Barbie, a cultural icon, has been challenging gender stereotypes since 1959, a time when women’s rights were scarce. Mattel’s creation sparked magic in many young girls’ hearts, showing them they could be anything. Barbie was not just a doll; she was a president, a doctor, a lawyer- she was anything they could dream of—this message of limitless possibilities blossomed hope in the hearts of billions of children. However, over the last few decades, societal pressures have led women of all ages to feel embarrassed about their girly habits, like dolls and the colour pink. Greta Gerwigs’ Barbie movie aimed to bring back the magic of Barbie and embrace the bright pink and glitter, rekindling the appreciation for Barbie’s influence on popular culture. The set design for Barbieland by production designer Sarah Greenwood and set director Katie Spencer mixes two-dimensional and three-dimensional aspects with fluorescent hand-painted sets to create an authentic artificiality, resulting in an international pink paint shortage.
Barbie’s Dreamhouse
Inspired by the original 1960s Barbie Dreamhouse and many of Mattel’s produced dreamhouses and Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House from 1946 in Palm Springs, the dream houses did not have external walls, doors or stairs. Gerwig explained how girls would never walk their Barbie down the stairs; she would be carried to magically appear in the next room or on the floor above. Margot Robbie’s ‘stereotypical Barbie’ lived on a circular driveway alongside three other Barbies and their dream houses. Leaving each dreamhouse without exterior walls allowed each Barbie to see one another inside their homes, adding the innocent and naive characters they portray. Dreamland is a perfect place where there is no need for privacy or security, which contributes to the film atmosphere where there are no ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ characters, just a raw emotional journey.
The bright fuchsia dream house is more complex than it seems. Greenwood and Spencer designed the houses to be 23 per cent smaller to mimic the absurd way a Barbie doll always seemed too big for her own home. The designers then created novelty accessories to exaggerate this effect, like a giant hairbrush and toothbrush. There is no water, fire, or electricity in Barbieland, so Robbie showers underneath a waterless shower and acts out drinking milk, yet no milk is pouring, invoking that playful imagination of girls and their dolls. Robbie’s house also features a hot pink sweeping water slide where she gracefully slides down and walks across her solid swimming pool, almost God-like. Without electricity and walls, the furniture of the dreamhouse had to be unique yet prominent, with solid shapes in iridescent or fluorescent colours. Another vital detail in the Dreamhouse design is Barbie’s wardrobe. Barbie’s outfit is perfectly laid out in a vertical box wrapped in glass, reminding girls of the plastic-wrapped boxes of Barbie they would swoon over in the toy store. When Barbie opens the wardrobe, she is instantly transformed into the outfit with a new one waiting in the wardrobe ‘box’ sparking that iconic Barbie Magic
The atmosphere of Barbieland
The Barbie Movie is set in the ‘real world’ and Barbieland, and the contrasting atmosphere is palpable. In the movie, Robbie’s Barbie and her boyfriend Ken (Ryan Gosling) travel through beautifully painted travel sets to arrive in the ‘real world’ where it almost appears as if they are the only ones in colour, and it all goes downhill from there. Back in Barbie Land, there is a visually happy world where every aspect is stunning. Gerwig wanted to avoid CGI on the Barbie set as she claimed she wanted viewers to feel a part of this magical world. The Warner Bros studio outside London was completely painted to bring this world to life. Behind the Dream Houses are a series of
three-dimensional palm trees painted with pop art references, fading into two-dimensional trees painted alongside the dreamy mountain range, painted in orange-purple shades. The cast felt like they were toys inside this playful box whenever they were on set. Using back-and-forth scenes from Barbie Land and the ‘real world’ further highlights the visual stimulation Barbieland creates. Greenwood and Spencer successfully created a realistic toy world with all the quirks of the toy whilst still providing a believable, inhabitable world. Gerwig wanted this film to be full of childish joy whilst she portrayed real-life adult struggles in this modern day.
Robbie’s Barbie aesthetic progression
Moving slightly away from the set itself, the character development of co-writer Margot Robbie’s main character was physically shown through her makeup and wardrobe throughout the film. To open the movie, Robbie’s ‘Stereotypical Barbie’ has big, bouncy, perfect hair, flawless skin and extravagant yet beautiful outfits. Stereotypical Barbie is seemingly perfect in every way, a genuine doll, until she isn’t. When Stereotypical Barbie appears clouded by dark thoughts, her hair suddenly becomes ever so slightly flatter. Slowly, throughout the film, as she faces more dark twists and turns, her under eye appears darker, and her skin begins to crease. As the plot progresses, Barbie
comes to humane realisations, and her outfits become milder and more tamed, almost as if she is becoming more human. The visual aid of makeup and wardrobe support the character development throughout the movie and simultaneously teach the audience the reality of Barbie. Barbie was initially designed as a figurehead of women, pushing feminist ideas that seemed impossible at the time, but that’s not fair. Barbie may have taught women they did not need a man to own their own car or house; however, she set aesthetic standards at an unreachable height. She was a plastic doll; of course she looked perfect, but young girls idolised her and began to take their appearance too seriously, constantly criticising themselves for not looking as perfect as a manufactured doll. The Barbie movie strips away these layers and portrays Barbie as a self-conscious and vulnerable woman. Stereotypical Barbie was made to be the closest thing to perfection to exist, and the movie highlights that it just is not possible; everyone has flaws. The Barbie movie has such a strong message that was sent with a light-hearted tone to empower women all over the world: embrace the simple joy of girlhood, feel the magic of your dreams and do not let anyone take away your power.
Architectural Digest. (2023). Margot Robbie takes you inside the Barbie Dreamhouse. [YouTube video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKgaVlMN7IY
Englefield, J (2023). Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer design “absurd” set for Barbie film. [online]. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2023/07/20/sarah-greenwood-katie-spencer-absurd-set-barbie/
HGTV. (2023). Bringing Barbie Land to life from ‘Barbie’ the movie, on set with. [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihJcyAJOQQY
Siler, J (2023). How Barbie’s production designers created the plastic, fantastic world of Barbie Land. [online]. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/barbie-set-design
Images
Image 1. Warner Bros. Barbieland. [photograph]. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/barbie-set-design
Image 2. Warner Bros. Barbie’s vanity mirror. [photograph]. Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/margot-robbie-clueless-wardrobe-barbie-movie-fashion-1235517970/
Image 3. HELLO! Magazine. Barbie’s wardrobe. [photograph]. Available at: https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/498404/there-was-plenty-of-chanel-in-the-barbie-movie-heres-why/
Image 4. Jaap Buitendijk. Barbie’s dream houses. [photograph]. Available at: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/barbie-movie-house-dreamhouse
Image 5. Warner Bros. Barbie and Ken in the real world. [photograph]. Available at: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/rollerskating-barbie-ryan-gosling-margot-robbie/
Image 6. Warner Bros. Barbie’s opening dance. [photograph] available at: https://deadline.com/2023/12/dua-lipa-mark-ronson-barbie-interview-dance-the-night-1235648546/
