Contemporary Costume Design - an FYC overview
Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 10:56PM by Nathaniel R
We don't get "finalist" lists for half of the craft categories so theoretically everything is still in the running for the visual categories of Cinematography, Editing, Costume, and Production Design. Today let's focus on Best Costume Design options for awards voters. While two-time winner Jeanny Beavan's work on Cruella has been looking like a potential Oscar-winner since way back in May, plenty of competition has arrived since. Our first clue as to what the industry might go for here will be on January 26th with the CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards) nominations which divide movies up into period, sci-fi/fantasy, and contemporary. That's a handy way to do it, since it's too easy to fall into "Most Costuming" otherwise and entirely ignore the breadth of what is possible in this field.
What follows are NOT predictions as to what the Guild or the Oscars might choose (craft predictions are here) but FYCs if you will, highlighting six options we think are interesting in the realm of "contemporary" (mostly)...
THE LOST DAUGHTER - Edward K Gibbon (never nominated)
Designing for a film that's entirely casual clothing is difficult. How do you help define the character and offer visuals that pop when everyone is dressing for comfort first and often in nothing more than a swimsuit? Gibbon, who previously worked with actress-turned-director Maggie Gyllenhaal on The Honourable Woman, does it. It's not just Dakota Johnson's Nina wrestling with that giant hat, or in barely there swimsuits, though both are quite a visual. It's also her characters overabundance of accessories (earrings and watches and bracelets and multiple necklaces) and the way she deviates from but still belongs to the trashy family that's aggravating Leda (Olivia Colman). And it's also Leda in all her comfy modest vacation wear -- blue is definitely her favourite color, but black is the only (modest) choice for the swimsuit. Gibbon doesn't often design for movies but he's done many tv series including Black Mirror, The Irregulars, Skins, and Harlots.
NO TIME TO DIE - Suttirat Anne Larlarb (never nominated)
Bond films always give designers a chance to lean heavily into STYLE. Larlarb has Bond dressed somewhat down, this outing, but everything is still tailored impeccably and she mixes things up with ties, suspenders, suits, and beach wear. The tan suit that kicks off the movie is a beauty. The women are also gorgeous across the board too, with the best single outfit being that slit-up-to-there impractical but very Bond Girl black (or is it dark blue) gown on Ana De Armas. Larlarb won an Emmy for the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony and she was previously nominated for the contemporary costume design category at the CDG Awards for Slumdog Millionaire. Some of her other previous credits include 127 Hours, The Walk, Beastly, Steve Jobs, and Gemini Man.
TITANE Anne-Sophie Gledhill (never nominated)
Titane starts off formidably with a costume?prop?upperbody cast? helping a young accident victim heal, before moving into fetish-ready "dance" wardrobe and the most attitude heavy female jacket since Desperately Seeking Susan. And then the design abruptly careens towards nothingness in the camouflage masculine drag of firemen uniforms and character obscuring nondescript jackets and hoodies. Anne-Sophie Gledhill serves her daring director's vision throughout. Her previous credits include Le Grand Jeu, The Girl with the Bracelet and OSS 17: Cairo, Nest of Spies.
ZOLA - Derica Cole Washington (never nominated)
One of the best American films of the year is also absurdly enjoyable as a "Costume Design Movie". Every single character's personality is differentiated in ways both stylish, colorful, or absurd (or all three) yet all of them are clearly born from the same seedy titty-bar nocturnal world. Both Stefani (Riley Keough) and Zola (Taylour Paige) have several barely-there costume changes shoved into their bags while the "pimp" gets a style makeover with Florida florals and pastels. Derica Cole Washington has worked on high profile projects like Selma and Insecure, but she's new to lead designer gigs. Recent tv credits include: Twenties and True Story. We hope great movie jobs are coming because she's more than ready for them.
ARE THEY CONTEMPORARY?
What is recent enough to count as "contemporary"? Contemporary design awards have always played a bit fast and loose with "time" and some films are sort of contemporary and sort of not (especially those that stretch across several decades or use extensive flashbacks). Technically speaking, at least in terms of the CDGA Awards the cutoff is supposed to be 25 years (1995/1996). If you take place more than 25 years before the current year you a considerreed "period". But the following two films are close enough to the mid 90s that we wonder if they'll submit that way and we wanted to praise them regardless so here goes...
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE - Mitchell Travers (never nominated)
Films like I Tonya (set in the early 90s) have been nominated as "contemporary" so maybe this one will be too? Tammy Faye stretches further back but concludes in the 90s. Tammy is a real "character," visually, so there's a lot to work with. She's always too much and always feels like the same person, despite her frequently shifting style. The creams, the whites, the... fluff... it's always too fussy by half. Travers got his start in Hollywood in 2009 as a costume intern and landed his first lead costume designer gig by 2015. He's one of the best young designers working. His previous credits include: Eighth Grade, In the Heights -- which come to think of it, we should have focused on in this post! -- and his breakout film for which he should have landed his first Oscar-nomination, Hustlers (2019).
SPENCER - Jacqueline Durran (7 noms | 2 wins)
Again this one is technically "period" but other films of its era/kind have been dubbed contemporary. Either way it's brilliant work from one of the Academy's favourite Costume Designers. Cláudio already waxed rhapsodic about Durran's work on this Princess Diana picture here. Durran won her Oscars for Anna Karenina (2012) and Little Women (2019) though her most famous costume is still that green dress in Atonement (2007).
Other contemporary films:
CODA, Don't Look Up, King Richard, and Tick Tick Boom all feel like threats to making this particular CDGA list because those films have Oscar heat and the guild often doesn't look much further than Best Picture conversations for their selections for "Contemporary". Other contemporary films this season include: Bergman Island, Bruised, The Card Counter, C'mon C'mon, Dear Evan Hansen, Drive My Car, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, F9, A Hero, The Humans, In the Heights, Mass, Parallel Mothers, Pig, Red Rocket, Stillwater, and The Worst Person in the World.
Superhero films generally take place in the present but they're usually (with a couple of exceptions) considered sci-fi / fantasy category for the purposes of the CDGA awards.
Which movie had your favourite contemporary costuming this year?
Reader Comments (4)
Titane for sure.
Also, Adam Driver's bathrobe in Annette made me feel things.
While I would be very intrigued to see Dakota Fanning's take on the material, I believe you mean to say Dakota Johnson as Nina.
Great post! Always love the spotlight on oft-overlooked work.
Those citrus pants in King Richard are pretty memorable.
I hadn't thought about it, and I don't particularly like the film, but now that you mention it I'd love it if No Time To Die got a nomination. Fantastic costuming in that film.