‘True Detective’ Star Kali Reis on the Meaning Behind Her Emmys Look

For Sunday’s historic Emmy nomination, Kali Reis knew she had to wear purple.

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Reis, who starred opposite Jodie Foster in “True Detective: Night Country,” was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, making her the first Native American woman nominated for an acting Emmy. For the big night, Reis wore a custom purple velvet suit by Jovana Louis, diamond jewelry by Miraco, custom earrings, necklaces and rings by a collective of Indigenous artists and Dr. Martens shoes. She was styled by Mickey Freeman, with hair by Kim Kimble and makeup by Tay Rivera.

“Purple is a color near and dear to my heart. It means royalty and it comes from the color of Wampum — that’s what we use inside of the shell back home in the northeast, and we use that to make jewelry. It was kind of our first form of currency. So using that to incorporate that color to represent where I come from and my people was just really important,” Reis says. “Not to mention it’s just a dope color.”

The look was a custom project Freeman worked on with the Jovana Louis team. Reis explained to her stylist that she wanted to bring “my whole personality” to the look: “I don’t wear heels, I don’t necessarily wear gowns, but I just really wanted to incorporate everything that I was and be classy and have something really that stood out.”

She knew she wanted to do a braid with her hair and Kimble is “a master of braids,” Reis says.

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“Hair is very sacred to us and my hair is always braided,” Reis adds. “I kind of wanted to have the reference of a 1920s finger wave, a really classy look.”

Ultimately, the Emmy award went to “Baby Reindeer” actor Jessica Gunning, but being part of “True Detective” has been a life-changing experience far beyond accolades for Reis, she says.

“In every which way that you could think of, and not even just myself — myself, and the community I come from and all the boxes I check,” she says.

“Being in Iceland, being around all these Indigenous people that I wasn’t familiar with, even though I’m an Indigenous woman but I’m not from Alaska — learning their ways, hearing their stories, being able to have the art to tell their story and representing who they were. It’s just changed my life in so many ways.”

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