The legendary Ann Roth does it again!

by Cláudio Alves

89-year-old Ann Roth is a living legend in the world of costume design. With a filmography that has long ago surpassed 100 productions and a curriculum further filled with numerous stage shows, the Oscar and Tony-winning Roth is a figure that demands respect and adoration. The best part is that she shows no signs of retiring and, this year, the designer is back with another showcase of her talents. The Denzel Washington-produced adaptation of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom features gorgeous 1920s fashion.

Every character in Ma Rainey is trying to say something with their clothes, be it to project self-worth as a shield or visualize their aspirations. No one does it more than the leads, Viola Davis' Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman's Levee...

While the characters spend most of the picture wearing the same outfit, there's a prologue that allows us to see Ma and her band performing, first in a tent, then on the stage. These glimpses reveal an ostentatious style whose lavishness is carefully calculated. From her flowy red dress to the necklace of gold coins, Ma is a curated icon of outward splendor and celebrated wealth.

She's presented to us as a woman who wants to be treated like a queen, who demands the respect her talent deserves. That attitude is expressed in all aspects of her being, including her style. If possible, her off-stage look is more outlandish than her show clothes. Sure, there are no bangles or spangles, but the dark beading is substituted by contrasting brocades, heavy fabrics that ooze richness, a fur collar that's just there to show wealth and must be uncomfortable in the sweltering heat. Furthermore, the stagewear's berry red and royal blue are replaced by heavy velvet in eye-catching shades of gold and cocoa.

There's a also curious sensuousness to the textures. See the way the velvet shines and beckons our touch, how the cut of the dresses frame the cleavage. It's rare to see women like Ma Rainey shown as sexual beings on-screen but she exudes sensuality in her movie. She's even more sexualized by her outfits than the flirty Dussie Mae played by Taylour Paige. Thankfully, the costumes of both women reflect the period specificities without falling into clichéd flapper designs. They look authentic and are great support for the performances.

As for the men in the picture, their suits are subtly aged, looking like they've been through a lot. The musicians dress well, but their appearance reveals them as working men who travel a lot instead of prim individuals who have people to press their clothes for them. While nobody could call their style drab, not with the canny mix of patterns, they're eclipsed when sharing the frame with Ma. All of them except Levee whose brand-new yellow shoes are a magnet to the audience's eye. They are the man's ambitions materialized in symbolic shiny leather.

According to Roth, this was one of the shortest productions she's ever had to work with. Quickness was of the essence and the designer's experience with period dramas was key. A judicious researcher, she's a master at reproducing the historical fashions of the 20th century with as much historical accuracy as dramaturgical purpose. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a tour-de-force of costume design though it hardly cracks the designer's top 10. That's testimony to the awe-inspiring career of Anne Roth rather than a dig at the 2020 picture.

Just so you can get a sense of how expansive and rich Roth's filmography is, here's a selection of highlights from her work in cinema and TV. It's a lot and it's all amazing:

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)

A snapshot of a time and a place, clashing cultures, and metamorphosing values visualized in grubby suits and western apparel.

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT (1970)

Babs has never looked as playfully sexy as she does here. A clown bedecked in outlandish lingerie.

KLUTE (1971)

Bree Daniels is a fashion icon for the ages, and that's thanks to Roth's stylings.

THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975)

An ulcerating view of Old Hollywood turned Babylon of human decay instead of glitzy Tinsel Town. Period specificity turned to Grand Guignol.

MURDER BY DEATH (1976)

Subverts and celebrates the genre it's spoofing in equal measure. Maggie Smith looks utterly fabulous.

HAIR (1979)

Iconic for a reason, immortalizing a dream of hippie style heightened for the big screen.

DRESSED TO KILL (1980)

It's the best of the many collaborations between De Palma and Roth. The title says it all.

NINE TO FIVE (1980) 

Crystalizes a moment in time, when professional womenswear was going through a fascinating transition towards more overt femininity and exuberance.

WORKING GIRL (1988)

Power dressing elevated to a comedic art form, as specific in characterization as it is hilarious.

THE BIRDCAGE (1996) 

Riotously fun, playing with archetypes and caricature. And that's before everyone gets dragged up.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996)

Oscar-winning World War II glamour that strides the line between dusty realism and romantic nostalgia.

THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (1999) 

Midcentury ex-pat splendor in all its glory. The glitzy surfaces and soft fabrics are perfect to hide the moral rot within the characters' souls.

THE HOURS (2002)

Three time periods are connected through repeated motifs, dead florals, and a palette that turns from cadaverous cold to orange rust.

ANGELS IN AMERICA (2003)

Translates the plays' intrinsic theatricality to the visual idioms of the small screen without losing beauty or potency.

THE STEPFORD WIVES (2004) 

Delightfully absurd, the Stepford Wives wear an acid-induced nightmare of Eisenhower-era conservative finery.

THE VILLAGE (2004)

Those yellow cloaks were a brilliant choice, suggesting the artifice of fantasy and hinting at the eerie unreality of the setting.

JULIE & JULIA (2009)

Postwar preciousness and mid-aughts drab in dialogue with each other, complimenting and differing with stylistic precision.

MILDRED PIERCE (2011)

Turns her back on Crawford's rectilinear shoulder pads to find a necessarily different vision, grounded in the realities of the Great Depression and aspirational glamour.

WHILE WE'RE YOUNG (2014)

The characters' gradual transformations are externalized in costumes that aren't afraid to be ridiculous.

THE POST (2017)

It's all about that glorious gold caftan, the glamour, and mundanity of the 70s style.

Do you think Roth can score another Oscar nomination this year? Should she? 

Comments

[Joe G]

Wow, I had no idea her career was so extensive. What a legend.

I think she should be nominated, and likely will be. She's featured prominently in the netflix doc about the film, which to me, hints at their strategy for this film.

[thefilmjunkie]

She definitely deserves recognition for her work on the film. The costumes were beautiful.

[Parker]

Hopefully she is not only be nominated but she also wins a much deserved second Oscar. Shockingly few nominations for such a staggering career, especially in a field comfortable with repeatedly rewarding their favorites (see: Atwood).

[Patrick]

The real star of the Movie! Viola and Chadwick were also good, but a little overrated, but the costumes are a slam dunk!

[Doug]

I've always adimired Roth's work and think that in 'Ma Rainey' she does as always a good job and will get nominated by the Academy and at 89 years old will make history.

That said, although i really like her work this year, i could choose a few other picks, who could be, im my opinion, better choices for a nomination: Mank (Trish Summerville), Emma. (Alexandra Byrne), The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (Paolo Nieddu), Mulan (Bina Daigeler), Blithe Spirit (Charlotte Walter), The Prom (Lou Eyrich), Ammonite (Michael O'Connor), Birds Of Prey (Erin Benach), The Gentlemen (Michael Wilkinson) and Promising Young Woman (Nancy Steiner) among others.

[Peggy Sue]

Absolutely.

[Steve G]

I feel like she will be nominated again this year. I'm also rooting for EMMA. to make it - such gorgeous costumes!