Oscar Volleys: Best Costume Design is all about opulence - you own everything.

Team Experience will be discussing each Oscar category as we head into the precursors. Here's Cláudio Alves and Elisa Giudici with a conversation on Best Costume Design... 

"Babylon" | © Paramount Pictures

CLÁUDIO: Just as we're starting this conversation, I see my TL full of early reactions to Babylon, which was screened at long last. It still feels too soon to predict how the movie will do, whether critically or in the awards race, but it'll be polarizing. Some love it, some hate it, and the same singular elements have been recipients of both praise and loathing. With all this in mind, we can consider Babylon's chances in the Best Costume Design category. Honestly, at this point in the season, it feels like one of only two locks in the race…

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Horror Costuming: "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"@60

by Cláudio Alves

I had such grand plans for October. There was going to be plenty of spooky season with horror-themed write-ups and the return of my miniseries on scary movie costumes. But then COVID hit, and then the flu -- it's been a perpetual state of foggy-brained sickness. Still, it wouldn't do to let October end without one Horror Costuming post. even if I have to write the damned thing in between coughing fits. Since I already wrote about one one genre pic that won the Costume Oscar (the Eiko Ishioka-dressed Dracula) let's look at another. On its 60th anniversary, let's discuss the essential What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the genesis of the Grand Dame Guignol craze...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Period Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

Where is The Gilded Age with its cornucopia of tacky bustle gowns, a good portion of which are copied from fashion plates, museum pieces, and period portraits? Where are Gentleman Jack's precise visions of Romantic dress, queer aesthetics seen through a 19th-century lens? Where are the comedic stylizations of Our Flag Means Death or Julia's purviews of a television icon of days gone by? Where's the love for Schmigadoon!'s cavalcade of hot men in tight pants or Pachinko's cultural delineations rendered in a rainbow of beautiful textiles? 

Though the period category for the 2022 Emmys is the most solid of the three costume lineups (we previously discussed contemporary and fantasy fashions), many inspired period possibilities were ignored in favor of repeat contenders and curious flops...

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Emmy Category Analysis: Fantasy Costumes

by Cláudio Alves

From 2015 to 2017, fantasy and sci-fi costumes were awarded alongside period stylings at the Emmys. Then, in 2018, they got their own category. Unlike the category for contemporary costumes, this one's fond of repeats. At least, it was fond of Game of Thrones, which won the race thrice. For the past two years, though, this has been a category where the TV Academy honors big superhero productions. Watchmen and Wandavision are our most recent winners, and either Loki or Moon Knight could continue the trend. That being said, the biggest boon to a show's chances in this race seems to be its overall popularity across the board, in which case, What We Do in The Shadows might have a chance…

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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…

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