If you want to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, it’s best to pick a project that has elements of fantasy. Since this category was introduced in 1948, period pieces dominated including in the first decade of this century with the likes of “Gladiator” (Janty Yates), “Marie Antoinette” (Canonero), “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Alexandra Bryne), and “The Duchess” (Michael O’Connor) all winning. But just as superhero and fantasy films have dominated the box office this past decade, so too have they proved their might in this category.
Most recently, Holly Waddington took home the Best Costume Design Oscar for her sterling work on Yorgos Lanthimos‘ “Poor Things.” Among other such fare to win as of late were: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (Colleen Atwood), “Black Panther” (Ruth E. Carter), and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Carter again). And Jenny Beavan won for “Mad Max: Fury Road,” an action epic that could qualify as a fantasy in many ways. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Costume Design.)
The other winners were a pair of period comedies “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (Milena Canonero) and “Cruella” (Beavan), and a trio of period dramas “Phantom Thread” (Mark Bridges), “Little Women” (Jacqueline Durran), and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Ann Roth).
Recreating the various looks of the early 20th century has also proven an effective way to win as evidenced by “The Aviator” (2005), “The Artist” (2012), and “The Great Gatsby” (2014). Voters were also delighted to travel to exotic locales as with “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2006) and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” (2015).
The one era that does not have costumes that usually appeal to academy members is the modern-day. You have to go all the way back to “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1995) to find a film set in the present day that won for its costumes, and that one benefited from being about drag queens.
What’s interesting, however, is how little correlation there is between this award and Best Picture; only 20 films have taken home both trophies. The last time the winner of Best Costume Design also claimed Best Picture was in 2012: “The Artist” won both awards and Bridges was the costumer. There are only three other films this century that also won this pairing: “Gladiator” (costume designer Yates), “Chicago” (costume designer Atwood), and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (costume designers Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor).
Edith Head holds the record for both the most nominations and the most wins in this category. She was nominated 35 times in total, winning on eight occasions: “The Heiress” in 1950 (with Gina Steele), “All About Eve” in 1951 (with Charles LaMaire), “Samson and Delilah” in 1951 (Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jenssen, Gwen Wakeling, and Steele), “A Place in the Sun” in 1952, “Roman Holiday” in 1954, “Sabrina” in 1955, “The Facts of Life” in 1961 (with Edward Stevenson), and “The Sting” in 1974. Irene Sharaff won five times in her career while the costume designers with the most wins who are still working are Canonero and Atwood, who have both prevailed four times so far.
Let’s now look ahead to the future, however, as we could be in for another fantastic year of costuming in film. There are plenty of movies that would very much fit the mould of a typical Best Costume Design winner here, including “Gladiator II,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Joker: Folie à Deux,” and “Nosferatu.”
UPDATED: July 19, 2024
LEADING CONTENDERS
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Colleen Atwood
“Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Jacqueline Durran
“Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Jacqueline West
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros./Universal) — Jenny Beavan
“Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — Janty Yates
“Joker: Folie à Deux” (Warner Bros.) — Arianne Phillips
“Wicked” (Universal) — Paul Tazewell
STRONG CONTENDERS
“Conclave” (Focus Features) — Lisy Christl
“Maria” (TBC) — Massimo Cantini Parrini
“Nosferatu” (Focus Features/Universal) — Linda Muir
“Queer” (TBC) — J.W. Anderson
“SNL 1975” (Sony Pictures) — Danny Glicker
POSSIBLE CONTENDERS
“Here” (Sony Pictures) — Joanna Johnston
“Horizon: An American Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Lisa Lovaas
“Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) — Milena Canonero
“Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM Studios) — Brittany Loar
“The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
“The Last Showgirl” (TBC) — Rainy Jacobs
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