Dive Brief:
- Canadian footwear company Aldo has collaborated with toy giant Mattel Inc. on a new 19-piece collection of Barbie-themed shoes, accessories and handbags, which was released Thursday.
- The collection ranges in price from $28 to $140 and includes sneakers, kitten heels, stilettos, strappy sandals, microbags, sunglasses and earrings. It will be available online and in-store at Aldo, and shoes from the collection will be available at select Macy’s stores and online at macys.com and on Macy’s mobile app.
- The hot pink colors championed by Barbie are having a moment in the fashion space. Last year, TikTok’s “Barbie-core” trend appeared on various runways spurred by the announcement of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie, and the trend has only increased this year ahead of the film’s release next month.
Dive Insight:
The Aldo X Barbie collection is limited and is meant to showcase Barbie’s “aesthetic with playful shoes and accessories built for real life and made for grown-up joy,” according to the collection’s website.
Many of the items are emblazoned with the letter B in the font of the Barbie logo, and the collection also gives a nod to current Y2K trends including the microbag.
Beyond actress Margot Robbie’s pink dress at the “Barbie” movie premiere, shades of pink have made it to various runways over the last few years. Notably, musician Kasey Musgraves wore a hot pink Moschino gown designed by Jeremy Scott at the camp-themed 2019 Met Gala and earlier this year, Zendaya wore a pale pink strapless Valentino dress at the SAG Awards.
Similarly, the Pantone color of the year is a shade of pink, Viva Magenta.
Data from formalwear marketplace Queenly sent to Fashion Dive found that searches for “pink jumpsuits” increased 317% from 2022 to 2023. Similarly, searches for pink cocktail dresses increased 43%, and hot pink saw the biggest increase in search volume compared to other shades of pink.
“Barbie has always influenced what girls wear since it launched,” Trisha Bantigue, CEO and co-founder of Queenly, said in an email to Fashion Dive. “We see that effect through the rapid increase of hot pink dress searches on Queenly recently and many Tiktok videos are now incorporating Barbiecore trends. Barbie has always been a popular influence on women’s fashion but I anticipate it’ll continue for years to come, especially now that it’s being adopted by Gen Z as they follow cultural trends more so in real-time. This latest iteration of Barbiecore fashion is paving the way for more movies and shows to heavily impact consumer behavior and the corresponding fashion trends.”
Product discovery platform Syte also sent data showing that between Q2 of 2022 and Q2 of this year, searches for pink sequin dresses, pink neon jumpsuits, and pink matching sets were up 26.2%, 52.6%, and 73.5%, respectively. Pink jewelry searches were also up 131.4% during the time period.
Vered Levy-Ron, CEO of Syte, told Fashion Dive in an email that the results show how fashion trends and demand are impacted by pop culture.
“The brands and retailers that lean into pop culture news and track relevant fashion attributes (cuts, colors, materials, etc.) are well-positioned to better forecast demand and manage inventory efficiently,” Levy-Ron said. “As technology advances, tracking and predicting these trends using visual AI will set apart innovative brands from those simply trying to keep up.”
Barbie has also made waves in the luxury fashion sector, albeit not quite so happily.
British company Burberry filed an application to trademark the word “BRBY” for use on apparel and leather goods last summer. Earlier this week, Barbie owner Mattel filed an opposition against Burberry’s request, arguing that the BRBY mark is similar to Barbie’s marks in “appearance, sound, and commercial impression.”
Aldo has previously collaborated with actor Jordan Fisher and launched a Disney line.
