England women’s rugby union side will become the first UK sports team to partner with Barbie – but the deal has been launched without any of the brand’s famous dolls.
Athlete Dina Asher-Smith and boxer Nicola Adams have previously been immortalised in plastic, but the Red Roses’ range is initially restricted to t-shirts, hoodies and replica balls.
“The collaboration aims to inspire the next generation of female rugby players through grassroots initiatives, funding, merchandise and powerful storytelling,” said the Rugby Football Union.
Toy maker Mattel, the company behind Barbie, will make a £20,000 donation to the RFU as part of the deal to increase girls’ access to clubs and coaching in England.
Mattel has recreated a host of sporting figures as Barbie dolls, including American Olympic champion gymnast Gabby Douglas, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, snowboarder Chloe Kim and golfer Lorena Ochoa.
London 2012 Olympic champion Adams, world champion sprinter Asher-Smith and skateboarder Sky Brown are among the Britons who have also been commemorated.
The partnership could yet expand, with England hot favourites for the Rugby World Cup on home soil. Their campaign begins on Friday, 22 August against the United States in Sunderland.
Barbie has previously been criticised for promoting unrealistic body types.
In her 2000 book Body Wars, psychologist Margo Maine wrote that, external if Barbie were scaled up to adult height, she would have a figure within the guidelines for diagnosing anorexia.
The brand introduced different body, hair and skin types to its range in 2016 and the 2023 movie Barbie, licensed by Mattel, confronted the gender norms and body image the doll had previously been associated with.
When her doll was released in 2020, Asher-Smith was pleased it accurately depicted her body.
“Most importantly for me there was the muscle tone, because I think it is really, really important the young girls see all aspects of femininity,” she said.