Ryan Gosling Wears Custom Chanel Ski Suit in Barbie Movie (Exclusive)

Aug 05, 2023

Costume designer Jacqueline Durran tells PEOPLE that not only is Ken wearing custom Chanel, but there's something extra-special about his outfit

Warner Bros./YouTube

Barbie’s love of Chanel is prominently featured in this summer’s blockbuster movie of the same name — from the heart-shaped monogram bag Margot Robbie carries to the chunky necklace she wears featuring those iconic interlocking “C”s.

But the Chanel pieces in the film extend beyond what some viewers may have picked up on. Jacqueline Durran, the Oscar-winning costume designer in charge of the wardrobe for the Greta Gerwig-directed film, tells PEOPLE that even the ski suits that Robbie and Ryan Gosling (who plays Ken) wore while traversing the landscape between the real world and Barbieland are also Chanel.

And they were custom made for the actors — with Gosling's being particularly special.

“Chanel sent over the suit for Margot to put on and it was just great, but the thing is, we also needed one for Ryan. And Chanel doesn’t make menswear. So Chanel kind of went, ‘Okay, well, we'll make one for Ryan.’ So they made the only Chanel men’s ski suit in existence for Ryan.”

Durran tells PEOPLE that it had been widely known that the stars were wearing Chanel for the scene but she didn't think anyone realized just how big of a deal it was that Gosling's outfit was bespoke — and then some. While some very important people could get Chanel menswear, it's rare, because it's not something the fashion house traditionally manufactures.

"People just didn't pick up on that," she adds. "Chanel doesn't do menswear!"

Durran previously worked with the famous fashion house on her other projects, including Spencer and Atonement, so it was a seamless experience bringing Chanel into Barbie.

“I enjoy working with them. I find them really supportive of filmmakers and film storytelling, and they're very supportive of the director's vision. They will help where they can,” she says.

Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube

When it came time to outfit Gosling for his extremely manly patriarchy-forward Mojo Dojo Casa House-loving Ken, though, Durran had to turn elsewhere for the wardrobe.

“In the way that Barbie is just a little bit more done up than you would ever imagine — more accessories, more clothes, more everything — Ken’s doing the same kind of thing, but with patriarchal images,” Durran says.

She points to the “core image” of Sylvester Stallone in a fur coat that’s seen in the film and says that was truly used as her basis for crafting Gosling’s whole look — from the faux mink to the layered watches and even the gaudy horse necklace.

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“Everything was just extra,” she says of creating the look. “We just kept building on it, but horses were certainly the theme that kept coming back.”

Gosling was very on board with diving into the over-the-top image and leaning into the part, Durran says, even giving her feedback on the pieces she was picking for him.

“Funnily enough, I showed [the horse necklace] to Ryan after I picked it out, and he went, ‘Yep, that's the one,’ ” she says.

Barbie, which has already raked in more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, also stars America Ferrera, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon and more.