Because it works on yesterday’s fashion, appearance and fabrics, Jacqueline West She easily describes herself as a period fashion designer. So when the exit Denis Villeneuve He was asked to create the futuristic costumes for his version of Sand dunes She is hesitant.

“Actually, I said no at first,” she says today. I didn’t want to do science fiction, it wasn’t my business. I’ve never worn spacesuits, all these specialized and armored suits. »

If she finally agrees to embark on this adventure, it is because, she says, it is about a universe so remote that it has become ancient and mythical. at dunesThe future joins the past.

And so, under Jacqueline West’s cudgel, the film’s costumes have a Byzantine appeal, something old that blends perfectly with the eccentricity of the decor.

Vanity Fair: What are your favorite parts of this movie?

Jacqueline West: Among my favorite costumes are Peter de Vries (performed by David Dastmalchian). It is inspired by Ingmar Bergman. So is the Space Guild, which had this very ecclesiastical outfit with the big dome at the start of the movie. I love historical references.

What is your fashion history in this movie?

The Space Guild depends on Avignon papacy 1200s, because they joined forces with the then King of France and rallied against the Knights Templar. The Popes ended up banishing the Knights Templar in the same way that the Emperor and the House of Harkonnen came together to depose the Duke of Leto and Atreides in dunes. So there was some kind of subconscious connection. In the group, I coined this term: “Mod-evial.” I was thinking about the Middle Ages and imagining what clothes from that era would look like in the future. I thought to myself: “What better than drawing from the distant past to project ten thousand years into the future. Dennis liked this concept, so I used a lot of it Giotto. Me too joya And the Caravaggio. To imagine the silhouette of Freemen, the people of the desert, I studied the work that was done for him Lawrence of Arabia. I was inspired by him to develop something that shows the idea of ​​a form of survival in a hostile environment.

Are there other points in the story that you made?

For Atrides, before Duke Leto (played by Oscar IsaacI don’t leave on the Arrakis, it was based on the Romanov family, because it was the end of an empire. Everything was going to be taken away from them. They had a simplicity that was royal, yet simple.