Gowns, Prizes, and Glenn Close at the Costume Design Guild Awards
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 6:00PM
NATHANIEL R in Costume Design, Glenn Close, Ruth E Carter, Ryan Murphy, precursor awards

Kate Walsh's dressed in Fatal Attraction drag for the Glenn Close tribute at the CDG Awardsby Nathaniel R

The Costume Design Guild Awards were held in Los Angeles last night with the actress Kate Walsh hosting. Crazy Rich Asians (contemporary), The Favourite (period), and Black Panther (fantasy) took their top prizes. But there's more to the CDG awards than just those three top winners -- perhaps you've noticed we obsess on Costume Design a little bit?

Though the awards aren't televised one of the highlights surely must have been Kate Walsh dressing as Fatal Attraction's iconic villainess Alex Forrest (pictured left) for the Glenn Close portion of the ceremony! A complete list of winners, Oscar correlative statistic notes, favourite gowns from the ceremony, and image galleries for their winners and some personal thoughts on highlights where Glenn Close and Costume Design intersect... 

 Excellence in Contemporary Film


Among the contemporary nominees we would have voted for Oceans 8 but Crazy Rich Asians makes a good winner, don't you think?

Excellence in Period Film


Sandy Powell has been an Oscar nominee 14 times winning for 3 of those honors. Her record at the CDGs is 8 nominations and 2 wins. The  CDG only started handing out their awards in 1998 so that explains the lesser honors there...though it's quite funny that Sandy Powell was not nominated at their inauguaral awards even though she was double-nominated at the Oscars that same year (Shakespeare in Love and Velvet Goldmine) and won! Powell was also given a Career Achievement Award at the CDGs the year she won for The Young Victoria. Why they give special awards in years where the person is expected to win in a competitive category is a mystery to us (they did the same thing for Ruth E Carter this year !!!) 

Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film


Ruth E Carter has three Oscar nominations to date (previously for Amistad and Malcolm X).  Black Panther represents her best chance to actually win the Oscar. Carter's first two Oscar nominations came before the CDG was handing out prizes so they've only nominated her twice -- the first time was for Selma (Oscar skipped her) and now she's won for Black Panther. They also gave her a special career prize this year.

Excellence in Contemporary Television


Excellence in Period Television

Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television

Sharen Davis's feature career (highlights: Dreamgirls, Ray, Django Unchained) has slown down a bit so we're glad to see her get a delicious gig on TV.  Lou Eyrich doesn't usually lose for American Horror Story (she's won for 4 of her 6 nominations on American Horror Story) so this qualifies as a small surprise.  

Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television

We're always curious about these costume design wins / nominations for RuPaul's Drag Race since the contestants famously bring their own costumes to the show. Is it the work done on RuPaul alone? Or do all the judges get costuming help? We love Drag Race but would 1000% have voted for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert in this field for dozens of reasons but Brandon Victor Dixon's disco chain metal top being the best one. 

Excellence in Short Form Design

THE GLENN CLOSE TRIBUTE

While the ceremony was getting underway over here on our side of the country I decided to tweet out some personal favourite moments when the art of Costume Design and the art of being Glenn Close intersected. Rather than rewriting I'mma just share those because the season is exhausting y'all and we still have so much to cover in the final week of Oscar hoopla. 

 

...Oscar winning costumes by James Acheson. Cleavage by Annie Starke, then nursing. (Glenn always thanks Annie for that cleavage so we will, too) pic.twitter.com/dvskQbO0Mf

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) February 19, 2019

#3 the intense mugging battle between Oscar nominated costume designer Anthony Powell and Glenn Close in 102 DALMATIANS (2000) who are both positive that they're *the* true star of the movie. pic.twitter.com/pIsyS9Wua7

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) February 19, 2019

#4 That white dress that gets such an emotional workout in FATAL ATTRACTION via gifted costume designer Ellen Mirojnick (who has sadly never been Oscar nominated) and the fact that Glenn is constantly in white in the movie, in a horror movie about marital infidelity. pic.twitter.com/iDghN9QSO7

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) February 19, 2019

I could do this all night so i gotta stop. let's call #5 a tie between that checkered blouse, as simple/utilatarian as her nurse uniform in GARP (costumes: Ann Roth) for a 'business' meeting with a hooker, and the evening gown at the climax of THE WIFE (costumes Trisha Biggar) pic.twitter.com/Xxa5uPV2sO

— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) February 19, 2019

 

But just so you know I did get called out on skipping Reversal of Fortune. I didn't mean to but I couldn't tweet all night!

 

CDG to Oscar Statistics since we thought you'd like to know
Since the CDG came up with their current three category system (Period/Fantasy/Contemporary) back in 2005, the Oscar winner has always been a CDG NOMINEE but, interestingly, the Oscar winner is only drawn from the CDG wins half the time (and then always from either period or fantasy, never contemporary). So this is an Oscar race between The Favourite and Black Panther (as long suspected) but statistically Mary Queen of Scots and Mary Poppins Returns are definitely not out of the running though Buster Scruggs essentially is (because it wasn't a CDG nominee.)

2018: 4/5 Oscar. Took 3 from Period, 1 from Fantasy. Oscar added: Ballad of Buster Scruggs         
         Oscar winner: TBA

2017: 3/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 1 from Fantasy. Oscar added: Victoria & Abdul and Darkest Hour
         Oscar winner: Phantom Thread (which did not win the CDG)

2016: 4/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 1 from Fantasy, and 1 from Contemporary. Oscar added: Allied
         Oscar winner: Fantastic Beasts (which did not win the CDG)

2015: 4/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 2 from Fantasy. Oscar added: The Revenant
         Oscar winner: Mad Max Fury Road (which won the CDG in "Fantasy")

2014: 4/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 2 from Fantasy. Oscar added: Mr Turner
         Oscar winner: Grand Budapest Hotel (which won the CDG in "Period")

2013: 3/5  Oscar. Took 3 from Period. Oscar added: The Grandmaster and Invisible Woman
         Oscar winner: The Great Gatsby (which did not win the CDG)

2012: 5/5 Oscar. Took 3 from Period and 2 from Fantasy. Didn't add.
         Oscar winner: Anna Karenina (which won the CDG in "Period")

2011: 4/5 Oscar. Took 4 from Period. Oscar added: Anonymous 
         Oscar winner: The Artist (which did not win the CDG)

2010: 4/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 2 from fantasy. Oscar added: I Am Love
         Oscar winner: Alice in Wonderland (which won the CDG in "Fantasy")

2009: 4/5 Oscar. Took 3 from Period, 1 from fantasy. Oscar added: Bright Star 
         Oscar winner: Young Victoria (which won the CDG in "Period")

2008: 4/5 Oscar. Took 4 from Period. Oscar added: Australia
          Oscar winner: The Duchess (which won the CDG in "Period")

2007: 4/5 Oscar. Took 4 from Period. Oscar added: Across the Universe
          Oscar winner: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (which did not win the CDG)

2006: 5/5 Oscar. Took 3 from Period, 2 from contemporary!!! Didn't add.
          Oscar winner: Marie Antoinette (which did not win the CDG)

2005: 3/5 Oscar. Took 2 from Period, 1 from Fantasy. Oscar added: Mrs Henderson Presents, Pride & Prejudice             Oscar winner: Memoirs of a Geisha (which won the CDG in "Period") 

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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