Step into a world where pink reigns supreme, with Margot Robbie as your guide through the dazzling Barbie Dreamhouse. In a new Architectural Digest’s video, Robbie takes us on an exclusive tour of Barbie’s Dreamhouse set, giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the intricately crafted dollhouse set and how filmmakers managed to nail the whole pinktastic vibe. She also shared some interesting secrets surrounding the set’s construction and design, revealing the creative concepts that brought the enchanting home to life. Check out the video above.
RELATED: The New ‘Barbie’ Trailer is Plastic, Fantastic and Oddly Existential
The video opens with Robbie graciously swinging open the vibrant pink doors of the iconic location, saying, “Welcome to Barbie’s Dreamhouse, come on in.” Guiding us through each and every aspect of the set, Margot highlights the carefully chosen props that breathe life into the Dreamhouse and their significance interwoven with Barbie’s lore.
As we catch a glimpse of the breakfast table and kitchen, she reveals, “This is my breakfast table and kitchen…here’s the fun little bar and the slide that goes from the bedroom down into the pool.” Robbie continues to talk about all the different houses and the similarities/differences they share, acknowledging their impracticality with a playful remark, “Not super practical, but nothing is for Barbie.” She then dives into the design and architecture of each house, exclaiming, “It’s just so fun and gorgeous, and it’s see-through so we can see each other. All the Barbies in their own Barbie Dreamhouses.”
Director Greta Gerwig also makes an appearance in the video, shedding light on the immense effort she and her team invested to turn the iconic Dreamhouse into reality while ensuring it remains grounded and real. “This is the product of so many discussions and so many references. And I can’t even tell you the meetings we had about pink,” Gerwig reveals.
She goes on to talk about the process of selecting the perfect hue of pink and why it held such significance. “I wanted to capture what was so ridiculously fun about the Dreamhouses,” Gerwig expresses in the video. “We sat with all these different kinds of pinks and we were like, ‘What is the pink? How do the pinks interact?’ Because I didn’t want it to be so classy that it didn’t…When I was a girl, I liked the pinkest, brightest things.”
She then showed how they combined and matched several different colours until they achieved just the right shade of pink. Gerwig also shares her inspiration for the house’s design, explaining her intention to root everything in the late 1950s to 1960s era, as Barbie was invented during that period. She wanted to capture the essence of that time and bring it to life in the Dreamhouse, grounding the aesthetics and ambiance accordingly.
During the set tour, the team emphasises their intention to pay homage to the dollhouses that have been cherished by adults and children alike. Every detail of the Barbie film set is thoughtfully crafted to evoke nostalgia and rekindle the joy of playing with dollhouses.
In order to capture the make-believe aspect, the filmmakers implemented impressive design choices that wholeheartedly embrace the faux-realistic nature inherent to the world of Barbie. For instance, the fridge is stuffed with 2D illustrations of food and drink, since Barbie doesn’t need to eat and drink, while the shower and the pool lack water as Barbieland has no elements.
“There is no water in Barbieland. There’s no water or fire. There are no elements,” explains Robbie. She even adds, “It’s actually funny to see how many people avoid walking… everyone walks around the pool.” Even the toothbrushes and hair brushes are over-sized, further adding to the toy-like effect the team wanted to capture.
Margot reminisced about her special request and revealed that she had approached Gerwig for it. “Please, please, please can we have a Dreamhouse where she has a slide that goes from her bedroom down to her pool because that is my goal in life.” Much to her delight, her wish was granted. The actress eagerly describes how Barbies enter their cars, saying, “The way Barbie gets into her car, she walks down the slide, and impossibly floats down into her car.” This deliberate choice was a reflection of how children used to play with their Barbie dolls. Robbie further added, “Greta said, ‘You know, no one actually walks their Barbie down the steps to get into the car. You just take them from one thing and plop them into the next thing.'”
We also get a peek into the pink wardrobe that serves as a home for Barbie’s vast collection of fashionable clothing and accessories, drawing inspiration from the actual Barbie boxes found in stores. “All she has to do is look at it, gives a spin and then it’s on her body, she walks off,” says Robbie.
The tour ends with Robbie explaining the workings of mail and the unique writing practices they follow in Barbieland, saying, “All the writing in Barbieland is actually just gibberish, it’s just scribbled the way kids write endless amounts of nothing… but it’s all very beautiful.” With the upcoming Barbie movie, Gerwig wants to transport viewers back to their childhood days and reignite their sense of wonder. “I want everyone to feel like they can reach onto the screen and touch everything… emotionally, just remembering standing in Toys ‘R’ Us looking at Barbies with the plastic sheet over it, and everything, and you wanted to take it off, and take everything apart, and touch everything,” Gerwig explains.
Barbie hits theatres on July 21.
