Glenn here to share the Costume Designers Guild nominations that were just announced this morning (what? you think they pay attention to whether other award organisations are announcing the same day?) I think it's safe to say that the costume category is The Film Experience collective's favourite category outside of the actressing ones, and this year's category looks like it will be a fight to the death between the spectacle of The Great Gatsby, the refined flare of American Hustle, and the authenticity of 12 Years a Slave. All three showed up in today's guild nomination - the first "below the line" guild citations of the season - alongside titles like Blue Jasmine, Her and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Excellence in Period Film
- 12 Years a Slave, Patricia Norris
- American Hustle, Michael Wilkinson
- Dallas Buyers Club, Kurt & Bart
- The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin
- Saving Mr. Banks, Daniel Orlandi
The aforementioned three plus Saving Mr. Banks were obvious selections (and Nathaniel was already predicting them for Oscar), but the low-key '80s Texas ranch duds and Rayon's striking color-blocked ensembles of Dallas Buyers Club feel like a surprise. Or, they would if Jean-Marc Vallee's film hadn't been charging through the precursors already, I guess. Sad to see the fleetingly eclectic and generation-spanning work of Ruth E. Carter in Lee Daniels' The Butler miss out. Whither Oprah's crocheted disco suit. Likewise the sumptuous work of William Chang on The Grandmaster, the divinely textured albeit little seen fashions of Ralph Fiennes' The Invisible Woman, and (despite my loathing of the film) Julian Day's less-jokey '70s Rush attire including Chris Hemsworth's procession of fabulous, retro tees that I wish I owned and open-necked button-ups I wish I had the body to pull off.
Contemporary, fantasy, TV and Sandy Powell after the jump.
Excellence in Contemporary Film
- Blue Jasmine. Suzy Benzinger
- Her, Casey Storm
- Nebraska, Wendy Chuck
- Philomena, Consolata Boyle
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Sarah Edwards
I'm happy as long as the sweaty Chanel of Blue Jasmine (which abstew stumped for last month) and the slooping, colourful shirts and high-waisted pants of Her got in! I haven't seen Walter Mitty (nor do I intend to), but the nominations for Nebraska and Philomena look to me like pure laziness. Which do you remember more? The neon bikinis of Spring Breakers or Philomena Lee's floral scarves? Greta Gerwig's reappropriation of the crisp white tee and pencil skirt or Bruce Dern's plaid shirt and winter coat? Or how about The Bling Ring which, just like The Devil Wears Prada several years ago, completely revolved around its contemporary costume work? And, of course, there's Stoker which certainly had the most dreamily symbolic fashions of the year.
Excellence in Fantasy Film
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Ann Maskrey, Richard Taylor, Bob Buck
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Trish Summerville
- Oz: The Great and Powerful, Gary Jones, Michael Kutsche
Last year saw two eventual Oscar nominees pulled from the fantasy category (the guild winner Mirror Mirror, plus Snow White and the Huntsman), but this year the guild had to shrink it down from five to three due to lack of competition and I doubt we'll be seeing any of these three nominated on Oscar night. I suspect The Hunger Games' Trush Summerville takes this for her sleek gaming attire and fantastical "capital" dress wear. It would feel very strange if the Academy never once acknowledged this franchise when they've dolled out nominations to far worse and less popular properties over the years. Especially strange given these are films that actively indulge in fantastical design (costume, production design, make-up and hair). Will the Hunger Games get their Oscar due?
Not nominated was the one and only Sandy Powell for Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. I'm going to assume it's early '90s business attire was submitted into period category rather than contemporary where it easily could have won. It was both a blessing and a curse that the costumes in Wolf didn't go for cultural gags (like, for instance, The Butler's fluorescent workout clothes), but that blurry period line likely cost it. It didn't look period.
And for completion sake here are the TV and commercial nominees. Nice to see Mad Men remembered by somebody! Also, I am not surprised that House of Versace's likely only nomination ever came from this guild. They love it when anything is distinctly about fashion, dahling.
Outstanding Contemporary Television Series
Breaking Bad, Jennifer Bryan
House of Cards, Tom Broecker
Nashville, Susie DeSanto
Scandal, Lyn Paolo
Saturday Night Live, Tom Broecker, Eric Justian
Outstanding Period/Fantasy Television Series
Boardwalk Empire, John Dunn, Lisa Padovani
The Borgias, Gabriella Pescucci
Downton Abbey, Caroline McCall
Game of Thrones, Michele Clapton
Mad Men, Janie Bryant
Outstanding Made for TV Movie or Miniseries
American Horror Story: Coven, Lou Eyrich
Behind the Candelabra, Ellen Mirojnick
Bonnie & Clyde, Marilyn Vance
House of Versace, Claire Nadon
Phil Spector, Debra McGuire
Excellence in Commercial Costume Design
Call of Duty “Ghosts Masked Warriors”, Nancy Steiner
Dos Equis: “Most Interesting Man in the World Feeds a Bear”, Julie Vogel
Fiat “British Invasion”, Donna Zakowska
We find out the winners on February 22.