Back in May of 2022, a press release teasing Greta Gerwig’s upcoming live-action Barbie film landed in my email.
Warner Brothers had just released still imagery of a giddy Margot Robbie in the driver’s seat of a hot pink convertible, the actress wearing a blue and white striped halter top with a matching bracelet and headband. People went wild over it.
But this wasn’t the first time the iconic doll was top of mind last year. Two months prior, Valentino’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, presented the designer label’s Fall/Winter 2022/2023 collection at Fashion Week, a line comprised of a single, bold hue: An all-too-familiar hot pink.
Despite Pantone predicting periwinkle would be the “It” color of 2022, I couldn’t help but notice that Barbie’s signature shade had come back around and was booming — on the runway, yes, but also IRL, and especially on the Internet. So, I did what any fashion journalist does: I brainstormed a story on the subject.
Little did I know the effect my story would have on the terminology surrounding this evolving trend.
We’re in the era of “cores,” Pinterest storyboard-level aesthetics. They’re looks, but they’re also lifestyles, and they’re rooted in both/either escapism and nostalgia.
It got to a point where it felt like we were covering a new “core” every week at InStyle. There was Regencycore, Cottagecore, Fairycore, Gothcore, Balletcore, Schoolcore, Pearlcore, Dark Academia, and Light Academia. So when it came time for me to brainstorm pitches for June 2022, I emailed my editor (hi Sam!) and said something along the lines of, “What if we do a story on the Barbie Pink trend, but make it a core? Barbiecore.”
I was just trying to be clever.
I never thought it would go viral.
But sure enough, one morning a few weeks after my article went live on Instyle.com, Sam alerted me that “Barbiecore” was, officially, a thing. Outlets across the internet quickly began (and still are) using my terminology, but it didn’t stop there.
Public relations executives were weaving it into their pitches.
Shoppers were using the phrase as an adjective in their reviews.
Product designers like Mattel Creations and Redbubble started rolling out “Barbiecore” merchandise.
And I’m just sitting back like:
It never gets old, either.
My mom and sisters still send me screenshots of headlines or recordings of television segments that talk about anything and everything “Barbiecore.” Just the other day, my mom sent me a screenshot of a Footwear News story on Jill Biden taking Barbiecore to London, and I low-key freaked out over the fact that a term I coined was mentioned in the same headline as the first lady.
There was also that time Good Morning America did an entire segment on Barbiecore fashion.
I can go on and on about the surrealism that is this phenomenon.
Of course, I realize “Barbiecore” was probably a term long before it popped into my head. Still, it definitely wasn’t used in mainstream media the way it was/is following my article’s publication.
In fact, Samantha made it a point to scour the internet to see a) if the trend was being covered and b) by who, before the story went live.
And it wasn’t.
Anywhere.
I was the first.
The fact that I had a hand in all of this Barbie mania is still mind-boggling to me.
It’s also insanely awesome.
Because here’s the thing: I love writing and have always hoped that one day my words would make an impact. Coining a fashion term and having it go viral was, admittedly, not what I had in mind.
And some may say it’s a silly accomplishment, but it’s honestly one of the biggest milestones of my career to date.
But even more than that.
It goes to show that I can make an impact.
It’s possible.
I’m capable.
I may have been in this industry for almost a decade already, but this…
This is just the beginning.
this is so cool! love the barbiecore trend
It still makes me laugh!!!