'80s clothing iconography has many fashion atrocities:
ladies' jackets with shoulder pads fit for a linebacker and
businessmen in glaring "power ties" that should have had
radioactivity warnings. Sweatbands were considered hip, if
you can imagine, and the spandex stretched from coast to
coast. But those of us who lived through that decade may
remember a calmer period. For most people, the decade's
uniform was really about just making your way in a world
of ambition.
The American dream is on full display in Lee Isaac
Chung's semi-autobiographical film Minari. Costume
designer Susanna Song's commitment to the project was
as personal as it was professional. She knew the film was
hers the day she read the screenplay. "There isn't another
Korean American film about the American dream. This is
its first kind. There are similarities between this family and
Minari:
Living the
Korean
American
Dream
by Gary V. Foss
Photo:
Josh
Ethan
Johnson,
Courtesy
of
A24
"David" costume illustration by Susanna Song
Alan S. Kim as David
18 The Costume Designer Winter 2021
