‘The world ran out of pink’ thanks to Barbie movie’s life-size Mid-century set

If Barbie was a real girl, what would her dream house look like?

That question – and many others – will be answered for fans of the 64-year-old, multi-talented, permanently high-heeled female action figure when Greta Gerwig’s adult fantasy, Barbie, hits cinemas in July.

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The film boasts a life-sized reconstruction of the beloved Barbie’s Dreamhouse, complete with open walls, a slide into the pool, and an elevator to the third floor, as well as several others like it to create a Barbie Land cul-de-sac where parts of the film take place. And the design is faithful to the Barbie-verse, including the colour.

“I wanted to capture what was so ridiculously fun about the Dreamhouses,” Gerwig told Architectural Digest magazine. “We were literally creating the alternate universe of Barbie Land… I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much.”

Boy, did she get her wish. Production designer Sarah Greenwood (Sherlock Holmes, Beauty and the Beast) told AD, “the world ran out of pink” while they were building the garish sets.

Some of Barbie’s house’s most whacky features include a pink velvet clamshell headboard above a glittery pink heart shaped bed; translucent, Perspex lamps; and a “walk-in“ wardrobe that looks like the plastic-fronted boxes Barbie and her accessories come in, in the real world.

The cul-de-sac is reminiscent of another fantasy Mid-century cul-de-sac seen in the cinema recently: the town of Victory, from Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and Harry Styles.

The cool, Mid-century bungalows, sleek period cars, and ice cream-coloured pastels of the costumes were about the only successful things about the film.

According to Architectural digest, the Barbie sets were based on the original toys, specifically the 70s “townhouse” version, and the 2000’s Victorian mansion version, but also heavily influenced by Palm Springs-style Mid-century modernism.

Greenwood mentions the Kaufmann House, designed by Richard Neutra in 1946 for Edgar Kaufmann (who also commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design Falling Water in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, photographed extensively by Slim Aarons in the early 70s.

In fact, Barbie’s canary-yellow outdoor furniture is a replica of furniture found at the house in 1970, when Aarons shot his most famous pool party images.

Barbiecore decor is already a thing on TikTok, but the set of Gerwig’s film is not the first time a life-sized Barbie house – complete with dress-up options – has been created.

In 2019, to celebrate Barbie’s 60th birthday, Airbnb offered the chance to stay in Barbie’s real life Dreamhouse, a five bedroom mansion in Malibu.

“As a modern homeowner and entrepreneur, Barbie is very excited to open her home by listing it on Airbnb to share her story and to continue to inspire fans around the world,” the Airbnb listing said.

The home was meant to “bring to life what drives Barbie”, with a spotlight on the diverse jobs Barbie’s had in her 60 years, “showcasing underrepresented career paths and giving all girls a voice”.

To highlight Barbie’s extensive career choices, the Dreamhouse had a packed walk-in wardrobe of work clothes, from an astronaut’s space suit, to a doctor’s coat, to engineer’s uniform and everything in between.

Funds from the sleepover went to Barbie’s Dream Gap Project GoFundMe initiative, which encourages girls to dream big about their futures.

Ultimate items for a Barbie style Dreamhouse are, l-r, A Kartell Crystal Lamp, a vintage yellow sun umbrella, a clamshell headboard, and three perfect pinks from Resene.

Barbie hits Kiwi cinemas on July 21.