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| The 'Crazy' Asian Stylist Behind 'The Instant Universe' |
Shirley Kurata wore a pink long-sleeved T-shirt designed by her husband, Charlie Stanton; a classic Comme des Garçons pink print skirt; yellow and purple Melissa x Opening Ceremony jelly sneakers, the shoes She has at least two pairs. Huge LA Eyeworks round glasses are hers, in a marble pattern and tobacco shade known as "Bronzino."
When asked her age, Kurata only replied that she was "Generation X". She has a signature style, a mix of vintage and high-end designer labels, and a penchant for strong colorways—a playful style that has grown since her brother's girlfriend gave her some of her 1960s Barbie dolls. It took shape. ("I thought to myself, 'Wow, these clothes are so cute, so much better than those from the '80s,'" she recalls.)
She brings her aesthetic to Linda Lindas' new music video "Growing Up," Rodarte's recent Fall 2022 lookbook, and the MiuMiu short "This House Comes with a Bird." (House Comes With a Bird) and Vans capsule collection with rapper Tierra Wacker. But perhaps this spring's dark horse feature, Everything Everywhere All at Once, best captures the in-demand costume designer's original vision.
“She can take something that looks silly and goofy and turn it into high fashion,” said Daniel Kwan, who co-directed “Blinking Universe,” which is currently streaming, with Daniel Scharnett. "In a lot of ways, she and we are kindred spirits, both focused on the same goals, and we put the highest and the lowest on the same level, so that people can see that these may just be two sides of the same coin."
"It's a lot of ordinary people wearing boring clothes, the IRS or laundromat stuff, and it's nice that Shirley is just as passionate about that as she is about the quirky and crazy side," says Schene Special said. "Shirley is the star of the film."
In the film, Kurata designed avant-garde costumes for actors such as Michelle Yeoh, Kwan Ji-wai, Weilun Hsu and Jamie Lee Curtis as they traveled between universes — including more than 10 for Weilun Hsu, who plays Joey Wang She played the daughter of a Chinese-American family who owns a laundry in the suburbs, as well as the big villain "Zhu Ba Tu Ji Ji".
"It's funny that my parents also own a laundry," said Kurata, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park and attended a Catholic high school for girls in La Kenyada-Flintchurch. "Joy is a character I can empathize with."
Kurata, who lives in Los Angeles, describes himself as a "creative collaborator." She has styled Billie Eilish (including her current world tour), Wacker, Lena Dunham, Jenny Lewis and Pharrell Williams. Her fans include directors Autumn DeWald, Kate Soren and Janekza Bravo. Kurata exudes a celebrity herself—fashion guru, model, muse, and co-owner of lifestyle store Virgil Normal with her husband—though fame isn’t her measure of success.
The youngest of four children in a Japanese-American family, she said she didn't quite get along with the "predominantly white and preppy" school she attended. At a freshman ice cream party, she remembers "a senior asking her, with all seriousness, 'Do you speak English?'"
"You're as American as any other white student," she said. "But in terms of the mainstream, there's not much that reflects who you are. It's always been a challenge or a dilemma to be explicit about who you are as American."
She expresses herself through fashion.
"I really like Japanese magazines," Kurata said. She also said she loves Japanese fashion and styling, and on "free dress days" when school uniforms are not required, she tries to wear a uniform she made herself. “I had a friend who lived in Orange County, and she introduced me to the whole second-hand world.” While studying art at Cal State Long Beach, she decided to move to Paris to study fashion design.
She was greatly influenced by her three years at Beco Studios, known for its avant-garde courses, where her interest in film was born. “There was a lot of emphasis on filmmakers, there were always so many festivals—Godard, Jacques Tati,” she recalls. "I was like, 'Who is this Casavetis?' I was eager to see cult movies and indie movies and the fashion in them."
"I really think Shirley is one of the top five stylists in the world," says Peter Jensen, chair of fashion at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Jensen's eponymous label (which has since sold) once released a Kurata-inspired collection—color-block silhouettes from the '60s, models wearing her glasses and her hairstyle. “She comes from a fashion design background. She understands the language. She understands the nuances and the small elements and how to put it all together into a complete story.”
Much of her inspiration comes from the world she's built around herself, including Virgil Normal, a former motorcycle repair shop she and Stanton opened in East Hollywood in 2015, and part of their moped gang "Late Birds." "The gathering place. The store's patio has hosted events such as She Chimp's handmade sign pop-up, fundraisers and rallies to rally support for local causes.
"Shirley is well versed in all the different artistic mediums, so she has a very unique referential and vision," said actor Kirsten Dunst during the filming of Alex Garland's "Civil War" She wrote in the email that she had worked with Kurata on Rodarte's series. She also said that Kurata is a great dancer and karaoke partner, and that "Shirley also has a creative imagination and knows how to make it happen."
Rodarte founders and sisters Kate and Laura Mulivy have been collaborating with Kurata and stylist Ashley Furnival since their first show in New York in 2006. Presented as a lookbook rather than a catwalk, their Fall 2022 collection features a host of actors, musicians and directors such as Katherine Hannah, Rachel Brosnahan, Lacey Underwood and Melinda band. Laura Mullivy spoke to Kurata on the phone almost every day.
"Shirley is very good at visual storytelling," says Mulliver. "She creates characters, she has an intention in clothing, extreme or subdued, and she understands the drama. She understands the history of fashion in a very interesting way."
“The first time we saw her was on Zoom, and she had her cat on her lap,” said Mila de la Garza, 11, the drummer for Melinda’s band. (Kurata has two black-and-white cow cats, Fanny and Moondog.) "She was there petting the cat and wearing glasses. We were like, 'Wow, this girl is cool.'"
“It’s important to us to be comfortable, to be able to walk around in our own clothes, to have confidence in what we’re wearing,” Lucia de la Garza, 15, the band’s guitarist, said via Zoom , the band members nodded in agreement.
Bella Salazar, 17, another guitarist, says punk is just that: "A way of doing things and thinking so it can translate into fashion." "It's a way of expressing yourself," she said. also said. "We trust Shirley."
After the astonishing box-office success of The Instantaneous Universe, Kurata decided to pause and scout for scripts, not rushing to finalize his next major collaboration.
"I don't want to do things for some superficial reason, because I need money or I want to write a book or whatever — I did that when I was young," she said. “I saw the impact this film had on people. It meant a lot to me to be part of something like this, where Asians could be represented without clichés or stereotypes.”
Kurata is also involved in advocating for workers' rights in his field as a member of the Pay Equity Committee of the Fashion Designers Association. "Film is still very much a boys club right now, and being a person of color is another challenge. I definitely feel it. I think it's still a battle."
While a degree of success has been achieved, Kurata says she is far from achieving her goal.
"It's been a long road for me," she said. "I wasn't discovered, I had no connections. I made the worst low-budget movie in years. It took me a long time and a lot of hard work to get to where I am. I'm not even at the level I can be. , but I'm heading in that direction."
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