She’s a Barbie girl living in a Barbie world; and now we can see the inspiration behind Margot Robbie’s iconic looks for the hit film’s press tour – with a fascinating new book giving new insight into the cultural phenomenon.
After Barbie’s press tour was cut short due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Margot – along with her stylist Andrew Mukamal – wanted to capture the looks that saw Barbiecore sweep the world, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look of the iconic Barbie outfits that the public never got to see and the design process behind them.
The beloved Mattel doll’s most famous looks — and how they came to life for the film — were captured by famed fashion photographer Craig McDean for the world to see in Barbie: The World Tour, which comes out today.
Margot, 33, who starred as the iconic doll in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film, wore outfits inspired by or designed to be exact replicas of the ensembles worn by the iconic doll while promoting the film around the world .
Barbie: The World Tour features Margot Robbie’s iconic press tour looks, based on the doll’s most famous outfits, including ensembles that were never seen due to the SAG-AFTRA strike
Margot walked the red carpet in London in a pink satin Vivienne Westwood gown with embroidered tulle trim, paired with white opera gloves and a pearl choker.
The duo explains how they perfectly brought Barbie looks to life, working with some of the world’s best designers, sourcing vintage pieces and drawing inspiration from Mattel’s archives to replicate or give a modern twist to the outfits.
The book features the Barbie doll whose outfit was inspired by, as well as sketches and ideas leading up to the final product – with Andrew describing the process as “like a puzzle”.
“First of all, we need to find something that I think Margot would look great in and vibe with, and that makes sense for 2023 and is the right amount of hot and cool and now,” he said. -he explains.
Andrew used as an example the dazzling black fishtail dress the Australian actress wore to the world premiere in Los Angeles, California, inspired by the 1960 Solo in the Spotlight Barbie doll.
“Then once we have the outfit, we identify who the right designer is for it, who feels like it would pair really well with that idea,” Andrew explained. “The Solo in the Spotlight look was one of the first and we decided to partner with Schiaparelli.”
“Daniel Roseberry has done such incredible things in his couture collections, and he obviously loves black, he loves proportion, he loves drama,” Andrew added. “And this dress has such an incredible, iconic shape that you would never see something like it in a modern collection.”
Andrew also recalled the “crazy emails” fashion houses received from him as they decided which Barbie looks to recreate – and the fun they could have with them.
“When I first sent the request for Day to Night Barbie to Patty Chon, the press manager at Versace – who has worked there for decades and is an icon herself – she literally got back to me within minutes,” he said. ‘(She said) ‘That’s the funniest request I’ve ever received in my entire career.’
“I just knew that was the kind of reaction everyone had when they opened these crazy emails from me,” the stylist added. “Where I take a screenshot of Barbie shoes and send them to Manolo Blahnik – very seriously – ‘We have to recreate this shoe exactly.’
Margot wore a dazzling black fishtail dress, inspired by the 1960 Solo in the Spotlight Barbie doll, as she attended the world premiere in Los Angeles, California.
Margot’s stylist for the tour, Andrew, recalled the “crazy emails” fashion houses received from him as they decided which Barbie looks to recreate – and the fun they could have with them .
Margot wearing an outfit inspired by the 1985 classic Barbie Day to Night for the film’s premiere in Seoul, South Korea
When their press tour was cut short in London, after attending premieres in Sydney, Toronto, Seoul, Mexico City and London, the looks of Berlin Barbie, New York Barbie and Tokyo Barbie remained unseen – and were captured in the book . .
While Margot pulled off Barbie’s glamorous and most iconic looks perfectly, the attention to detail was a labor of love and time.
“There was one day when we did the most massive fitting. It lasted ten hours, it was in a giant studio in New York because we needed so much space,” remembers Margot.
“Every wall and space and table, every surface was covered in jewelry and shoes and bags and accessories, and shelves and shelves and shelves of clothes,” she continued, adding: ‘All the clothes were fluffy, or feathery, or sequined, or metallic, or tight.-fitting.’
“You couldn’t enter without having your face lit up,” smiles Margot. “And my assistant literally said, in the most hushed, impressed tone, ‘I think this is the best day of my life.’
Margot explained that they ignored the “less is more” fashion rule when dressing for Barbie. “The whole approach to Barbie in the film was very maximalist and I feel like you can do it, Barbie lets you do it – more is more with Barbie. ,’ she explained
The stylist has worked with fashion brands such as Chanel, Moschino and vintage Versace to create Barbie’s famous looks.
The actress also added the fashion rule she ignored when dressing for Barbie.
“The whole approach to Barbie in the film was very maximalist and I feel like you can do it, Barbie lets you do it – more is more with Barbie,” Margot explained.
“You know the famous quote about taking one thing off before you go? For Barbie, it’s the opposite, it’s like you need a hat, a bag, an earring, a bracelet and a shoe,” she said. she joked.
Margot even shared a little piece of Barbie that she can take with her forever, thanks to her style team.
“Andrew and the rest of my glam squad gave me the little vintage Chanel rhinestone anklet for my birthday that I wore on the press tour,” the blonde bombshell shared. “Now it’s mine to keep forever, and I love it.”
“This book is the culmination of tens of thousands of hours of work by some of the most talented and creative visionaries and designers on the planet,” Andrew wrote in a statement about the book’s release.
“Margot and I felt compelled to share this with the world,” he continued. “We hope you love it as much as we do.”
The Barbie movie starred Margot, but also Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Simu Liu and Dua Lipa. Different versions of Barbie and Ken dolls will be featured, with actress Helen Mirren narrating the film.
The premise of the film – which grossed $1.45 billion worldwide – follows Barbie and Ken as they journey into the real world in order to find the true meaning of happiness.
Barbie: The World Tour will be released on March 19.