Chase Sui Wonders could also be greatest recognized for her burgeoning appearing profession, however she additionally wields a lesser-known reward: a discerning eye for classic trend. On her common excursions by way of downtown Manhattan—the place Lara Koleji is one in every of her favored locations—she gravitates towards items characterised by vivid colour palettes, figure-hugging cuts, and razor-sharp tailoring.
It was solely becoming, then, that for a particular screening of her Apple TV+ collection The Studio, Wonders opted for a uncommon Prada robe pulled instantly from the home’s Spring 1997 archives.
“As quickly as I noticed it, I used to be gasping for air,” Sui Wonders tells me over a Zoom name. In an embroidered shade of cherry crimson, the fragile Prada costume match like a glove—full with delicate slits alongside the facet and a mockneck keyhole neckline—no alterations required. “It’s such a fantastic, dreamy design, and I felt so highly effective carrying it on the streets of New York Metropolis.”
Desperate to seize the second earlier than arriving on the iconic Paley Museum for the night time’s occasion, Wonders enlisted her sister, Jeannie Sui Wonders, to {photograph} her in the classic look in an intimate movie shoot that completely showcased the robe’s timeless enchantment.
Wonders poses in archival Prada forward of the screening for her new Apple TV+ present The Studio.
(Picture credit score: Jeannie Sui Wonders)
Though procuring this elusive gem wasn’t precisely simple. Wonders collaborated intently together with her stylist, Thomas Carter Phillips, to carry their distinctive nostalgic imaginative and prescient to life. “Thomas and I made temper boards full of tons of ’90s and early 2000s model inspiration—particularly Prada,” she recollects. “I particularly needed classic for its sustainability angle, however I additionally love the easy, lived-in attraction of pre-loved items.”
After scouring numerous classic sellers, Phillips lastly positioned the Spring ’97 Prada costume at Manhattan’s Irene Albright Trend Library—in the exact same print Gwyneth Paltrow famously wore to a premiere with Brad Pitt that yr.
“Consistent with Wonders’ need to put on classic, I additionally labored with Fred Leighton to seek out vintage jewellery for the event,” he says. To high all of it off, Phillips anchored the look with strappy crimson Gianvito Rossi heels.
But the costume’s old-school attract wasn’t its solely draw. For Wonders—whose father is of Chinese language ancestry—the garment’s cultural significance made it all of the extra significant, as its embroidered silk, excessive collar, and facet slits evoke these of a standard qipao. “My grandmother goes to like this costume when she sees these pictures,” Wonders tells me.
Wonders’s stylist Thomas Carter Phillips enhanced her Prada costume with a classic deal with bag and a pair of Gianvito Rossi heels.
(Picture credit score: Jeannie Sui Wonders)
Whereas getting all dolled up for crimson carpet appearances has change into fairly regular for Wonders not too long ago, she hasn’t at all times been in the limelight. The 28-year-old performer dabbled in theater whereas rising up in Michigan, however it wasn’t till after she graduated from Harvard College that her appearing profession really blossomed. In 2021, Wonders garnered consideration for her breakout function as Riley Luo in the hit HBO Max collection Technology. Quickly after, she added a slew of different productions to her resume, together with Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies, Bupkis, and Metropolis on Hearth.
Like her on-screen profession, Marvel’s private model has developed with time. “I didn’t develop up with a really distinct sense of trend. I used to be a tomboy and wore the identical factor day by day,” she explains. “Then, once I began strolling crimson carpets, I noticed it as a chance to be extra whimsical.”
I didn’t develop up with a really distinct sense of trend. I used to be a tomboy and wore the identical factor day by day. Then, once I began strolling crimson carpets, I noticed it as a chance to be extra whimsical.
Lately, Wonders appears to icons like actress Catherine Deneuve and mannequin Devon Aoki, each of whom she describes as “effortlessly female, polished, and funky.” She’s refined her aesthetic by taking a web page from their model playbook. “I really like a red-carpet look that looks like one thing I’d genuinely put on to a celebration, a marriage, or some other special day,” she says.
She carries this laid-back philosophy into her magnificence routine, too. For The Studio’s March 27 screening, make-up artist Misha Shahzada opted for a pure vibe, utilizing sun-kissed bronzer, nude lipstick, and a contact of brown eyeshadow. Hairstylist Blake Erik slicked most of her brunette locks again, leaving a sweeping facet bang that lent a simple but polished end.
A more in-depth have a look at Wonders’s radiant glam look.
(Picture credit score: Jeannie Sui Wonders)
Whereas the press tour for The Studio is likely to be winding down, Wonders’ Hollywood sizzling streak is simply warming up. With a slate of initiatives already in the works, it’s protected to say she’ll preserve charming audiences—and turning heads—each on and off the display.
Photographer Jeannie Sui Wonders | Stylist Thomas Carter Phillips | Hair Stylist Blake Erik | Make-up Artist Misha Shahzada | Location Wonders’s New York House
