News feed
This Barbie is on the press tour of her life.
If you were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway over the weekend, you may have spotted Malibu’s most famous resident descending from her pink palace and taking her 50s convertible Corvette for a spin.
Complete with her signature beach-blonde hair and head-to-toe pink ensemble, it was almost as if our favourite plastic doll materialised like something out of the 2000s cult-classic Life-Size.
Alas, what transpired was something far greater: Margot Robbie transforming herself into the one and only Barbara Millicent Roberts to promote the upcoming Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film.
For those unfamiliar with the new rules of press tour dressing, Hollywood dogma encourages an actor’s red carpet and sartorial step-and-repeat mode to draw reference from the character they played, while still offering a serving of unrivalled glamour.
However, much like the small tidbits we know about the Barbie movie so far, Robbie has followed her own protocol by instead showing up at every promotional engagement as Barbie herself.
As the film’s movie poster told us: she’s everything.
Earlier in the year, Robbie teased the masterful press looks that were to come by attending the 2023 CinemaCon in a two-piece pink gingham set from Prada.
Now, in the streets of Beverly Hills, Robbie is fully selling us the pink technicolored fantasy in a melange of luxury ensembles seemingly plucked from Barbie’s silicone wardrobe. Turning two #Barbiecore outfits within 24 hours, Robbie opted for another two-piece set to commence the film’s official press tour.
Posing with her slick bubblegum C1, Robbie was the consummate real-life Barbie doll in a full custom Bottega Veneta look, a designer the Australian actress is prone to wearing in her own life.
Keeping with the nostalgic aesthetic, Robbie’s set featured a silk bustier and knotted mélange pleated skirt in a pastel pink hue. It wouldn’t be a Barbie outfit without the accessories, namely Robbie’s pink Cabat bag and white oval-framed sunglasses.
For the official photo call, Robbie then changed into a custom pink and white polka dot dress from Valentino.
Considering Valentino’s Pink PP collection served as the catalyst to the #Barbiecore fever, it feels like a fated alignment to have Robbie officially begin her Barbie tour in the now-synonymous hue.
The custom-made silhouette referenced a dress from the Maison’s Spring/Summer 1993 collection, along with a vintage Barbie doll (as made apparent by Robbie’s stylist, Andrew Mukamal.
These titanic displays of sartorial prowess not only reinforce Barbie’s inextricable link to fashion (hello, Moschino’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection) but also highlights the cultural pertinence of Gerwig’s live-action Barbie film.
The lines between Barbie and her IRL counterpart have undoubtedly been blurred. Is Robbie the doll? Or is she just dolled up? Regardless, this fusing of insatiable self-references and collective joy is the “Kenergy” we need to kickstart the Barbie hype into overdrive.
