Ryan Gosling and Michael Cera’s ‘Barbie’ Premiere Outfits Are a Perfect Nod to Barbie Lore

Margot Robbie has been making a splash on the Barbie world tour, showing off outfits inspired by the original line of dolls that inspired the movie. That classic ponytail and evening gown! That adorable pink suit and cocktail dress! As fabulous as Robbie’s outfits are, though, Ryan Gosling’s outfit for the Barbie world premiere in Los Angeles was pretty great, too—especially since it’s a clear reference to Ken’s bromance with perhaps the only non-Ken male resident of Barbie Land, Allan.

Gosling’s light pink suit is great on its own, with a color palette that calls to mind the cheerful pinks and pastels of Barbie’s world. But check out what Michael Cera wore!

We see one brief glimpse of Cera’s Allan in the Barbie movie trailer, as he watches Gosling’s Ken challenge Simu Liu’s Ken to a beach off. We don’t know much about his character yet, though.

Gosling and Cera’s suits aren’t identical—you can see some subtle differences in the suit fabric, shirts, and shoes if you look closely—and it’s true that there was lots and lots of pink on the pink carpet. However, these two suits seem too similar for the wardrobe choices to be a pure coincidence. Gosling and Cera’s suits seem like a pretty clear nod to Ken’s relationship with Allan in Barbie lore.

Ken and Allan are “buddies”

When the Allan doll first came out in 1964, he was originally marketed as Ken’s “buddy.” Plenty of guys have buddies, of course. Buddies are great! However, Mattel also marketed Allan as a doll that would fit into all of Ken’s clothes. In practical terms, this just meant kids didn’t have to buy a whole new set of clothes for Allan, but it definitely raised questions as to why Ken and Allan were sharing clothes with each other. Were Ken and Allan boyfriends back in the day? Are Ken and Allan boyfriends in the movie?