Known for Costume & Make-Up
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).
Filmography
12 films, 5 shows


Dance Baby Dance
2018 · 1h 33m
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.


The Glass Castle
2017 · 2h 7m · HK
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.


Short Term 12
2013 · 1h 36m · US
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.


I Am Not a Hipster
2013 · 1h 30m · US
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.