The heroines of cartoon: the Powerpuff Girls

The trio of the Powerpuff Girls represents the female bond, the sisterhood between girls who fight for the same cause, to save the world from the forces of evil. Their bond inspired the youth around the world, and influenced fashion, especially teenagers, making them become Y2K style icons.

The cartoon was renewed by Cartoon Network in 2016, with the addition of a new Powerpuff girl, Bliss: she is the representative of the black community in the group and a new point of reference for all girls. The cartoon is so loved that CNN has announced that it has a live-action animated series scheduled for the next few years. The protagonists, Molly, Dolly and Lolly, born from a laboratory error of Professor Utonium, are true icons of female empowerment and encourage the audience to go against stereotypes.

The “perfect” recipe

The cartoon was born in 1998 from the mind of Craig McCracken and after a first selection by Hannah&Barbera, it arrives on TV immediately enjoying great success in the United States, before appearing in Italy. in October 2000. The author is inspired by the cinematographic literature of movies on American and Japanese superheroes, combining superpowers at times funny and naive in drawing the three little heroines. The theme song tells their story in a very sweet way: “Sugar, spice, and everything nice, these are the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls, but Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient....the CHEMICAL X!" And so the Powerpuff Girls were born.

Beyond superpowers

The cartoon's success is due both to the facets of the characters and to the social issues: in addition to bullying and the relationship with adults, healthy eating and diversity, unforgettable is the feeling of union against the injustice and morality of the champions. Furthermore, the authors have chosen to include elements that suggest the overcoming of gender roles in the characterization of the main characters: before Mojo Jojo, the main enemy is Him, a red devil dressed as a woman, with a shrill laugh and wearing cuissard over the knee. The new version of the cartoon is also attentive to the issues of inclusion and diversity: a fourth member is added to the story of the heroines, Bliss, a black Powerpuff girl, actually the first, original Powerpuff girl: Professor Utonium had tested his recipe with her before to create the trio of superheroes. With a strong character and great potential, the character is voiced by an equally strong girl, former X-Factor competitor Roshelle.

The style of the Powerpuff Girls

Three small pills of strength, a mini-version of Charlie's Angels, especially because each one is different from the other but perfectly matched. Dolly is the innocence, the sweet heart that makes the Powerpuff Girls beat: sensitive, artistic and, at times a little naive, she can find the good in anyone even if she is a 50 foot tall fire-breathing monster! Lolly is the glue that holds the Powerpuff Girls together: she is brave, intelligent and positive with a strong moral compass. A true leader, who can be a little bossy at times! Molly is the girl you don't want to mess with ... the gun arm of the Powerpuff Girls. A tough, a bit 'tomboy but deep down tender. This occasionally gets her into trouble. Fortunately, "trouble" is Molly's favorite word!

The Powerpuff Girls are famous for their uniform, each of a representative color and a different detail: for Molly the acid green and the jet black helmet, for Lolly the pink and red and a large bow on the ponytail and for Dolly the blue that goes well with her blond pigtails.

The style of the Powerpuff Girls does not vary often, but how can we forget the 9x05 episode, in which Molly says she dreamed of her and her sisters at the mall. On that occasion, Craig McCracken gives us a dose of Y2K aesthetics: the girls, older in the dream, wear low-waisted jeans with patchwork details, crop tops, make-up and bags matching with their mobile phones, personalized with their distinctive colors. Platform slippers and sneakers complete the look. We are sure that the entire fashion world has been taking notes since that episode. In fact, even the pastel colors worn by the heroines, in uniform or not, blend very well with the trends of the moment, the colors were an inspiration to Moschino SS16 collection by Jeremy Scott, and fast fashion is also influenced by it, dedicating capsules and clothing lines to heroines.

A recent project by IED Milano, Cartoon Network and Dixie, sees the 3 heroines as protagonists and source of inspiration for the students in the creation of capsule collections, symbol of girl-power. The initiative that involved 12 students, combining the world of fashion with digital communication - with the aim of telling the Powerpuff Girls in an original and innovative way - aims to bring out new talents and young creatives. The victory goes to BELLUM, a project signed by Veikko Seppälä (Fashion Design course) and Marta Gianotti (Fashion Stylist & Communication course).