What are you envisaging for your summer 2022 wardrobe? Lots of lovely linen, a boho dress or two, perhaps. But how about head-to-toe sizzling hot pink?
Ever since the first film stills of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (set for release summer 2023) were revealed in June, featuring a neon pink lycra-clad Margot Robbie flirting with her Ken (Ryan Gosling), a new super-saccharine summer aesthetic has entered the fray: Meet Barbiecore.
In a feminist age of body positivity and individuality, the famously preposterously proportioned doll makes an unlikely pinup for the down-to-earth-obsessed Gen Z– and yet they have flooded to her floozy fuchsia wardrobe in droves. The trend currently has 8.6 million views on TikTok while Google searches for ‘Barbiecore’ are up 263 per cent in the last month.
The TikTokers are largely interpreting the Barbie aesthetic to mean top-to-toe pink, with a Y2K twist (natch) – think micro minis, pink velour tracksuits, rhinestone jewellery and dinky pink baguette bags. But for the fash pack, full-body bubblegum has been aspirational since Valentino’s autumn/winter 22 show back in February, when creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli went long on top-to-toe looks in the distinctive hue of bright “PP Pink” he’d developed especially. The popping shade and the sparkly, ultra-feminine silhouettes paired with patent platforms oozed the fun and frivolity of Barbie’s wonderfully carefree world.
It’s surely the shade’s inherent spirit of candy-coloured fun that has made it feel so relevant for our first full summer of freedom. The star-studded audience at Valentino’s couture show in Rome on Friday were certainly on board, with everyone from Anne Hathaway, Ariana DeBose, Florence Pugh, Tommy Dorfman and Susie Bubble all hitting the Spanish Steps bedecked in Piccioli’s custom shade.
Hathaway looked particularly ready to meet her Ken doll in a fuchsia sequinned micro mini and towering patent pink platforms, while Pugh’s sublime transparent fuchsia gown caused searches for ‘Florence Pugh Hot Pink Dress’ to rocket 4,450 per cent. In the days following the extravaganza, Google searches for ‘hot pink dresses’ are up 81 per cent, and ‘hot pink heels’ 181 per cent, while searches for ‘pink dresses’ and ‘pink skirts’ are at a record high and ‘pink outfits’ is up 55 per cent.
Daunted by the prospect of rose-tinting your entire look? Test drive it at your next wedding or summer party by accessorising a pink dress with accessories in a contrasting pinky hue. Self Portrait has a super flattering bubblegum-coloured draped dress (£350, shop it here) that would really pop with Russell & Bromley’s Pepto-Bismol leather Mojito mules (now £125, shop them here) and the fuchsia silk drawstring evening bag from London label Hai’s collab with Whistles (£108, shop it here).
Alternatively, throw an oversized bright pink linen shirt (Aligne does a great one for £89, shop it here) over a pastel pink bikini (Hunza does several for £155, try this one) and throw in some rose-tinted shades if you’re feeling extra cutesy. Remember, the fuchsia’s bright.
