If the Barbie film and Google search trends are anything to go by, pink is set to be the colour of the summer.
Since the first images of Margot Robbie as Barbie appeared, online searches for the colour pink have soared 255 per cent, according to Google trends analysed by clothing brand Pour Moi.
Despite the live action film being set for release only in July 2023, Barbie fever seems to already be taking over, with #Barbiecore racking up more than 8.1 million views on TikTok.
As a colour, pink has a noble fashion history, from Marilyn Monroe’s dress singing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, to the pale pink Ralph Lauren gown Gwyneth Paltrow wore to collect her Oscar in 1999.
Kanye West wore a pink shirt and starred alongside Pamela Anderson in his 2005 video for Touch the Sky, while Bruno Mars and his band arrived at the 2011 MTV European Music Awards dressed in matching pink tuxedos. Designer Jeremy Scott went one better for his spring/summer 2015 Moschino collection, citing Barbie as his muse and declaring the entire collection as her “dream wardrobe".
Yet, just wearing pink to emulate Barbie is not enough. Her style is all about being preppy, as seen in recent paparazzi pictures from the Barbie film set, with both Robbie and her co-star Ryan Gosling dressed in pink and neon lycra garb, complete with knee pads, bumbags and head bands. While the swimsuit-over-leggings look might be a little much, there are still plenty of ways of wearing Barbie Pink without looking child-like.
Blink-182 drummer, and new husband of Kourtney Kardashian, Travis Barker enhanced an all-black look for the 2022 Grammy Awards by throwing a punchy pink Givenchy coat on top, while comedian Nicole Byer wore a bubblegum gown at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards in March. Anne Hathaway arrived at the autumn/winter 2022 Valentino haute couture show last Friday in a sparkly pink mini dress with matching shoes and bag.
As for the film, while few details about the plot have been released, it is clear director Greta Gerwig is using Barbie Pink heavily throughout.
We have seen Robbie sitting in a pink Cadillac while Gosling leans on pink pillars wearing stone-washed denim jacket and jeans.
While stonewashed denim brings a welcome respite from the pink, it also serves as a more subtle retro signal. The squared-off shoulders of Ken’s boy band jacket is a tidy nod to the infamous Earring Magic Ken doll of 1993.
Created after surveying young children on how Ken should dress, the resulting outfit, a lilac mesh shirt and matching lavender pleather jacket and trousers, was the result of the requested mash-up of Madonna and Michael Jackson's on-stage looks. Withdrawn after just six months, it remains one of the bestselling Ken dolls of all time.
Of course, it is almost impossible to talk about Barbie Pink (the doll's official colour is Pantone #e0218a) without mentioning Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who despite heading a label famous for it use of red, created the entire autumn/winter 2021 ready-to-wear collection in a vibrant shade of fuchsia.
Balmain went one better in a February 2022 collaboration with Barbie maker Mattel. In addition to a small range of clothes, Balmain released a series of NFTs all in Barbie Pink.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
The specs
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams