[ad_1]
Let’s begin from the start: how did you get into costume design?
Jacqueline West: Nicely, my mom was a designer, however the very last thing she needed for me was the style enterprise. So, I went to Berkeley to go to medical faculty, and shortly after that, I made a decision to alter my main to artwork historical past, however there’s not so much you are able to do with that. So, whereas out of Berkeley, I opened my very own clothes retailer, which occurred to be subsequent to a really iconic restaurant that every one the filmmakers within the Bay Space frequented—it is the place Coppola, Phil Kaufman, Spielberg, Lucas, and all people frolicked. It led me to satisfy all these filmmakers, together with Phil Kaufman, who, after being a buyer in my retailer, requested me to assist with costumes for the movie Henry in June. And that is all she wrote.
And what about you, Julie? How did you uncover that you simply needed to work in style merchandising?
Julie O’Keefe: I grew up in Husker, Oklahoma, on the Osage reservation with my grandparents. Once I was a junior in highschool, that they had a profession day—trying again, I hope extra faculty programs do this now, particularly for rural communities when you do not know what’s on the market that you are able to do. However, on at the present time, a girl who owned the native gown store on the town got here and spoke about how she had studied style merchandising at Oklahoma State College. After listening to her communicate, I begged my grandparents to let me have a job, although I did not have a driver’s license then. They stated okay, as long as it did not intervene with faculty; I went to work on the native store. At first, I used to be washing home windows, however after a few 12 months, they took me to Dallas to assist buy Junior’s clothes for the shop. And that is how I first realized how wholesale labored, how clothes is made and the place they’re made, and about sizing, shopping for, and all of that. After which, after that, I went to highschool for style merchandising.
And the way did you make the soar from working in style merchandising to changing into a cultural advisor in conventional Native American attire?
Julie: After faculty, in my twenties, I went on trip to Washington, DC, and I ended up by no means coming again (chuckles). It was attention-grabbing to be a small-town woman working in a much bigger metropolis; I labored at a high-end design store. It handled all sorts of clientele, from the Kennedy household to sheiks from Saudi Arabia, and since all the diplomats are primarily based in DC. From that have, I realized all about find out how to import antiques. Ultimately, it led me to hone in on sourcing and producing Native American clothes for varied tasks, together with the First People Museum and, extra just lately, the movie. Actually, I’ve by no means even thought concerning the film business in any respect. However I used all these expertise I would cultivated to work with Martin [Scorsese] and Jacqueline [West].
[ad_2]
