The past week has been all about Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The upcoming satirical comedy, starring Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Ryan Gosling (Ken), is an ode to the iconic Mattel doll and is scheduled to hit theatres on 21 July.
Ever since the release of its second teaser trailer on 5 April, Barbie has officially annihilated the internet with its star-studded cast and its vibrant shades of pink. From the film’s infectious Barbie-core fashion to its marketing campaigns, everyone is talking about Barbie!
Here’s why we think Gerwig’s film is going to be one of the biggest trendsetters of 2023:
It’s Time for Barbie-core!
Margot Robbie in a still from Barbie.
There is no doubt that Barbie is going to dominate the fashion industry with Barbie-core this year. For the uninitiated, Barbie-core is a fashion trend that emulates the monochromatic pink clothing aesthetic of the iconic Barbie doll.
In June 2022, when the makers released the first look of Ken, it broke the internet, as no one was expecting a Gosling with bleached blonde hair, washboard abs, and a spray tan look.
The freshly-released 2-minute trailer, however, had some show-stealing fashion moments that were hard to miss. It featured Robbie in her pink gingham dresses, daisy necklaces, and feathery shoed-glory, which brought back our childhood memories to life. Apart from the nostalgia, it was also a big moment for fashion enthusiasts who missed the good old Barbie-core charm.
First looks of Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie.
For Barbie, Gerwig collaborated with the Oscar-winning British costume designer Jacqueline Durran to pay homage to the doll. Gerwig had previously worked with Durran in Little Women. The designer has also contributed to films like Atonement, Pride & Prejudice and Spencer, among others.
Gerwig has brought Barbie not only to the cinema but also to the real world. Barbiecore has become the hottest fashion trend even before the release of the film, and fashion publicists are already reaching out to the production to “get the look.”
Barbie’s bright pink vest with matching bell-bottom pants; her pink beret and the Peter Pan collared dress with puff sleeves; her baby pink bedazzled heels with pink pompoms; the chunky jewellery; and Ken’s striped co-ord set—there’s so much to take inspiration from the film’s trailer itself.
And this isn’t just the West; we can see the frenzy back home in India as well. From celebrities like Zendaya and Simone Ashley to Ranveer Singh and Ananya Panday, most have already embraced Barbie-core.
L to R: Ananya Panday; Ranveer Singh; Zendaya; Simone Ashley; Sebastian Stan.
The Various Marketing Initiatives
A still from Barbie.
Needless to say, the PR team for Barbie has levelled up the game with its soft marketing strategies.
Barbie was already in talks after it dropped its first teaser trailer, a witty parody of the popular 1968 sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in December 2022. Besides, the Easter eggs in these teasers gave the netizens plenty of reasons to talk about the film.
On 5 April, the makers launched a series of sparkly first-look posters of the various Barbie and Ken characters from the film. This was followed by a clever ‘Barbie selfie generator’ that allowed fans to create their own Barbie posters and become part of Gerwig’s pink universe.
Tweets about the Barbie selfie generator on Twitter.
From memes to reels, Barbie reached the peak of its virality on the internet as thousands of users bombarded social media with their own Barbie posters the following day.
The easy-to-use selfie generator requires its users to upload a picture of themselves, after which it gives them a glitzy Barbie makeover, which one can customise with their choice of colour and text. There’s little denying that fans are already enamoured with this idea.
According to media intelligence company CARMA, conversations about Barbieland have peaked on social media since the launch of its second teaser trailer. Users’ sentiments about the film remain positive at 31.6 percent, with only 4.3 percent of comments being negative. The Barbie selfie generator, on the other hand, has been in conversations with an overwhelmingly positive response, with 67.2 percent.
Here’s how people reacted to Barbie’s teaser trailers:
First Feminist Take on Barbie?
Margot Robbie in and as Barbie.
Gerwig’s Barbie is going to be the second theatrically released live-action film based on a doll line since Sean McNamara’s Bratz (2007). The chaotic-looking magnum opus, co-written by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach, is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated films of the year.
While McNamara’s film was a high-school teen drama, Gerwig’s Barbie seems to be the first film to have a feminist take on the Mattel doll.
Originally announced in 2009, Barbie has undergone several different iterations and has been a property for three different studios, including the Universal Pictures production, Sony Pictures, and ultimately Warner Bros Pictures, where the project finally became a film. Initially, Amy Schumer was supposed to play the titular character, but she was later replaced by Anne Hathaway. Ultimately, Margot Robbie got the role in 2019, and Gerwig was chosen as the director.
Emma Mackey, Simu Liu, Margot Robbir, Ryan Gosling and Kingsley Ben-Adir in a still from Barbie.
Barbie was one of the biggest anti-feminist symbols of all time until recently, when conscious efforts were made to make the Mattel doll appear more inclusive in terms of both ethnic diversity and its body type. Similarly, the film industry has also undergone a revolutionary transformation in how it used to represent and recognise women on screen.
Gerwig has previously helmed films like Ladybird and Little Women, which are beloved and renowned for their feminist takes. In the adaptation of Little Women, Gerwig transformed Amy’s character from a ‘spoiled brat’ to a self-sufficient woman with her own opinions and feelings and a mature understanding of the socioeconomic institution of marriage.
Margot Robbie in a still from Barbie.
Besides the leads, Barbie also features a stellar ensemble cast that includes Issa Rae, Hari Nef, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Nicola Coughlan, Ariana Greenblatt, and Alexandra Shipp, among others.
With people showing excitement to watch the film regardless of their age and gender, it is safe to say that Gerwig’s Barbie is all set to colour the world pink.
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