To complement the Arizona presentation of Barbie: A Cultural Icon, the Phoenix Art Museum curated original fashion exhibition The Power of Pink, which showcases over 200 years of powerfully pink fashions, a color which has become synonymous with the Barbie brand.
Drawn largely from the museum’s renowned fashion collection, the exhibition explores the color’s influence on fashion in all its complexities, tracing pink’s evolution from status symbol to gender marker to contemporary fashion statement. The exhibition also offers the opportunities for Arizona audiences to see the iconic custom blush-toned suit worn by GRAMMY Award-nominated, eight-time RIAA diamond-certified global superstar Post Malone at the 2019 GRAMMY Awards, on view at Phoenix Art Museum now through July 7.
The Power of Pink celebrates the complex history of the color pink, which is typically associated with feminine expression. The exhibition highlights examples of the color’s appeal to men and women across two centuries of style. From its origins in 17th-century France, where it was worn by both men and women as a symbol of status, luxury and power, to 1940s North America, where U.S. mass-marketing efforts began to gender the color, assigning pink to girls and blue to boys. Pink has been celebrated by generations of fashionistas. Through more than 20 garments and ensembles, The Power of Pink encourages thoughtful examination of the color and its influence on major designers such as Gianfranco Ferré, Christian Dior, Valentino, Chanel, and more.
One notable garment featured in the exhibition is a custom blush-toned suit worn by GRAMMY Award-nominated, eight-time RIAA diamond-certified global superstar Post Malone at the 2019 GRAMMY Awards. Created by Los Angeles-based costume designer and stylist Catherine Hahn, the dazzling garment decorated in glittering stars, was the latest in a long line of Western-inspired ensembles the musical artist wore that season, the same year he was dubbed “the cowboy king of the red carpet” by GQ and “a modern-day Elvis” by Vogue.
