Emmy Category Analysis: Contemporary Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

Unlike at the Oscars, contemporary costume design is regularly recognized by the Emmys. That's what happens when you have over one hundred categories, including separate prizes for costumes, depending on the type of narrative. This specific award has only existed since 2015, and so far, no show has won it twice, making for a nice reprieve from the TV Academy's usual allergy to spreading the wealth. Indeed, none of this year's nominees is a previous victor, though half of them have competed before. 

Usually, new programs have an advantage but never discount the power of a sweep – Schitt's Creek won on its second try as part of its final season's Emmy dominance. In other words, as with other categories, The White Lotus is well positioned to take home the gold…

Outstanding Contemporary Costumes

Nominees:

• Michelle R. Cole, Stanley Vance Hudson & Suzanne M. Bantit for Black-ish, Episode: "That's What Friends Are For" (S08E01)
  • Description: Bow convinces Dre to attend a fundraising event to make some new friends, but Dre is convinced there will be nothing but dud husbands there to befriend; their expectations are exceeded when the guest for the evening is Michelle Obama.  

• Heidi Bivens, Devon Patterson & Angelina Vitto for Euphoria, Episode: "Trying To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door" (S02E01)
  • Description: Rue and Jules cross paths for the first time since Christmas as East Highland rings in the new year.

• Kathleen Felix-Hager & Karen Bellamy for Hacks, Episode: "The Captain's Wife" (S02E04)
  • Description: While Deb struggles to connect with her audience on a gay cruise, Ava finds herself an unexpected hit. 

• Dana Covarrubias, Amanda Bujak & Amy Burt for Only Murders in the Building, Episode: "Who Is Tim Kono?" (S01E02)
  • Description: The group begins researching the victim. Meanwhile, Mabel's secretive past starts to be unraveled. 

• Kameron Lennox, Danielle Baker & Petra Larsen for Pam & Tommy, Episode: "Destroyer Of Worlds" (S01E07)
  • Description: As bootlegs of Lee and Anderson's sex tape begin dominating the market, Gauthier's business dries up; an annoyed Peraino intimidates Gauthier to pay him the $50k he is owed; Tommy confronts Rand in the Dodger Stadium parking lot.

• Alex Bovaird, Brian Sprouse & Eileen Stroup for The White Lotus, Episode: "Arrivals" (S01E01)
  • Description: Resort manager Armond tries to appease unreasonable Shane and his easy-going new wife Rachel, while spa director Belinda calms grieving, Tanya. As a distraction from a health scare, Nicole suggests her husband Mark spend time with their son Quinn, who's been ostracized by his sister Olivia and her friend Paula.

Analysis: 

The White Lotus' chosen episode feels like a reasonable selection. However, it's not ideal nor represents the heights of the series' achievement in sartorial storytelling. The show's first hour finds its cast of self-involved guests arriving at the resort, each dressed like a tropical-themed editorial. Their wealth is on full display, and one gets a sense that everyone is costumed to play a part other than themselves. In other words, these people are intentionally attired in idealizations of what vacationers should look like.

They're all loud prints, expensive designer fashion, and luxury accessories that signify an elite status with violent vehemence. Funnily enough, the clothes are so attuned to a lofty idea of curated resort glamour that they almost blend into the surroundings. The set design is saturated with the same sort of patterns that dominate the rich characters' costumes, swallowing them whole. In contrast, the resort workers' simpler clothes stand out even as one can see they were designed to be invisible. Solid colors and coordinated uniform prints in softer or darker tones are the norms, supposedly hiding individuality. 

And yet, the costume design's relationship with the scenography forms a paradox where the help feels more humanized than the one-percenters who act as the protagonists of everyone's story. And yet, none of this seems too forced. Instead, Bovaird's designs feel accurate to an Instagram-ready environment, drawn from a specific reality about moneyed self-obsession. Some fascinating details include garments from Caribbean and South American designers, following the logic that many vacationers purchase entire wardrobes while vacationing abroad, reinventing themselves in false authenticity along the way.

Hacks' submission travels in a similar milieu, only queerer and considerably less exclusive. The episode finds our protagonists on a lesbian cruise where Deborah faces one of her toughest audiences. Jean Smart is a whirlwind of clashing prints, each outfit dripping with money. Hannah Einbinder, on the other hand, is all about limited resources and streamlined fashion. Together, they're a study in contrasts, and the ship's population is a riot of vacation wear spread across the futch scale. Honestly, the sartorial fun is watching the background action, every extra dressed for maximum comedy and scene-setting.

Meanwhile, back on land, the comedian's stalwart manager unravels after a breakup, taking refuge in the hedonism of gay nightlife – harnesses and tank tops as far as the eye can see. So, you get two visions of modern queerness in the same episode, from the sweaty recesses of Las Vegas clubs to the higher echelons of lesbian nautical entertainment.

Of the three returning nominees, Hacks feels like the one with the best chance to win, though one shouldn't count out Euphoria. This is the third nomination for Sam Levinson's HBO teen drama, perhaps the current show that most reflects and influences changing fashions. That trend-setting aspect doesn't stop designer Heidi Bivens from creating careful character portraits through clothing, formulating the program's inebriating mood, and aiding its maximalist narrative with plenty of style. Euphoria wouldn't be the same without the memorable costumes, and it's about time that got recognized by the TV Academy.

Though the second season's final episodes centered on Lexi's play feel like the best sartorial showcase, it's easy to see why Bivens chose this first hour. It all opens with an extended flashback to Fez's childhood, where the boy's drug-dealing grandmother takes center stage in outdated 1970s suiting. The outfits were all custom-made for actress Kathrine Narducci who parades around in tone-on-tone embroidery and tailored leather. Later, a New Year's Eve party offers an opportunity to re-encounter the main characters in festive finery, their style journeys helping establish where they're at in their lives.

Black-ish is the last returning nominee and the one with the most negligible chances of winning. Sure, this is the show's final season, so one would expect some fanfare. But, sadly, the ABC comedy got majorly ignored by the TV Academy, receiving only two nods – for costumes and hairstyling. That being said, the season 8 premiere is a handsome showcase for Michelle Cole's gifts for using fashion as a comedic mechanism, contrasting levels of formality to great hilarity. The episode's big stylistic showcase happens as different family members crash Dre and Bow's rendezvous with Michelle Obama, parading in ridiculously ostentatious fits. Jennifer Lewis looks especially fetching in that inescapable Valentino pink and bling galore.

Only Murders in the Building is another comedy that uses costume design as an essential element of its farcical gambits, clothing a memorial service in an array of not-so-somber attire that highlights the insincere grief of all involved. Again, I question the episode selection but can see why it was chosen. There's that great scene with all the building's tenants and homeowners, plus flashbacks to the colorful first episode and detours into Mabel's past. Evoking fashions from a decade ago, Dana Covarrubias underlines the generational dynamics at play in the whodunnit's narrative while also appealing to a sense of youthful nostalgia.

The last nominee takes us even further into the past. Specifically, to the mid-1990s when Pamela Anderson's Barb Wire press tour got sabotaged by the growing sex tape controversy. Kameron Lennox carefully recreates actual outfits and plays around with history in the name of dramaturgical efficiency and character-building. Note how the movie premiere at the episode's climax features costumes taken from other points in Pam & Tommy's public life to better dramatize the moment. Figure-hugging latex makes Anderson look more vulnerable than ever, while Lee's blast of red and fishnets signals the stark differences in how each spouse suffers the scandal at hand.

It's excellent period work, but I question its placement here. Angelyne submitted an episode primarily set in 1988 and 2017 and was categorized as period costuming, so why is Pam & Tommy allowed to compete as a contemporary story? 

Will Win: The White Lotus
Should Win: Euphoria
Spoiler: Hacks

See here for a list of all Emmy nominees this year.

Who do you think will win the Contemporary Costume Design race? Who are you rooting for?

MORE ANALYSIS

• Supporting Actress – Comedy Series
• Supporting Actress – Drama Series
• Supporting Actress – Limited Series
• Supporting Actor – Drama Series
• Guest Acting - Comedy Series
• Guest Acting - Drama Series

• Writing/Directing – Comedy Series
• Writing/Directing – Drama Series
• Writing/Directing – Limited Series

Comments

[Peggy Sue]

I don't trust this branch. They never awarded Mad Men.

I would vote for The White Lotus. Every character perfectly described in just a few brush strokes.

Coolidge - lots of money. doesn't know what to do with it so she wears everything at once.
Daddario - does not come from money and it shows.
Britton - perfect. probably hires a personal shopper
Lacy - WASP

[Finbar McBride]

I am rooting for Hacks. I love the distinct effort the actors make to use their costumes for comedic affect and still reveal their not so hidden insecurities.

Look at the work of Carl Clemons-Hopkins. At Queercasm Marcus flaunts his furry pecs with a harness. The entire time, even though he is high on Molly, Marcus fondles the straps cinching his chest. He tugs at the material almost as if he has reconsidered his fashion choice and wants to hide. Clemons-Hopkins echoes the movements later at the veterinary clinic as he pulls at the zippered grey jacket to underscore his embarrassment as well as his worry for his puppy Joe.

Deborah performs on the ship’s stage in a halter with matching jacket. While Marcus pulled at his clothing to hide, Deborah repeatedly drops the shoulder of her jacket to flirt with audience and hint at the bare flesh underneath. When she loses favor with her audience, Jean Smart brilliantly delivers a flash of anger while sliding that jacket over her bare shoulder in a manner that conveys her internal turmoil.

These are costumes that do more than decorate a scene. They are working tools used by skilled actors to show the audience the inner emotional lives of the characters. Emmy here please.

[NATHANIEL R]

The White Lotus is one of those rare cases where I'm basically good with a sweep. It is top notch in all categories. But yes, Euphoria's costumes are also brilliant.

Finbar -- great observation about the actors work with the costumes in Hacks. That would also make a good winner here