When Reservation Dogs star Devery Jacobs arrived at the 2024 Emmy Awards red carpet on Sept. 15 in a cream, tulle-covered suit by ACT N°1, she wanted to start a conversation. Jacobs was there to represent a groundbreaking series, which follows four indigenous teens growing up on an Oklahoma reservation, nominated in its third and final season for one of the most competitive Emmy awards, Outstanding Comedy Series. Fans of the critically-acclaimed show knew it was special even before it was nominated: Reservation Dogs was also the first American TV series to feature writers and directors entirely of indigenous heritage. Naturally, Jacobs wanted to show up and show out for her last appearance tied to the series and her character, Elora Danan.
Linking up with stylist Christian Stroble for the evening led Jacobs to her red carpet ideal—a set blending floaty, voluminous texture with the base of a strong-shouldered suit. Just don't call the tiers and tiers of tulle her Cinderella moment. "I tried it on and was immediately like, 'This feels so me, this feels dramatic and elevated but also really interesting," Jacobs tells me over the phone after one of her last fittings. "The last thing that I want to be called, personally, when I step onto a red carpet is 'pretty' [or] soft and feminine. Those things don't feel interesting to me."
Jacobs says her personal style is a mix of masculine and feminine—and she's not afraid to take risks bringing those sides together, even on one of Hollywood's biggest nights. "I've found that when I've been on just as many worst-dressed lists as I have best-dressed, I consider that to be a success because at least there's a conversation happening and a point of view behind it."
An essential part of Jacobs's style POV is her Kahnawake Mohawk heritage, which the star elevates by prioritizing indigenous designers in her red carpet outfits. If the step-and-repeat is where Jacobs can express herself and not the characters she plays, she says she wants to elevate every aspect of her queer, native identity. Last night, she paired her dress with jewelry from Ataumbi Metals, a New Mexico-based jeweler blending Arapaho, Kiowa, and Shoshone aesthetics.
"Reservation Dogs and all of the press that we've had has really afforded us the chance to lean into our personal style and I think show who we are through that lens," Jacobs explained. "I'm always conscious and mindful of wanting to uplift community in all of the spaces that we go to, whether that's collaborating with indigenous designers or queer designers and artists of color."
It's a personal effort. Jacobs can remember a time when she didn't yet feel empowered to dress how she wanted to. "When I was really young, I was wearing a lot of really femme outfits that I didn't feel specifically resonated with who I was. It was kind of what I was told I should look like," she said. Now, she's attending events like the Emmys in looks that give every side of her identity space to shine without restraint.
Her Emmys look also baked in an homage to the start of her TV journey with a nod to one of her first Reservation Dogs costumes: "I was drawing from the pilot, where we're all wearing suits," she said. On the series, she wears a black straight-leg pantsuit and skinny black tie for an event I won't spoil here for any late watchers. Jacobs reinterpreted it in a lighter palette and amplified volume—one of her favorite ways to mix up a look.
A red carpet send-off in yards and yards of tulle was symbolic of Jacobs taking up the space she and her community deserve in Hollywood. "I always wanted to go out of Reservation Dogs guns blazing because it is such a groundbreaking show, not only for native folks, but also rez kids who have been needing to see a show like this for so long," she said.
The entire cast and crew takes pride in every detail of the project, from the writers drawing from their lived experiences in the scripts to the actors representing their families and friends onscreen. "It was for our communities," Jacobs said of the show. "For me to be able to be a part of the Emmys this year, and for the show to be nominated, is something that just feels right."
Jacobs joked that she "fully expects to lose to The Bear." The trophy for Outstanding Comedy ultimately went to Hacks, but I can't image Jacobs was too pressed. The night was never really about the awards, anyway, for her. It was about what her presence stood for.
"I'm just excited to be able to represent queer native folks and Kahnawake Mohawk people on that main stage and also represent myself," she said, "and feel like I get to show up fully embodied as who I am, out of character as myself, and get to celebrate this thing that I'm so proud of."
