Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1333810
22 The Costume Designer Winter 2021 down her skirt because it was just so fun to play with. That was a little nugget of my childhood." In a film of notable characters, Soonja (Yuh-Jung Youn) stands out in particular. Foul-mouthed and eccentric, her banter with her grandson is one of the central dynamics of the film. Song knew her clothing had to set up that relation- ship for both the characters and the audience. "I wanted to trick the kids into thinking she was this very conservative, religious, proper grandma who baked cookies and did chores. So she arrived in her best church outfit because every Korean has their best church outfit. Then all of a sud- den, she's in these vibrant shirts, because she is a fun-loving person. And as an older woman, she would probably hang on to some older clothes. People were still wearing clothes from the sixties and seventies, especially older people. I said to Isaac, 'Wouldn't it be funny if she started wearing David's socks?' That's what we did, because the character would do that." The response to the film has been as surprising as it is gratifying, particularly when it comes to the clothes for David (Alan Kim). "I get a lot of compliments about his ward- robe. I can't take all the credit for it because that is what Isaac wanted when he was David's age. These little striped polo shirts or his dolphin shorts. He asked his mother for cowboy boots and that's what they gave him. I feel that it's emblematic of the overall story, wanting to fit in and assimi- late to a new environment." "Monica" Costume Illustration by Susanna Song Yuh-Jung Youn as Soonja Yeri Han as Monica Photo: Josh Ethan Johnson, Courtesy of A24