Welcome to the funeral of the bubble gum colour that has haunted us for the past few months. The pale, almost flesh-toned, deviation of the much adored "baby pink" of the '90s, millennial pink has become its own character in the landscape of pop culture. It's appeared as a uniting thread in everything from advertising campaigns to couture clothing lines, embossing nearly every single product geared towards young women of the teen to mid-20s age group. It's attracted think piece upon think piece, and has come to represent a certain lifestyle, one filled with avocado toast and glasses of rosé.
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And we have none other than director Sofia Coppola, and her very particular aesthetic, to thank for the hue's creation — and, now, its departure. We are gathered here today to say goodbye to a colour near and dear to our Instagram-obsessed hearts: Millennial pink.
More prominent than Coppola's use of the French musical duo Air, or obsession with emotionally detached men, is how subtly the director has laced a very modern element throughout her latest film, The Beguiled. The film (a remake of a 1971 film of the same name, based on the original 1966 novel by Thomas Cullinan), tells the story of two women and five girls residing at a girl's school in Virginia during the Civil War. It's there in the pastel costumes, the glow-y Southern landscape, and even its cheeky advertisements. The entire aura of the film is millennial pink. It comes to life in nearly every scene — on Alicia's (Elle Fanning) chiffon dress, or Edwina's (Kirsten Dunst) flushed cheeks, or the faded droplets of blood on Corporal McBurney's (Colin Farrell) bandages.
And now the shade is officially dead — she killed it. It's been used one too many times to set the mood, attract young female audiences, and make a project feel modern (see here, here, and here). But Coppola is the only person who has earned the right to bring the color to its downfall, since she is responsible for its greatest cinematic appearances.
Coppola has always been the Queen of the Vibe. From her scene-making soundtracks to her muse-worthy casting, she sets the mood on all her films, making them distinctly her. The most vibe-y aspects of her style lie in her ability to combine a sense of vacancy and hopelessness with a sense of luxury and pleasure. She uses outlandish costumes to create an overall gauzy, dreamlike state in her work, which is true predominantly in Marie Antoinette. In the Coppola-fied version of Marie Antoinette's opulent world, everything is oozing with saturated colours, with special attention paid to the innocent pink, from the silk shoes to the iced cakes to the custom poker chips. It's. All. Millennial. Pink.
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And now in 2017, a slightly updated version of that aesthetic spills over into her new glamorous gothic-romance, where the pigment has become faded and creamy, a soft nod to her feminine directorial roots.
The girls, in their are waiting out the violence and noise surrounding their pastel oasis, braiding each other's hair, playing the piano, and eating meals on fine china. Their large Southern plantation home, where they all live, learn, and lust in, becomes a place of respite and regret for a wounded handsome Union solider. Throughout it all, there's that millennial pink, seeping through in nearly every shot. Coppola used the famous shade brilliantly — so much so that for any other film to use it now would feel like a pastiche. The full circle moment is complete. First, the selfish Marie Antoinette gave the colour life, and now The Beguiled's vengeful bitches have sucked out it's last breath.
What I am saying is: I never want to see millennial pink used on a movie poster aimed at women again! We hate to see you go, but we love never having to see you in every single ad ever. :)
RIMP: Rest In Millennial Pink.