30 Times Movie Costumes Were So Impressive That They Ended Up Winning An Oscar

Directed by Greta Gerwig, Little Women made the costume designer Jacquelin Durran now a two-time Oscar winner for the best costume design. In one of her interviews, the designer revealed that she not only wanted to make sure that the costumes would reflect the spirit of the 19th century, but also show who each of the characters was as an individual. One of the interesting things about the costumes in this movie was that the characters shared some pieces of clothing with one another. One of the most prominent examples of this was Jo and Laurie sharing the same gold-colored vest with red spots.

The costumes for the movie that was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson were created by Mark Bridges. Some say that it’s no surprise that this movie won the best costume design award as it portrays the life of a 1950s couture fashion house and its designer. But the costumes created for this movie serve not only the purpose of catching one’s attention with its intricate design but also reveal who are the characters who wear these dresses and costumes, as well as allowing us to understand who the man that created these pieces of clothing is.

The movie that was directed by George C. Wolfe resulted in great success. The costumes were created by Ann Roth—an Oscar-winning costume designer who has been in the industry for more than 50 years. The experienced designer had just 2 weeks to prepare costumes for the cast of the movie. But the short period of time wasn’t the only obstacle she had to overcome—there are only 8 pictures of Ma Rainey, making it really hard to recreate her actual costume. However, Roth had enough experience and knowledge to portray the style of that time through her costumes.

The costumes for the black and white movie directed by Michel Hazanavicius were created by American designer Mark Bridges. One of the important details in this movie was contrast. Knowing that the movie would be black and white, the designer had to play with vivid black and white colors to get the desired contrast between costumes. It was also revealed that the costumes were created in black and white as well as in color because “there was always the chance that the film would be seen in color,” as shared the designer in one of his interviews.

Italian costume designer Gabriella Pescucci was the one to create costumes for Martin Scorsese’s movie. The costumes she created help to understand the lavish lifestyle the characters lead, showing that a lot of research was done in order to present it in an authentic and elegant way. One again, costumes were used as a tool to show who the characters wearing the clothes really are, to portray their personalities and relations with one another.

The costume designer for Anthony Minghella’s movie was Ann Roth, who is known to have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design five times and won two of them. The designer used soft desert tones while creating costumes for male and female characters. She also used muslin to create head covers that are known to be necessary to protect the character from the sun.

The costumes for the biographical movie directed by Martin Scorsese were created by costume designer Sandy Powell. Even though the movie was based on real people, the designer wasn’t going to copy their looks, but rather took it as an inspiration to create something that these people would wear in reality. Powell went to many costume houses where she would pick pieces of clothing and accessories that she believed would fit a certain character. The woman believed that not only images but certain things too can add to the creation of the character.

The costumes for Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s movie were created by Italian costume designer Franca Squarciapino. The woman is known for her costume designs for major opera houses and theatres. Since the plot of the movie takes place in the 17th century, as it is based on a play of the same name, written by Edmond Rostand, the costumes of the characters depict the period accurately.

The costume designer for Michael Hoffman’s movie was James Acheson, who made sure that the costumes would not just simply reflect the certain period but would also look real and fit the character. To be able to provide viewers with such looks, the designer had to do research by looking at paintings and garments of that period found in the Museum of London. Acheson was more focused on creating the mood rather than trying to seek historical accuracy. This all had to be achieved having in mind a small budget, so he was up for a challenge of creating elaborate costumes by reusing details from old costumes or using materials one can find in a craft store.

Costumes for Mike Leigh’s movie were created by Welsh costume designer Lindy Hemming. The two had already worked on some films before, Topsy-Turvy being the last one. The designer shared that Leigh had an impact on how she would work later on, stating that he had a “unique method of improvising everything”. In one of her interviews, Hemming shared that when creating a costume, a designer also has to go through the same process as an actor does, trying to find out who the character is, how they are being portrayed, and how they are going to act and behave.