Academy Award for Best Costume Design facts for kids

The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is a super cool award given out every year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It celebrates the amazing work of people who design the clothes for movies! These costumes help tell the story and bring characters to life.

This award started in 1949, for movies made in 1948. Back then, there were two separate awards: one for black-and-white films and one for color films. In 1967, they combined these into just one award. Since then, the award usually goes to movies set in the past, or in fantasy and science-fiction worlds, because those often have very unique and detailed costumes.

What is the Best Costume Design Award?

The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is given out each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. It honors the best movie costume design from the year before. To be considered for this award, movie costumes must be "conceived" by a costume designer. This means the designer must have created the original ideas for the outfits.

Before the final voting, costume designers who are members of the Academy check each movie submission. Only the main costume designers can be nominated. The five movies with the most votes become the official nominees. Then, all active and lifetime members of the Academy vote to pick the winner.

A Look at the Award's History

The first Academy Award for Best Costume Design was given out on March 24, 1949. As mentioned, it had two parts: one for black-and-white movies and one for color movies.

In 1958, these two parts were combined into one award. This happened because the Academy wanted to have fewer award categories overall. However, in 1960, the award was split into two again! But eight years later, it was combined back into a single award, which is how it remains today.

From 1949 to 1966, many black-and-white movies that won had modern settings. But for color movies, the winners were usually big historical films, fantasy movies, or musicals. Since 1967, when the awards became one category, only three movies set in modern times have won. These were Travels with My Aunt, All That Jazz, and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Most other winners have been set in the past or in fantasy worlds.

Amazing Costume Designers and Their Wins

Some costume designers have won this award many times!

Most Wins and Nominations

The designer with the most wins and nominations is Edith Head. She won the award 8 times and was nominated a total of 35 times! That's a lot of incredible costumes.

Today, Milena Canonero and Colleen Atwood are the living designers with the most awards, each having won four times.

Winners from the Early Years (1940s-1950s)

Here are some of the first winners of the Best Costume Design award:

• 1948:

* For Black-and-White films: Roger K. Furse for Hamlet * For Color films: Dorothy Jeakins and Karinska for Joan of Arc

• 1949:

* For Black-and-White films: Edith Head and Gile Steele for The Heiress * For Color films: Leah Rhodes, Travilla and Marjorie Best for Adventures of Don Juan

• 1950:

* For Black-and-White films: Edith Head and Charles LeMaire for All About Eve * For Color films: Edith Head, Dorothy Jeakins, Elois Jenssen, Gile Steele and Gwen Wakeling for Samson and Delilah

Recent Winners (2020s)

Let's look at some of the most recent winners:

• 2020/21: Ann Roth for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
• 2021: Jenny Beavan for Cruella
• 2022: Ruth E. Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• 2023: Holly Waddington for Poor Things
• 2024: Paul Tazewell for Wicked

Cool Facts and Records

Here are some interesting records about the Best Costume Design award:

Age Records

• Oldest winner and nominee: Ann Roth was 89 years and 177 days old when she won for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. She was 89 years and 136 days old when she was nominated for it.
• Youngest winner and nominee: Elois Jenssen was 28 years and 144 days old when she won for Samson and Delilah. She was 28 years and 99 days old when she was nominated.

Designers with Multiple Wins

Many designers have won this award more than once. Here are some of the top winners:

• 8 wins: Edith Head
• 5 wins: Irene Sharaff
• 4 wins: Colleen Atwood, Milena Canonero
• 3 wins: Charles LeMaire, Sandy Powell, Jenny Beavan, Dorothy Jeakins, Anthony Powell, Orry-Kelly, James Acheson
• 2 wins: Helen Rose, Jacqueline Durran, Albert Wolsky, Gile Steele, Danilo Donati, Vittorio Nino Novarese, Ann Roth, Mark Bridges, Ruth E. Carter, Catherine Martin, Phyllis Dalton, Piero Gherardi, Cecil Beaton, Elizabeth Haffenden, John Mollo

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Óscar al mejor diseño de vestuario para niños