Lego enthusiasts will soon be able to create a more modern Lego family — stay-at-home dad included. Lego announced that their new "Lego City" line of figurines will include a kid in a wheelchair with a guide dog for the first time ever. A hipster stay-at-home dad dressed in plaid with his Lego wife dressed in a professional attire is also a part of the set. The set is an attempt by the company to more inclusively represent the modern world, according to president of LEGO Systems Soren Torp Laursen. "We need to stay in tune with the world around us," Laursen said to Fortune. "We aren't responding to demand from anyone. We are trying to portray the world around us and listen to our consumer base." DANIEL KARMANN / AFP-Getty Images Does the 5-second rule really count when your food hits th... Does the 5-second rule really count when your food hits th... Lego have announced a new range, and it's a break from their usual cheery fare of pirates, knights, and Batman.
To mark the start of Copenhagen's fashion week, and in conjunction with The Guardian, the Danish company have created a range of tiny plastic hipsters, complete with fixed wheel bikes, monochrome outfits, and - of course - copious facial hair. Design manager Tara Wike had the following to say on the project: ‘Danes do monochrome in a big way so the Lego hipster girls keep it simple in black and grey, topped off by the ubiquitous black designer glasses. For the men, we teamed a blazer with a button-down shirt and mismatched suit trousers as well as a classic leather jacket with a striped T-shirt underneath. And of course, facial hair. Beards are big for Danish hipsters – the bigger the better.’ We personally feel the set is missing teensy bowls of over-priced imported cereal, but maybe that's just a London thing...Lego is moving with the times, creating a new figurine of a stay-at-home dad. And what better way to appear cutting edge than by designing a toy that looks like it would stroll the streets of Shoreditch or Williamsburg.
The hipster father figurine, who is pushing a baby in a pram, is dressed in jeans (possibly skinny ones) and a red check shirt, and sports a beard and mop-top haircut. "We need to stay in tune with the world around us," Soren Torp Laursen, president of Lego Systems, told Fortune magazine. The @LEGO_Group making me proud to be a #LegoDad by releasing. /EYjp9qCCLH— Chris Bernholdt (@DadNCharge) The number of fathers who are at home with their children has nearly doubled since 1989, according to Pew Research Centre data. The figures are paired with one of a mother wearing a work outfit. The baby even gets some milk - though the drink is in a normal baby bottle rather than something more hip like a jam jar. One dad on Twitter welcomed Lego's recognition of stay-at-home fathers. "How cool is this working mom/at-home dad Lego figure set?! Thanks @LEGO_Group for the love," wrote Idaho Dad. The toy is part of the Lego City line, which is set to be released this summer. The company has been looking to represent a broad range of society with its toys.
Last month, the Danish company unveiled its first wheelchair-using mini-figure - a young man who uses a wheelchair and is accompanied by an assistance dog. Lego has faced criticism of gender stereotyping in the past, specifically with its Lego Friends range in 2011. Centred around a group of six female friends, the sets featured a vet, an icecream van, a pool party and a fashion design studio. While the company targets girls specifically with some its products, Mr Laursen told Fortune that many of its toys appeal to boys and girls.Lego has produced a stay-at-home hipster Dad as part of a new line of figurines, it has emerged.The Danish toy giant unveiled a series of new plastic characters with one depicting a father dressed in plaid and pushing a pram beside his wife who is dressed in business attire.Lego produced the modern-family set-up as part of its new 'Lego City' line, which also includes a child in a wheelchair accompanied by an assistance dog. Lego has produced a stay-at-home hipster Dad (centre) as part of a new line of figurines, it has emergedAccording to Fortune, Lego says the new figurines are an attempt to represent 'the world we live in today'.
Lego Systems president Soren Torp Laursen told the website: 'We need to stay in tune with the world around us.'We aren’t responding to demand from anyone. We are trying to portray the world around us and listen to our consumer base.'The hipster dad features a red jumper, facial hair and blue trousers. In publicity pictures, the figure is seen pushing a pram which is carrying a Lego baby.Last month, charities rejoiced as it emerged Lego was set to unveil a disabled figure in a wheelchair in the new line, which is believed to be going on sale in June. Journalist Rebecca Atkinson, who sparked a global campaign when she posted pictures of toys she had adapted with different disabilities on the internet, said it was a massive step towards ending 'cultural marginalisation'. Lego produced the modern-family set-up as part of its new 'Lego City' line, which also includes a child in a wheelchair accompanied by an assistance dog (pictured)The mother-of-two, who is partially deaf and has tunnel vision due to genetic condition retinitis pigmentosa, established the #toylikeme movement to secure better representation of the 770,000 disabled children in the UK and 150 million across the globe.
She said: 'We are beyond happy right now. Lego have just rocked our brick-built world and made 150 million disabled kids, their mums, dads, pet dogs and hamsters very, very happy.'We're all conga-ing up and down the street chucking coloured bricks like confetti.'On a serious note, this move by Lego is massive in terms of ending cultural marginalisation, it will speak volumes to children, disabled or otherwise, the world over.' After her campaign gained tens of thousands of supporters on social media, Ms Atkinson was given a job as a creative disability consultant with Playmobil, working on adding characters to its range.More than 20,000 people signed a petition urging Lego to follow suit.It was only a matter of time. At the request of the Guardian and to mark the start of Copenhagen fashion week, Danish company Lego have created the Lego hipsters – complete with oversized earphones, fixie bikes and (obviously) facial hair. Design manager Tara Wike told the Guardian’s Helen Russell: ‘Danes do monochrome in a big way so the Lego hipster girls keep it simple in black and grey, topped off by the ubiquitous black designer glasses.