Lily Gladstone has been thrust into the global spotlight since becoming the breakout star of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Earlier this year, she made history by becoming the first Native American to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture. Now, for her game-changing Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, she arrives at the Oscars red carpet in a look fitting of her accolades.
As a proud Siksikaitsitapi and Nimíipuu woman, Gladstone had already broken ground with her career, but she also continues to pave the way for representation in Hollywood—even with her powerful sartorial choices.
Wearing a custom Gucci gown, her look was created in collaboration with Joe Big Mountain and his wife, Sunshine, of Ironhouse Quillwork. The Big Mountains are makers renowned for their quillwork from the Mohawk, Cree, and Comanche Nations. They use traditional and contemporary techniques, which they lent to co-create this gown with Gucci’s Sabato de Sarno.
The result was a striking regal blue velvet gown featuring a strapless silhouette with a trim and matching cape adorned with quillwork motifs.
In Killers of the Flower Moon, Gladstone gives a haunting performance as Mollie Kyle, an Osage woman who survived the Osage Indian murders that took place during the 1910s–1930s. Inspired by true events, the film has gained critical acclaim for outstanding performances and portraying an overlooked tragedy in American history.
The film was based on a screenplay from the 2017 non-fiction book by David Grann.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever fully process that, but I know it’s not just mine,” she told Vogue about her Oscars nomination. “I happen to be holding it. It’s under my care for a while, but it’s something that carries meaning for so many more people than just me.”
Watch the full trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon below.
