30 Academy Award-Winning Costume Sets From Absolutely Phenomenal Movies

They deserved an award for being that amazing.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• March 5, 2022

We think we can all agree that costumes are an essential part of films. Not only do they make the characters look a lot more amazing and believable but they also make the fantasy world that we're watching on our screens look a lot more real.

In addition to that, costumes also do a great deal in showing character development. They're often either the biggest or most subtle hints of a character's change.

Just imagine if characters in The Lord of the Rings movie series or the Harry Potter series didn't wear what they were wearing. We doubt those movies would have sold as well as they have.

Nowadays, people put as much thought and attention into costumes as they do other details of the movies. Even the tiniest details are made to be as perfect as can be.

Costume departments even spend entire weeks and months researching, crafting, and creating entire costume sets. Then they spend more weeks and more months making sure of continuity and replacing and changing costumes as necessary.

Their effort is commendable and their creativity is brilliant. That is why they definitely deserve the attention from one of the most prestigious awards shows on the planet: the Oscars.

Keep reading on and find out which movies have won the Oscar for best costume design.

Black Panther (2019)

The costumes were created by Ruth E. Carter who became the first African American woman to receive the Oscar award for best costume design. The collar and crown worn here were both created with 3D printing technology.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2004)

The team of Dickinson ONZM and Richard Taylor were inspired by 17th and 18th-century looks. Put all together, the designers were nominated for more than 20 awards.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2015)

Costume designer Milena Canonero worked with fashion giants such as Fendi and Prada to create some of the looks which were specifically created to represent the individuality of each character.

Alice In Wonderland (2011)

Colleen Atwood created the costumes for Tim Burton's film to emphasize the weirdness of the characters. Only Alice's costume remained normal, however, there was difficulty in maintaining her costume as her size constantly changed throughout the movie.

Titanic (1998)

Deborah Lynn Scott who created the costumes for the film spent huge amounts of time restoring dresses and creating new ones with restored fabrics and readings. She also sourced clothes from different countries for the third-class passenger characters who had various ethnic backgrounds.

Marie Antoinette (2007)

Believe it or not, the costume design inspiration for this film came from a box of Laduree macarons that were given to costume designer Milena Canonero by the film's director Sofia Coppola.

Memoirs Of A Geisha (2006)

In the film, characters wore kimonos that were made from silk and were decorated by hand. Each character also had an assigned color palette.

In an interview, Colleen Atwood, the designer said they had to exaggerate it a great deal to tell the story even though geishas were much more delicate than

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2008)

Although the looks in the film were inspired by the actual looks of Queen Elizabeth I, the color palette is actually different from the one Elizabeth I preferred to wear in real life. Designer Alexandra Byrne chose to do so to capture the character of Elizabeth I through clothing and make sure she stood out from the crowd.

Moulin Rouge! (2002)

The costumes were inspired by the actual place called Moulin Rouge. Designers Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie made sure to stay within that period while still making the costumes modern and eye-catching.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2016)

One of the biggest challenges for creating these costumes according to designer Jenny Beava, OBE was to make sure they reflected who the characters were while having practicality and not just aesthetics. Because of this, the costumers were created with materials that would blend with the whole scenery.

Gladiator (2001)

Designer Janty Yates revealed that during filming, the main actor needed 12 sets of armor.

They then had to make 8 copies of each set, 4 of it for the actor and the other 4 for the stuntman. These includes clean and dirty armors.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993)

Instead of focusing on the set, director Ford Coppola decided to shift focus to the costumes as the stage setting to help determine the mood of the film. He invited designer Eiko Ishioka who created the designs in a way that would showcase Dracula's transformation throughout the film.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2017)

Designer Colleen Atwood who has won the Oscar three times for best costume design created at least 1000 costumes for this film. She even took time looking for costumes to reflect the 20s from various countries in the world.

Her biggest challenge though was to design Newt's costume because it would be what the audience would remember him by.

The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1995)

Designers Lizzy Gardiner and Tim Chappel were challenged to make costumes for this film with a limited budget so they worked with cheap materials and hot glue. It was also revealed that for an important scene in the movie which involved 150 pom-poms, the pom-poms were done by Long Bay prison inmates because the movie creators didn't have much time to do it themselves.

Shakespeare In Love (1999)

For the costumes, designer Sandy Powell gave a lot of attention to colors. Since rules didn't apply to the queen though, Powell played with various colors for her, creating rich looks, and creating opposite-looking ones for those of the lower class.

The Great Gatsby (2014)

While creating the costumes for the film, designer Catherine Martin not only had to ensure creating authentic and eye-catching apparel but also ensure that there were enough clothes for main actors and extras. It was revealed that Brooks Brothers supplied 1200 costumes just for men and Muccia Prada provided 40 background dresses and some of the dresses for the main character.

The Young Victoria (2010)

Designer Sandy Powell had to create these elegant costumes with budget limitations in mind. She also revealed that the costumes were inspired by portraits of Queen Victoria and her family as well as information from the Queen's diaries.

The Duchess (2009)

Designer Michael O'Connor revealed that none of the details in the costumes were there by accident since the main character was not only known for her fashion taste but also for her personality. Important details in her life were often coded in her accessories.

Chicago (2003)

Designer Colleen Atwood spend a lot of time watching how the actors danced and move during the rehearsals to make sure their wardrobe suited how they looked and moved. One of the biggest challenges in creating the costumes, however, was to have them reflect the mood and time period of the film while being comfortable to wear while dancing and acting.

Anna Karenina (2013)

Although the movie was set in the 1870s, the costumes were inspired by the fashion of the 1950s. It wasn't totally authentic but they were made to create a more vivid character.

Little Women (2020)

Designer Jacquelin Durran made sure that the costumes of the film reflected the spirit of the 19th century while showing who each of the characters was as an individual. One interesting fact is that some characters actually shared some pieces of clothing with one another like the gold-colored vest with red spots Jo and Laurie shared.

Phantom Thread (2018)

A lot of people say that it's no surprise the film won the award for best costume given that it was about the life of a 1950s couture fashion house and its designer. But the costumes were created not only to look pretty but also to reveal who the wearers are as well as allow the audience to understand who the man who created the clothes was.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2021)

Designer Ann Roth who has been in the industry for over 50 years was only given just 2 weeks to prepare the costumes. More than the time constraint, one of the biggest challenges of designing them was that there are only 8 pictures of Ma Rainey making it hard to tell what she actually wore.

The Artist (2012)

Since the movie was in black and white, designer Mark Bridges played with vivid black and white colors to get the desired contrast in certain scenes. The costumes were also created in color because there was always a chance that the movie would be seen in color as revealed by the designer.

The English Patient (1997)

For the film, designer Ann Roth used soft desert tones to create male and female costumes. She also used muslin for the head covers which were necessary to protect the characters from the sun.

The Age Of Innocence (1994)

A lot of research was done by designer Gabriella Pescucci to authentically and elegantly portray the lavish lifestyle of the characters. Once again, the costumes were used to portray the personalities and relationships of the characters.

The Aviator (2005)

Although the movie was based on real people, designer Sandy Powell didn't copy their looks. Instead, she took them as an inspiration and went to many costume houses picking out clothing and accessories she believed would fit a certain character.

Cyrano De Bergerac (1991)

The designer Franca Squarciapino was known for costume designs for major opera houses and theatres. Since the movie takes place in the 17th century, she also made sure that the costume depicted the period accurately.

Restoration (1996)

In creating the costumes for the film, designer James Acheson was more focused on creating the mood rather than historical accuracy. This had to be achieved with a small budget so he created the elaborate costumes by reusing details from old costumes and using materials from craft stores.

Topsy-Turvy (2000)

The costumes for the film were created by Lindy Hemming who shared that when creating a costume, a designer also has to go through the same process an actor does. They also have to find out who the character is, how they are being portrayed and how they are going to act and behave.

All these costumes are definitely memorable and quite iconic. They've helped make the movies they are in unforgettable.

They also helped make a lot of these characters iconic and they've pretty much created some trends here and there in the movie industry.

Did your favorite movie make it to the list? Share it with us!

Liezel