The Bayou Barbie is now not only a nickname; it’s formally a actuality. Mattel has unveiled a brand new Barbie doll impressed by WNBA famous person Angel Reese, turning her iconic moniker right into a collectible. The collaboration celebrates Reese’s influence throughout sports activities, enterprise, vogue, and tradition whereas encouraging the subsequent technology of women to dream massive and embrace their limitless potential.
The brand new Angel Reese Signature Barbie debuts at the moment, July 24, and is available in Barbie pink apparel with an identical basketball. The doll additionally has matching Angel Reese 1 basketball sneakers, which is able to formally launch in early August 2026.
“Barbie honors function fashions who encourage women to think about what’s attainable. From her on-court achievements and entrepreneurial management to her tireless advocacy for women, Angel Reese helps kids see that confidence, ambition, and resilience can open numerous doorways. We’re proud to honor her by our Barbie Signature doll and collaboration with Reebok, giving followers new methods to have fun Angel and all she represents,” stated Nathan Baynard, Vice President and Head of Barbie, Mattel.
Having A Barbie Is A ‘Dream Come True’ For Angel Reese
Reese’s star has solely continued to rise since getting into the WNBA. Throughout her rookie season, the LSU alum teamed up with Reese’s to launch a limited-edition merchandise assortment and even landed on her personal cereal field. Now, she will be able to add one other milestone to her rising listing of accomplishments: changing into a Barbie.
“Having my very own Barbie doll is a real dream come true for me. It’s such an unbelievable honor as a result of it’s about exhibiting women that there are not any limits to what they will obtain,” she stated. “I’ve by no means let anybody else outline what’s attainable for me, and each problem I’ve confronted has solely made me stronger. I hope this doll reminds women to be unapologetically themselves, embrace each a part of who they’re, and go after their desires with confidence.”
Angel Reese Has A Barbie-Themed Sneaker Coming
To have fun Reese’s new Barbie doll, Reebok can be releasing an identical sneaker in a Barbie-inspired colour (featured on the doll), which was constructed to match Reese’s on-court dominance and culture-driving presence off it.
The brand new AR1 “Barbie” sneakers function pink colour accents and co-branded components on the tongue and sockliner in each grownup and youngsters’ sizing.
“We’re proud to see her Barbie doll debut carrying Angel Reese 1 basketball sneakers on this vibrant new Barbie colorway and to deliver that very same model on to followers,” stated Todd Krinsky, CEO of Reebok. “This second celebrates Angel’s influence on sport, model, and tradition whereas giving followers the possibility to match Angel’s iconic look and be a part of the second.”
Reese Is Launching Her Barbie Throughout All-Star Weekend
Barbie teamed up with Reebok to debut Reese’s Signature Barbie doll and matching AR1 sneakers at TOGETHXR Home in Chicago throughout All-Star Weekend. TOGETHXR is the fastest-growing ladies’s sports activities media firm, of which Reese is a co-owner.
“Ladies’s sports activities are driving tradition like by no means earlier than, and this collaboration is proof of what’s attainable when iconic manufacturers put money into the athletes main that motion. At TOGETHXR, we’re proud to deliver collectively companions like Barbie and Reebok with trailblazers like Angel Reese, who not too long ago joined our possession group, to create moments that commemorate the facility and affect of ladies’s sports activities,” stated Bailey Williamson, TOGETHXR Senior Vice President.
Williamson added, “We’re thrilled that TOGETHXR Home is the place followers will expertise this launch firsthand. It’s greater than a product launch. It’s a celebration of confidence, individuality and the rising affect of ladies athletes throughout sport, model and tradition, whereas exhibiting the subsequent technology simply how expansive the long run could be.”
Reese Mentioned Getting Her Personal Barbie Is ‘Surreal’
Reese spoke with PEOPLE about her new collaboration and known as it a “full-circle second.”
“…Barbie is an iconic model, and to be a part of that legacy is one thing I’m actually pleased with. It’s greater than basketball for me. It’s about inspiring younger women to dream massive, be assured, and know they are often precisely who they’re,” she stated.
For Reese, seeing herself as a Barbie “was surreal,” and he or she praised the model for getting her Signature doll excellent.” What impressed me most was how thoughtfully each element was dropped at life,” she stated.
She added, “What I like most is that it doesn’t simply appear to be me; it actually seems like me. My doll displays each my love of basketball and vogue as a result of I’ve at all times believed you by no means have to decide on between being fierce on the court docket and expressing who you’re off it. Seeing each little element come collectively made this extremely private, and it was a kind of moments the place every little thing I’ve labored so onerous for actually hit me.”
