It has been a dazzling, ambitious year for costume design. This year’s crop of films have brought to realization the scope of worlds through costume as unique and enthralling as they are varied and distinctive. »
Contender – Costume Designer Joanna Johnston, War Horse
Steven Spielberg’s World War I era epic War Horse, adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, unfolds amidst the sweeping backdrop of the many varied landscapes of Europe. It begins in rural England with a young man named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and his beloved horse Joey. When Albert’s father (Peter Mullan), a hard on... »
Contender – Costume Designer Pierre-Yves Gayraud, Albert Nobbs
Albert Nobbs is a film that has been in the making since Glenn Close starred in the 1982 off- Broadway stage production adapted from George Moore’s short story. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia, Close’s sensitive portrayal of a woman disguising herself as a man in order to find employment and survive in 19th century Ireland... »
The Artist: Black-and-White Dreams
BTL Screening Series hosted a screening of The Artist, Jan. 4 in Los Angeles, followed by a Q&A with some of the film’s key below-the-line talent. The film is an endlessly charming film dizzy with expressive, lovely imagery. Michel Hazanavicius (writer/ director/ editor) commanded an impressive team to create the dazzling spectacle of a world... »
Contender – Costume Designer Arianne Phillips, W.E.
Madonna’s W.E., a sweeping romantic drama about the intersecting lives of Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), a modern day New Yorker and the affair between Wallis Simpson (Andrea Riseborough) and King Edward VIII (James D’Arcy) is a feast for the eyes. Helping to create the spectacle is costume designer Arianne Phillips who has been working... »
Contender – Costume Designer Sandy Powell, Hugo
Hugo, director Martin Scorsese’s film about a young orphan named Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) who is swept up into a lustrous unfolding mystery is a lovely homage to the art of cinema and Georges Melies. Helping to create an enchanted Paris in the early ‘30s is costume designer Sandy Powell. »
Contender – Costume Designer Deborah Hopper, J. Edgar
J. Edgar follows the fascinating public and private life of the powerful political figure who was the first director of the FBI. To help tell a story that progresses nonlinearly through time, director Clint Eastwood enlisted Deborah Hopper for the costume design. The film jumps back and forth from one era to another and... »
The Help: Character Studies in Costume Design
When costume designer Sharen Davis read The Help years ago, she immediately felt a deep connection with the book. “I loved the book so much, it was really serendipitous,” Davis says about getting on board as the costume designer of the 1960s era film about African-American maid’s experiences working for white families... »
Director Chris Miller Helms DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots
He’s a legend: The notorious fighter. The lover. The outlaw. He’s Puss in Boots. The remarkable feline has appeared in the Shrek films, but now his epic tale gets the telling it deserves in 3D in the self-titled Puss in Boots from DreamWorks Animation. At the helm of the incredible story is director Chris... »
Creating Magic at Illusion Industries
Benjamin Button in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Big Momma in Big Momma’s House 2 (2006), Stanley Ipkiss from The Mask (1994), Euphegenia Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) are showcases of just a few of the diverse and memorable characters Illusion Industries has helped... »

