Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1506595
W hile Barbiecore has cycled in and out of vogue since the career- oriented doll first hit shelves in 1959, today's s w e e p i n g r e v i v a l signifies a compelling desire to revisit our unburdened youth. For The Washington Post, interior designer Ken Fulk sketched his well- bred and whimsical version of Barbie's dream house, while Jonathan Adler envisioned more of a Palm Springs abode, complete with his signatures such as a needlepoint pillow (Boss Lady is etched across this one). Architectural Digest ventured on a similar endeavor but instead had AI conceive what architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, and Oscar Niemeyer, among other legends, would build for the plastic blonde in heels. Meanwhile, HGTV had their network superstars do the real thing. Fashion brands, too, couldn't resist embracing the Barbie craze, with Vans, Zara, Balmain, and Gap spewing out pink. And this summer, Brooks Brothers reminisced about the integral role that the color pink has played in its history via a newsletter to shoppers. Though pink is certainly the backbone of Barbiecore, the underlying aesthetic is one that can be seen in both Paint and Asteroid City: Vintage reigns. We've welcomed back golf polos and tennis skirts, crisp button-downs and bell-bottom jeans, fringe jackets, Peter Pan collars, paisley, and lots and lots of crochet. It's the absence of flashy designer items and the resurgence of understated coolness. Thrifting has become the way that in-the-know kids are shopping. A label-less camel leather blazer à la Carl Nargle will likely make its rounds on It Girls this fall. Many of these ensembles have found their home in a tranquil corner of TikTok, where cotton-candy-tinged worlds and preppy accessories coalesce alongside the hashtag #WesAndersonTrend. With the emblematic instrumental song "Obituary" from Anderson's The French Dispatch as the soundtrack, creators seek to imitate the director's quirky and dreamlike vision via title cards, wide lens shots, quick cuts, and symmetrical framing, all while going about their usual to-dos with panache: having lunch, loading the laundry, or riding the train to work. Magazine write-ups have offered not only tutorials on how to shoot an iPhone pastiche of the auteur but also guides on how to dress like an Anderson character, with oxford shoes a recurring item. It seems movie studios are tending to our stylistic and nostalgic cravings, with such productions in the works as Lena Dunham's Polly Pocket, Ryan Murphy's Feud: Capote's Women, and a potential American Girl movie announced. So, lucky us: We'll continue to play dress-up. (Continued from page 62) Writer/director Wes Anderson on the set of Asteroid City Jason Schwartzman and Tom Hanks in Asteroid City Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Tom Hanks on the set of Asteroid City Owen Wilson in Paint, here and below PAINT IMAGES COURTESY IFC FILMS ASTEROID CITY IMAGES COURTESY ROGER DO MINH/POP. 87 PRODUCTIONS/FOCUS FEATURES 64