Has Barbie changed Halloween forever?
Just when you thought the Barbie hype was over, Halloween brings another excuse to talk about it again. The publicity around the Barbie film was insane. Watching the knock on effect of this on fast fashion was crazy to say the least.
Pretty much every fast fashion brand came out with something pink or Barbie related around the time of the film release. Everyone was buying bits to wear to the cinema, but what happened after?
Barbie X Fast Fashion
Slow fashion author and journalist, Sophie Benson, found that people were selling their Barbie merch just 20 days after the film was released.
This is one of the shortest trend cycles we’ve ever seen- buying something, wearing it once and already being sure you won’t wear it again in less than 3 weeks, is mind boggling. This shows how many people bought Barbie merch with no intention of long term wear.
Why do we care?
Not only was it interesting to see just how quickly fast fashion brands can release more clothing when it becomes clear they can make a lot of money, the consumption patterns across the globe were exposed as well. Millions of us brought into this short lived trend.
The result? There are now over 200,000 items listed on the Depop under the search term ‘Barbie’. For context, that’s more than 3 times the amount of people Beyonce performed in front of in London nightly, in her Renaissance tour earlier this year.
In summary: it’s a lot.
Aja Barber spoke up about how it was problematic that so much waste was driven by the Barbie film, to which she received negative backlash from people saying ‘let women enjoy things’.
We have to agree with Aja. Even though we love to enjoy novelties in life, generally, we need to be more aware of the negative repercussions of consuming things we don’t need. Also, we can have a good time without buying material items, despite what capitalism will have us believe.
It’s interesting (and kind of sad) how any time the public starts to like something, huge brands instantly decide to capitalise on it. Burger King even made a pink burger sauce - that really is pulling out all the stops.
Why do we care *now*?
Obviously, the movie had such a huge impact on fast fashion sales, but with Halloween coming up I am intrigued to see how Barbie will impact dressing up culture from here on out.
For those of us who never put any effort into our costumes, Barbie has given us a very easy cop out: wearing pink and calling it a day.
But beyond that, there are so many costumes being sold online from iconic moments of the film, including everything from Barbie and Ken’s rollerblading outfits to Barbie’s beautiful pink waistcoat and flare combo. There’s wigs, shoes and bathing suits that have all come from the film, not Barbie itself.
Back in 2019, our very own Nona from the social team went as Barbie for Halloween by using washable markers to write the Barbie logo on a white bandeau. See the same top looking fresh after a wash, showing you can easily dress up as Barbie without needing to buy new clothes/costume.
Everyone was quick to get onboard with the fast fashion Barbie clothes, so surely the same thing will happen with Halloween costumes, right? It feels like we have unlocked a new core costume that people will dress up for years to come.
We’re pretty sure come Halloween we will be seeing lots of mini Barbies stumbling around drunk this year, but we will have to keep you posted.
Considering 2,000 tonnes of waste is driven by Halloween costumes, we’re not excited for the influx of waste driven by Barbie costumes this year as the craze rages on.
This article is less about actually explaining how Barbie has impacted Halloween, but more of a starting point to look into how it actually will, and also the impact this will have on the planet.
Now we wait...
Something on your mind?
Share your thoughts with Whering community.
If you have an idea for an article around fashion, culture, environment, news, wellness, shopping or DIY, submit a pitch to us!