‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Designer Dresses Were So Expensive They Had to Have Their Own Security
By Ryan General
In addition to its vibrant cast, b
In the highly anticipated film, when Constance Wu’s character Rachel travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick Young (played by Henry Golding), she is introduced to an entirely new lifestyle of glitz and glamour.
Crazy Rich Asians’ costume designer Mary Vogt revealed in an interview with Page Six that director Jon M. Chu had a very specific approach in how to flesh out the movie’s aesthetic.
“Jon kept saying, it’s like ‘The Wizard of Oz’: Dorothy starts out in Kansas, in this sepia-toned world — and then she goes to Oz, where it’s super colorful,” Vogt was quoted as saying.
“He really wanted an upbeat, colorful movie, because Singapore is such a colorful place.”
According to Vogt, she collaborated with “Crazy Rich Asians” author Kevin Kwan to be able to dress the cast in realistically extravagant attire.
For inspiration, they checked out photos of Kwan’s own well-dressed family in the 1930s. They then reviewed the list of designers each of the characters may or may not prefer.
“For instance, Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) would wear lots of Armani, but never anything with logos. Same with Astrid (Gemma Chan): She loves designers, but she creates her own looks. It’s that old-money sensibility,” Vogt noted.
While running on a “kind of a tight budget,” Vogt said they were able to find the right fashion labels for the movie’s entire cast, which includes the extras.
“One of our best coups was with Ralph Lauren: They sent us about 30 dresses, and we used every single one of them!” Vogt exclaimed.
“Constance wears a couple, Gemma wears one, all the bridesmaids in the wedding scene wore them.”
Designer gowns by fashion brands Stella McCartney, Elie Saab, and Dior, among others, will also be featured in the film.
Vogt said that the clothes and the variety of fine jewelry borrowed for the filming are all insured, noting that some of the costumes are so expensive that they required on-set guards.
“Luckily, a couple of the jewelers, like Bulgari and Chopard, supplied their own security teams,” Vogt added.
“Crazy Rich Asians,” the first Hollywood studio film in 25 years to feature Asian Americans in leading roles, is set to be released in the United States and other parts of the world on August 15, 2018.
Feature Image via YouTube/FUTURE FLIX
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