Costume Designer Guild Nominations Include ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ ‘Emma,’ ‘Promising Young Woman’
Nominees for the 23rd annual Costume Designer Guild Awards (to be livestreamed April 13 on Twitter @CostumeAwards at 5:30 pm PT / 8:30 pm ET) include Oscar frontrunner “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and other period contenders “Emma,” “Mank,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” and “One Night in Miami.”
Contemporary nods went to “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn),” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Promising Young Woman,” and “The Prom.” And the sci-fi/fantasy nominees included “Dolittle,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Mulan,” “Pinocchio,” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Netflix was the big winner with five nominations (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Mank,” “Da 5 Bloods,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” and “The Prom”), followed by Warner Bros. (“Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Birds of Prey,” and “Wonder Woman 1984) and Universal/Focus Features with three (“Dolittle,” “Emma,” and the buzzy “Promising Young Woman”). Disney scored with “Mulan,” Amazon with “One Night in Miami,” Lionsgate with “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” and Roadside Attractions with “Pinocchio.”
And it’s a great display of diversity with five Black-themed films (“Da 5 Bloods,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “One Night in Miami,” “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” “Judas and the Black Messiah”). Overlooked, though, were period films “News of the World,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Ammonite.”
In terms of the Oscar race, 89-year-old Oscar winner Ann Roth (“The English Patient”) is the favorite for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” given Viola Davis’ powerful performance as the trailblazing ’20s blues singer, who flaunted her flashy wardrobe to convey a sexy, subversive image. She put Davis in a rubber suit modeled after Aretha Franklin, and assembled an array of bold and durable outfits (including flowing berry-red and blue velvet dresses). Roth also helped out hair department head Mia Neal and makeup stylist Sergio Lopez Rivera by informing them that Rainey made her wigs out of horsehair and had a mouthful of gold teeth.
However, also in the hunt are Oscar-winner Alexandra Byrne (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”), who lavished Autumn de Wilde’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma” with an infusion of color; Trish Summerville, who tackled the Golden Age of Hollywood in David Fincher’s “Mank” in black-and-white; Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, who created the distinctive looks of Black legends Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) for Regina King’s “One Night in Miami”; and the dark horse Nancy Steiner, who subversively disguised Carey Mulligan in Emerald Fennell’s revenge thriller “Promising Young Woman.”
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
“Dolittle” – Jenny Beavan
“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” – Michael Wilkinson
“Mulan” – Bina Daigeler
“Pinocchio” – Massimo Cantini Parrini
“Wonder Woman 1984” – Lindy Hemming
Excellence in Contemporary Film
“Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” – Trayce Gigi Field
“Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” – Erin Benach
“Da 5 Bloods” – Donna Berwick
“Promising Young Woman” – Nancy Steiner
“The Prom” – Lou Eyrich
Excellence in Period Film
“Emma” – Alexandra Byrne
“Judas and the Black Messiah” – Charlese Antoinette Jones
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Ann Roth
“Mank” – Trish Summerville
“One Night in Miami” – Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television
“The Mandalorian”: “Chapter 13: The Jedi” – Shawna Trpcic
“Snowpiercer”: “Access is Power” – Cynthia Summers
“Star Trek: Picard”: “Absolute Candor” – Christine Bieselin Clark
“Westworld”: “Parce Domine” – Shay Cunliffe
“What We Do in the Shadows”: “Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires” – Amanda Neale
Excellence in Contemporary Television
“Emily in Paris”: “Faux Amis” – Patricia Field & Marylin Fitoussi
“Euphoria”: “Part 1: Rue – Trouble Don’t Last Always” – Heidi Bivens
“I May Destroy You”: “Social Media is a Great Way to Connect” – Lynsey Moore
“Schitt’s Creek”: “Happy Ending” – Debra Hanson
“Unorthodox”: “Part 2” – Justine Seymour
Excellence in Period Television
“Bridgerton”: “Diamond of the First Water” – Ellen Mirojnick & John W. Glaser III
“The Crown”: “Terra Nullius” – Amy Roberts
“Lovecraft Country”: “I Am.” – Dayna Pink
“Mrs. America”: “Shirley” – Bina Daigeler
“The Queen’s Gambit”: “End Game” – Gabriele Binder
Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
“Dancing with the Stars”: “Villains Night” – Daniela Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
“Hamilton” – Paul Tazewell
“The Masked Dancer”: “Premiere – Everybody Mask Now!” – Gabrielle Letamendi & Candice Rainwater
“The Masked Singer”: “The Semi Finals – The Super Six” – Marina Toybina
“Saturday Night Live”: “John Mulaney / The Strokes” – Tom Broecker & Eric Justian
Excellence in Short Form Design
“Apple: Shot on iPhone” by Damien Chazelle – Vertical Cinema “The Stunt Double” short film – April Napier
The Killers: “Caution” music video – Samantha Kuester
Selena Gomez: “Boyfriend” music video – Dawn Ritz & Kenn Law
Tim Burton Themed Halloween Party short film – Dawn Ritz
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights” music video – Ami Goodhear
