Dopamine dressing, gender politics and Y2K nostalgia, what is Barbiecore?

Anne Hathaway walks the streets of Rome in a glowing pink minidress carrying a miniature purse.

The occasion she’s teetering to in sizzling pink platforms is a celebration of Valentino’s Haute Couture line at Rome Vogue Week. She was later photographed with fellow actresses Florence Pugh and Ashley Park within the entrance row, all carrying the identical shade of shiny pink.

In the meantime, celebrities from Khloe Kardashian to Lizzo have been papped carrying hyperfeminine apparel, Versace platforms have change into a daily sighting on each high-streets and the purple carpet, and memes of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ are going viral earlier than the movie is even out.

However what’s portray the city pink? It’s Barbiecore, and it’s right here to remain.

What's Barbiecore?

Valentino runway at Paris Vogue WeekVianney Le Caer/AP

Look at a shiny journal or the runways of Paris and also you’ll almost definitely be immediately blinded by a flash of color.

“It's superior to see so many designers and celebrities carrying a lot color,” says Barbiecore-enthusiast, blogger and textile designer Ashley Knight.

“Over the previous yr I’ve positively observed extra vibrant traits.”

Valentino’s Fall/Winter 2022 - 2023 assortment noticed pink platform heels, pink coats, and tailor-made pink parading down a completely pink runway with pink partitions. Balenciaga too have integrated pink into their collections, resulting in the development getting that coveted Kardashian enhance.

But it surely’s not simply high-end trend homes which might be getting in on the act.

In response to credit score lender Clearpay, high-street trend retail is seeing a Barbiecore enhance with gross sales of blonde hair dye up 47 per cent, fuchsia garments up 44 per cent, and scrunchies growing by a large 1099 per cent.

In the meantime, a cursory search on social media will reveal #barbiecore in all places on Instagram and TikTok, from these dressed up as human dolls to easy OOTD (outfit of the day) posts.

“I believe it's a actually attention-grabbing second for Barbiecore,” says Alex Quicho, Head of Cultural Insights at Canvas8.

“It’s pushed by the underside up with the intense development fragmentation of TikTok. On the identical time we're additionally seeing it from the highest down in excessive trend; loads of collections mirror curiosity in hyper female aesthetics.”

Dopamine Dressing

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First Take a look at Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s ‘BARBIE’ pic.twitter.com/7MMzm2zV3Y

— Movie Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 26, 2022

Final yr noticed the solid of ‘The Satan Wears Prada’ reunite for the fifteenth anniversary of the cult movie, by which Anne Hathaway performs the lengthy struggling assistant of Meryl Streep’s Anna Wintour-inspired trend editor Miranda Priestly.

In a single memorable montage, Hathaway, having undergone a makeover from frumpy nerd to (fairly actually) glamorous assistant, walks to work and undergoes six outfit adjustments alongside the way in which.

Every look is as mooted because the final; shades of darkish, cream or tan characterising the air of a girl who seems good but additionally has a profession; 1,000,000 miles from Hathaway’s loud ensemble for the Valentino present.

“We’re seeing the tip of the period of the girlboss and minimalism,” says Quicho.

“Issues that had been beforehand thought of gauche or cheesy; we've got fallen straight again into that world.”

Barbiecore is a part of a wider development of dopamine dressing, whereby wearers ditch impartial tones in favour of loud patterns and garish colors.

“I like to put on color,” says Knight.

“It's a actually good temper booster for folks, and all of us want that in the intervening time.”

Y2K, Tumblr, and past

It’s not as if carrying pink is something revolutionary. In truth, it may very well be seen as somewhat regressive.

A tour of Barbiecore TikTok will produce temper boards of Y2K celebrities like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan carrying pink miniskirts, pastel crop tops, and plastic sun shades.

However these noughties icons have not too long ago undergone a rehabilitation, with a reassessment of their tabloid therapy by social media customers, aided by documentaries and high-profile court docket battles.

“Individuals respect them as advanced people now, versus seeing them as tabloid fodder,” says Quicho.

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This re-examination of an aesthetic related to misogynistic headlines is symptomatic of the spirit of reclamation that Barbiecore imbibes. Bimbo, coquette and even the lobotomised housewife have all featured as traits on the extra area of interest elements of Tumblr and Reddit, and Barbiecore has burst from this aesthetic-ecosystem.

“Individuals wish to reclaim these identities, however there's a distance from them being obligatory. If we had been compelled into it, this wouldn’t really feel enjoyable,” says Quicho.

“There's a separation the place these folks and people lives really feel far sufficient away that you are able to do that.”

The Gender Politics of Barbiecore

In an period of gender-neutral trend, a hyperfeminine development can appear off matter, however maybe the frills and frolics of Barbiecore present a transfer in direction of embracing an excellent time in a post-pandemic world.

It’s true that because the world emerged from lockdown, there have been widespread predictions of a return to the roaring Twenties, with maximalism taking on from the minimalist aesthetics that took maintain after the 2008 monetary crash.

“I really feel like there's a stigma, and there was for some time, of dressing actually female,” says Knight.

“The entire level of trend is to have enjoyable and so that you can like your outfit. You get confidence and loads of that's by way of color for me. I wish to be hyper female and I wish to specific myself as a girl.”

Sebastian Stan leaving the Mark Resort after the Met GalaCharles Sykes/AP

Reclaiming female identities - be it Y2K pop stars or ‘Female Mystique’-era kinds - appears all a part of the package deal, and it’s not only for girls.

Certain, feminine celebrities are carrying pink, however males are experimenting too, and from the Oscars to the Met Gala, male celebs have been noticed sporting pink and frills.

Even James Bond actor Daniel Craig - the final word image of machismo - was noticed sporting a fuchsia velvet smoking jacket on the purple carpet for the world premiere of the newest Bond journey, 'No Time To Die'.

As the style highlight shifts to the hyperfeminine for ladies, it appears for males there’s additionally a need to be fairly in pink, as third-wave feminism breaks down the gender-binary and sweeps everybody together with it.

“Individuals wish to concentrate on structural change…and are discovering we don’t have to throw out all of the enjoyable stuff,” says Quicho.

As minimalism bows out and traits like Barbiecore rise, possibly it’s time to revise the outdated adage to ‘ladies - and everybody else - simply wish to have enjoyable.'