Post by CM

Who’s getting all set for The Oscars on Sunday night? There’ll be glitz, glamour, triumphs and disappointments; and that’s just the red carpet. Apart from The Big Ones, categories like Best Cinematography or Visual Effects don’t get a whole lotta love from the general public, but there is one that holds the interest of people like you and me – Best Costume Design.

Coleen Atwood – Into the Woods

As it happens, The 17th Costume Designer’s Guild Awards happened last Tuesday, with two of this year’s Oscar nominees taking home prizes; Coleen Atwood for Into the Woods and Milena Canonero for The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Milena Canonero – The Grand Budapest Hotel.

There are more categories in The Guild awards, naturally, to reference Period Film, Contemporary Film and more (you can find the rest of the winners at the end of this post!) so it’s really anyone’s guess who’s going to take home the Academy Award next Sunday night. Here are the nominees:

Inherent Vice – Mark Bridges

Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood

Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard & Jane Clive

Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero

If New York was the fifth character in Sex & The City, then Carrie’s costumes must well have been the sixth; I know I wouldn’t have seen the dire movies if there wasn’t the prospect of some clothes porn. Costume Design is such a pivotal part of movie making, and, as seen by the examples above, is as diverse as it is creative. Fashion has long had a place in film – Hubert de Givenchy took Audrey Hepburn as his muse, and the Givenchy collection for her movie Sabrina, designed by Edith Head, took home the Oscar in 1955.

Edith Head’s designs for Sabrina

Where would we be, indeed, without the ‘little black dress’ Givenchy produced for Breakfast at Tiffany’s – would the film be as iconic as it is without the standout costumes? Whoever takes home the prize on Sunday will join a long line of history makers and, apart I for one am awaiting the result with baited breath.

Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

The 17th Annual Costume Designers’ Guild Winners

Excellence in Contemporary Film
Birdman – Albert Wolsky

Excellence in Period Film
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Milena Canonero

Excellence in Fantasy Film
Into the Woods – Colleen Atwood

Excellence in Commercial Costume Design
Army, “Defy Expectations, Villagers” – Christopher Lawrence

Outstanding Contemporary Television Series
True Detective – Jenny Eagan

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Television Series
Game of Thrones – Michele Clapton

Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Mini Series
American Horror Story: Freak Show – Lou Eyrich