The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

presented annually by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

(AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948. Initially, separate award categories were established for black-and-white films and color films. Since the merger of the two categories in 1967, the academy has traditionally avoided giving out the award to films with a contemporary setting.

Award

The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is given out annually by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

for the best achievement of film costume design of the previous year. Films that are eligible for the award must meet a series of criteria, including the requirement that the costumes must have been "conceived" by a costume designer. For this particular criteria, each submission is reviewed by the costume designer members of the Art Directors Branch prior to the ballot process. Further rules include that the nominee(s) be only the principal costume designer(s), that the five films that receive the highest number of votes will become the ceremony's nominations for final voting, and that the final voting will only be undertaken by active and life members of the academy.

History

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 films in black and white and one for films in color. At the

30th Academy Awards The 30th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 26, 1958, to honor the best films of 1957. The Oscar for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium was awarded to Pierre Boulle for ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', despite the f ...

, held on March 26, 1958, these two subcategories were merged into one, which was the result of the academy reducing the number of competitive categories from 30 to 24. The

32nd Academy Awards The 32nd Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 4, 1960 at the RKO Pantages Theatre, to honor the films of 1959. William Wyler's Bible epic '' Ben-Hur'' won 11 Oscars, breaking the record of nine set the previous year by '' Gigi''. This ...

saw the category again be split into two for recognition of both black and white and color film. Eight years later, the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, along with two other awards, were each combined into their own single category recognizing achievement in film. From 1949 to 1966, most Academy Awards for Best Costume Design in Black and White were given to a contemporary movie. On the other hand, epics, fantasies, and musicals dominated the color category. Since the merger into one singular category for color films in 1967, films set in modern times have won only three times. The three contemporary-set winners have been '' Travels with My Aunt'', '' All That Jazz'', and ''

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Tere ...

''. All other winners during this period have been set in the past or in a science-fiction or fantasy setting.

Winners and nominees

Most wins and nominations

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...

won eight times and was nominated 35 times in all, both the most in history.

Milena Canonero Milena Canonero, Dame Grand Cross (born 13 July 1949) is an Italian costume designer, who has worked for both film and stage productions. She has won four Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, and been nominated for the award a total of nine t ...

and

Colleen Atwood Colleen Atwood (born September 25, 1948) is an American costume designer. Atwood has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design twelve times, winning four times - for the films ''Chicago'' (2002), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (200 ...

are the most honored living designers, with four awards each.

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Notes

Multiple nominations

The following 85 designers have received multiple nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. This list is sorted by the number of total awards (with the number of total nominations listed in parentheses). *8:

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Irene Sharaff Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of ...

(15) *4:

(12) *4:

(9) *3:

Charles LeMaire Charles LeMaire (April 22, 1897 – June 8, 1985) was an American costume designer. He was born in Chicago. LeMaire's early career was as a vaudeville performer, but he became a costume designer for such Broadway productions as '' Ziegfeld Fo ...

(16) *3: Sandy Powell (15) *3: Dorothy Jeakins (12) *3:

Jenny Beavan Jenny Beavan, OBE (born 1950) is an English costume designer. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design eleven times, winning three awards for the movies ''A Room With A View'' (1985) (for which she shared an award w ...

(11) *3:

Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell' ...

(6) *3: Orry-Kelly (4) *3:

James Acheson James Acheson (born 13 March 1946) is a British costume designer. He was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed costumes and sets for television, theatre, opera, ballet and film, work ...

(3) *2:

Helen Rose Helen Rose (February 2, 1904 – November 9, 1985) was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Career Helen Rose was born on February 2, 1904 to William Bromberg and Ray Bobbs ...

(10) *2:

Jacqueline Durran Jacqueline Durran is a British costume designer. She received considerable attention for her work on ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Costume Design and BAFTA Award for Best Costume Desi ...

(8) *2:

Albert Wolsky Albert Wolsky (born November 24, 1930) is an American costume designer. He has worked both on stage shows as well as for film, and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design seven times, winning two awards for his work on the ...

(7) *2: Gile Steele (6) *2:

Danilo Donati Danilo Donati (6 April 1926 - 1 December 2001) was an Italian costume designer and production designer. He won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design twice: the first time for his work in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), the second time for his w ...

(5) *2:

Vittorio Nino Novarese Vittorio Nino Novarese (May 15, 1907 in Rome, Italy – October 17, 1983 in Los Angeles, United States) was an Italian costume designer who found great success in Hollywood after decamping there in 1949. In his first year there he scored an Oscar ...

(5) *2:

Ann Roth Ann Bishop Roth (born October 30, 1931) is an American costume designer. She has designed the costumes of various prominent films, and has been nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, winning twice for; ''The English Pa ...

(5) *2: Mark Bridges (4) *2: Phyllis Dalton (3) *2: Piero Gherardi (3) *2: Catherine Martin (3) *2:

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the t ...

(2) *2:

Elizabeth Haffenden Elizabeth Haffenden (18 April 1906 – 29 May 1976) was a British costume designer who won two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, for '' Ben-Hur'' at the 1959 Academy Awards and '' A Man for All Seasons'' at the 1966 Academy Awards. She al ...

(2) *2: John Mollo (2) *1:

Jean Louis Jean Louis (born Jean Louis Berthault; October 5, 1907 – April 20, 1997) was a French-American costume designer. He won an Academy Award for '' The Solid Gold Cadillac'' (1956). Life and career Before coming to Hollywood, he worked in New Yo ...

(14) *1:

Walter Plunkett Walter Plunkett (June 5, 1902 in Oakland, California – March 8, 1982) was a prolific costume designer who worked on more than 150 projects throughout his career in the Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood film industry. Born in Oakland, Ca ...

(10) *1:

Bill Thomas William Marshall Thomas (born December 6, 1941) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district an ...

(10) *1: Mary Wills (7) *1:

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...

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Alexandra Byrne Alexandra Byrne (born 1962) is an English costume designer. Much of her career has focused on creating costumes for period dramas. These films include '' Persuasion'' (1995), ''Hamlet'' (1996), ''Elizabeth'' (1998), '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), ...

(6) *1: Margaret Furse (6) *1: Renie Conley (5) *1:

Marjorie Best Marjorie Best (10 April 1903 – 14 June 1997) was an American Hollywood costume designer known for her period designs. Best was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and studied at the Chouinard Art Institute. She taught school briefly before g ...

(4) *1:

William Travilla William Travilla (March 22, 1920 – November 2, 1990), known professionally as Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight of her fil ...

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Theoni V. Aldredge Theoni V. Aldredge (August 22, 1922 – January 21, 2011) was a Greek-American stage and screen costume designer. Biography Born Theoni Athanasiou Vachliotis in Thessaloniki in 1922, Aldredge received her training at the American School in Athe ...

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Ruth E. Carter Ruth E. Carter (born April 10, 1960) is an American costume designer for film and television, with over 40 films to her credit, who is widely regarded as having mastered the look of multiple periods and genres in envisioning the clothing and ove ...

(3) *1: Ngila Dickson (3) *1: Norma Koch (3) *1:

Michael O'Connor Michael O'Connor may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Connor (Australian politician) (1865–1940), Australian politician * Michael O'Connor (Wisconsin politician) (1856–1925), Wisconsin State Assemblyman * Michael J. O'Connor (politici ...

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Gabriella Pescucci Gabriella Pescucci (; born 17 January 1943) is an Italian costume designer. She has worked with directors Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, Sergio Leone, Terry Gilliam, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton and Neil Jordan. In 1994, she won the Osc ...

(3) *1: Edward Stevenson (3) *1: Marik Vos (3) *1: Tony Walton (3) *1:

Yvonne Blake Yvonne Ann Blake (17 April 1940 – 17 July 2018) was a British-Spanish costume designer. She won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the film ''Nicholas and Alexandra'' along with Antonio Castillo. She won four Goya Awards and was n ...

(2) *1:

Eiko Ishioka was a Japanese art director, costume designer, and graphic designer known for her work in stage, screen, advertising, and print media. Noted for her advertising campaigns for the Japanese boutique chain Parco, she collaborated with sportswe ...

(2) *1: Elois Jenssen (2) *1:

Barbara Karinska Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska (October 3, 1886 – October 18, 1983), was the Oscar-winning costumier of cinema, ballet, musical and dramatic theatre, lyric opera and ice spectacles. Over her 50 year caree ...

(2) *1: Theodor Pištěk (2) *1: Richard Taylor (2) *1:

Arlington Valles Born as Fred Valles on 4 May 1886 in London, this Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood costume designer took the name Arlington Valles as his professional handle, eventually jettisoning the "Arlington" part completely. He first provided costumes ...

(2) *0:

Patricia Norris Patricia Norris (March 22, 1931 – February 20, 2015) was an American costume designer and production designer, who worked on many significant American films and was nominated for six Academy Awards in her career. Career Norris's first cred ...

(6) *0: Piero Tosi (5) *0:

Howard Shoup Howard Shoup (August 29, 1903 – May 29, 1987) was an American costume designer who received 5 Academy Award nominations. He had over 170 film credits during his long career. Including films like ''Ocean's 11'' and '' Cool Hand Luke''. Sho ...

(5) *0: Donfeld (4) *0: Moss Mabry (4) *0:

Janet Patterson Janet Patterson (12 August 1956 – 21 October 2016) was an Australian costume designer and production designer. She won one BAFTA award and four Australian Film Institute awards, and was nominated for four Academy awards. Early life and educat ...

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Jacqueline West Jacqueline West is an American costume designer whose work has been recognized in numerous films such as '' Quills'' (2000), ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (2003), '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (200 ...

(4) *0: Ray Aghayan (3) *0:

Consolata Boyle Consolata Boyle is an Irish costume designer based in Dublin. She is a frequent collaborator of English director Stephen Frears and has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on three of his film ...

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Donald Brooks Donald Brooks (January 9, 1928 – August 1, 2005) was an American fashion designer and creator of the "American Look" founded in the 1950s and 1960s. He had an immense passion for stage and film, designing well over 3500 costumes. His effo ...

(3) *0: Morton Haack (3) *0:

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (born March 24, 1939) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Cher, Doris Day, Marle ...

(3) *0: Judianna Makovsky (3) *0:

Arianne Phillips Arianne Phillips (born April 26, 1963) is an American costume designer. Phillips was recognized for her work on the Broadway musical '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', starring Neil Patrick Harris, earning her a Tony award nomination for Best Cost ...

(3) *0: Anna B. Sheppard (3) *0:

William Ware Theiss William Ware Theiss (; November 20, 1931 – December 15, 1992), was an American costume designer for television and film. His film credits as costume designer include ''Spartacus'', ''Harold and Maude'', '' Bound for Glory'', '' Pete's Drag ...

(3) *0: Theadora Van Runkle (3) *0: Miles White (3) *0: Paul Zastupnevich (3) *0: Mary Zophres (3) *0:

Sharen Davis Sharen Davis (born February 22, 1957) is an American costume designer. She has been nominated for two Academy Award for '' Ray'' and ''Dreamgirls''. She is a frequent collaborator with actor Denzel Washington, having worked with him five times ...

(2) *0: Paco Delgado (2) *0: René Hubert (2) *0:

John Jensen John Jensen (born 3 May 1965), nicknamed Faxe (), is a Danish football manager and former player. A former midfielder, his playing career lasted almost two entire decades, including a stint with Arsenal in England and three stints with Brøndb ...

(2) *0: Ralph Jester (2) *0:

Joanna Johnston Joanna Johnston is an English costume designer who has worked extensively in film, particularly in the United States. She is especially known for her collaborations with Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis. Life and career Initially, Johnston ...

(2) *0:

Anna Hill Johnstone Anna Hill Johnstone (April 7, 1913 – October 16, 1992) was an American costume designer. Known for her collaborations with directors Elia Kazan, Sidney Lumet and Frank Perry, she received two Academy Award nominations for her work on '' The G ...

(2) *0:

Irene Lentz Irene Maud Lentz (December 8, 1901 – November 15, 1962),"Irene", in ''Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases'', by David K. Frasier (McFarland, 2005) pp. 156-157 also known mononymously and profe ...

(2) *0: Anthony Mendleson (2) *0: Herschel McCoy (2) *0: Maurizio Millenotti (2) *0: Judy Moorcroft (2) *0: Ruth Myers (2) *0: Mary Ann Nyberg (2) *0: Massimo Cantini Parrini (2) *0: Bob Ringwood (2) *0: Shirley Ann Russell (2) *0: Luis Sequeira (2) *0:

Anthea Sylbert Anthea Sylbert (born October 6, 1939) is an American film producer and costume designer, who was active during the "modern era" of American film. She was nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, first at the 47th Academy Awards ...

(2) *0: Joe I. Tompkins (2) *0:

Julie Weiss Julie Weiss is a costume designer who has been nominated for two Academy Awards, Seven Emmys and one BAFTA Award. She has won two Emmys for costumes. She also was nominated for a Tony Award, at the 33rd Tony Awards for ''The Elephant Man''. I ...

(2)

References

External links

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences official site
{{Academy Award Best Costume Design

Costume Design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

Awards for film costume design Costume design

Award

History

Winners and nominees

Most wins and nominations

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Notes

Multiple nominations

See also

References

External links