BARBIECORE!

Going Barbiecore might seem like a great idea – but only because it is. Here’s your guide to going all-pink head to toe and embodying vibrance, allure and power, avers Tsunami Costabir.

From the OG Barbie to celebrities like Nicki Minaj, Kim K, Kacey Musgraves, Ariana Debose, and the most gorgeous gentlemen – Harry Styles, Dylan O’Brien, Nick Cannon; the color pink is for absolutely anyone who dares to rock it.

Since Barbie debuted in 1959, the doll hasn’t stopped influencing the entertainment space. Barbie might have come in as an exclusive looker with her blonde hair and blue eyes; marketed to a niche audience of just young girls, but just like the world has changed and expanded, so has Barbie. The doll has seen not just makeovers and changes in style and profession, but a complete diversity boom with brown, black and Asian dolls being huge in the market.

Greta Gerwig’s much-awaited Barbie film featuring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling (who broke the internet with his infamous first look as ‘Ken’) along with a host of other actors and comedians like Issa Rae, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Farel, Simu Liu and Ritu Arya among others has really brought Barbie into the limelight. She is now a symbol of diversity and power. It’s also hard to forget an all-pink outfit. It’s a statement of fashion, fearlessness and femininity.

Valentino’s iconic Fall-Winter 2022-23 Couture show – the Pink PP Collection – was entirely monochrome. The Italian house Valentino told Forbes, it is “a liberation from the need for realism.”

Valentino’s FW 22-23 Couture Show conceived by Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli

And what of the non-celebrity, you and me? Are we still allowed to engage in this statement-making trend? “Barbiecore is all about unapologetically having fun and being yourself, like Barbie,” says Mattel’s Senior Vice President, Kim Culmone. Being comfortable with being the center of attention and making fashion statements is for whoever wants to do so. Pairing different hues of pink (from the lights to the brights together; or even just making a bold statement like Valentino did – by wearing just one hue, or then having a power pink accessory or statement pink piece on your outfit) is really up to you. To wear or to not wear… But, we suggest you do!

Kacey Musgraves also had an iconic Barbie outfit at the 2019 Met Gala: A floor-length, hot pink motorcycle dress designed by Moschino (a very Barbiecore brand!), complete with a matching hairdryer clutch, cat-eye sunglasses, chandelier teardrop diamond earrings, and shiny silver pumps from Aldo. The look was almost an exact replica of the Barbie x Moschino doll, which was being sold in the museum’s gift shop at the time.