“I had never worked in this capacity before, working in any costuming, in TV and film,” revealed fashion designer, and now costume designer, Phillip Lim, who recently ventured into the world of TV costuming after joining the “American Born Chinese” costume department.
Lim and fellow fashion designer, Prabal Gurung, joined lead costume designer Joy Cretton on the latest Disney+ series. The designers reunited for Variety’s Artisans, presented by HBO, to discuss how they created pieces that pulled inspiration from fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala, and paid homage to Chinese mythology.
Cretton explained that Michelle Yeoh’s character, the Goddess of Mercy, fashions an entirely jade ensemble and that the color scheme was inspired by Chinese mythology. “We had all these different fabrics that we were testing and looking at it in different lights. But we made her own fabric, blended all the shades we tested and did an ombre of the fabric.”
While perfecting the jade for Yeoh, Lim explained why the team deviated from the Monkey King’s classic and “historical” red and gold and dressed the Monkey King in black. Lim said that this shift helped convey a “regal” persona that “commands respect and earns you the right to wear black.”
While Lim worked with Cretton to bring a new life to the Chinese myth of the Monkey King, Cretton and Gurung revitalized the mythology of heaven and the afterlife, to give it a bit of a Met Gala flair.
“We approached it sort of like the Met Ball. It was envisioned from the beginning, where we wanted it to be like a spectacular, colorful, very vibrant event. We wanted it to just be this more colorful party,” said Cretton.
“Of all the red carpets in the world, the Met Gala is where you can celebrate fashion and creativity and really go for it,” added Gurung.
All eight episodes of “American Born Chinese” are available to stream on Disney+.
Watch the full conversation above. Variety’s Artisans is presented by HBO.
