Interview: Talking About the Look of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ with Costume Designer Jacqueline West

Anything Martin Scorsese chooses to do will have impeccable production values. Killers of the Flower Moon is no exception, with the costumes by costume designer Jacqueline West chief among them. A period piece needs costume work that not just has the characters inhabiting the time, but also immerses you in it. Recently, West spoke to me about how she achieved just that. Today, I’m pleased to share it with you.

In my review of Killers of the Flower Moon (here), I praised the film like so:

Martin Scorsese, co-writing with Eric Roth in addition to directing, still has his mastery of the craft on full display here. Whether it’s the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, the editing from Thelma Schoonmaker, or the score by the late Robbie Robertson, it’s all magnificent. Throw in the costumes by Jacqueline West, as well as the production design by Jack Fisk, and you have technical perfection in evidence. Roth and Scorsese have the director’s trademark violence and gallows humor, but they’re also ruminating on injustice as well. It all builds to the year’s best ending, and in fact, arguably the best ending to any film by the great Scorsese, to date.

Below, you can hear my chat with West. A four time Academy Award nominee, she’ll almost certainly be in contention once again for Scorsese’s epic. Will the likely fifth Oscar nomination be the charm for her? We’ll see, but as you’re about to find out, she puts so much work into her job, it’s probably only a matter of time for her. In particular, listening to her collaboration here with Leonardo DiCaprio is utterly fascinating. If you’ve yet to see Killers of the Flower Moon, or if you’re thinking of revisiting it, definitely do so while keeping West’s threads in mind…

Here now is my interview with Killers of the Flower Moon costume designer Jacqueline West. Enjoy:

Killers of the Flower Moon is in theaters now!