Photo: @soyonan on Instagram
Before the cast was chosen, Julie and the Phantoms Costume Designer Soyon An developed the looks for all our favorite characters alongside Director Kenny Ortega, Show Writers Dan Hodge and Dave Scott, and its Netflix producers. Soyon An ruled nothing out as she made costumes from scratch, shopped and sourced them.
She recalls the time Madison Reyes, who plays Julie Molina, came in for her fitting. Originally Kenny Ortega wanted Reyes and An to have a day of shopping, because Reyes loves to vintage dive. However, with the tight schedule they had it wasn’t possible.
“Madison’s fitting was super fun. It was putting a ton of looks together. It was her very first fitting ever so she was just like ‘all these racks of clothes are for me?’ I think I had six racks of clothes and thirty pairs of shoes, and she was just like ‘woah’,” An said.
Madison Reyes as Julie, from Julie and the Phantoms. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram
As for the three phantoms of Sunset Curve, portrayed by Charles Gillespie, Owen Joyner and Jeremy Shada, they didn't have as many looks as other characters. Even then, An still had two to three racks of clothes for the boys to go through. During the one- on-one fitting she got to know the actors’ perspective on their characters' persona; which helped her tell the story through clothing. For instance, Charles Gillespie incorporated beanies or “toques” into Luke’s wardrobe as he calls them.
“He was so excited that I loved the idea that he actually went and bought the beanies. I think he went to the Vans store or H&M and brought back the orange and grey one,” she said.
Charlie Gillespie as Luke Patterson, one of the Phantoms. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram
She notes that all of the actors came in knowing that they would be playing a certain character.
“The best compliment for me is when they come in for a fitting in their street clothes and I put them in their character’s outfit, all of a sudden their swag or their stance changes. They get into character. Cheyenne (Jackson) is a great example and so is Carrie (Savannah Lee May),” An said.
She describes the performance costumes as fantasy, even Caleb’s everyday look with the four piece suit. An remembers Cheyenne Jackson coming into the fitting with a baseball cap, a t-shirt and basketball shorts.
“Obviously, he read the script and knew who his character was, but I don't think he expected in our fittings to be put into a fine tailored four piece suit. As soon as he put it all on, Caleb came to life in my studio. We were all going crazy when he got into his Caleb look…” she said.
Cheyenne Jackson as Caleb Covington. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram
An’s career began as a fashion design major. While she was in college, she got a job as a styling assistant through the career center. She found herself dressing Jada Pinkett, Jessica Simpson and Avril Lavigne. On one styling job, she remembers working at Mariah Carey’s hotel until five in the morning. An admits she missed designing because styling is very different from costume design and fashion design. Then, she worked as a seamstress and assistant for So You Think You Can Dance (Season 2) which led to going on tour with the cast, sewing, designing and thinking on her feet.
Once the tour ended, she designed for Forever 21’s net wear, the American Idol Tour, another FOX show and landed head of the costume design department at So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD Season 4).
An believes one’s work ethic is what makes someone stand out in the entertainment industry.
“Your finished product speaks louder than what you can say about yourself,” she said.
She met Ortega for the first time on SYTYCD when he was a judge. She was so inspired by his words to the contestants on the show that she wanted to greet him after the show.
“If you ever get to know Kenny the way he speaks is just so beautiful. He’s just so encouraging and he’s full of inspiration and hope. The way he was talking about the dancers, the costumes, the artistry behind the show, the choreography and the whole episode,” she said.
(Left to Right) Jeremy Shada, Kenny Ortega, Soyon An, Paul Becker, Tori Caro, Owen Joyner, Charlie Gillespie. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram.
Ortega told her how much he appreciated her work. Six months later, he called An to design the tour outfits for the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary.
Since then, An has worked with Ortega on a variety of projects. One of them being the Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Show for Freeform.
The main difference between Julie and The Phantoms and a show like Hocus Pocus is that one is scripted and the other is live. With live shows, you know the order the performance numbers are going to happen and the characters are based on the vision of the designer, the choreographer, and director.
On Hocus Pocus, Ortega and An worked closely to create the overall show and the vibe of the performances. When it comes to live shows, there’s no mood boards and the timeline for costumes is insane.
“You have to come up with costumes in a day. It’s crazy. There’s zero prep time and you got to really think on your feet and let your creativity flow,” she said.
For Dove Cameron, Jordin Sparks and Sofia Carson, An thought about what the daughters of the Sanderson sisters would look like in 2018 and grabbed inspiration from the original costumes of the film. For the band Pretty Much, Ortega envisioned a zombie boyband.
An's designs for Dove Cameron and Jordin Sparks for the Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram.
An makes sure to incorporate backstories in even the smallest wardrobe details. For example, she set Alex apart from Luke and Reggie with his pastel variation of clothing. She would like to add overalls into Luke’s wardrobe if there was a Season 2, since Charlie Gillespie is such a big fan of them.
The most challenging outfits for An to create was the Hollywood Ghost Club. All of the outfits were custom made including Caleb’s costume. They all had to be done at the same time. Although, they weren’t supposed to shoot "Other Side of Hollywood" until a month and a half into filming, because of location availability, it ended up being first.
“What I thought I was going to have a month and a half to create, I only had two and a half weeks. It was a bit of a juggling act but we made it happen and everyone looked great,” An said.
Jayme Rae Dailey, Jenny Dailey and Guilherme Babilonia as Hollywood Ghost Club members. Photo: @soyonan on Instagram.
An learned her biggest lesson in the industry before accepting her position with Julie and the Phantoms. At first, she thought she’d have to turn down the job, as it would be difficult to be away from her family for six months. However, after speaking with Ortega, he and production found a way to make it happen and were very accommodating.
“Girls can have it all and do it all. It’s not easy, but we are able to multitask and conquer. If there’s anyone that wants to get into costume design, or in this business, and also wants a family, I feel like yes, it’s hard but you can make it happen. You can make your dreams come true,” she said.
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