‘Dune’ Costume Designer on Creating Stunning Sci-Fi Styles – The Hollywood Reporter

When Denis Villeneuve first approached costume designer Jacqueline West to work on Dune, she flatly refused. “‘No, I don’t do sci-fi,’” West remembers telling the filmmaker.

Decided, Villeneuve circled again weeks later and requested once more, however West wouldn’t budge. “Denis, I like your work,” she informed him, “however this simply isn’t my style.”

A former high-fashion designer turned costume creator, West has been nominated for 3 Oscars, all for acclaimed interval movies: Philip Kaufman’s Marquis De Sade biopic Quills (2000), David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant. A lot of the remainder of her distinguished filmography sits in the identical style, usually with broadly acclaimed auteurs: Terrence Mallick’s The New World and Tree of Life, Ben Affleck’s Argo — and, subsequent up, Martin Scorsese’s Leonardo DiCaprio-starring interval Western, Killers of the Flower Moon.

West’s popularity for deep analysis and character-driven design was exactly what appealed to Villeneuve as he was envisioning a sci-fi epic of unusual complexity and grandeur. “He saved saying the rationale he needed me was due to my background in historic work,” West says. “And he had learn some quote Brad Pitt as soon as gave saying that I used to be a ‘technique costume designer.’ It was all very flattering, however I simply didn’t suppose I may it.”

Dune‘s lead producer Mary Father or mother, who had labored with West on The Revenant, then intervened. Father or mother stated, “Jacky, you simply want to fulfill with him. Come to my workplace at Legendary alone; I’m going to place Denis on the large display screen with you from Canada, and I assure you, when you hear his imaginative and prescient for this film, you’ll want to do it.”

“So I did that,” West remembers, “and she or he was completely proper.”

The Hollywood Reporter not too long ago related with West to debate her artistic journey with Villeneuve on Dune — and the way she turned to the aesthetics of the papacy, pre-revolution Russia and the Knights Templar to lend symbolic which means to the movie’s multi-layered world.

I’ve heard that you just and your collaborator, Bob Morgan, created over 1,000 costumes for Dune. That looks as if an astounding quantity of artistic work. Is that typical of a challenge of this scale?

We figured we truly created about 2,000 costumes — 400 of which had been specialty costumes. In order that’s monumental. That in all probability outdoes something in Star Wars or every other very huge sci-fi movie. It’s up there with one thing like the unique Ben-Hur or some basic epic.

Once I first learn the script, I assumed, oh my god, 400 specialty costumes — that’s daunting. In order that’s once I requested [costume supervisor] Bob Morgan, who had by no means designed earlier than, to hitch me, as a result of he has supervised so many movies with specialty costumes and I knew he would rent the suitable crew for us and have unbelievable enter into what works and what doesn’t work on the human physique.

What had been a few of your very earliest artistic improvement conversations with Denis?

Initially, Denis was most involved with two issues: What Barron Harkonnen would seem like, and the way we’d create the nonetheless go well with, as a result of it’s described in such trivia in Frank Herbert’s e-book.

The Barron was going to be a 400-pound man that would solely transfer round with suspensors as a result of he couldn’t carry his personal physique weight, as within the e-book. Denis was involved that he wanted to look sturdy and menacing. He couldn’t look foolish. And the way ought to he be dressed? I recommended that possibly Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now can be a great place to begin — and that he may put on some sort of lengthy black silk, virtually diaphanous, muumuu. Denis actually flipped out over that concept. I believe he truly had been desirous about these Brando-inspired references himself, as a result of he stated, “Precisely!” We had been instantly on the identical web page.

These Brando touches are a number of the most enjoyable particulars of the movie. And Stellan Skarsgård, after all, simply nails it. So how did you get began on the nonetheless go well with?

I had an unbelievable idea sketch artist I labored with, Keith Christensen. He got here up with about 4 drawings of the nonetheless go well with, which I instantly put in entrance of Denis and Denis simply fell in love with them. As soon as I introduced Bob on we took a kind of 4 drawings to Jose Fernandez at Iron Head Studio, [the effects firm specializing in costume and creature design] right here in Los Angeles. Jose can be a complete Dune freak and he needed to create one thing that was completely true to the e-book. He’s a powerful sculptor and he found out a method to make it work and created a prototype.

Then, whereas I labored on the remainder of the designs with my idea artist, Bob took the nonetheless go well with prototype to Budapest the place we’d shoot. He went forward and employed probably the most magnificent, proficient crew, largely from England, who got here to Budapest. He then received the crew working to create the 250 nonetheless fits we would want, which all needed to be bespoke as a result of they had been so form-fitting. We had actresses which can be 5’3″ like Rebecca Ferguson, to Jason Momoa who’s 6’5.” They had been made individually for every physique and every one took two weeks to create.

Denis cherished them and I believe they’ve been an enormous success. We’ve gotten a whole lot of optimistic suggestions from individuals who love the e-book about how genuine they really feel. I’m most glad about the truth that they seemed like they might actually operate — and so they actually did maintain the actors cool after they had been taking pictures in Jordan.

Are you able to share a bit extra about their development? They functioned in an identical method to how they’re described within the e-book, stopping the actors from overheating within the desert?

Effectively, they functioned to an extent… The actors weren’t ingesting their very own wastewater (Laughs). Within the e-book, the go well with is a distillery. It collects human wastewater — perspiration, urine — and it distills all of the ammonia out of it, and thru the nostril piece oxygen is added to the hydrogen, which creates potable water. Within the e-book, solely a thimble-full of human water is misplaced throughout a day within the desert while you’re sporting the go well with.

What we did was create a bodysuit out of 5 – 6 layers of what we referred to as a “micro sandwich” of cloth. It’s not in contrast to a few of material that Beneath Armour makes use of to wick water away from the physique when soccer gamers put on it below their soccer padding. We chosen an exquisite Japanese material that may wick water from the physique after which it will sort of cool the physique when the moisture hit the air of Jordan, by means of a mesh system of each cotton, nylon and acrylic. When there was a breeze within the desert, there was a cooling impact on the wearer — and the actors stated it actually labored.

In the true nonetheless go well with of the e-book and within the movie, there’s a community of tubing that collects air from the skin by means of the nostril piece whereas additionally gathering the absorbed physique water, which works by means of a filtering system in these totally different pockets all through the costume, after which the distilled, potable water additionally creates a cooling system round the entire physique. It’s all mechanized by a pumping system that begins on the heels with the entire thing powered by the musculature and actions of the physique.

For us, that meant it needed to have all of those purposeful components however be completely form-fitting. You had to have the ability to inform that it was all being mechanized by their physique actions. It was fairly complicated, making it look that manner, as a result of we needed to truly create the gathering pods by means of the costume and the tubing system that runs right through it — throughout the legs, the arms, the chest and the neck. However we additionally needed to make it enticing and form-fitting. It was an enormous problem, undoubtedly.

We would want one quickly in Las Angeles, with the entire debilitating heatwaves from final summer season and the forest fires. I actually see Dune as a imaginative and prescient of our future, and I may see one thing just like the nonetheless go well with being one thing we have to use someday.

For the opposite costumes, how useful was the e-book? As you stated, the nonetheless go well with is kind of meticulously described, however I don’t keep in mind a lot different detailed description of how characters are dressed. Had been there different cues there for you within the supply materials?

With Dune, it wasn’t a lot description however this sense it provides you. I do know that once I did The Revenant, I actually relied on written descriptions of costumes and clothes that trappers and the native tribes wore in that interval. Franke Herbert didn’t go into these sorts of descriptions. He created a sense. That feeling is so deep in Denis’ intestine — he has such a powerful, intimate feeling for this prophetic masterpiece. So Denis grew to become my barometer.

I had some feeling for it too, although, I suppose. I’m from Berkeley and Frank Herbert wrote it within the space. Actually, he famously wrote a whole lot of Dune on Allan Watts’ houseboat in Sausalito Harbor, and my household’s houseboat was simply 30 toes away from Alan’s once I was a child. Then I went to the [University of California,] Berkeley years later and everybody was studying it. Dune was like a bible again then. They even bought it on the Entire Earth Entry retailer. So I at all times felt I had a reference to it.

I discussed to Denis, “I really feel like this can be a world beginning over 10,000 years from now sooner or later.” If you understand the story, computer systems have brought about the world to go loopy and created all these intergalactic issues. So I stated to Denis, “I believe I’ve to look to the previous — the distant, distant previous — to discover a fashion for this film. I see it as ‘mod-ieval,’ a contemporary tackle medieval instances.” And Denis cherished that. This was why he needed a designer with interval expertise.

What had been a few of your references?

I began then with Girl Jessica and used a whole lot of Goya, Caravaggio, Giotto. I used the traditional Marseille tarot playing cards, the Golden Tarot, for the Bene Gesserit and for Mom Mohiam. I used drawings and work for the Avignon tapestries of the Knights Templar for the Atreides armor. For the Harkonnen world, I used a whole lot of books of medieval drawings of bugs, spiders, ants, praying mantises and lizards. The monks did these completely stunning drawings of each sort of insect and animal. The textured black leather-based of a number of the Harkonnen costumes all got here from concepts of bugs, lizards and spiders. I’d learn the Frank Herbert notes by which he mentions that Baron Harkonnen’s mom was referred to as “the Black Widow” and that she was spider-like, in order that gave me a touch there. The Harkonnen helmet got here from a large ant head.

There are hints all over the place like he aligns the Sardaukar with the planet Salusa Secundus, which is S.S. — and so they had been the Nazis of this universe. I felt just like the Fremen had been the French Resistance, so I felt like I needed to camouflage them the best way the resistance did within the South of France within the conflict. Each world had an emblem for me.

Lots of people will naturally marvel to what extent you reviewed or prevented the previous interpretations of Dune — whether or not it’s David Lynch’s movie, the TV collection or Alejandro Jodorowsky’s famed, failed try to adapt the e-book. Or possibly even a number of the voluminous fan artwork that’s been created over the many years.

I got here to this a virgin. I’ve by no means even seen a single Star Wars movie, although I do know George Lucas as a result of we each grew up within the San Joaquin Valley. I’ve by no means seen the David Lynch film. I’ve seen some clips of the Jodorowsky work. A really pricey buddy of mine is a countess within the South of France and she or he lived with Jodorowsky in Paris when he was attempting to make that film. She is like my mom and I like her a lot. Due to her relationship with “Jodo,” as she calls him, she’s proven me clips of that documentary the place he was attempting to make it after they had been residing collectively in Paris. Past that, I had no reference factors apart from the e-book. I needed to not be influenced by issues that I knew Denis was attempting to keep away from.

He at all times stated he didn’t wish to make a typical sci-fi movie. He didn’t need someone who was going to create online game costumes, or area fits, or one thing that he didn’t really feel was a part of this very layered, complicated masterpiece with mysticism threaded by means of it. He needed a completely new look that nobody’s ever seen.

I’m struck by that Brad Pitt quote that has adopted you round, about being a “technique costume designer.” Do you are feeling that’s correct to your method? Was it true on this challenge?

It’s. I felt I needed to gown everyone from the within out, and I needed to present arcs for these characters. Plus, I used to be a recent clothier and once I was requested to do my first huge interval movie, which was Quills. On the time, I informed my husband, “I’m a Completely Fashionable Millie, can I actually do that interval?” And my husband stated, “Sure, after all. You’ve unbelievable style — use that as your information. Simply take all of these characters buying within the period of your movie and solely choose for them what they might choose. Learn the script seven instances, and know these individuals inside out after which gown everyone from the within out.” This has been my method my total profession.

As soon as I put myself of their pores and skin, and do away with all of the onion skins, the degrees between the within and the skin, I really feel I can then assist create the bridge from the actor to the character. I did psychological research on every of those characters. Girl Jessica is principally a concubine however a really clever one and a extremely skilled Benne Gesserit. Not solely does she have a mystical aspect however she additionally has an clever, previous soul aspect. I needed her outfits to be each compellingly nun-like, but in addition acceptable for a courtesan, which can be what she is. I needed to embody all of these considerably contradictory issues in her costumes.

So I went to Goya, who’s one among my favourite painters. I’ve at all times felt there are two painters from the previous who can be filmmakers in the event that they lived in the present day. One is Goya and the opposite is Giotto. I took from each of them — Giotto extra for the nun-like Benne Gesserit; and extra Goya for Girl Jessica, as a result of there’s a deep, Spanish romanticism in his work, particularly The Clothed Maja. That’s the place I received the thought for the laced gown for her. I didn’t use Spanish lace, however I had a lace made that seemed very very similar to the long run, however with an actual romantic contact from the previous.

So, the costumes all through Dune are gorgeous, however the scene the place I used to be actually overwhelmed by them was that ceremony sequence when planet Arrakis is formally being handed off to Home Atreides. It’s virtually like watching a sci-fi style present unexpectedly, because the character’s face off and the costumes kind a sort of assortment. What was your course of for presenting all of that work in a single scene?

Effectively, as I discussed, I based mostly the entire Atreides armor on the Templars, so this concept got here up in dialog with Denis very early on about how the Catholic Church condemned the Templars, so I assumed maybe the Spacing Guild ought to be fairly ecclesiastic. I assumed it was a great image — with the ruling physique going after Home Atreides, similar to the King and the Church went after the Templars for probably the most arbitrary causes.

So, these House Guild costumes, as they’re all lined up, had been finished all in white — and there are these huge dome headdresses. It’s all fairly ecclesiastic. I seemed to a whole lot of drawings and murals from the Avignon Papacy within the 1200s, however we made it look extra ominous with these huge dome headdresses. I labored on that endlessly with Keith Christiansen and he got here up with a whole lot of these concepts, which I simply thought had been gorgeous and exquisite. Once I confirmed it to Denis, he stated, “Sure! Sure! Extra of this!” So the domes received greater and larger, and we had the entire Sardokour kneeling of their area outfits with the blood-red stripe.

Piter de Vries, the Harkonnen Mentat performed by David Dastmalchian, is one other one among my favourite characters, as a result of he’s like a human stiletto. He’s simply wonderful. There’s one thing like a praying mantis about him, however in black. After which there’s the Messenger of the Change, whom I additionally made fairly ecclesiastic. We wanted you to really feel the depth of tradition of this world, and the references helped us get there.

To what extent did you collaborate with Dune’s manufacturing designer Patrice Vermette all through your course of? Do you need to keep in touch with each other in a roundabout way to interweave the movie’s visible language?

I labored fairly shut with the manufacturing designer on this movie. They began their work manner forward of me, however my information was at all times Denis, as a result of he knew precisely what Patrice was doing as a result of they’d been speaking about it for therefore lengthy. So Denis can be my filter once I confirmed him one thing I used to be considering of. Denis has unbelievable style and an unbelievable eye, and as a visible director he’s very, very good. He had such a deep feeling for this film and noticed all of it in his head. At any time when I put one thing in entrance of him, I’d know if it was proper if I received this very visceral response, the place he’d get actually excited. “Sure! Sure, Jacqueline, sure!” I additionally talked with Patrice loads in regards to the colour pallet.

I knew that Denis’ imaginative and prescient for this was fairly brutalistic so far as the structure for palaces on Caladan and Arrakis. Because it’s informed within the e-book, this can be a world beginning over. In the event you think about the brutalist architectural motion, it was enormous in Britain after WWII when a lot was destroyed and so they needed to rebuild a lot of Nice Britain. For these castles on these planets, they’re fairly brutalistic buildings with many easy, unadorned rooms, with huge areas that may be utilized. This made sense to me — that may be the aesthetic of a world beginning over. You don’t need it to seem like Louis XIV’s courtroom; you need it easy, stripped-down, utilitarian. I approached practically the entire costumes that manner. I by no means needed something to look over-reaching, or overdone and baroque in any manner. The one ones I didn’t method that manner had been the costumes based mostly on the papacy, however I nonetheless simplified these enormously.

Additionally, when Duke Leto’s household is on Caladan firstly of the film, I checked out a whole lot of footage of the Romanov household simply earlier than the Russian Revolution, as a result of I assumed their costumes had been fairly elegant but easy. That they had way more simplicity than a whole lot of the opposite homes of Europe, but they had been fairly regal. I used work of the Romanov household as a result of I assumed they had been a doomed household, similar to the Home of Atreides, the place all the pieces was about to be taken away from them. I assumed there can be some symbolism for the viewers to see and really feel that. Possibly they might make that connection, even subliminally.

It should have been a pleasure to decorate this specific forged, which is likely one of the most spectacular casts on a big-budget motion film in latest reminiscence. There’s actually one thing for everybody on this forged — whether or not you’re an art-house particular person or a big-budget motion fan, and even only a style lover. 

Oh, it’s at all times simpler while you’re working with actually good actors who’ve their very own specific physique language. I’ll always remember, I dressed Geoffrey Rush as soon as because the Marquis de Sade and when he got here in, he was languid and fluid, virtually limp like he had no bones. However when he placed on the Marquis de Sade costume, he grew to become this regal, wealthy aristocrat from the 1700s. The transformation of excellent actors, while you get the costume proper, is probably the most rewarding factor about being a fancy dress designer.

With Dune‘s actors all being consummately nice actors, and with such grace and confidence as individuals — sure, they had been actually enjoyable to decorate. Timothee Chalamet was loads like once I first met Geoffrey Rush, in a manner. Timothee’s mom was a ballerina and he has unbelievable grace and he’s very fluid in his actions — however he’s additionally younger and there’s a brilliant coolness about him. However when he placed on that also go well with for the primary time, he grew to become a desert warrior — it was so stunning to observe.