‘Barbie’ Film’s Dreamhouse Caused A Global Shortage Of Pink
By Mikelle Leow, 03 Jun 2023
![](https://editorial.designtaxi.com/images/6174D0D4-2928-4D67-B464-9E6E6A9CA863-1685784906.jpeg)
Video screenshot via Warner Bros. Pictures
Sorry, Mean Girls—no pink on Wednesdays for you.
For a while, the world faced a shortage of pink paint because much of it went into the life-size Barbie set, creators of the upcoming Margot Robbie-starring film told Architectural Digest.
To translate Barbie’s toylike aesthetic into the real world, set designers looked to Palm Springs’ mid-century modern architecture, which was “spot-on” as a muse for the iconic Dreamhouse, said the movie’s production designer Sarah Greenwood.
![](https://editorial.designtaxi.com/images/0C06106E-674E-44E8-A0D0-8E540CC196B3-1685785020.jpeg)
Director Greta Gerwig also wanted an “authentic artificiality” for the set, with very bright pinks, to faithfully emulate the Barbie she loved when she was a little girl.
![](https://editorial.designtaxi.com/images/A16FBD4E-E000-4F80-80FA-431D059BD6F3-1685785091.jpeg)
But this is the real world, where scarcity exists. With all the over-the-top fuchsia dolling up the Dreamhouse’s walls and fixtures, there left a low supply of this shade of Rosco paints internationally.
“The world ran out of pink,” Greenwood proclaimed.
![](https://editorial.designtaxi.com/images/12059ACE-D01E-48CA-B9AA-E69DED4120B3-1685785130.jpeg)
The real-life Dreamhouse was constructed at the Warner Bros. Studio in Leavesden, a short distance from London. Fans can have a closer look at it when the Barbie movie hits theaters July 21.
![](https://editorial.designtaxi.com/images/DCE4CA95-FD7D-46B9-ABB1-064177C95F93-1685785178.jpeg)
[via Insider and Architectural Digest, video and screenshots via Warner Bros. Pictures]