Friday, September 01, 2023
Barbie Costume Designer Reveals How the Kens' Disco Outfits Created Anxiety on Set
www.cbr.com: Barbie and Kens dancing in the Barbie disco scene.
Barbie’s cotton-candy plastic world came to life in the film with almost obsessive production design, especially in the disco scene where clothing the Kens cause some serious style dilemmas.
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When I watched the Barbie movie for the first time I was blown away by the costume design. I have always been fascinated by costume design for TV because of the sheer amounts of costumes that a production involves, and rarely are they reused throughout the series/movie. The white jumpsuits that the article talks about were in a scene roughly 5 minutes long, in comparison to the roughly 2-hour movie. When watching the movie I admired the jumpsuits, however, I didn’t realize that each ken had a slightly different variation until looking at the photograph in the article. I admire the slight variations of gold in each differing style. When thinking about costuming the Barbie movie, the first thing I would think of is pink outfits of course. However, I didn’t realize how many costumes were not actually pink, because the barbie’s needed to stand out from the pink background. It is such a testament to Jacqueline Durran, for showing a prime example of working with fellow designers to create one cohesive whole that fits the overall look of the movie.
From all standpoints the designs on the Barbie movie are across the board fantastic. Although there are criticisms regarding the plot, what cannot be questioned is the caliber and masterpiece of the designs. Everyone working on this production evidently put a lot of effort into making it a true spectacle. From the costumes' attention to detail regarding fabric, color, and relating back to the original dolls. To Barbie's hair getting a different hair toner for every single costume she wears so that it could be the perfect Barbie blonde. To the sheer amount of practical sets and effects, something which many audience members have come to love. This movie reminded me how beneficial it is to combine the old and new techniques of film, like practical sets and CGI to create something spectacular. I only hope future movies follow in its stride, and I am very excited to see Gerwig tackle the Narnia Chronicles, a childhood favorite of mine.
I have read and heard about many of the design choices for Barbie from the hairstyling to the set design and construction but this is my first exposure to the costume design aspect of the movie. Every single thing I learn about this movie's production floors me (in a good way). Reading this article made me want to go back and watch the movie again to try and notice the color shift in Margot Robbie's outfits. I think a big part of why this film was so successful was that so much thought and effort went into every part of it. Not to say that other films don't put thought and effort into their production, but the Barbie cast and crew were very transparent about why they made the choices they did and seemed to be very genuine to the source material. Seeing the pieces being put together certainly improved my experience with the movie and I hope this trend continues.
The costumes for this movie were so well done. They were thought out with incredible detail to the point that call outs from decades prior were being made. I think my favorite costumes were from this disco scene, at least from Barbie's side. I liked Ken’s but they seemed much more simple. Now learning that each Ken got their own flare was just what I needed to be sold on the costumes. The costumes in this movie were stunning, many of which I want to own myself but what really blew me away throughout this movie was the ability for nothing to clash. Be it set to costumes or costumes to other costumes. Everything looked like it was built in a world just for Barbie. I hope to learn more about the subtleties within the Barbie movie. People continue to talk about this movie despite its release a month and a half ago. Props to everyone involved, that is exactly the type of buzz you want around your work– intrigued and endless.
When I watched the new Barbie movie for the first time I was blown away by all of the design elements. I had to rewatch the movie to make sure I did not miss any of the amazing elements that were shown. The costumes and all of the iconic Babrie outfits not only served justice but showed new generations how much effort and thought was put into Barbie. The specific scene that this article talks about is very vital to see Ken's different characteristics. The costumes were beautifully crafted to make sure they looked the part and showed off how effortless they are. There were obvious nerves that were involved in the making and the dancing of the scene since the fabric was so delicate but at the end the costume designer has so much experience that the show went on and it became one of the most iconic scenes in the movie.
The barbie movie was incredibly well made and detailed, and that didn't stop at the costumes. Every single piece was incredible and transferred you into the barbie world. I think designing an entire movie heavily based off of the Matel clothing line is incredibly challenging, but also fun. Imagine bringing the toys you played with as a child to life. Something that I think is particularly interesting is the final costume. Hearing the designers comment about how it was much more subdued on purpose was interesting. I think it was an incredible way for the audience to understand the shift barbie was making towards her true self. Another part that interested me with the costumes is how perfect they all looked. Every piece looked fresh out of the toy box, and the attention to detail and making them look "plastic perfect" is breathtaking.I wish to see more art drawing inspiration from unconventional places in the future.
Jacqueline Durran is one of the main costume designers for the record-breaking movie, Barbie. One of the most memorable scenes from the movie is the disco dance party in which the entire cast does a fully choreographed song. What was interesting is that, as a scenic designer, I have never considered the physical limitations of a fabric when thinking about a costume. When making the jumpsuits for this scene, the search for the right fabric apparently caused some stress. This article mentions something that I noticed in the movie, without ever having played with a Barbie doll as a kid, which is that the costumes were true to the different real-life versions of the toy. The article also discussed the progression of the costumes that Margot Robbie was wearing matching the progression of the character, which I didn’t notice watching the movie. The costumes start out as an eye-catching hot pink, transitioning to a more muted pink, and then finishing the movie off with Barbie in regular, modern clothing.
The production design on the Barbie movie is just absolutely gorgeous. I have always felt hesitant about possibly working in film just because I’ve always felt that art is lost in favor of money, however that is definitely not the case in Barbie. The attention to detail is immaculate. There’s a sentence in this article about the “embroidered K’s” on the jumpsuits. That detail is so small and something I didn’t even notice when I watched the movie but small details like that are what really bring a show to life. I can see how it would be annoying to work on a show and have the costume designer be super annoying about getting a specific fabric to get the right texture for a time accurate jumpsuit but I definitely think it paid off. All those small details made the movie into the work of art it is. That’s true across all the departments too. I believe they got specially made eyeliner for weird Barbie and the pool in the Barbie dream house took ages to paint.
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