Here's How Lily Gladstone Honored Their Heritage at the 2024 Oscars
Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
After a long season of red carpet appearances and celebrations of their performance in "Killers of a Flower Moon," Lily Gladstone saved their best — and possibly most meaningful — look for last.
The actor arrived to the 2024 Oscars in a strapless midnight blue gown made in collaboration by Gucci and Ironhouse Quillwork's Joe Big Mountain, an Indigenous artist from the Mohawk, Cree and Comanche Nations who specializes in quillwork. According to a press release from the Italian fashion house, it "features a hand-wrapped porcupine quilled border in blue with natural woven star design and sterling silver plated three-bead edging," plus a cape with "floral designs in a porcupine quilled zig-zag stitch double-lined with sterling silver beads, backed with smoked deer hide." She was styled by Jason Rembert.
In an interview with Vogue, Gladstone — who has tribal affiliations with the Kainai, Amskapi Piikani and Nimi'ipuu First Nations, and is the first Native American actor to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress — said of the look: "I can literally feel the love poured into each quill and bead. The dress is alive with it. The effortless integration of pinnacle luxury [from] both Iron Horse and Gucci was my dream from day one. It’s so brilliant, I cried."
Photo: Aliah Anderson/Getty Images
All 216 of the quilled petals were done by hand by a team of artists on the Oneida reservation in Wisconsin, then attached to the gown by Sabato de Sarno. "One thing that I wanted to utilize were colors that were important to her," Joe Big Mountain told Vogue. "The blues, greens and reds were significant to her personally, and I wanted to have those close to her heart."
Gladstone explained to the magazine why it was important to her to incorporate quillwork into her look for the biggest red carpet of the "Killers of the Flower Moon" campaign: "Quillwork reflects the longest legacy of living craftsmanship in my corner of Indian Country. It is hugely culturally significant to so many nations, Blackfeet included. I grew up gazing at quillwork in many forms; in our headdresses, our regalia. The first pair of earrings I ever bought myself were quillwork, made by Bob Tailfeathers from back home."
Gladstone complemented the rich purple tones of their dress with a purple stone ring, pendant necklace and petal-shaped earrings to match the ones on the train.
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