Here's the color you'll be seeing everywhere this prom season — and why

• Stylists told Insider that bright colors, particularly hot pink, will dominate prom season.
• High-end fashion brands like Valentino have promoted hot-pink clothing over the past year.

If you're looking for some prom-dress inspiration this year, look no further than the red carpet.

Kim Collins, chief merchandising officer for prom fashion retailer Prom Girl, anticipates that the recent popularity of hot pink on the red carpet will translate to an overwhelmingly popular prom trend in 2023.

"Kim Kardashian, Saweetie, Anne Hathaway, Ariana DeBose, and Ciara have all been seen wearing [hot pink]," she told Insider.

"Even Justin Bieber rocked a hot-pink beanie," she added, in reference to his hat at the 2022 Grammys.

Barbie is defining trends in 2023

Katie Merickel, who works as the styling team lead at Stitch Fix, agreed the trend will reach proms this year.

"While colorful dresses such as yellow, orange, and pink first became popular in the 1960s, hot-pink prom dresses will be everywhere this year as a nod to the 'Barbiecore' trend," she said.

Excitement around the "Barbiecore" aesthetic intensified following the release of a trailer for the upcoming "Barbie" movie, Insider's Sawdah Bhaimiya reported. Fashion search platform Lyst reported that searches for pink items rose by 78% after the trailer's premiere earlier this month. The Greta Gerwig-directed movie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, will be released in July.

"From the rise of Y2K fashion to the highly anticipated release of Greta Gerwig's movie, Barbie has become the underlying style muse of the past year," a content editor at Lyst, Morgane Speed, told Insider.

Trends promoted by high-fashion brands and celebrities are trickling down

Valentino's fall/winter 2022/2023 collection, appropriately titled "Pink PP," features a predominantly pink palette. The brand's website describes the brightly hued collection as "a manifestation of the unconscious and a liberation from the need for realism."

Clothing from Pink PP has been modeled by A-listers such as Zendaya and Florence Pugh.

The 2023 Oscars saw bursts of hot pink, with actors like Stephanie Hsu and Sheila McCarthy sporting the eye-catching color on the red carpet and Vanity Fair after-party, respectively.

Summarizing the appeal of hot pink in a 2022 Refinery 29 article, Katy Kellher writes, "It's plastic, it's neon, it's fluorescent, it's shocking, sexy, contemporary, and nostalgic all at once. It's tacky on purpose, camp by design."

And now, with prom season fast approaching, hot pink is set to have a notable presence on dance floors across the country.