by Nathaniel R
Fantastic Beasts won Colleen Atwood her 4th Oscar. Will its sequel give her her 13th nomination?
The original Mary Poppins lost the Costume Design competition. Could Sandy Powell win it for the sequel?
Even if the year's Costume Design prospects weren't so tantalizing we'd be salivating because we love the artform. After a relatively weak previous season, this category has the opportunity to come roaring back for 2018 in a big way. Consider that all four of the Academy's favorite working costume designers (with 43 nominations and 13 wins between them) might be back this year...
Do more punk! Sandy works her magic with How to Talk to Girls at Parties
OSCAR'S BELOVED FOUR
Sandy Powell (Mary Poppins Returns, The Favourite, How to Talk to Girls at Parties)
She's managed double nominations twice before. Could she perform the trick in a third year? And when will we get our first photo of the royal court in The Favourite? That seems like a great opportunity to show off.
Newt Salamander only gets one costume ever but Powell has new characters to explore in Fantastic Beasts Crimes of Grindelwald
Colleen Atwood (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald)
Was the Oscar for the first film in the Harry Potter spinoff franchise enough?
Jenny Beavan (The Nutcracker and the Four Realms)
The Mad Max Fury Road designer is back. And who knows. This project might also qualify under Most Costumes.
[alas no photo available yet]
Milena Canonero (The Sisters Brothers)
She works less frequently than Atwood, Beaven, or Powell but there's no denying her towering genius in this field given that filmography (not to mention the four Oscar wins)
Sadly many of the most exciting prospects in the category, like Canonero's return, haven't revealed even a sneak peek image yet but but there sure is a lot to look forward to.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
In addition to the category's four superstars noted above there are also the less frequently nominated but still A list costume designers like Jacqueline Durran (Peterloo), Sharen Davis (Alpha), Alexandra Byrne (Mary Queen of Scots), Mary Zophres (First Man), and Ruth E Carter (Black Panther) as possibilities. Finally we're always crossing our fingers for first timer nominations, too. It'd be nice to see more attention given to, say, Julian Day (Bohemian Rhapsody) or Steven Noble (The Little Stranger) some day.
Here are more photos to consider...
A nomination for Ruth E Carter for "Black Panther" would tie her with Octavia and Viola as "most frequently Oscar-nominated black woman"
Sharen Davis is working with a lot of dirt and fur for Alpha (hey it worked for The Revenant's Jacqueline West)
Mary Queen of Scots -- Oscar loves this era in clothing
Ryan Gosling on the set of astronaut drama First Man
Julian Day gets another opportunity to shine with Bohemian Rhapsody.
Vita and Virginia was costume designed by Lorna Marie Mugan whose mostly worked in British TV 
A set photo from If Beale Street Could Talk which takes place in the 1970s. Caroline Eselin did the costumes.
Caroline Koener did the costumes for Mary Shelley
Steven Noble costumed The Little Stranger the new film from the director of Room.
Jacqueline Durran always does grand work for Mike Leigh. "Peterloo" could be epic.
It's a pity they so rarely opt for contemporary film but Sarah Edwards is certainly giving us a lot to look at for Oceans 8.
Keira Knightley as Colette with Andrea Flesch costuming.
Dakota Johnson in Guilia Persanti costume on the set of the Suspiria remake
HERE ARE ALL THE VISUAL CATEGORY OSCAR CHARTS AND THE OVERALL PREDICTION INDEX