Barbie unveils apparel line with England’s Red Roses

Mattel’s Barbie has unveiled its first-ever partnership with a sports team in the UK with England’s Red Roses, the England Rugby women’s team, as it looks to inspire the next generation of female rugby players through grassroots initiatives, funding, merchandise, and storytelling.

The partnership comes as new research from Barbie and England Rugby’s Red Roses, the number one ranked women’s rugby team in the world, reveals that a third of girls disengage in sport by the age of 14, driven by concerns over body confidence, doubts in their ability and a lack of visible female role models in sport.

To address this and spotlight the power of sport, Barbie and the Red Roses will be “sharing stories of overcoming obstacles, celebrating individuality, and pursuing passions, all to inspire young girls across the UK and beyond”.

Barbie will also be donating 20,000 pounds to the RFU to increase the number of female players by increase access to clubs and coaching across England, as well as supporting the RFU’s Girls’ Activity Days, part of the Impact ’25 Programme, that aim to encourage and enable rugby clubs across England to attract more girls into rugby by offering multiple activities at their clubs, alongside rugby.

In addition, Barbie has collaborated with the Red Roses on a licensed apparel range, produced by sportswear brand Castore, which features empowering slogans and designs celebrating rugby. The range includes T-shirts and hoodies in sizes Junior XS to Adult 4XL, with prices starting from £ 25. There will also be a special edition Barbie x Red Roses Gilbert rugby ball launching in October.

Alex Teasdale, RFU executive director, women’s game, said in a statement: “We know how important the visibility of rugby is in attracting girls and boys to our sport and it’s been a core part of our strategy for the women’s and girls’ game for many years. We wanted to collaborate with Barbie to introduce the game to new audiences and champion female voices in the sport.”