Michelle Yeoh and 'The Brothers Sun' Costume Designer Agreed: 'No Stereotypes’

Warning: Mild spoilers for 'The Brothers Sun' below.

When Vera Chow jumped into designing the expansive wardrobes for "The Brothers Sun," premiering on Netflix on Jan. 4, she and star Michelle Yeoh had deep discussions about the latter's character, Los Angeles-based Taiwanese matriarch Eileen. The consensus: "No stereotypes!," says the Chinese-American costume designer.

In the black comedy-meets-action thriller created by Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu, Eileen has been lying low in Southern California raising clueless Bruce (Sam Song Li) when her eldest son, triad scion Charles Sun (Justin Chien), reappears.

"Bruce and I kept hidden from the world by being boring," Eileen explains to an incredulous, if not slightly envious Charles, who considers his younger sibling — a pre-med student with improv dreams — "soft."

For Eileen to blend in with fellow mahjong aunties (who prove to be the finest source of intel and formidable backup), Chow subverted the immigrant mom trope of drab cardigans, floral tops and pajama pants, swapping them for more elevated blouses, like an Hermès-esque scarf-printed blouse copped from a Chinatown store (above).

"She wears a lot of silk," confirms Chow, who says that the main takeaway from discussions with Yeoh boiled down to: "It shouldn't look like a costume or disguise." (Plus, "You can't really make Michelle frumpy, even if you tried," she adds.)

As Eileen's real identity is slowly revealed, her wardrobe subtly and gradually progresses: Chow introduces a black-and-white, feather-patterned silk blouse by Norma Kamali, and her tapered trousers evolve into statement-making wide-leg silhouettes.

"I didn't really want to do that almost cliché TV-show glow-up transformation, from a frumpy cardigan and drawstring [pants] and then be like, boom!" says Chow.

When she confronts a surprising new set of antagonists, Eileen wears her take on the mom sweater: a soft pastel watercolor-pattern cardigan (above), which misdirects her adversaries — and the audience.

"We were doing prints, but where it crosses over... Like, is this a San Gabriel Valley Chinatown print or a Chloé print?," says Chow. "It was on purpose and not very clear, because she was already picking back up [her old life]. The point of that is just ambiguity."

Besides, as the estranged wife of the most powerful triad boss in Taiwan, Eileen did, at one point, boast a luxurious and glamorous wardrobe.

"There should be things that she brought with her from Taiwan that she completely hid away," says Chow, pointing to floral dress that Eileen selects in preparation to attend a pivotal gathering — but, after a setback, wistfully puts back in her suburban closet. "When Charles shows up, there's supposed to be a click in Eileen, like almost kicking her back into her past."

To reclaim her power and bolster alliances, Eileen makes a long-awaited, in-person return to Taipei. During a brief nightclub reunion with a mysterious former flame (played by American icon Russell Wong), she wears a draped puff-sleeve gown, with abstract floral prints in striking reds (above).

"I wanted to give it a 'Shanghai Tang' vibe," says Chow, referring to a legacy Hong Kong label. She also wanted to pay homage to the timeless, romantic oeuvre of Wong Kar Wai, like his 2000 classic, "In the Mood for Love."

Chow also insisted that Wong wear a tweedy double-breasted waistcoat for the steamy scene (above): "I'm trying to invoke the softest moment you'll ever see [for Eileen]."

During the visit, Eileen wears a series of bold, custom-designed ensembles by Taiwan-born, Los Angeles-based Chinese-American designer Vivian Chan. For a long-overdue visit to her mother, she dons a horizontal textured top and structured A-line skirt (below) that's an avant-garde take on the traditional hanfu silhouette.

"[It's the] one scene where she's slightly more submissive," says Chow. (An earlier flashback scene also features a gold-threaded green-and-white custom top and floor-length skirt by Chan.)

For a climactic sequence back in Los Angeles, Eileen repeats monochrome white — the funereal hue in many Asian cultures — as she confidently strides into a summit of all the Taiwan triad bosses in a caped Vivian Chan pantsuit (below). In the script, though, she was written as wearing red, which is usually reserved for brides.

"I just felt like that's too much of a costume," says Chow. "[Red] looks like a very conscious choice to make a statement that's not necessarily the actual point Eileen is trying to make." Plus, the floaty movement of the cape and flared pants enhance the action when negotiations expectedly devolve.

Chow also took on a de facto writer role in differentiating the various triad groups through costume, while avoiding Asian gangster stereotypes often depicted on-screen.

"No '70s shiny shirt with the sharp collar outside a leather blazer," she says.

Keeping director Kevin Tancharoen's elevated "Kill Bill" vision in mind, Chow concocted each group's specific criminal enterprises, which then determined their style. She even compiled "triad books" as a comprehensive reference tool for each one.

"This guy definitely funnels money through religious organizations, so [they wear] black, almost priestly-looking outfits," she explains. The "sports betting" crew, meanwhile, wears sportier looks.

Chow heavily researched visuals of organized crime members in Taiwan, as well as the style leanings of local high society. "Half of these guys are chic as hell — they look like supermodels walking a Vogue runway," she says of the real-life consiglieri, clad in Off-White and exclusive designer labels.

"Hamilton"-loving Jade Dragons hench-person Xing (comedian Jenny Yang, above), wears bespoke pantsuits and bow-ties by Chookhare and Sons, Hollywood's go-to tailor Dennis Kim and L.A.-based High Society. In contrast, Charles, heir to the triad's top spot, represents the "international" kid: born and raised in Asia but probably went to an elite global school, effortlessly toggling between American English and Mandarin Chinese. "The eagle-eyed viewers will notice that his clothes are not typical of America," says Chow, who moved to New York from Hong Kong as a tween, and lived abroad while working on projects like "The Modelizer" and "Marco Polo."

She imagined Charles risking some blood and dirt stains in an elegant, supposedly custom bomber (really a neutral-hued Ted Baker jacket augmented with lattice-work embroidery, above).

With his unlimited funds and an image to protect and project, Charles does wear mostly bespoke, plus some customized pieces in dimensional fabrics that shimmer and jump off-the-screen, especially during the high-octane fight scenes. To achieve that effect, Chow reimagined unexpected textures like furniture upholstery, curtains and dynamic suit lining.

Like with Eddie Huang's "Boogie" and later seasons of "The Walking Dead," Chow also highlighted API designers, brands and retailers through costume. Drug-dealing gamer T.K. (Joon Lee) wears Sundae School, Wooji, Opening Ceremony and vibrant pieces from Virgil Normal (co-owned by "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Oscar-nominated costume designer Shirley Kurata). Many of the characters also wear Welcome to Chinatown merch throughout the series. Eileen and Charles' childhood crush-turned-prosecutor Alexis (Highdee Kuan) even wear Pepper bras.

For SoCal-based gang leader May (Alice Hewkin) and her animé-meets-raver-with-an-Etsy-side-hustle aesthetic, Chow looked to colorful knit pieces by YanYan and playful jewelry from BonBonwhims and Bobblehaus (above). Chow's in-house team also custom-made May's waist-cincher corset — another intense endeavor, one of many, that the costume designer holds dear from the show.

"It was like $6,000. I almost lost my job that day," says Chow, with a laugh. "There are hearts on it and a harness for tiny pistols rigged onto her back."

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