Did Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and Greta Gerwig’s Oscar gowns have a hidden ‘Barbie’ meaning?
By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN
(CNN) — The cast of “Barbie” will go down in red-carpet history for their dedication to method dressing, as stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling diligently showed up to press events, premieres and award shows in outfits that could have been borrowed straight from Barbie and Ken’s dollhouse closets.
But at the Academy Awards on Sunday, where the summer blockbuster was nominated for nine awards, including “Best Picture,” Robbie appeared to pass the pink torch to co-star America Ferrera, wearing a striking black (but decidedly non-Barbie-like) gown while Ferrera arrived in shimmering hot pink.
Still, it seemed as if the actors’ dresses were connected, and linked to that of “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig’s too. While Robbie and Ferrera’s dresses were polar opposite in color and mood, they were both courtesy of Versace and seemed to be made of the same chainmail material. (Robbie’s was fresh off the Fall-Winter 2024 runway, while Ferrera’s was custom-made.) Gerwig’s gown, meanwhile, was a sparkling Gucci number of crystal mesh that also had an armor-like feel.
The collection of feminine chainmail was a subtle play on power dressing — appropriate for the movie’s message of female empowerment. But they weren’t the only “Barbie” cast and team members to sparkle. With a touch of Ken’s flair for opulence, Gosling wore a custom Gucci black tuxedo suit lined with sparkling beading, while Simu Liu opted for a black jacket cinched with a glittering brooch clasp.
Later, during the main show, Gosling channeled all his Kenergy during a delightful performance of the song “I’m Just Ken” (alongside a crew of Kens including Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa and Scott Evans, and a surprise appearance by guitarist Slash) in a hot pink studded suit with matching leather gloves — and shades of course.
Though Ferrera didn’t win Best Supporting Actress, her outfit embodied the spirit of the four-minute feminist monologue that helped earn her the nomination, in which her character laments about the ways in which women have to weather impossible and contradictory societal standards.
“When I first read it, it just hit me as the truth,” she told the Los Angeles Times last July. “There’s no woman in my life who those words aren’t true for. Not a single one. So it felt like a gift.”
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