Swimming pool, caravan and pink coffee: g1 visits Casa da Barbie in São Paulo
With the countdown to the premiere of the film “Barbie”, which hits theaters on July 20th, the fascination with the world’s most famous doll has returned in fashion trends, products and even exhibitions aimed at both children and adults gained strength.
The symptom of Barbie mania is evident in (future) visitors to the Barbie Dreamhouse The Experience exhibition, which arrived this Thursday (13th) at the JK Iguatemi in São Paulo and is already sold out for the next few weeks.
The G1 report visited the exhibition, which spans 650m² and dates back to the history of the doll, where fans are whisked away to the instagramable Pink Mansion and have the opportunity to take photos in iconic settings and parade on a catwalk to visit the doll’s closet and see some collectible models from different generations up close. In the video above you know the exhibition in detail.
1 of 2 The scenic swimming pool is one of the most ‘instagrammable’ points of the ‘Barbie Dreamhouse: the experience’ exhibition in São Paulo Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 The scenic swimming pool is one of the ‘instagrammable’ points of the ‘Barbie exhibition ‘Dreamhouse: the experience” in São Paulo Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
Trending on social media, the pink wave that sparked Barbie’s return to theaters was given a name: Barbie Core. Promoted primarily on TikTok, the aesthetic expression bets on shades of pink without fear of losing your hand.
Matheus Ilt, digital content creator and host of the GNT show Arrasta Móveis, has been a fan of the aesthetic since 2017, well before the current Barbie trend. He says it’s difficult to find pieces in this color and sees the movement as an opportunity for trendsetting industries.
“We got used to seeing pink because we thought it couldn’t just work in the kid’s room,” he says.
However, the release of the movie Barbie almost made for a less rosy world. According to production designer Sarah Greenwood, the overuse of fluorescent pink paint on the film’s set almost led to a worldwide shortage of the pigments needed to create the right hue.
2 of 2 Young man visiting the Barbie Dreamhouse: the experience exhibition in São Paulo — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1 Young man visiting the Barbie Dreamhouse: the experience exhibition in São Paulo — Photo: Fábio Tito/g1
More than the nostalgia and marketing appeal that pays attention to the demands of representation, Barbie has stayed alive in pop culture through her relevance in fashion history. In 2019, the doll became the only item to receive the CFDA Fashion Awards, an award presented by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, whose membership includes the likes of Tom Ford and Michelle Obama.
“It shaped a generation, but it also reinvents itself,” analyzes Matheus Ilt. “Barbie used to be an elite doll: she only had blonde, white and blue eyes. And popularity pushed her to keep reinventing herself. It was a work of our society that knocked on Barbie’s door.”
With more than 200 professions, the doll has adapted to the times, sometimes early, sometimes with some delay: Barbie launched her astronaut version in 1965, four years before man walked on the moon. The first black Barbie was released in 1968, nearly a decade after toy creator Ruth Handler produced the first version.
A timeline from the exhibit reveals that the multifaceted body moment came later, in 2016, when Mattel released three versions of the toy with more realistic silhouettes.
And the Barbie Dreamhouse the Experience exhibit runs through September 10th at Shopping JK Iguatemi. Admission costs between R$20 and R$70 and is free for children up to 12 months.