Joy was born in
Marion, Iowa, US. She started designing in
Brooklyn,
NYC in 2000. With no formal training in
fashion design, she started creating one of a kind hand-painted/hand-sewn
t-shirts and re-designing old
prom dresses. She met
Karen O in 2001 and the aspiring singer soon became her favorite model. As her band
Yeah Yeah Yeahs began playing shows, Joy designed a fresh outfit for each occasion. As the band's fame grew, so did Joy's reputation and by September 2002 she mounted a solo show
Brat Style during
New York Fashion Week. In July 2004 Joy and her designs were a key element of a
New York Times Sunday magazine feature about the growing influence of
Indie Rock on fashion. In 2007 her costume designs were featured at the
Victoria & Albert Museum in London as part of the
New York Fashion Now exhibit. Also in 2008 Joy contributed to
Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna's book
Cherry Bomb, mentioning
John Waters as a style inspiration. In Feb 2009 Joy had her first solo exhibition,
The Visitors Must Be Amused, at the AVA gallery in NYC. Joy asked associates to write a description of a female being and then designed a costume representing each definition, including one of an alien goddess gown with a whip. In September 2009 Joy costumes were featured in a
Where The Wild Things Are pop-up shop in Los Angeles. In 2011 Joy created the costumes for
Stop the Virgens a "psycho opera" created by Karen O and
KK Barrett In May 2012 Joy presented
Do Androids Dream of Electric Shrimp? at the Diesel Art Gallery in
Tokyo. The exhibition was a combination of past Karen O costumes, new "Kite Costumes", videos featuring Joy's designs and poster and textile prints. In November 2012 the exhibition was moved to New York City, where it was held at
Picture Farm Gallery in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Joy has also created costumes for
Santigold and Danish singer/songwriter
Oh Land. In September 2013 Joy mounted an art installation show
Bok Joy at Secret Project Robot in Brooklyn. ==Press==