Time to turn pink: Why interior designers are ready to go all the way for hardcore Barbiecore

Paintings with pops of pink reflect the colour of the fabrics and furnishings. (Photo courtesy Studio Rohini Bagla)

When you are 58 years old and writing this piece, the colour pink might not do as much for your imagination as turquoise blue can with its serenity and depth. Let the young ones, you say, smother themselves with the colours of love, romance, cherubs, candy floss, lipsticks and August sunsets…

Pink, especially when it gets hotter, is a colour best used with caution because of its brightness, which can at times get quite heady, making you feel like candy floss floating around in romance queen Barbara Cartland's opulent pink universe. You can’t be silly with it.

Pink flooring can be offset beautifully by white. (Photo courtesy Nitin and Pooja Bihani of Spaces and Design)

So this brings us to all this brouhaha over Greta Gerwig’s Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starrer Barbie, which opened in theatres on July 21 as well as the TikTok microtrend Barbiecore, a curious blend of ’90s and new millennium influences that hails ‘bimboism’ as powerful. It piques your interest because of the current engouement pour the pink palette “made up primarily of hot pink, and similarly bold rosy hues like fuchsia and magenta… surging its way into home decor,” as the New York Times reported recently.

Why not? “This trend celebrates the iconic doll's spirit,” explains Jannat Gill, co-founder and design head at Daera, a Delhi-based interior and product design studio.

From the palest of pink bedspreads to darker cream furniture and furnishings, you can experiment with colours. (Photo courtesy Studio Rohini Bagla)

Designers, declares Gill, currently remain captivated by the power of pink as its entire spectrum offers boundless possibilities for creative expression. This design trend emphasises the seamless fusion of vintage charm and modern elements.

Think pink shag carpets, candy striped wallpaper, wingback chairs against pearly grey walls.

Homes, as Gill puts it, are turning into “enchanting wonderlands,” defined by bold patterns, captivating textures and hints of shimmer. Barbiecore-inspired interiors mirror the whimsical magic of the Barbie movie, creating spaces that radiate joy and excitement.

Novelty factor

However, even as Barbie the movie garners attention for its clubbed release with the Christopher Nolan directorial Oppenheimer (the former, according to Warner Bros figures, raking in Rs 5.3 crore on the first day in India against the latter’s Rs 17.5 crore) one is tempted to question the novelty factor of a story based on a doll that has been around for ages. After all, Barbie, created by American toymaker Mattel’s founder Ruth Handler in 1959, is in her sixties now.

Create a cozy nook with pink (Photo by Stefen Tan via Unsplash)

Pink too found its definition centuries ago, sometime in the 1500s, being named after the Dianthus plant and its pink flowers with crimped edges. The Dutch words pinck oogen or little eye could also have referred to the flowers of the plant, which had little dots looking like eyes. In fashion, Elsa Schiaparelli created her signature ‘shocking pink’ for her own House of Schiaparelli in Paris, which opened in 1927. Dior released ‘rosy’ haute couture way back in the ’40s.

New finds a match with old

New goes with the old. Barbiecore effortlessly reimagines classic design styles with a modern twist, says Gill. Complementing the movie's theme of self-discovery and empowerment (Barbie and boyfriend Ken find a way out of their existential crisis to become self-aware), this trend encourages designers to blend timeless elegance with exuberance. “The marriage of retro-inspired elements with contemporary furnishings creates a harmonious fusion of old and new. Art deco accents in radiant pink hues add a touch of opulence, while polka dots and floral motifs evoke nostalgic sentiments, reviving classic aesthetics in a fresh and captivating manner.”

You’d be surprised to know that the colour isn’t entirely girly. The Atlantic quotes fashion scholar and writer Valerie Steele as saying that men in the 18th century found it perfectly masculine to “wear a pink silk suit with floral embroidery”.

Innovative use of bathroom space. (Photo courtesy Spaces and Design)“I absolutely vibe with hot pink,” insists 38-year-old Rahul Mistri, founder and principal designer at Mumbai’s Open Atelier, an interior design studio.

Rohini Bagla of Mumbai-based interior design firm Studio Rohini Bagla will not be left behind. “I am 40, and hot pink is a colour that I think every girl, irrespective of their age, vibes with. I have a 12-year-old daughter. I know how hot pink is an eternal favorite with all girls.”

Best settings

The versatility of the colour appeals to Mistri, who loves how it brings a certain boldness yet elegant touch to a space, adding vibrancy and making it visually engaging

Pooja Bihani,  founder and principal architect of Spaces and Design in Kolkata, does not use a lot of pink in her designs, but makes an exception with wine pink sometimes when designing bedrooms for young girls.

Drawing inspiration from Egyptian designer Karim Rashid’s interiors, which often have a pop of hot pink, Bihani feels one does not have to literally live with the colour as it can get “very heavy in a residence.” Paintings with elements of pinks can be put up in common areas of a house or clubhouses, then “You can enjoy it because it's in bits and parts.”

Someone who has used pale pink for flooring, Bihani wishes for a stone in hot pink that she would have loved to use as an inlay in marble. “Then it would have acted as a highlighted jewel colour.”

Bagla says pink can go wonderfully as an accent colour in guest rooms. Accents of pink or hot pinks like a vanity counter or coloured faucets, even lights, can be used in bathrooms that have the monochrome colours  of grey, light grey or white.

“I would really want to use it on the main door of a house, in a very smart way. Whoever is standing outside would really want to explore the house and see what’s inside. It is such a nice, inviting colour, and if everything else is kept subtle that door will really steal the show,” she adds.

Mistri finds good use of pinks in decor, accent walls and murals.

Retail space could also do with some pink, he declares, used strategically to highlight specific areas such as product displays or to accentuate certain sections, thereby capturing customers' attention and enhancing shopping experiences.

Hot pink would work in bedrooms and bathrooms for residential spaces and could also be introduced through various elements such as wall coverings, furnishings like throw pillows or rugs, and even bold and expressive art pieces. “It could create a sense of playfulness in these personal spaces,” he suggests.

All said and done, pink is uplifting for the spirits. As Bagla says, “Whenever I feel low I wear a good hot pink dress and I'm ready to go.”