Hari Nef and her Barbie character.Photo:Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett ; Roy Rochlin/Getty
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett ; Roy Rochlin/Getty
For Hari Nef, star of the upcoming candy-coatedBarbiemovie, filming was all about the glam.
In a recent profile forOut,Nef dove deep into the costume-making process for the film, revealing what it took to turn her character into a life-size doll.
“It’s literally the most preposterous, once-in-a-lifetime, exciting, orgasmic opportunity to go all in on this one little thing that I love so much, which is clothes and looks and fashion and the fantasy," Nef explained. “I told them straight up, ‘I want the highest heel every time. I want the waist tiniest every time. I want the biggest hair every time. I want to put big things in my hair.’ ”
Nef analogized getting into high glam for her shimmering scenes in the toy world to getting into drag.
“I’m a lover of drag. I’m a lover and admirer from afar of ballroom culture,” she said. “It felt kind of like a legacy that I could honor onscreen of dolls dolling, dolls dressing up. The category was dot, dot, dot, something different every day. I’ve joked before, it really did feel likeGreta Gerwig’s Drag Race.”
Hari Nef and Doctor Barbie.Warner Bros.; MATTEL
In some ways, acting inBarbiewas like a drag performance, Nef added: “I was doing acting, dancing, comedy, and the whole time I was cinched, wigged, painted from head to toe, padded, heels.”
As a trans woman, Nef also commented on the nature of Barbie astheultra-feminine woman. “It’s a very specific kind of femininity,” she explained. “It’s not a kind of femininity that I live every single day of my life in, but it’s one that I come back to time and time again. It’s also one that I feel very comfortable wearing in public, and when the cameras are on and when people are watching.”
“As much as there’s a celebration of femininity and being a girl in this [movie], I think there’s also an encouragement of letting go of the checklist we ascribe to living and living your life and being in your body your way, on your own terms,” she continued. “The best that we can do as women, as trans women, is be there for each other and take ourselves at face value, without relying on the green light from someone or anyone else.”
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Nef is no stranger to the intersection of transfemininity and beauty. As thefirst trans woman signed to IMG Models,she’s modeled for magazines likeDazedandi-Dwhile walking in New York Fashion Week, and starred inVictoria’s Secret campaignswith models includingIman.
source: people.com
