Categories One-by-One: Costume Design

rudeboy
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Post by rudeboy »

This has become one of the most tiresomely predictable of the tech categories, year after year. The most obvious and elaborate period costumes are virtually guaranteed the win - Moulin Rouge!, Marie-Antoinette, The Duchess... The Young Victoria seems destined to take this one with ease.

The most interesting thing about this category are the occasional non-obvious choices which make it as nominees, such as the terrific work on Milk last year and, to a lesser extent, Dr Parnassus this year. But they're no-hopers. The Young Victoria has this one in the bag. Yawn.
Reza
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Post by Reza »

The Young Victoria.
The Original BJ
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Post by The Original BJ »

The one film I'd unquestionably want to have seen among the nominees is Chéri -- those clothes were just gorgeous.

I'm pretty surprised Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus made a showing here. (I'm actually surprised it registered at all -- it opened on the cusp of New Year's Eve to relatively little fanfare -- though the tech branches, unlike the actors, were a lot more open to quirky picks this year.) I'd be even more surprised if it won this category. I think this is a case of a film with strong art direction (and effects) picking up a costume bid based on overall visual wow. Though plenty of the costumes are fun, the clothes themselves aren't so eye-catching that they'd win too many votes.

I thought the clothes in Nine were pretty tacky. That Follies Bergere number was hideous! I guess the biggest-budget factor could still propel it to a victory, but I have to hope some of the lovelier clothes will prevail.

It's easy to see why the costumers liked Coco Before Chanel -- it's all about a designer! And the clothes get plenty of face time. But the relative drabness of Chanel's style, which the film captures well, makes it less likely to emerge victorious here. Typically more obviously "beautiful" costumes win, though the fashion show at the end of the film contains some notable eye candy. The subtitles/low profile also hurts this effort.

I'd vote Bright Star in a heartbeat, and I wasn't even that crazy about the film. The clothes were simply eye-popping; for sheer visual beauty, no film this year topped it in my book. But Bright Star has been mostly persona non grata this awards season, and as good as the clothes are...

...there's The Young Victoria standing with three nominations. The clothes are pretty (you'd expect something ELSE from Sandy Powell?), and royalty wear has done exceptionally well in this category over the past few years. I'm personally hoping the annual coronation of Best Corsets in this category comes to an end soon, and the costumers shake things up a bit, but I don't think it'll be this year.




Edited By The Original BJ on 1266424426
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