Londoners will have noticed something wonderfully odd breaking through the capital’s grey gloom - splashes of pink are appearing, but why?
Barbiemania is sweeping town, with black cabs and double decker buses going pink and even the Standard’s chief theatre critic’s tweet going viral re-christening the London’s Barbican high-culture hub as The Barbie Ken.
A pink Tardis was also spotted near Tower Bridge, even the London Eye changed its hue to celebrate the much-anticipated Barbie movie.
Yes, we know it’s all a branding exercise but you’d have to be quite the cynic not to raise a small smile for this summer’s feel-good film, directed by Greta Gerwig, which is coming to UK screens on Friday 21st July.
It stars former Clapham resident Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, plus a host of famous cameos and retro-modern nods, from neon leg-warmers to tennis visors and flip phones.
The Leader podcast’s joined by Evening Standard features journalist Maddy Mussen, who was at the Leicester Square premiere, to talk Barbiemania.
We discuss Gen Z’s TikTok ‘Barbiecore’ craze, how the doll’s changed with the times, Barbie’s feminist era and unique aesthetic.
