Academy Awards and Costume Design: Grabbing that Statue
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Isabella Prichard

​We have all heard of the Oscars, otherwise known as the Academy Awards. This year is the 91st Academy Awards, taking place on the 24th of February. Everyone always sits and wonders who will win Best Director, Best Actor or even Best Film. However, the one award that somehow always gets forgotten about is the award for Costume Designer.

​The Academy Award for Best Costume Design was first given out at the 21st Academy Awards, held on March 24, 1949. The award had two subcategories, one for Black and white film and one for films in colour. Since then many, many winners have won for their draw dropping designs, crazy costumes and awe inspiring assets. 

​Now, I am going to look back at the last five years and their winners, starting from the 86th Academy Awards.  In 2014, the Oscar went to Catherine Martin for her work in The Great Gatsby. A new, but classic film that created some classic 1920s inspired costumes.

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 ​One year later, in 2015 the award went to Milena Canonero for the hilarious The Grand Budapest Hotel. This ladies immense attention to detail to bring the characters to life through their costumes alone allowed her to win the prize. When looking at the lonesome Lobby Boy alone, the vivid, rich purple with contrasting yellow details can tell us why she won.
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​2016 gave the award to Jenny Beavan, an inspiration to many. Mad Max: Fury Road, bought a less sophisticated and vivid designer into the limelight. Dark, grungy, worn and tattered: but beautiful costumes in their own way. Beavan’s work looks like it has been in the process of wearing and tearing for years, bringing the story to reality.

 

​Colleen Attwodd grabbed the prize for the Harry Potter spin off film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2017. We all love a bit of Harry Potter so would expect the very best from its costume department. Having won an Oscar back in 2010 for her work on Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, this was Attwood’s second Academy Award Win.

 

Throwing it back to last year, the award was won by Mark Bridges for his work on Phantom Thread. Being the first male on this list, he brings a new, more masculine approach. With the film itself being about dressmaking, the costumes needed to be exquisite. I can tell you they definitely were. A worthy winner of the 91st Academy Awards.

This year’s nominations, I can say with confidence, are the cream of the crop. Nominees are: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs- Mary Zophres, Black Panther- Ruth E. Carter, The Favourite- Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns- Sandy Powell (again) and Mary Queen of Scots- Alexandra Byrne. With the designs ranging from modern to classic, from rich to poor and from vibrant to dark, we really can’t ​tell who will win. Take a look at the designs and nominating for yourself, maybe you can decide who you think should be the winner of the 91st Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
 
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