Ryan Gosling has basically been ready to play Barbie's plastic paramour his whole life, and it turns out that he and the famous doll have some serious synergy (or is it Ken-ergy), as evidenced by his brilliant idea to create custom undies for Ken's chest-baring outfits.
Barbie costume designer Jacqueline Durran shared a few secrets from the set with British Vogue, including that Ryan Gosling was the one behind the Calvin Klein-style "Ken" underwear worn in initial promo pics from the Greta Gerwig movie. The costume team had just 11 weeks to outfit all the Barbies and Kens, but they were able to quickly adapt since they were creating costumes while the movie was shooting. "We just rushed to make it," Durran explained of the Ken-derwear.
The undies are just one element of Ken's iconic wardrobe in all its flashy, cheeky glory. "Retro sportswear is one area where we did a lot of shopping for Ken," Durran shared. "He is sporty. That's his main thing. We had buyers in America that went to dealers and imported it for us because we needed so much of it." That being said, the movie Kens have far fewer costume changes and looks than the Barbies, just like their doll counterparts. While Gosling does don a rollerblading look, beach 'fit, and a Western ensemble, the Barbies are the real clotheshorses of the film. "No one cares about Ken, everybody just wants to play with Barbie," Durran said. "He matches Barbie and changes too, but he has very, very, many [fewer] options."
What happened to the Ken undies post-filming, you ask? Gosling's wife, actor Eva Mendes, shared that she owns the custom design. "When I saw [the Ken photo], when he sent it to me from work, I was like, 'Can I please have that underwear? Please, I never ask for anything,'" Mendes explained on a recent appearance on The Talk. "So, anyway, I do have it. I'm wearing it right now." And there you have it! The Ken undies are safe with the Gosling-Mendes family, right where they belong!
Want more like this from Teen Vogue? Check these stories out:
- The Barbie Movie's Obsession With Pink Paint Caused an Actual Shortage
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