The Best Costumes of 1946

by Cláudio Alves

Before we head into the nitty-gritty of the Best Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1946 tomorrow, it's time to look at some pretty clothes and lose our minds in a hurricane of 'what ifs.' By the end of that decade, the Academy had implemented two Best Costume Design categories – black-and-white and color – but those awards were only introduced in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards. Before that, costume designers had no way of winning Oscars. If you're an awards obsessive who loves the art of costuming, it's easy to wonder what would have happened if the category were introduced at the beginning. What would have been nominated in 1946? Who would have won? Here are my tentative answers to these complicated questions…

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1946: Olivia & Joan's feud goes public

Team Experience is revisiting 1946 in the lead up to this week's Smackdown.

by Baby Clyde

As she triumphantly left the stage of the Shrine Auditorium after winning a long awaited Best Actress Oscar for To Each His Own, Olivia De Havilland was approached by a very familiar figure offering congratulations. 

I don’t know why she does that when she knows how I feel...” 

...Olivia muttered as she turned away from her equally famous sister, the 1941 Best Actress winner Joan Fontaine. Unfortunately for all involved it was captured on camera, which lead to the infamous picture above. It's one of my favourite snapshots in Hollywood history. The look of genuine delight on Joan’s face, the look of pursed lipped distaste on Olivia’s. You could write a book about it; I’ll try and stick to a few hundred words...

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