American Girl Debuts World by Us Doll and Book Line
American Girl has launched an exciting and diverse “World by Us” line – an entirely new collection of contemporary dolls to elevate multicultural stories that reflect American girls today. NYC families will be overjoyed to meet Makena Williams, Evette Peeters and Maritza Ochoa, a trio of fabulous friends inspired by the desire to represent a wider range of identities and experiences of American girls and to elevate their multicultural stories addressing significant social issues.
AG has a rich history of creating beautiful and diverse dolls with equally beautiful and diverse stories that are educational and come with life lessons. In the brand’s 35th anniversary year, World by Us represents an entirely new opportunity to tell the stories about the issues that matter most to girls today, continuing American Girl’s legacy of building girls of strong character through the power of storytelling.
Resilient New York kids are sure to relate to these characters and the obstacles they overcome. The bold characters’ stories show us how they engage in and advocate for the causes that matter to them like racial equality, environmentalism and immigration. Their overlapping stories share the value of working together to create a better world, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, fairness, and respect.
“American Girl was built on diverse and inclusive storytelling—narratives that have empowered an entire generation of girls to stand up for what they believe in with courage, resilience, and kindness,” said Jamie Cygielman, General Manager of American Girl. “We created the new World by Us line to accelerate our progress in diversifying our characters and stories to better reflect what it means to be an American girl today. Through Makena, Evette and Maritza, as well as future characters to come, we hope our fans learn that they’re never too young to contribute to the larger conversation and help make the world a more inclusive, unified place.”
To help bring the World by Us characters to life, AG engaged acclaimed writers and a team of advisers with expertise in racial identity, social justice and the environment. They offered real-world insights, reviewing manuscripts and the product line for cultural authenticity and accuracy. The collection comes to life through the unique and delightfully detailed Makena, Evette, and Maritza dolls, along with a signature outfit and accessories for each. Extending the play and conversation is the doll-sized World by Us Community Center inspired by where the friends first meet in the stories, featuring a transformational structure that offers 360-degree play options sure to fuel hours of imaginative play.
To celebrate the debut of World by Us and American Girl’s 35th anniversary, the brand hosted an American Girl Fashion Show at American Girl Place-New York and via livestream. Created in partnership with Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR), the premiere design agency that creates a bridge between brands and designers of color in fashion, the show featured reimagined girl and doll designs for American Girl’s original historical characters. AG is supporting HFR’s nonprofit organization, ICON360, with a $25,000 donation to help raise awareness and funds for the next generation of BIPOC fashion leaders. World-famous fashion designer Prabal Gurung kicked off the event and closing out the event was the exclusive premiere of an original World by Us song and dance written and performed by 14-year-old hip-hop artist That Girl Lay Lay.
In more AG fashion news, children’s fashion brand Janie and Jack debuted three exclusive World by Us-inspired outfits—one for each character—in a first-ever collaboration with American Girl. AG fans will love donning these darling Janie and Jack outfits to match their new dolls. The designs are available at American Girl retail stores in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas, and via americangirl.com and janieandjack.com.
The World by Us collection is available today at americangirl.com and American Girl retail stores nationwide. The World by Us books ($7.99 each) can also be purchased via retail booksellers.
Psst… Check out The Big Apple Circus Returns to Lincoln Center November 11th!
