What's Oscar's all-time favorite Costume Design era?

by Cláudio Alves

The legendary Ann Roth is our reigning Best Costume Design Oscar queen, having won her second statuette for the jazz age designs of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. I'm ecstatic about her victory. Both because it's an outstanding artistic achievement and because hers is a filmography that undoubtedly deserves more than one Oscar. That being said, this year's Costume race (which I previously reviewed in depth) did remind me of a pet peeve I've long had with the category—namely, the overwhelming predominance of period films and the rarity of recognition for contemporary-set narratives. As usual, all of this year's nominees featured period costuming, with even the lone fantasy film, Pinocchio, basing most of its look in mid-19th-century fashion.

With all this in mind, I decided to do some research and find out what era is most common in Best Costume Design Oscar winners. From Ancient Egypt to post-war London, this category has rewarded many styles, though some do stand out as AMPAS' favorites… 

First things first, let's get some films out of the way and establish division parameters. Of the 90 films awarded, 20 have been set in the present day of their making. Nonetheless, only two of those, 1979's All That Jazz and 1994's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, came from post-1966 productions. That was the last year the category was bifurcated, giving an award for color film and another for black-and-white. I also kept from consideration films in the fantasy and sci-fi genres.

There are some complicated cases where fantastic elements mix with a historical milieu, of course. You're free to disagree with my decisions. In any case, this means The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Max: Fury Road, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Black Panther were excluded. I did keep 1967's Camelot, mainly because its fantastic aspects are minimal and, while stylized, the costumes are ostensibly a riff on Medieval notions. As period work, I also chose to consider any narrative set more than 15 years before the time of a film's production.

Because I'm categorizing these films based on the evolution of western fashion, it felt unfair to include pictures whose costumes, while period, exist outside of this context. Therefore, you won't find the five winners whose stories revolve around Asian culture. They are: Gate of Hell, set in Medieval Japan. Ran, set in 16th-century Japan. Gandhi, which encompasses the many decades of the 20th century in India. The Last Emperor, whose story comprehends Chinese history from 1908 to 1987. Finally, there's Memoirs of a Geisha, another Japanese affair with costumes representing fashions from the late 1920s to mid-40s.

Finally, it's important to mention that this historical catalog is segmented imperfectly with a mishmash of nomenclature that might irk a few readers. I combined titles given to artistic periods with some more colloquial definitions and specific eras in English and American history. In most cases, the decades and centuries are pointed out, and their division attempts to order costumes by period, using the most radical silhouette changes as criteria. Without further ado, here are the Best Costume Design Oscar winners divided by historical era:

CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY

1. SAMSON AND DELILAH (1950), Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jensse, Gile Steele, and Gwen Wakeling
2. THE ROBE (1953), Charles LeMaire and Emile Santiago
3. BEN-HUR (1959), Elizabeth Haffenden
4. SPARTACUS (1960), Valles and Bill Thomas
5. CLEOPATRA (1963), Renié, Vittorio Nino Novarese and Irene Sharaff
6. GLADIATOR (2000), Janty Yates

Mid-century Hollywood was obsessed with Sword and Sandal epics, but that trend died down by the late 60s. No wonder, then, that the only post-1963 winner which features classical costuming is Gladiator, 2000's Best Picture champion.

MEDIEVAL (400s-1400s)

1. JOAN OF ARC (1948), Dorothy Jeakins and Barbara Karinska
2. CAMELOT (1967), John Truscott
3. HENRY V (1989), Phyllis Dalton 

Hardly the most glamorous historical period, the Dark Ages aren't very popular with AMPAS. Not only was the last winner set in this time from 1989, but I can't count any Medieval wardrobe nominated since Braveheart in 1995. Maleficent, nominated in 2014, has some period garments, but the flashier stuff is pure fantasy.

ITALIAN RENAISSANCE

1. ROMEO AND JULIET (1968), Danilo Donati

Another era the Academy isn't very fond of, despite multiple nominees in the 60s being set there. Partially, this reflects a lack of Hollywood productions about the Renaissance period. The last big-budget affair that I remember was on TV, rather than the big screen. Still, The Borgias did feature fabulous costume design, earning Gabriella Pescucci a couple of Emmys.

MID-TUDOR (1490s-1540s)

1. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966), Elizabeth Haffenden and Joan Bridge
2. ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS (1969), Margaret Furse

Another era that's regularly dramatized on TV, but less so on cinema. The last big movie to choose this particular era of history was The Other Boleyn Girl, which got little Oscar buzz. In that case, I can't complain since the flick features some of Sandy Powell's worst efforts, an atypical miss on the designer's part.

ELIZABETHAN (1550s-1600s)

1. HAMLET (1948), Roger K. Furse
2. ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN (1949), Leah Rhodes, Travilla, and Marjorie Best
3. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998), Sandy Powell
4. ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (2007), Alexandra Byrne

While there are only four winners to find, there have been many nominees set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The last ones were 2011's Anonymous and 2018's Mary, Queen of Scots.

BAROQUE (1600s-1750s)

1. CROMWELL (1970), Vittorio Nino Novarese
2. CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1990), Franca Squarciapino
3. RESTORATION (1995), James Acheson

Hollywood rarely dramatizes this period, but there are a lot of European films that do. No wonder we can find one of the rare non-English-speaking Oscar winners among the victorious Baroque wardrobes.

ROCOCO (1750s-1790s)

1. BARRY LYNDON (1975), Milena Canonero and Ulla-Britt Söderlund
2. FELLINI'S CASANOVA (1976), Danilo Donati
3. AMADEUS (1984), Theodor Pistek
4. DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1988), James Acheson
5. MARIE ANTOINETTE (2006), Milena Canonero
6. THE DUCHESS (2008), Michael O'Connor

There only being six winners set in the latter half of the 18th century was a bit surprising. Among costumers and period clothing enthusiasts, this is a trendy era, and there seems to be a wealth of movies made about it. Still, whenever a strictly Rococo narrative is nominated in this category, they tend to win. I can only recall one such film losing in the past twenty years: The Affair of the Necklace. I guess some would include the Beauty and the Beast remake, but only the secondary and tertiary characters don on historical fashion, while the leads mostly indulge in modernized fantasy.

REGENCY & ROMANTIC (1790s-1830s)

Not a single winner set in this period. If Emma. had won, it would have been a first. Guess The Academy shares some directors' antipathy towards the oddly-proportioned fashions of the early 19th century. When filming Pride & Prejudice, Joe Wright insisted the costumes avoid the characteristic look of Regency clothes because, according to him, they make women look like marshmallows.

EARLY TO MID-VICTORIAN (1840s—60s)

1. THE HEIRESS (1949), Edith Head and Gile Steele
2. THE KING AND I (1956), Irene Sharaff
3. THE YOUNG VICTORIA (2009), Sandy Powell
4. LITTLE WOMEN (2019), Jacqueline Durran

If only this category had existed sooner, we could see many more films in this section. Gone with the Wind and Jezebel would have indeed won their years' trophies.

GILDED AGE (1870s-1890s)

1. MOULIN ROUGE (1952), Marcel Vertès
2. GIGI (1958), Cecil Beaton
3. TESS (1980), Anthony Powell
4. BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992), Eiko Ishioka
5. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (1993), Gabriella Pescucci
6. TOPSY-TURVY (1999), Lindy Hemming
7. MOULIN ROUGE! (2001), Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie
8. ANNA KARENINA (2012), Jacqueline Durran 

If this were a competition, the Gilded Age ties the first-placement with eight winners. I cheated a little bit since there's a marked difference between the Bustle Era fashions and the 1890s. That being said, even the films putatively set at the turn of the century (Gigi, Dracula, and both Moulin Rouges) mostly avoid that era's hallmarks like the huge leg-of-mutton sleeves.

EDWARDIAN & WORLD WAR I (1900s-1910s)

1. MY FAIR LADY (1964), Cecil Beaton
2. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965), Phyllis Dalton
3. NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA (1971), Yvonne Blake and Antonio Castillo
4. FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1983), Marik Vos-Lundh
5. A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1986), Jenny Beavan and John Bright
6. TITANIC (1997), Deborah Lynn Scott

The range of approaches represented by these Oscar winners is quite impressive. On the one hand, you have the ludicrously fabulous fashions in My Fair Lady, which are as far from historically accurate as one can conceive. On the other hand, there's the meticulous work of A Room with a View, whose attention to detail creates an entirely immersive experience, like a celluloid window to another time.

THE ROARING TWENTIES (1920s)

1. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), Orry-Kelly
2. TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (1972), Anthony Powell
3. THE GREAT GATSBY (1974), Theoni V. Aldredge
4. CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981), Milena Canonero
5. CHICAGO (2002), Colleen Atwood
6. THE ARTIST (2011), Mark Bridges
7. THE GREAT GATSBY (2013), Catherine Martin
8. MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM (2020), Ann Roth

I must add some important caveats to this one. Travels with My Aunt is mostly a contemporary-set narrative. Still, I assume the Oscar win was a response to the fabulous 1920s fashions Maggie Smith gets to model in the flick's multiple flashbacks. Furthermore, if I had included Colleen Atwood's fourth victory, for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the 1920s would take gold in this little pseudo-competition.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WAR YEARS (1929-1945)

1. THE STING (1973), Edith Head
2. DEATH ON THE NILE (1978), Anthony Powell
3. BUGSY (1991), Albert Wolski
4. THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996), Ann Roth
5. THE AVIATOR (2004), Sandy Powell
6. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014), Milena Canonero

Considering the amount of World War II movies the Academy regularly nominates, it's impressive that so few of them won the Best Costume Design honor. Only The English Patient has done so at this point.

MID-CENTURY (1945-1959)

1. PHANTOM THREAD (2017), Mark Bridges

No films set at a later date have ever won this Oscar as period films. Some were set in the 50s and 60s, but they were contemporary at the time of their filming and their victories. As evident and pre-ordained as Phantom Thread's win might have seemed in 2017, it was an anomaly for the Academy.

Looking over this data, it makes sense that Ma Rainey's Black Bottom won over Emma., Mulan, Pinocchio, and Mank. AMPAS loves the roaring twenties and its jazz age fashions. When the nominee is as legendary as Roth, the work so exquisite, and the film's up to multiple other prizes, it's hard to imagine another contender taking home the gold. In any case, it was a great win.

Comments

[Peggy Sue]

I want to marry this article.

[Orwell]

Wonderful post!

I would have to say I love the Rococo costumes the best with BARRY LYNDON, AMADEUS, DANGEROUS LIAISONS, and especially MARIE ANTOINETTE among the winners.

[Someone]

Why is "Hamlet" in 'Elizabethan' costumes? Yeah, it was written in that period but it's set in medieval times, is it not?

[Dan Humphrey]

I've always wanted someone to do some sort of investigative reportage on Paul Zastupnevich's three Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design--THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE SWARM, WHEN TIME RAN OUT... I remember when the latter was nominated and Siskel and Ebert expressed amazement, something about "these clothes look like they were ordered out of a Sears catalog." I get the need for contemporary films to be recognized, but these are not great films for costumes. (Maybe POSEIDON ADVENTURE was. I can't remember what all those New Years Eve party gowns looked like.)

[Antônio]

Please, write a book about Oscar & Costume Design! I would buy it! You are fully redeemed from your previous article, baby!

[Geri]

Bravo, Claudio!!! Great article!!!!

[Cláudio Alves]

Someone -- As far as I can tell, the designs in Olivier's Hamlet are fully trying to reproduce an Elizabethan look. At least, his costumes are based on late 16th-century menswear. Zeffirelli's Hamlet, though, is fully Medieval (12th century), and Branagh's a mishmash of late 19th century fashions.

However, the 1948 costumes aren't very bound to historical fact and the sets are certainly more Medieval than Elizabethan. I guess one can classify it as being set in either era.

[Dave in Hollywood]

I remember that triple whammy of The Sting, The Way We Were, and The Great Gatsby when all those women (I assume) got hold of Robert Redford, shaved off his Sundance Kid/Jeremiah Johnson whiskers, and put him in all those beautiful white and pastel suits and shirts. Definitely peak Redford and peak period costuming. It even led to trends in the real world.

And I'm a little bit surprised that the 70s haven't won an Oscar, though that is surely right around the corner these days. Talk about a lot of excess to play with!

[Peggy Sue]

I think it is our civic duty to fill the gap and pick the movies who should have won for representing the 60s, the 70s, the 80s and maybe the 90s.

[Feline Justice]

I-loved-it. I really.

[StephenM]

The amount of work and effort that go into your articles is magnificent, Claudio. Thank you. They are always a treat to read.

[Miles]

The costumes in 'Anne of the Thousand Days' were beautiful. In fact this is one of the most underrated films of all time with critics. The public, however, have always loved it. Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn is just perfect in the role.

[Cafg]

Great article Claudio as usual!
My favorite era is Rococo: Barry Lyndon and Dangerous liaisons are the best winners ever.

[Jesus Alonso]

for all Costume Design lovers, I'd recommend you to google up what Marvel is doing right now in the comic books related to the X-Men with the "Hellfire Gala", with new redesigns for many, many mutants, some are horrid (Iceman) but some are really, really creative (Storm). A mixed bag, but somewhat fascinating... I wished they would have asked to actual costume designers to do the "fashion show", though.

[Arkaan]

@ Peggy Sue

Do you mean as contemporary or as period?

I've gotta go with the Gilded Age.

[Gustavo]

Does anyone have any inkling as to why the Academy took so long to implement this category? As mentioned in the article, plenty of absolutely iconic design work went unrecognized because of it.

[Jonathan]

EMMA. was robbed, surely.

[thevoid99]

This is tough. Why do I have to choose?

[Javier]

Maybe it could be remorse , Claudio ?
Great work anyway .

[Bgk]

I loved this article!

[James]

While interesting, the implication that this information of historical time eras may inform which nominee will win costume design in the future is too big a leap.

Far more telling is a look at the insular world of whom costume designers in the Academy will nominate and subsequently the entire voting body will recognize. Beginning with the legendary Edith Head and her whopping eight wins from a resounding 35 nominations, a cursory review shows that of those 90 Oscars, a majority of 69 of the awards were shared among 25 costume designers.

Historically, AMPAS has been loathe to spread the wealth beyond those costume designers who had attained a certain level of fame. As the voting body continues to evolve, it remains to be seen if that trend will continue.

[Chinoiserie]

Please not call entire Middle Ages “Dark Ages”. The period lasted nearly thousand years (and other continents existed at the time too). Historians avoid the term of how misleading it is and it’s mostly coined by Renaissance era when they were trying to promote their own achievements. Even thigh High Middle Ages lasted hundreds of years were not much different from Renaissance (pretty much the same for common people) and had their won gorgeous art including fashions. Hollywood thinking people had mud on their faces and dressed in leather and brown clothing in general isn’t it’s accurate it’s due to their misconception what was going on based on names like “Dark Ages” already.

I wish there was more medieval movies. Game of Thrones was so popular when it was in large part based on real Wars of The Roses which would be very cinematic (or good for tv like Game of Thrones since it later for so long with no real main character). Or movie about lesser known Anarchy period where rightfully heir for Queen of England, Emperess Matilda was usurped by her cousin and she fought back the conflict lasted for a long time, ending with Stephen accepting her son Henry II as heir. And that’s just English history examples, there was interesting topics elsewhere that would make good material and would be popular if the period was taken seriously and not just as fantasy setting (although I love fantasy).

[LadyEdith]

Personally I am very fond of the Edwardian era, and the films were good too!

[BD]

This was a great read and looks like it took a lot of work. So many flashbacks to history class with this one.

[Working stiff]

R.I.P. Anthony Powell (The Gilded Age, Roaring Twenties, The Great Depression and War Years)

[TJ]

Like @Miles I cannot turn down this opportunity to stan "Anne of the Thousand Days." Bujold's Anne Boleyn (a Globe winning performance!) is an all-time personal favorite, and I agree that the costumes were stunning.

LOVE this entire article. A fascinating read.

[Jez]

I'm not convinced that Jezebel would have won in its year if Costumes were a category then because The Adventures of Robin Hood came out that same year, 1938 and that won for Art direction as well. Unless of course it was split between B&W and Technicolour.