Costume Designer Jacqueline Durran on Her Barbiecore Collection With thredUp

After months of anticipation, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie will finally hit theaters this Friday, July 21. Thanks to the booming Barbiecore trend, however, the fashion industry has already been living in a Barbie World for quite some time now — though not nearly as long as the film’s Academy Award-winning costume designer, Jacqueline Durran. 

One could argue that the all-things-pink movement started gaining traction when Valentino's creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, presented the luxury fashion house’s head-to-toe hot pink Fall/Winter 2022-23 collection. Months later, behind-the-scene stills of Margot Robbie dressed as the iconic doll and cruising in a hot pink convertible circulated the web. Suddenly pink was — and continues to be — the new black.

“It’s been surreal to see how popular the Barbiecore trend has become,” Durran, who previously worked with Gerwig on the 2019 rendition of Little Women, tells InStyle via email. “It’s been a while since ultra-feminine silhouette and color palettes have been widely celebrated, so I think the Barbie aesthetic entered the zeitgeist at just the right time — when people were ready for something bright, light, nostalgic, and fun.”

While we have Mattel’s iconic fashion doll to thank for the trend's ubiquity, Gerwig’s vision and Durran’s styling for the film are also largely responsible. So when online thrifting hub thredUP sought to curate an exclusive #Barbiecore closet, Durran —  a former vintage seller herself — was a natural partner.

“thredUP’s ethos is very much in line with my own as a designer,” Durran says. “I’ve been a longtime fan of shopping secondhand and tried to source as much vintage as possible for the [Barbie] movie.”

ThredUP customers can shop the #Barbiecore Dream Shop starting on Wednesday July 19. The limited-edition collection will feature over 250 pieces, from clothing to accessories and footwear. All of the items included in the collection were hand-picked by Durran and inspired by her styling of the characters in the film. “There are of course tons of pinks, but I also sprinkled in yellow and blue looks as well,” Durran says of the edit. What’s more, a “variety of items from brands like Kate Spade, Trina Turk, Tommy Hilfiger, and J.Crew” will be featured, notes Durran, as well as inclusive sizes, styles, and a range of price points.

To answer the question on all of our minds: Unfortunately, none of the costumes from the Barbie film will be available for purchase in the collection. Those, Durran says, are all in the hands of the studio and Mattel. That said, Durran curated the collection as a way for fans to get the look in an affordable (and sustainable) fashion. And, if her curation sells out fast, thredUP’s AI tool will “surface thousands of similar items for you,” ensuring you can find whatever you have in mind.

As for which Barbie looks Durran hopes fans will love and want to recreate, she says she’s partial to the '60s-inspired costumes for the film’s first beach scene, as well as what she refers to as the “Hot Skating Barbie” look, which consists of a lot of vibrant hues, including a pair of highlighter-yellow roller skates. 

“It is such a great costume,” Durran says of the look. “We adapted it first for Barbie, then had to invent a version for Ken so that he would match. As it was one of the first costumes that was made public, I was thrilled to see how quickly (i.e., immediately!) the fans recognized it!”

As for a favorite vintage look, there's one particular standout; in one scene, Robbie wears a suit from Chanel’s Barbie collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld. “It doesn’t get bigger than that,” Durran says.