‘Backwoods Wear’ – Interview with Twin Peaks Costume Designer Sarah Markowitz

The fashion in Twin Peaks is something that has captivated fans for decades. For the first two seasons of the show, Sarah Markowitz served as the Costume Designer, taking over for Patricia Norris who designed the show’s look for the Pilot. Long-time fashion writer Rose-Marie Turk profiled Markowitz’s work in an article for The Los Angeles Times on May 9, 1990. The article is filled with some interesting tidbits I did not know.

BACKWOODS WEAR – FASHION OF TWIN PEAKS

Rose-Marie Turk wrote about fashion for The Los Angeles Times from about 1988-1995. Her article titled, “Backwoods Wear,” was published on May 9, 1990, which was a day before episode 1.006 (#6) aired on the ABC Television Network.

THE LOOK: Small-town realistic, which means everyone in this off-kilter, soap opera-style mystery from David Lynch and Mark Frost has to travel miles to snare the latest fashions. And most of them don’t make the trip.

THE PLAN: The seven-part series is set in a beautiful logging community in the Pacific Northwest.

“David felt very strongly the colors and textures had to match the environment. The big challenge was not to have everyone in plaid shirts and corduroy pants,” says costume designer Sara Markowitz. (Costume designer Patricia Norris set the mood in the two-hour pilot, then left to work on a feature film with Lynch.) Some characters aren’t the plaid-shirt type anyway.

Laura Palmer, the murdered prom queen, and her amazingly sophisticated friends wear dresses or pretty sweaters and skirts. FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) seems born in and welded to his impeccable white shirt, suit, tie and trench coat. And Sheriff Harry S. Truman (Michael Ontkean) has a similar affinity for his only outfit: Stetson, heavy-duty jacket, serviceable khakis. No one even asks Truman why he has the same moniker as the 33rd President.

But why would they in a town where when one woman carries a pet log: the psychiatrist wears earplugs; a llama is among the domestic pets being treated by the vet; and Laura’s father clings to her coffin as it yo-yos into its grave.

Still, the most out-of-character character is Jocelyn Packard (Joan Chen, pictured), a mysterious, rich widow with an unexpectedly boyish haircut and a penchant for luxurious camisoles and silk robes, even if she’s only making a turkey sandwich. “Everything about her is out of place,” Markowitz says. “My feeling is she shops in Seattle or New York or somewhere from her past we don’t know about.”

THE STORES: Manufacturers gave Markowitz merchandise, such as Perry Ellis suits and a Harley-Davidson leather trench coat. She donated items from her own closet, including an old argyle sweater and a new black dress. Shopping took place at Banana Republic, Bullock’s, Playmates on Hollywood Boulevard, and thrift stores.

Markowitz says she spent $2,000 in one day at the Salvation Army. She had the clothes dry-cleaned and the tags removed so the high-priced actors would not be offended by their low-priced costumes.

Ontkean supplied his own Stetson and cowboy boots.

THE PAYOFF: With the quirky, complicated plot, who needs elaborate clothing? The goal for Markowitz was “to make these people look real and not as if they were wearing costumes.”

But she did do costumes once: wonderful, risqué corsets, garter belts and stockings for women of the local brothel. The corsets, from Playmates, were appliqued with playing card symbols and fully lined to get past the censor.

Below is a copy of the original article from May 1990.