Best Costume Design: Ranking Every Nominee of the 97th Academy Awards
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
After we looked at the Best Production Design nominees yesterday, we continue the creative categories by venturing forth with the nominations for Best Costume Design. Now, in case it wasn’t blatantly obvious, I am clearly not a fashion expert. While I may be far more interested in fashion than you may expect (my wardrobe wouldn’t prove it, I suppose), I most certainly couldn’t tell you the first thing about actually drafting and creating outfits; I can just admit to what costumes I think look nice. With that in mind, I’m going to be analyzing what outfits take me to a new world, different era, or parallel reality. Which costumes look like they could truly exist at all, let alone with the people within them? What garments are intricately made and feel like they inhabit the personalities of those wearing them? While I feel like this category is the one I am the least knowledgeable in, I always look forward to asking the films and its characters “who are you wearing?” every year; again, I have a fascination with high fashion, but am certainly not well versed enough in the finer details. Nonetheless, let’s give this a try for another year of the Academy Awards Project.
Here are your nominees for Best Costume Design ranked from worst to best.
Biggest Snub: Maria
There are actually a handful of missing films in this category. I’d place Furiosa on that list (the costumes were designed by the legendary Jenny Beavan, for crying out loud), as well as Dune: Part Two (which felt like a given, honestly). However, I will use this opportunity to bring up another film that was once theorized to be a lock in this category: Maria. While much of what we can appreciate in this film stems from the many outfits of the opera icon Maria Callas, I think even that is enough to go off of. From what elaborate get-ups she dons on stage, to the outfits she sports in her everyday life — particularly her last week alive — we are given the wardrobe of a titan who has fallen and wants to be loved, respected, and remembered. These parallels also sell the idea that Callas as a person was removed from her on stage alter ego, as if she was forever chasing the image society had of her. Callas stands out with her magnificent style, and this felt like reason enough for Maria to be nominated here (let alone the clothes of everyone else which would wind up being its own paragraph).
5. A Complete Unknown-Arianne Phillips
Sure. Everyone in A Complete Unknown is well dressed, era appropriate, and believably clothed (I believe Bob Dylan toured the country in the dusty, worn pants and jacket he sports). When Dylan becomes a star, his wardrobe is elevated, so costume designer Arianne Phillips can go hog wild with making the folk legend stand out as the outlier he never wished to be. I’m ranking A Complete Unknown last because I think the costume design in the other nominated films is far stronger, but I do think one can tip their hat to the life, provenance, and care put into the outfits throughout the film. It may not be the flashiest nominee, and I would have picked a few other snubs above it, but A Complete Unknown still boasts some good costume design work.
4. Gladiator II-Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Well, it was suspected that Gladiator II would wind up with at least one Academy Award nomination; while most people predicted that Denzel Washington would be noticed, the film instead was picked up for Best Costume Design. I think this makes sense enough, because enough of the outfits possess their own stories and the histories of those wearing them. While I think Gladiator II makes sense to be here, and it has a larger portfolio of designs that stand out more than, say, A Complete Unknown, I’m placing it fourth because some of the outfits can come off as a little phony at times; the rubbery look of some of the gladiator costumes, for instance. These oversights aren’t often enough to feel bothersome, but I did notice them in Gladiator II and not necessarily in the higher-ranked nominees. There are times where the costumes here shine; I know Washington wasn’t nominated, but at least the amazing get-ups that he wears were recognized (they go hand-in-hand with the boastful eccentricities of Washington’s performance).
3. Conclave-Lisy Christl
I ranked Conclave the best nominee of the Production Design category because of the believable, painstaking recreation of Vatican City. The costume designs here are of a similar wavelength whilst being a little easier to process than the impossible sets. The amount of detail in each and every stitch of the countless costumes worn throughout Conclave really captured my eye throughout my watch. What also helps is that this is a film about a party of pope-hopefuls being uncomfortable in their own skin, and yet their attire felt like they belonged to each and every party member; if anything, the majority of characters wear the same robes and accessories, and yet these specific garments seemed to belong to each character. I honestly feel like a part of the cinematic illusion — specifically the believably that these characters exist — is never questioning who we see and feeling like we’re watching actors in costumes. Despite how easily the doubt could have set in in a film like Conclave (where the outfits are tricky to make, and are all similar to one another in a manufactured way), designer Lisy Christl nails the assignment.
2. Nosferatu-Linda Muir
Knowing Robert Eggers’ eye for historical accuracy and anthropological detail in his features, Nosferatu doesn’t disappoint with how its characters are clothed. The everyday people we see are dapper as fuck in their outfits, helping us feel like we are amongst these upper class beauts of prestige. However, unlike many similar period piece films that can only shine in this way, Linda Muir’s work in Nosferatu gets far more interesting. We cross numerous walks of life, including the Carpathian community that Thomas comes across, the inhabitants of the institution where we find Herr Knock once he is deemed unstable, and so much more. There’s Count Orlok himself, who may be cloaked in shadows but is still noticeably menacing even in how he dresses. Not only are these outfits era appropriate, they have so much personality and character in them (without ever feeling fictitious or like caricatures) which earns them points in my eyes.
1. Wicked-Paul Tazewell
Wicked is stuffed with incredible costume work. We can focus just on Elpheba and Glinda and already this nomination feels justified. Both characters are given an entire universe of outfits that stand out, feel brilliantly made, and are perfect fits to their respective personalities and provenance. Now, take into account everyone else who we see; from prominent characters to the countless examples of background figures (who somehow still stand out), and it feels like there’s no contest here. Wicked may be strongly made in a few respects (particularly its craft-based areas), but it is at its very best with how it is dressed. What could have felt like cheap Halloween-store costumes (or cosplay efforts) instead feel so real that I never even second guess what I am seeing; in that same breath, I do admire the imagination and eccentricity of what I see. Even with the other nominees listed, I think Wicked shines the most here, hands down.
Who I Want To Win: I have a clear-cut favourite with Wicked here, but I’d also be pleased if Nosferatu or Conclave won this award.
Who I Think Will Win: Right now, it feels like there is only one possibility: Wicked will likely win this. I also cannot see how any other film will possibly take over, considering that the other Best Picture nominees (a category which usually helps curry favour unless there is an obvious choice), A Complete Unknown and Conclave, currently have very low odds to win and I don’t suspect that the other two films will garner enough attention to overtake Wicked. I don’t think this will change. This is Wicked’s to win.
The Academy Awards Project will continue tomorrow with another category: Best Makeup/Hairstyling. We’re going to rank every single nominee in every single category, Monday through Friday. You don’t want to miss it!
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.