Oscar Volleys: Best Costume Design is all about opulence - you own everything.
Friday, December 2, 2022 at 9:00PM Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Cláudio Alves and Elisa Giudici with a conversation on Best Costume Design...
"Babylon" | © Paramount Pictures
CLÁUDIO: Just as we're starting this conversation, I see my TL full of early reactions to Babylon, which was screened at long last. It still feels too soon to predict how the movie will do, whether critically or in the awards race, but it'll be polarizing. Some love it, some hate it, and the same singular elements have been recipients of both praise and loathing. With all this in mind, we can consider Babylon's chances in the Best Costume Design category. Honestly, at this point in the season, it feels like one of only two locks in the race…
Mary Zophres is a three-time nominee with a long career behind her, characterized by a creative partnership with the Coen brothers that has lasted since Fargo, way back in 1996. She's also a favorite of Spielberg and now Damien Chazelle, with whom she previously worked on La La Land and First Man. While I am a Zophres fan and would love to be excited about her possible Oscar glory, that trailer and those first stills do not inspire confidence. I realize I may be too stuck on notions of historical accuracy, but it's hard to grasp the purpose of stylistic choices that make Margot Robbie look more akin to a coked-out starlet of the 1980s than a silent movie 'it girl.' But, of course, it may all work in context - hope is everlasting.
What about you? What are your thoughts on Babylon's costumes?
ELISA: The Babylon buzz has me intrigued and excited due to one word: decadence. Will that be reflected in the costumes? I am open to not-so-historically-accurate costumes if it reflects an effort to deconstruct? Destroy? Rewrite? the first golden age of cinema. I don't know about calling it a lock here. Best Costume Design is competitive. The confused, messy first reactions to the movie do not suggest a steady, easy Oscar run, not even here.
"Amsterdam" | © 20th Century Studios
Speaking of Margot Robbie’s sporting historically inaccurate yet boho-chic costumes, I think Amsterdam will have very few chances to get nominated. The reviews were awful and rightfully so. Can Albert Wolsky and J.R. Hawbaker's stylistic choices overcome the negative reaction to the movie?
CLÁUDIO: Oh, why would you remind me of Amsterdam? I want to forget that thing exists, the hours it robbed from my life. Seriously now, the costumes by Albert Wolsky aren't that bad, capturing the interwar period as the world was falling into reactionary movements and fascism galore. But, mostly, I just hated Margot Robbie's wardrobe, how temporally displaced it feels without much rhyme or reason. I wonder if Babylon will play similarly.
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" | © Walt Disney Pictures
ELISA: Another interesting entry for the category is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. On the page it’s a strong contender: Ruth E. Carter has her historic win in this category (the first Black person to win Best Costume Design and the first person to win for a superhero film) for the first installment of the franchise. The sequel is even more grand and spectacular in the costume department. The novelty factor is there, too, with the introduction of Namor and the kingdom of Talokan. After creating her Afrofuturistic vision in Black Panther, Carter here has the chance to do the same with Aztec mythology and heritage.
My main concern here is that Wakanda Forever will split its votes with The Woman King. Not that the films are similar but while Wakanda Forever gazes into the future while The Woman King examines the past and I fear Academy members will reserve only one place for African costumes. There's an impressive variety of contenders in this category, some of which are clearly in line with the Academy's tastes.
CLÁUDIO: Though we’re still talking about nomination predictions, I wonder if, instead of a newbie winner, we'll get a repeat championr. Lately, the costume branch has been obsessed with rewarding the same people over and over again. Ruth E. Carter was the last first-time winner in 2018, and before her, you have to go back to Mark Bridges (2011) and Jacqueline Durran (2012), both of whom have won a second statuette since.
"The Woman King" | © TriStar Pictures
In that regard, maybe Carter has an advantage over The Woman King's Gersha Phillips when it comes to securing a nomination. This is sad because it'd be great to see two examples of Afrocentric styles occupying slots in a lineup so often dominated by European royalty porn.
Speaking of past winners, Catherine Martin feels like a safe bet. Her Elvis costumes combine the precepts of biopic filmmaking and near superhero-level iconography with the theatricality of Luhrmann madness. The Academy loves traditional biopics, of course, but they don't always love them in this category. Bohemian Rhapsody didn't get a costume nomination despite its mind-boggling success. Rocketman and Judy got nowhere the following year, either. That's why I don't think I Wanna Dance With Somebody will get much traction in this specific race.
"Elvis" | © Warner Bros.
ELISA: I feel confident that Elvis will make it in this category because Luhrmann showcases the work as eye-popping and luxurious. The allure of grandeur will help. He is the kind of director who has that touch required in advertising: the costumes don't just sit there, they catch the eye. Bonus point: Elvis and Priscilla's style in the movie could be considered fashionable even by contemporary standards. What I mean is that the Elvis costumes are historically appropriate but also surprisingly fashionable in a modern sense. I sense a faint hint of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci vibe.
CLÁUDIO: Jenny Beavan is the other potential victor returning from the (recent and not so recent) past. Her work in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is incredible, and AMPAS has been in a fashion movie mood as of late – see wins for Bridges' Phantom Thread and Beavan's own Cruella last year. But, then again, is the movie too low-key for the Oscars? I imagine it'll at least score a BAFTA nomination, right?
ELISA: As you mentioned, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris has the whole package. The only limit is the competition with Living as another movie with amazing costumes set in England in the 1950s. Costumes with Sandy Powell's name on the tag. That's a death match between two of the most beloved names in this category. So I don’t think both of them will make the final ballot. I think Powell is the real powerhouse here.
"The Fabelmans" | © Universal Pictures
If Spielberg's latest is a front runner in major categories (Picture and Director), do you think the movie can be nominated for costumes, too? They are not that showy (at least for Academy’s tastes), even if some pieces play a crucial role in the movie (that white, see-through camisole Michelle Williams wears while dancing in front of car lights). Considering the time period and the specific genre (movies about the love for movies and cinema) there are two other candidates: Empire of Light and Armageddon Time. I don’t think they have the same strength as The Fabelmans. What is your take?
CLÁUDIO: Out of those three memoirist movies, The Fabelmans is better placed to score a costume nomination. If Mark Bridges can get noticed for something as simple and unglamorous as Joker, I assume the cornucopia of midcentury styles in Spielberg's latest will be among the top contenders. Maybe he's not in the running for a win, but a nomination feels very possible.
Indeed, at this point in the race, anything seems possible. Looking at the year's releases, I wonder if any title that feels momentarily out of the conversation will shock us all down the line. The Northman's archeological approach to design should ideally get attention, as would Till’s brilliant use of color and contrasting textiles. Beyond anglophone cinema, Corsage plays some nifty games with anachronism and iconography. One hopes awards voters will stay away from the godawful Secrets of Dumbledore, but Colleen Atwood has previously won an Oscar for that franchise. Downton Abbey: A New Era, Three Thousand Years of Longing, and Don't Worry Darling represent other showy wardrobes from movies that feel DOA, awards-wise but could surprise. I don't know about you, but I'd love a wild out-of-nowhere nominee.
"Neptune Frost" | © Kino Lorber
Finally, before we share our predictions, why not mention some personal favorites that probably have no chance? For me, the year's best achievement in costume design is absoultely Neptune Frost. Talk about Afrofuturism, ingenuity and imagination unbound – Cedric Mizero is a genius! Also, I desperately need a plus-sized version of the keyboard jacket shown in the movie, please and thank you.
ELISA: In the realm of “I’d like what they did with the costume department but they don’t have a chance," there are so many genre movies. Pearl is noteworthy for the the evolution of costumes here with those in X. There's also Glass Onion, a movie that does an excellent job in mixing the kind of luxury and over-dramatic style sported by the British upper classes in old-school whodunnits (super wide-brimmed hat included!) with a touch of contemporary extravaganza. And it does that with a summer vacation on a Greek Island flavour. Bonus points for using pandemic-related masks as a fashionable, personalized item that reveals something about the true nature of the wearer. I don’t think Jenny Eagan’s work on this title has virtually any chance of landing a surprise nomination, but I'd enjoy that.
"Decision to Leave" | © MUBI
Final note: I would award Decision to Leave as Best Costumes. I would also love to have Tang Wei's wardrobe too, thank you.
CLÁUDIO: I'm so glad you love the Decision to Leave costumes, as I am also a huge fan. Regarding Glass Onion, I have yet to see it, but your comments make me very excited about its sartorial stylings. The first movie was excellent in that department, though the season and setting change will obviously drive the aesthetic from chunky knit sweaters. I'm especially looking out for those mask details you mention.
ELISA: Time to make some predictions! I'll go first:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Elvis
- The Fabelmans
- Living
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
CLÁUDIO: I had forgotten entirely about Everything Everywhere All at Once as a Best Costume Design contender. Though its mix of contemporary mundanity with cartoonish sci-fi may be outside the Academy's wheelhouse, some of the most striking designs are so showy that they might have a chance.
Still, I hesitate to predict it. Right now, my best guesses for the lineup are:
- Elvis
- Babylon
- The Fabelmans
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
What about you rooting for, dear reader? While you're here, take a look at Nathaniel's own predictions in the Best Costume Design category.
Reader Comments (3)
Personal fave that probably has no chance: Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.
I'm glad y'all mentioned GLASS ONION and DECISION TO LEAVE since contemporary film gets no love in this category. two more contemporary films i think had smart costuming this year wereTRIANGLE OF SADNESS and TÁR. as for period costumes, I'm really fond of the work on FABELMANS, MRS HARRIS, ELVIS, CORSAGE, LIVING, THE NORTHMAN.
I also wish there was a way to honor single costumes that you fell in love with. I am really into that blue dress that Florence Pugh wears in THE WONDER that gets increasingly muddy as the narrative goes.
I was thinking about Living and if there is precedence for an Oscar to be awarded for a film where classic men’s suits dominated. I think The Sting in 1973 qualifies. Edith Head won her eighth (and last) Oscar. Her acceptance speech was brief, “Just imagine dressing the two handsomest men in the world and then getting this. I simply couldn't be more happy or more grateful, and thank you all so much.”