When fashion historians come to document red carpet dressing in the internet age, there will be whole chapters written about Margot Robbie. In her extended role as Barbie, which continued long after the credits rolled on Greta Gerwig’s homage to Mattel’s most famous toy, Robbie has rewritten the rule book, with every outfit taking its inspiration from a Barbie doll unearthed from the archives. Indeed, as the actress travelled the globe, this might just have been the most savvy cinema marketing campaign yet seen.
Robbie’s stylist, Andrew Mukamal — with whom she collaborated on the overarching idea for this project and the many (many) looks that transpired as a result — has lost count of the number of fashion moments the duo have created since the publicity tour for the movie began last June. Outfits for everything from premieres to photocalls to TV appearances were made with specific dolls in mind. “There were times when Margot was changing four or five times a day, each time adopting the look of a different Barbie,” Mukamal tells me now. “I don’t know how many outfits there were in the end but it’s close to a hundred.”
On the first big stop of the tour — the world premiere of the film in LA — Robbie wore a black strapless Schiaparelli gown that took its lead from Solo in the Spotlight Barbie (first released in 1960), custom-made for her by the house’s creative director, Daniel Roseberry. “Almost immediately we saw so much joy,” says Mukamal, a native New Yorker who cut his teeth in the industry as a styling assistant and now counts Carey Mulligan, Zoë Kravitz and Billie Eilish as regular clients. “By the time we were on our second or third stop we knew that we had the eyes of the world looking at what we were doing and everybody was so excited. It was a pink frenzy!”
Enlisting some of the world’s most high-profile designers to create one-off looks based on outfits worn by a small plastic doll was as time-consuming as it sounds. “It began with research, a lot of it,” says Mukamal, who studied history at university and immersed himself in the Mattel archives for the project. “The great thing about Mattel and Barbie is how well documented her story is because from the very beginning she was a sensation.”
Through his deep dive Mukamal learnt how Barbie had grown and changed over the years since her 1959 launch. “It became really important to Margot and me that we included Barbies that were from all the decades in different places and cities we visited along the way. It was a way to show her evolution.”
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Once the Barbies had been chosen, Mukamal had the task of finding the right fashion designer to recreate the look — a process he found much easier than it sounds, given that the list involved reads like a table plan from the Met Ball. “It was a case of pairing the Barbies with the DNA or aesthetics of a fashion house. It was important that it made sense for everybody.”
Of course even the smoothest of journeys meets the odd pothole — and Robbie and Mukamal hit theirs in London, when the Sag-Aftra actors strike put an end to the months of forthcoming appearances (and outfits) lodged in their diaries. He remembers a moment of disappointment before he and Robbie came up with the idea of documenting the tour wardrobe — including the unworn looks — in a book shot by the British fashion photographer Craig McDean. The result can be seen on these pages. Talk about a silver lining, or should that be pink?
Day to Night Barbie is an Eighties power player — a woman who serves executive realness by day and switches things up to reveal a glamorous evening look. “As soon as I saw that Barbie I knew we had to do something that involved two outfits rolled into one,” says Mukamal, who was on hand in Seoul to help Robbie flip between the two midway down the red carpet. Given the sharp shoulders and healthy dose of sex appeal in this look, it surprised no one that Donatella Versace was the designer behind it. “For decades she has powered forward the notion of a strong woman, not just as an individual but through her brand and the women she dresses — of course it was the perfect pairing,” Mukamal says.
He was equally inspired by what this particular Barbie stood for. Mattel launched Day to Night Barbie in 1985, riding on the second wave of feminism. “This Barbie was really a way of telling little girls that they needed to dream big. That they could be more than a homemaker or a mother, they can be all of that and a CEO and the business owner too.” The fact that Robbie is a co-founder of LuckyChap Entertainment, the company that co-produced the Barbie movie, added another layer of poignancy to this outfit for the stylist. “She’s the brains behind the entire project.”
For the UK premiere it was all about championing British design. “London is a special place for Margot. Of course she’s Australian, but the UK is a sort of second home for her, it’s where many of her friends are. Because of that we wanted to make sure we really celebrated the best of British brands.” With Enchanted Evening Barbie on the mood board, Westwood was the no-brainer choice. “Given the gloves and the stole and everything, we wanted something that felt regal,” Mukamal remembers.
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In the designer Andreas Kronthaler’s hands the result was slightly subversive too. The gown came with handwritten notes from Kronthaler, who thanked Barbie for making him love fashion. Indeed, such reactions became a common thread throughout the project. “For so many designers and creatives working in the fashion industry their earliest memory of loving fashion and being drawn to it tracks back to Barbie. She’s a powerful force,” Mukamal says.
The most zeitgeisty of the Barbie homages has to be the one designed by Matthieu Blazy, the creative director of Bottega Veneta, which took inspiration from Cherry Pie Picnic Barbie. “When I saw this Barbie I thought of Matthieu’s work immediately,” Mukamal says. “He’s such an incredible talent and his work with fabric innovation, especially denim, is unrivalled. Who better to create a pair of jeans for Barbie?”
The look, intended for a New York appearance that never happened, is unapologetically of the moment, and while the outfit Blazy made for Robbie wasn’t made in leather, as his designs often are, “he did the red stitching as seen on the initial doll and brought all of the elevated details”. Blazy also gave Barbie her own Bottega Kalimero bag. “Margot and I are such fans of Bottega. Even outside the world of Barbie, including Matthieu in something like this was so important.”
Barbie: The World Tour by Margot Robbie and Andrew Mukamal (Rizzoli £42.50) is published on March 19. To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 2935. Special discount available for Times+ members
