On Monday night, Disney’s live-action Mulan remake hosted its Los Angeles premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. While most of the looks were somehow boringly contemporary, the film’s star Liu Yifei arrived and delivered in what I can only describe as the quinceañera gown of my teen dreams. The tulle, the chiffon—whatever the hell her skirt is made of—is thick and glorious in an elegant gold with similarly shiny lamé detailing. Honestly, I don’t know anything about fashion or even if any of those descriptors are accurate, but I do know I would love to be buried in such a royal fabric. I assume they will make action figures of her for the forthcoming flick, I would like one in this look to save as a cake topper/wedding inspo.
While on the red carpet, Liu Yifei, my new style icon, told USA Today
the gilded designs on her Elie Saab gown are actually dozens of small phoenixes. “They are my inspiration for the movie. It’s a symbol of Mulan’s spirit. It’s something meaningful,” she said, adding that “It’s a very big dress. It’s very hard to walk in it.” To which I say: what’s more challenging, disguising yourself as a man to go to war to save your father? Or gliding down Hollywood and Highland in a monumental dress fitting only for the star of the remake of my favorite 1998 animated film? She’s brave for doing both.
Jezebel’s Snap Judgment column is often reserved for fantastically confounding fashion, and I love that stuff. But sometimes I must shout out those who deserve a shout out: Liu Yifei looks fire, and I hope to see her continue to show up in gowns thrice the size of her coworkers for the rest of this press cycle. She’s larger than life, baby!