WB/Legendary’s Dune and Disney’s Cruella were among the big winners at the Costume Designers Guild Awards, which were hosted by Black Monday stars Andrew Rannells and Casey Wilson on Wednesday night at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
As voted on by more than 1,000 designers and illustrators who are members of the Guild, the CDG Awards honor excellence in costume design in eight categories encompassing film, television, and short-form content.
Jenny Beavan won the Period award for Cruella and Ruth E. Carter won the Contemporary trophy for Coming 2 America, while Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan won the Sci-fi/Fantasy award for their costumes in Dune.
On the TV side of the ledger, fashion-centric shows such as Emily in Paris (Patricia Field) and The Great (Sharon Long) won the Contemporary and Period awards, while The Book of Boba Fett (Shawna Trpcic) nabbed Sci-fi/Fantasy honors.
The CDG also honored Andrew Garfield with its Spotlight Award, while costume designer Sharen Davis (King Richard, Dreamgirls, Ray) received the Career Achievement Award, and Spider-Man producers Amy Pascal and Rachel O’Connor were recognized as distinguished collaborators. Elsewhere, the late costume designer Anthony Powell (1978’s Death on the Nile) was inducted into the CDG Hall of Fame, having won three Oscars over the course of his career. Powell was feted by Glenn Close, who appeared in a taped segment.
Presenters included current Oscar nominees such as Aunjanue Ellis and Ariana DeBose, as well as Laura Dern, Alfred Molina, Judith Light, Mira Sorvino, Christopher McDonald, Storm Reid, Stephanie Beatriz, Melora Hardin, Karen Pittman, and Bel-Air stars Jabari Banks and Coco Jones.
On one hot topic of conversation both on the red carpet and backstage was Pay Equity Now, an issue that has been brewing for years and isn’t going away. It even reared its head onstage when Trpcic pleaded with her fellow designers to report their wages, saying, “they won’t know to fight for us if we don’t.”
Some costume designers even make less than their own crew because they’re working unlimited hours as a department head, whereas an assistant art director can make more money working 10-hour days. That’s because Costume Designers are paid less than Production Designers, even though they’re among the first people on set each morning and among the last to leave.
This is compounded by the fact that 85 percent of costume designers are female, while 85 percent of production designers are men. You’d have to be blind not to see the inequity in that, and hopefully, it’s an issue that is addressed in the future for the next generation of costume designers.
“We want to make a living and costume designers, historically have been underpaid for too long,” said CDG president Salvador Perez, who noted that the Guild will soon be launching a Pay Equity Now campaign on social media.
Clearly, pay equity is a serious issue, though there was still plenty of cause for celebration at this year’s CDG Awards, for which you can find the full list of winners below:
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
Dune – Jacqueline West & Robert Morgan (WINNER)
The Green Knight – Malgosia Turzanska
The Matrix Resurrections – Lindsay Pugh
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Kym Barrett
Spider-Man: No Way Home – Sanja M. Hays
The Suicide Squad – Judianna Makovsky
Excellence in Contemporary Film
Coming 2 America – Ruth E. Carter (WINNER)
Don’t Look Up – Susan Matheson
In the Heights – Mitchell Travers
No Time to Die – Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Zola – Derica Cole Washington
Excellence in Period Film
Cruella – Jenny Beavan (WINNER)
Cyrano – Massimo Cantini Parrini & Jacqueline Durran
House of Gucci – Janty Yates
Nightmare Alley – Luis Sequeira
West Side Story – Paul Tazewell
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television
The Book of Boba Fett: “Chapter 1” – Shawna Trpcic (WINNER)
The Handmaid’s Tale: “Nightshade” – Debra Hanson
Loki: “Journey into Mystery” – Christine Wada
What We Do in the Shadows: “Gail” – Laura Montgomery
The Witcher: “Family” – Lucinda Wright
Excellence in Contemporary Television
Emily in Paris: “French Revolution” – Patricia Field & Marylin Fitoussi (WINNER)
Euphoria: “F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob” – Heidi Bivens
Hacks: “Pilot” – Kathleen Felix-Hager
Mare of Easttown: “Miss Ladyhawk Herself” – Meghan Kasperlik
Squid Game: “VIPS” – Cho Sang-kyung
Excellence in Period Television
The Great: “Seven Days” – Sharon Long (WINNER)
Halston: “Becoming Halston” – Jeriana San Juan
The Underground Railroad: “Chapter 8: Indiana Autumn” – Caroline Eselin-Schaefer
WandaVision: “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience” – Mayes C. Rubeo
What We Do in the Shadows: “The Wellness Centre” – Laura Montgomery
Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
Saturday Night Live: “Rami Malek / Young Thug” – Tom Broecker & Eric Justian (WINNER)
Annie Live! – Emilio Sosa
Dancing with the Stars: “Semi-Finals” – Daniela Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
The Late Late Show with James Corden: “Crosswalk Cinderella” – Lauren Shapiro
The Masked Singer: “2 Night Season Premiere, Part 2: Back to School” – Marina Toybina & Gabrielle Letamendi
Excellence in Short Form Design
Swarovski: “Welcome to Wonderlab” (Commercial) – B. Åkerlund (WINNER)
The Bold Type: “Cruella” (Commercial) – Mandi Line
Cadillac: Edgar Scissorhands ft. Timothée Chalamet, “Hands Free” (Commercial) – Melissa DesRosiers
Ed Sheeran: “Shivers” (Music Video) – Ami Goodheart
Snoop Dogg’s Triller: Fight Club “We’re Bringing Boxing Back” (Commercial) – Dawn Ritz
