Barbie's iconic pink might be the oldest colour on Earth
Pink is a colour with a history possibly spanning over a billion years
Barbie's iconic pink color might be the oldest color on Earth, with a history dating back to ancient times when humans used it to dye clothing and adorn themselves.
A 2018 study by a team of researchers from Australian National University revealed bright-pink pigments in 1.1 billion-year-old rocks, indicating the presence of cyanobacteria fossils that thrived in ancient oceans.
Here, a scientist from ANU holds a vial of these pink-hued porphyrins. Here, a scientist from ANU holds a vial of these pink-hued porphyrins.
The natural world has always displayed various shades of pink, found in ancient rocks, on flamingoes, and even in Bermuda's pink-sand beaches. However, as pink transitioned from nature to human use, it acquired cultural significance and associations with gender roles, beauty, power, and colonialism.
The history of pink:
According to National Geographic early humans started incorporating pink into their clothing, like the Andes Mountains' hunters using red ochre to achieve a pink hue in their tailored leather garments. Ancient Egyptians used ochre to tint their lips and cheeks, associating the blush-like pink with love and beauty.
As the demand for pink pigments grew, driven by cosmetics, colonial powers exploited natural resources worldwide. Pink became linked to colonialism as Europeans harvested brazilwood and cochineal insects, leading to environmental destruction and exploitation of enslaved workers.
At the Amazon Rescue Centro in Peru, a photograph captures a carmine skimmer dragonfly (Orthemis discolor). During the 18th century, European colonizers were fascinated by the pink tones of insects, including this species, discovered in the Americas. Consequently, they began extracting a natural dye called carmine from these insects.
In the Era of Exploration, people obtained the rosy color for their cheeks and lips from various pigments, including carmine, which was extracted from cochineal insects found in Central and South America. These insects were harvested under similar conditions of exploitation.
Simultaneously, the color pink took on a more direct connection with colonialism during this period. As the British Empire expanded immensely, cartographers used pink to mark its territories on world maps, making it a dominant hue across the globe.
In the 18th century, pink became a fashion trend among European aristocrats who wanted to distinguish themselves from the middle classes. Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV, popularized pink in European society.
The advent of synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century made pink more accessible, and avant-garde fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli made "shocking pink" a sensation in women's wear. By the 1930s, bright pink had become a fashion craze.
Recently, the rise of the "Barbiecore" aesthetic, fueled by an upcoming Barbie movie, has led to a surge in searches for pink-themed interiors. According to Axios, searches for the term “Barbiecore aesthetic room” rose over 1,000 percent between May 2022 and May 2023.
