Barbiecore: Fashion and beauty brands team up with Mattel

Mattel’s favourite doll Barbie is the toast of fashion and beauty ahead of the highly anticipated ‘Barbie the Movie’ film release starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, with the toy company securing over 100 licensing deals across fashion, beauty, and accessories.

Everywhere you go you are bombarded with Barbie pink, with the Barbiecore trend captivating brands across the spectrum, from fast fashion retailers such as Primark to nail varnish brands like OPI, and even brands such as Crocs, geared for comfort, the complete contrast to Barbie’s love of high heels.

The Barbiecore trend started last summer and has continued to gain in popularity, helped by the upcoming release of the film. The hashtag #Barbiecore has generated more than 610 million views on TikTok alone, while on Google if you type “Barbie movie” into the search bar, the page turns pink, including Google’s logo and explodes into bright pink sparkles.

Commenting on the impact of Barbiecore, Dave Bruno, director of retail market insights at Aptos, a retail technology company serving 500+ retail brands globally, told FashionUnited over e-mail: "Everywhere you look, Barbie pink is the new black. The retail world is covered in that iconic pink. Mattel is on its 'A' game to accessorise its blockbuster release with dozens of retail brand collaborations in franchised merchandise of all forms. Brightening our world during this permacrisis, Barbie’s shade of magenta pink brings with it a spirit of lightness and levity.

“For most of us, anything Barbie harkens back to happier times. Not surprisingly, retailers are all in on the pink promotions and collaborations for this blockbuster-timed release. Tapping into our nostalgia-obsessed society with integrated product collaborations, store experiences and social media activations -- pulled directly from timeless pop culture franchises -- makes for a wildly successful output of retail marketing and merchandising strategies at play (pun intended)."

For the upcoming ‘Barbie the Movie,’ created in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, Mattel and its licensing partners have teamed up with various fashion and beauty brands to offer fans the chance to take a piece of Barbie Land home with them. From roller skates to matching Barbie and Ken swimsuits, beauty ranges, and accessories, from high street to high-end collectibles.

To make its movie collaborations stand out from the core Barbie partnerships, Mattel has used its retro 1980s Barbie font, as seen in the ‘Barbie the Movie’ logo.

Get the Barbie look with ‘Barbie the Movie’ fashion and beauty collaborations

Barbie x Crocs

Footwear brand Crocs has unveiled a bold and bright collaboration with Barbie ahead of the film release. The Barbie x Crocs collection features five signature sandals and clogs in pink, white and black, alongside eight official ‘Barbie the Movie’ Jibbitz charms to elevate its clogs, inspired by the film, including a Barbie silhouette and logo.

The highlight of the collection is the Barbie Mega Crush Clog, a platform silhouette wrapped in an eye-catching glitter treatment and Barbie logo print. It also comes with exclusive Jibbitz’s translating iconic moments from the film, including a disco ball, roller skate, cowgirl hat and pool float.

The Barbie x Crocs collection launches on July 24, and prices for the footwear range from 44.99 to 79.99 pounds.

Primark x Barbie the Movie

Fast fashion retailer Primark has launched an extensive collection to celebrate ‘Barbie the Movie’ with a range spanning womenswear, accessories, nightwear, and menswear to home and beauty, including an exclusive Barbie print as seen in the movie.

The Barbie the Movie x Primark collection, showcasing the notable Barbie Land logo from the movie, features Barbie and Ken swimsuits, Barbie slogan tees, tanks and co-ordinating loungewear sets, as well as pink racer neck mini dresses, pink gingham pyjama sets and super soft velour separates.

Sarah Jackson, director of licensing at Primark, said: “We are delighted to partner with Mattel on the release of our Barbie The Movie collection. Barbiecore is spreading worldwide, and we are thrilled to offer our customers licensed fashion and accessories across womenswear, menswear, kidswear and lifestyle, including the iconic Venice Beach athletic wear, which became an internet sensation so everyone can unleash their inner Barbie and Ken this summer.

“This collection marks our first collaboration with Mattel, who we have worked strategically with on the design and creation of the fantastic range, tied to the upcoming Warner Bros. movie. Barbie is sure to be the style moment of the summer and we have no doubt our collection will be a success.”

The collection is available in Primark stores with prices ranging from 3 to 20 pounds.

Impala brings Barbie movie-inspired skates to life

Australian skate brand Impala has launched the bright yellow and pink inline skates worn by Barbie and Ken in the movie. The collection features inline skates, alongside a matching Barbie bright yellow and pink protective set and a coordinating 3-pack of socks.

Gwenn Strating Moen, global marketing manager at Impala, said in a statement: “Our collaboration with Barbie represents our shared commitment to promoting and encouraging fun, inclusivity and self-expression.

“We are proud of our global community of skaters that are welcoming to all, from all walks of life and all levels of skating ability. Impala truly is for everyone, and we aim to celebrate that in everything that we do.”

Barbie x Impala retails for 26.99 pounds for the sock pack to 165.99 pounds for the inline skates.

Zara launches the iconic gingham dress worn by Barbie in the movie

High street retailer Zara has launched a Barbie collection featuring clothing, accessories, and pyjamas, alongside beauty products and homeware items. Key highlights include the iconic gingham dress featured in the movie, the retro black-and-white striped swimsuit that Barbie made her debut in back in 1959, and Barbie-branded varsity jackets. There is also a giant B leather tote, using the font from the movie, as well as beach charm bracelets, slogan T-shirts, and even a cowgirl hat.

To celebrate the launch of the movie and collection, Zara has also opened to immersive pop-ups in the Zara store on the Champs-Elysées, Paris and its New York store in SoHo inspired by Barbie's Dream House. The pop-ups will run until July 30.

Loungefly x Barbie the Movie

Accessories brand Loungefly has launched a collaboration with Barbie inspired by the film’s “beachy aesthetic,” offering a mini backpack, a crossbody bag, and a wallet, featuring an all-over print of the Barbie logo in pink. The star of the collection is the backpack with a circular-shaped pocket on the front featuring a shiny gold emblem of Barbie’s logo, against a golden shield, alongside twin flamingos, pastel-coloured shells and palm trees. Each piece also has a coordinated lining inside.

Barbie beauty collaborations

Nail varnish brand OPI has released a collection of opaque and shimmery shades in varying shades of Barbie pink. Each one is inspired by the movie and in true OPI fashion sports a unique name, from a shimmery pink called ‘Welcome to Barbie Land’ to ‘Hi Barbie’ a hot pink crème nail polish, and even a bright yellow hue called ‘Hi Ken!’.

While NYX Professional Makeup has a limited-edition collection at Superdrug featuring the “perfect party” offering with two credit card-sized mini shadow palettes with a collectable mini Butter Gloss keychain attachment, and a mini cheek palette including two blushes and a highlighter. There are also two new shades of Jumbo Eye Pencil sticks in vibrant pink and electric blue, Jumbo Lashes featuring wisps of Barbie pink, two Smooth Whip Matte Lip Creams, a Butter Gloss, and a very Y2K flip phone-shaped mirror compact.

Yann Joffredo, global brand president of NYX Professional Makeup, said: “As a beauty brand rooted in entertainment, we’re thrilled to partner with an iconic studio like Warner Bros on the new movie Barbie. The themes of empowerment and embracing inner beauty in the movie align deeply with our core values of advocating for self-expression and exploring your boldest potential.

“The new movie release has sparked so much nostalgia among its fans throughout the world and we’re excited to play a role in building upon this momentum even more.”