The Doll That Speaks Up with Love, Care and Commitment

It’s well-documented that good breeding helps so much in life. Whether this be good genes or great connections, what you are born with or into can aid your life journey. However, you may be rich, famous, beautiful and talented it doesn’t stop you from having been born with a genetic predisposition towards health issues. Lila Moss was born in London, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of the supermodel Kate Moss and Dazed magazine editor Jefferson Hack. She has type 1 diabetes, which she was diagnosed with when she was a child. Now, she is honouring T1D with a one-of-a-kind doll. Life may drive us to function one way, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use what we are given positively, change direction and be positive. Find out more in The Doll That Speaks Up with Love, Care and Commitment

Lila Moss wears a John Galliano 2000s pink 2-piece. Photography: Jonathan Daniel Pryce

Lila Moss, on the surface, has it all: young, bright and beautiful with wonderful genes passed down from her family. However, surface is not always the full story. From an early age, she was diagnosed with T1D.  Type 1 diabetes.  A chronic condition where the body doesn’t produce insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. It’s an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, blood sugar levels become too high, leading to various health complications.

How can anyone navigate such issues? One way is definitely to become an advocate for the cause. And this is exactly what Lila Moss has done. Barbie, the doll created in America by entertainment company Mattel, is introducing the first-ever dolls with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and honouring T1D advocate Lila Moss with a one-of-a-kind doll.

This addition to the mainline enables more children to see themselves reflected, which encourages play that extends beyond a child’s own lived experience, fostering a greater sense of inclusion and empathy.

In the UK, Barbie celebrates the launch with Lila Moss, who as a role model and type 1 diabetes advocate, is honoured with her very own one-of-a-kind Barbie doll made in her likeness. This unique doll features a circular white Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) on her arm, a square white Insulin Pump pod attached to the top of her leg, and technology in her handbag to monitor insulin levels. The Lila Moss Barbie doll is wearing an outfit based on Lila’s own look and style, featuring a black halterneck mini dress, tousled blonde hair, minimal gold jewellery, and her signature black biker boots.   

“I am proud to use my platform to educate around type 1 diabetes and show that being different is cool. Receiving messages from people who see my patches and feel represented means everything to me. To be able to now see Barbie dolls with T1D, and to receive a Barbie doll that visibly looks like me even wearing her patches, is both surreal and special.”

Lila Moss

To ensure the doll designs truly capture the community, Barbie partnered with Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF), the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organisation committed to accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat type 1 diabetes and its complications. T1D is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the pancreas to make very little insulin or none at all, leading to dependence on insulin therapy and the risk of short and or long-term complications. Working closely with Breakthrough T1D to accurately reflect the medical equipment those with this condition may utilise, and the doll’s look, all the way down to the dress pattern.

As for the blue polka dot outfit, it is a stylish polka dot top and matching skirt with ruffles. Both the colour blue and circle print are nods to the global symbols that represent diabetes awareness. Complete with a pastel blue purse, perfect for Barbie to carry any essentials, such as type 1 diabetes supplies or snacks, when she’s on the go.

On top of that, Mattel UK is donating £20,000 to Breakthrough T1D this year, to continue to fund T1D research, education and support.   

Part of the Barbie Fashionistas line that features more than 175 looks across various skin tones, eye colours, hair colours and textures, body types, disabilities, and fashion styles, including such as a Blind Barbie doll, a Black Barbie doll with Down Syndrome, a Barbie doll with Hearing Aids, a Barbie doll with Prosthetic Limbs, a Barbie doll with Vitiligo, Barbie dolls in Wheelchairs and more. In 2020, Barbie kicked off a multi-year study with researchers at Cardiff University on the short-term and long-term benefits of doll play.

It has been found that doll play serves an incredible purpose during key developmental stages, as it may help set children on a course for success by fostering empathy and developing social skills needed to excel, all while imagining their futures on an equal playing field. 

The 2025 Barbie Fashionistas dolls commit to a minimum of 50% ISCC-Certified bio-circular plastic (Mass Balance Approach), with all boxes made from FSC-certified materials. By incorporating ISCC-certified plastic into these dolls, Barbie aims to reduce reliance on fossil-based materials in support of a more circular economy.

Knowing the power of representing real women’s stories when creating inclusive dolls, alongside Lila Moss’s one-of-a-kind doll, the Barbie brand has also honoured US type 1 diabetes advocate Robin Arzón.

Both prove a very simple point. Whatever you are born with, the good, the bad, or the difficult, anything can be turned around for the betterment of others and the power of oneself.

The 2025 Barbie Fashionistas dolls, including the Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes, will be available on Mattel Shop, Shopping mattel.com here and retailers nationwide RRP £13.99.

If you enjoyed reading The Doll That Speaks Up with Love, Care and Commitment, then why not read The Art of Desire here

.Cent Magazine London, Luxury Minded