Jackie Risotto (‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’ makeup) paid ‘delicate attention’ to period trends and aging skin [Exclusive Video Interview]

According to Jackie Risotto, there are three key elements that go into successfully designing the look for a period TV series. “What was going on in makeup at that time, what works for the actor, and just being historically accurate,” she explains. Risotto served as the makeup department head on the FX series “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” where she tracked these three elements to capture the glamor of the fashionable “Swans” and the downward spiral of Truman Capote. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

This season of “Feud” takes place across the 1960s and 1970s and follows some of the most stylish high society women of the era. So Risotto took special care to capture the trends and colors that New York socialites like Babe Paley (Naomi Watts) and Slim Keith (Diane Lane) would have used. “With the sixties, it was the mod period. So there was heavy eyeliner, there was more cut crease, there were bigger lashes,” describes the makeup artist, “and then in the seventies it kind of became more of a natural eye. So the colors were more browns and taupes.” She dedicated many hours of research in order to nail the color palette and accurately portray the Swans.

WATCH our exclusive video interview with Naomi Watts (‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’)

Episode 3 of “Feud” takes viewers into Capote’s infamous Black and White Ball at the Plaza Hotel, which in the show is largely filmed in a black and white documentary style. Thankfully, Risotto had just come off the black and white film “Maestro” and completed many hours of makeup tests, so she knew what would and would not read on camera for those scenes at the Plaza. Lipstick is apparently the biggest offender when it comes to having to adjust shades for this filming technique. “You could put on a shade of red that could look beautiful in color, but when it comes to black and white, it’s reading black or it’s reading nude,” reveals Risotto.

Besides the high society women in the series, Risotto’s other main challenge was to depict Capote (Tom Hollander) as he spiraled with alcoholism. “We paid such delicate attention to each scene that he’s in,” she admits. So in early scenes like the aforementioned Black and White Ball, she focused on making his skin look younger and healthier. “I would use Plexaderm under his eyes to kind of tighten up the bags. We use lifts just to give him a more tightened up, elevated appearance,” explains the makeup artist, “And then as he becomes more of an alcoholic and as he gets older, we took the lifts off.” Freckles, redness, and texture was added to Hollander’s skin as alcohol grabbed control of Capote’s life.

WATCH our exclusive video interview with Tom Hollander, ‘Feud: Capote vs. The Swans’

“Tom and I have had conversations about how the hair and makeup really helped him get into character,” says Risotto. One of the most memorable experiences for her was watching the transformation process as Hollander went through the process of adding makeup, hair, and costume. “Once we nailed it, just seeing him…he was Capote,” she exclaims, “It’s just insane to see the whole process come together.”

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