To create the brightly coloured Barbie world, set designers employed one specific shade of pink that quickly run out of stock.
According to an interview with the production designer of the new live-action Barbie film Sarah Greenwood published on Architectural Digest, in order to create the brightly coloured world of the famous doll the set designers used a specific fluorescent pink hue that contributed to cause a global pink paint shortage.
The top-selling toy brand was first introduced by Mattel in March 1959 and has then become an icon for millions of children world-wide. In the most recent film, the character played by actress Margot Robbie is living happily in Barbie Land. But then, suddenly, her life begins to change. So, she decides to go with Ken to the human world to discover what is happening to her fabulous and colourful home.
The brightly coloured Barbie Land has been created in a studio with several objects painted with a specific pink hue manufactured by Rosco, a company headquartered in Stamford (Connecticut, U.S.A.) and specialised in paints, coatings and flooring systems for the entertainment industry.
Due to global supply chain issues hitting the inventory of the company and the deep freeze of February 2021 that damaged some of the technologies used to make their paints, Rosco had already few products in stock. Yet, the set designers of Barbie needed a huge amount of pink paint, so they requested all the available materials, contributing to a global shortage. The inventory is now however at full capacity.
The Barbie film directed by Greta Gerwig is currently in cinemas worldwide.