‘her,’ by Virgil Abloh and Mattel Creations
Skelegod, ‘she,’ by Virgil Abloh and Mattel Creations Battle Cat, ‘war,’ by Virgil Abloh and Mattel Creations

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project info:

project title: Masters of the Universe c/o Virgil Abloh™ “TOY”

designer: Virgil Abloh | @virgilabloh

toy company: Mattel Creations | @mattelcreations