when Barbie and the color pink took over the internet

Pink car, pink shifters, pink makeup and even pink house. For a few weeks, the emblem color by Barbie repaints the Canvas. At the origin of this craze, the next film, whose release is scheduled for July 19, by American director Greta Gerwig, which propels the famous doll into the real world. In the casting, actress Margot Robbie plays Barbie, accompanied by Ryan Gosling in the role of Ken. The trailer alone has 34 million views on the Youtube channel from Warner Bros, one of the film’s producers.

Since these first images, social networks have been imbued with “barbie aesthetic” also called “Barbie Core“. In concrete terms, Internet users decorate their interiors, wear make-up or dress like Barbie. And filters allow users to see their face transformed into that of a plastic doll or to integrate one of their selfies into the glittery poster of the film, as on the barbieselfie.ai site.

Barbie herself is becoming an influencer, with an Instagram account at over 2.5 million subscribers. The flagship toy from Mattel, marketed for the first time in 1959, sees its symbol completely dusted off. “Barbie is made into a feminist icon to counter the “ shaming”, either the fact of stigmatizing a woman because her dress or her attitude are considered too provocativenotes Sophie Laporte, founder of the Otta agency. “Her universe becomes a state of mind: that of uming herself with outfits and showy makeup“, she continues.

M marketing and “pink tide”

“From the 80s and for several decades, we tended to consider dark outfits as a mark of intelligence and elegance against the “rednecks” dressed in flashy colors», adds Hayley Edwards-Dujardin, art historian and fashion specialist. But, in 2023, the paradigm seems to be reversed: icons like the singer at success Harry Styles and fashion designer Jacquemus often put color in the spotlight and Barbie is the subject of an astronomical amount of publications.

On TikTok for example, the hashtag “Barbie” reaches 41 billion views, that “barbie movie” And “barbie challengenearly a billion. More than 12 million posts are also devoted to him on Instagram. A trend that has not escaped brands. As the release date approaches, exclusive products related to the film are multiplying. So, Xbox unveiled a console in the colors of Barbie and the latter’s cars will be integrated into the racing game Forza Horizon 5. The Aldo Shoes brand has adapted its shoe boxes, now painted with the white and pink logo of the famous doll.

The ready-to-wear and accessories collections on the same theme are also flooding the shelves, such as at Forever 21 and Claire’s, where young models now pose with yellow, purple and pink skirts or bodysuits. “ We’re about to see a pink tide and a return to 70s fashion», laughs Stéphanie Laporte vis-à-vis this commercial phenomenon. “The film is already akin to a blockbuster with a very mainstream cast, so it is very suitable for such a m marketing strategy.“, she ures.

A house in Malibu

So much so that the world of Barbie really invites itself into the real world this time. In Malibu, a life-size pink house was unveiled to Internet users by Airbnb. On the occasion of the release of the film, in fact, fans of the universe will be able to book “Ken’s Dream Houseon the site, Monday, July 17. The fastest will have the possibility of obtaining one of the two free one-night stays in said house, which are scheduled for July 21 and 22.

The house offered by Airbnb. AIRBNB/REUTERS

“In a context that is not very happy on a collective scale, there is this desire to live in a lighter and superficial world“says historian Hayley Edwards-Dujardin, about this successful aesthetic. Barbie is not the only film whose release has caused a flood of content on the internet. The production The little Mermaid , currently in theaters, has had a similar craze. On social networks, alongside Barbie aficionados, videos have started to bloom with ideas for outfits or makeup in blue and green colors, to imitate the famous Ariel.