A look at the brand’s nostalgic impact.
Forever 21/ JoosTricot / swarovski / Byrdie
Does Pantone 219 C mean anything to you?
Its everywhere right now, because Pantone 219 C is Barbie Pink.
Forever 21/ JoosTricot / swarovski / Byrdie
There’s no question: We are clearly in our Barbie era.
To the films credit, it tackles that conversation and then some.
Ahead, they explore the undeniable Barbie obsession and why we’re all happily glued to the screen.
@margotrobbie/ Instagram
That, and the @barbiethemovie TikTok account has over 600,000 followers alone.
All that to say: people cannot get enough of all things Barbie, myself included.
It begs the question:why?
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I havent played with a Barbie doll in decades.
(Including the Crocs!)
I suspect nostalgia is at play.
@mykitsch/ Instagram
Barbie’s Multi-Generational Reach
Barbie is meaningful to five generations.
Ive always been a Barbie fan, saysJen Atkin, celebrity stylist and founder ofManeandOuai.
Atkin recalls how Barbie was one note initially; she wasnt as diverse as she is now.
It was kind of a fantasy.
I don’t know, maybe subconsciously it just stayed with [me].
I think it speaks to the little kid in all of us.
Everything about [the movie] feels so happy and so bright and like you’re part of something.
She says Barbie is also about evolution and growth.
I also feel like Barbie in some ways is a sign of hope.
If Barbie can change, can’t [anything] change?
They’re like, Oh this is you!
I was born in Minnesota.
I’m not even Japanese.
But there was nothing else.
It’s this idea that something we’ve known for so long can change and can be better.
that plays into the fanaticism.
Barbieisnostalgic and theres solace in familiarity.
It feels like a warm hug.
The same is true for our current enthusiasm for her.
I’m looking through my feed and everything’s hot pink.
There’s a part of it that just gets normalized.
That’s part of it, but the other part is, honestly, I think itfeelshappy.
Even the real-world guerilla marketinglike the bus benches and billboardswas covered online.
This can also result in millions of people everywhere being inspired.
You just inherently know.
The Takeaway
The fact is, Barbie is back, baby.
(For now, at least.)
But it’s also a comforting dose of nostalgiaa temptation that’s hard to ignore.
That’s what it feels like to me.
