
Joy Cretton
Costume & Make-Up
Biography
Joy Cretton is a costume designer. Cretton was born in Haiku, on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Growing up in a creative, close-knit family of six children, she and her siblings were homeschooled by their mother, who encouraged imaginative exploration. Joy later moved to California with her family to pursue her passion for design and the arts. Her career in costume design has spanned both independent films and blockbuster productions. She is credited for her work on acclaimed films like Short Term 12 (2013) and Just Mercy (2019), and gained wider recognition as an assistant costume designer for Marvel's Shang‑Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). She served as costume designer on Disney+'s American Born Chinese (2023), the live‑action adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's National Book Award–nominated graphic novel. In American Born Chinese, Cretton led a visually striking and culturally sensitive costume narrative that blended traditional mythological aesthetics with contemporary fashion. She collaborated with Asian‑American designers like Prabal Gurung, Phillip Lim, Kenneth Barlis, and Vivian Chan. She incorporated runway and ready‑to‑wear pieces alongside bespoke creations. Notable designs include Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin, featuring jade and lotus motifs, Ke Huy Quan's Guan Yu battle‑ready robes, Poppy Liu's Princess Iron Fan profile, and Jimmy O. Yang's Dragon King suit. Cretton's work was widely praised for channelling the series' emotional arcs, mythic grandeur, and cultural authenticity. Joy has also collaborated closely with her brother, director Destin Daniel Cretton, who has described her as an essential creative partner. She returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to serve as costume designer for her brother's Disney+ TV show, Wonder Man (2025).
Known For

Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Simon and Trevor, two actors at opposite ends of their careers, chase life-changing roles.
Wonder Man

Average teenager Jin Wang juggles his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
American Born Chinese

The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.
Just Mercy

A modern-day witch uses spells and magic to get men to fall in love with her, with deadly consequences.
The Love Witch

A young girl is raised in a dysfunctional family constantly on the run from the FBI. Living in poverty, she comes of age guided by her drunkard, ingenious father who distracts her with magical stories to keep her mind off the family's dire state, and her selfish, nonconformist mother who has no intention of raising a family, along with her younger brother and sister, and her other older sister. Together, they fend for each other as they mature in an unorthodox journey that is their family life.
The Glass Castle

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.
Short Term 12

True-crime stories about unfortunate victims found buried in the most unlikely of places -- the backyard.
Buried In The Backyard

A woman named Kit moves back to her parent's house, where she receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams.
Unicorn Store

A sudden loss disrupts Carol’s orderly life, propelling her into the dating world for the first time in 20 years. Finally living in the present tense, she finds herself swept up in not one, but two unexpected relationships that challenge her assumptions about what it means to grow old.
I'll See You in My Dreams

A continuation of the original movie "Mr. Mom" (1983) with baby Megan as an adult going back into the work force, like her mom in the original, while her husband takes over parenting duties.
Mr. Mom

True crime documentary series showcasing stories where individuals are unaware that the night in question will be their last. From a girls'-night-out gone bad to an overnight shift at a local toy store that takes an unexpected turn, the series recounts how an average night can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Murdered by Morning

A day at a group home for troubled adolescents. Denim is the head counselor, involved somehow with Natalia, another counselor. During the day, we watch them and other staff deal with a boy who's getting into fights though he has only a week to go before his 18th birthday, a girl whose birthday it is, a foul-mouthed lad, and others. Denim uses music to calm one youth, orients a new staff member, sneaks a marijuana cigarette during a break, and by the day's end, talks to Natalia. Do any of us have it together?
Short Term 12

Things are not looking good for Brook, a young, talented singer/songwriter who has become the clichéd tortured artist. Slow to come to terms with the death of his mother, Brook is self-absorbed, aggressive, and the major obstruction to his own career success. His isolation is lifted when his three sisters and estranged father come to spread his mother’s ashes. Brook’s loving sisters have a magical effect on his anger and apathy, suggesting there may be hope for the misanthropic musician after all.
I Am Not a Hipster

Have you ever had a dream? Jimmy did and now it's his turn to dance. Will he be able to rise above all the competition, and his own shortcomings, to dance the performance of his life? If so, then his lifelong dream will be realized.
Dance Baby Dance

A sweet little film about murder.