Constance Wu’s Crazy Rich Asians dress heads to Smithsonian museum in Washington
- Gown joins collection of entertainment artefacts including Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and a handmaid’s costume from The Handmaid’s Tale
- Blue Marchesa gown was tailored to Wu’s height, and its original long, billowing sleeves were removed for the movie
After making Hollywood history last year, Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians is headed to the Smithsonian, just in time for Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month.
The blue gown worn by Constance Wu in the film is being donated by Marchesa to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington and will be presented on Saturday in Los Angeles at the first annual “The Party: A Smithsonian Celebration of Asian Pacific Americans”.
Reached by phone, Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu, who is in prep on his next film, an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical In The Heights, was speechless over the honour. He described the elation of seeing fans replicate the dress, worn by Wu in one of the film’s pivotal scenes.
“It became a Cinderella dress for people,” he said. “I remember seeing mums make it for their little girls, I remember seeing women wear it with a sense of pride. It became literally a fairy-tale dress for people. We talked about how this would make her feel and how powerful it would be for her – and that it’s also her choice to wear.”
The gown joins a collection of entertainment artefacts including Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz and a handmaid’s costume from Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
Adapted from Kevin Kwan’s bestseller of the same name, the 2018 romantic comedy told the story of Rachel Chu (Wu, who also stars on the recently renewed Fresh Off the Boat), a professor from New York who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) and meets his wealthy relatives.