Lately, it has felt like we've all been living in a Barbie world. As Greta Gerwig’s heartfelt and hilarious new film keeps making history, fans everywhere are embracing Barbiecore and showing up everywhere dressed in head-to-toe pink. That’s great news for Barbie’s brilliant costume designer, but she does have one word of warning for everyone who wants a Barbie look of their own.
Barbiecore is one of the best (and brightest!) fashion trends to emerge in recent memory. Pink has been the color of choice for many celebrities this year including, Barbie star Margot Robbie. Ryan Gosling even brought some serious pink Kenergy to his red carpet looks too. No matter where you look these days, you’re likely to see someone wearing an outfit that invokes one of Barbie’s most unforgettable sartorial moments. Costume designer, Jacqueline Durran, is thrilled to see so many people taking inspiration from the movie, but she told The Hollywood Reporter that she does have one major concern about the fashion movement:
I’m so happy that everybody wants to participate in the whole Barbie look, and I think the dressing up is really just a great fun thing to do, but I do worry about the amount of waste. I would love for everyone to do it sustainably. If it were possible for everybody to buy vintage or secondhand of everything and have fun that way, that would be great. I think that you can actually be more creative and make a more unique look and find extraordinary pieces in vintage almost more so than you can in stores. The amount of things that have been made in the past that you could create a Barbiecore look with is infinite almost.
If anyone knows what they're talking about when it comes to pulling together the perfect Barbiecore outfit, it's Barbie's costume designer, so if she's advocating for taking a vintage approach, we're all ears. Plus, Jacqueline Durran shared a big incentive for a sustainably sourced Barbiecore movement:
So, I would really love it if people delved into their creative selves and found their Barbiecore look sustainably. Also, if you all shop secondhand and go out together [with friends], you’re not going to end up with the same look. You’re going to have lots of different ways of interpreting Barbiecore which is a very elastic concept. It can take a lot.
Honestly, Durran makes a great point. One of the best takeaways from Barbie is how unique and special each Barbie is, so there’s a lot to be said for creating a Barbiecore look that’s totally you. You probably won’t be alone if you head over to your local consignment shop in search of your own pink sparkly cowboy hat.
Barbie is easily one of the biggest 2023 movie releases, and it’s already crossed $1 billion at the box office. Its’ runaway popularity means it could be a while before it’s available on streaming services like Max. But since it’s become a source of empowerment and inspiration for countless fans around the world, that also means we’ll probably be living in this Barbiecore moment for the foreseeable future.
