Slaysians on set! Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung’s epic project with Disney+: the fashionistas designed costumes for American Born Chinese, a new TV series starring Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan

May 16 , 2023

Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim worked together on Disney+‘s upcoming show American Born Chinese. Photo: @troublewithprabal/Instagram

Gurung and Lim are long-time friends and already well-known in the fashion industry, yet their new partnership as costume designers in American Born Chinese marks a historic moment for the pair

The Disney+ TV show is based around Chinese mythological characters like the Goddess of Mercy Guanyin and Monkey King, and stars Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu

Renowned Asian designers Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim are certainly no strangers to the fashion world, having worked with celebrities from Sandra Oh and Rita Ora to Lucy Liu and Michelle Yeoh over the years.

Beyond their impeccable designing skills though, both talents are also champions in Asian representation. So when they got asked to create culturally significant costumes from Chinese mythology for two of the main characters for a new Disney+ series, it seemed like the perfect fit for the two fashionistas.

American Born Chinese is expected to be a major hit for the streaming platform. The two “Slaysians” (a term coined by Gurung, Lim and three other friends in the industry) are poised to add some much-needed Asian-American influence to the show’s fashion.

Here’s everything you need to know about the impressive project that finally brought the two friends together in a professional space.

What is Disney+’s American Born Chinese all about?

Disney+ is getting ready to release its latest original series American Born Chinese, which premieres on May 24. The show is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, and is about the life of a regular American teenager whose life is changed when he becomes friends with the son of a mythological god.

Chin Han, Yeo Yann Yann, Sydney Taylor, Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Jimmy Liu, Ke Huy Quan and Daniel Wu attend the Disney+ original series American Born Chinese New York premiere at Radio City Music Hall on May 7, in New York City. Photo: AFP

The plot revolves around discovering identity, family dynamics and friendship, all told through comedy and kung fu. It will star cast members from the Academy Award-winning hit Everything Everywhere All at Once, including Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu.

Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim team up

Prabal Gurung and Phillip Lim posing for a photo together in September 2022. Photo: @troublewithprabal/Instagram