Ranking Oscar Nominees/Personal Ranking: Best Costume Design 2016

Oscar Nominees:


5. Florence Foster Jenkins

Consolata Boyle's work on the elaborate, stylish and sometimes rather ridiculous (though intentionally so) costumes worn by the titular Florence is enjoyable enough and fitting to the 1940s New York setting. The tails, waistcoats, etc. donned by Hugh Grant are all pretty nice-looking, though Grant at this stage can pretty much pull off any sort of high-class looking attire and look good in it. It's all very pretty costuming work, nothing spectacularly good and I'd say the other nominees are in a different league, but I certainly admired it.

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Excellent work that manages to perfectly blend the 1920s 'Roaring Twenties' scene with the wizarding world. I'd say it actually tops much of the costume work done in the original Harry Potter films, as Colleen Atwood had a greater challenge in having to combine the period and magical aspects of the costumes together. I have a particular affinity for the flapper costuming of Alison Sudol's Queenie, and Newt Scamander's whole get-up in general which combines SFX and excellent design work into a memorable appearance.

3. Jackie

Once again, period brilliance, as Madeline Fontaine's work resembles the real deal presented in historical footage perfectly. The cast might not all look identical to their real-life counterparts (though that's not really something to fault a film as long as the performance capture their spirit), but they all dress exactly how their public image (s) presented them as. In addition, the attire Natalie Portman's Jackie dons in private are all also very well done, in fact every aspect of Jackie Kennedy's wardrobe is handled in a precise and beautiful fashion.


2. Allied

Marvelous work in the same sort of time period as Florence Foster Jenkins, though in a very different setting. Though of course nowhere near the standard of that film, I saw the film's overall aesthetic as a sort of expanded, heightened version of Casablanca. Pitt may be no Boogie - and Cotillard, great as she is, no Bergman - but they're sense of fashion is very much up to scratch. Cotillard's wide range of dresses, in particular, are beautifully suited by Joanna Johnston to the time period while not feeling derivative at all from other similar films. http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/news/g3057/allied-costumes/ presents more details on how Johnston added a subtle undertone of mystery to the costumes in the second half of the film in contrast to the elaborate costuming of the first act, yet both halves feel equally immaculate and stylish.



1. La La Land

Though I liked the costuming in Florence Foster Jenkins and loved the rest of the nominees, I find I can easily give the win to Mary Zophres' work here. La La Land is in many ways a two-man show, and it's credit to Zophres that I found many of the supporting cast/extras making an impression, especially Mia's flatmates, because of their beautiful costumes which feel very fitting to the modern-day, yet somehow feel in a different sort of class all of their own. The costumes never feel over-elaborate, and carry a sense of character in a certain modest but unforgettable way. And as to the two stars, Gosling and Stone's various outfits are almost as memorable as their performances and contribute to the visual spectacle of La La Land.


Personal Nominees:




5. Jackie

4. The Neon Demon

I suppose it's a given for a film about fashion, and a Nicolas Winding Refn film, that it'll have a sense of style. Erin Benach's work gives off a simultaneously off-putting and decadent, but also rather alluring and sensual vibe to the proceedings through the various garments Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Bella Heathcote and especially Abbey Lee don and un-don throughout the course of the film. Each costume adds so much to the characters and the visual aesthetic, and even if you didn't appreciate the film, you kind of have to appreciate the masterful work behind the costuming.


3. Allied



2. Silence

Beautiful costumes that once again, hearken back to Kurosawa in the best possible way. Dante Ferretti's (who was also in charge of Production Design) attire for each character makes them so identifiable from one another from the outset, from the poor garments the Jesuit Portuguese priests don to blend in with the impoverished Japanese populous and the middle-class attire donned after apostasy. For the Japanese characters, the costumes give such life to even the most minor characters; the Inquisitor, for example, is just so distinct from his visual presentation from the outset.


1. La La Land

Honourable Mentions: Captain Fantastic, Rogue One, Love & Friendship, Green Room, Doctor Strange

1. La La Land 
2. Silence
3. Allied
4. The Neon Demon 
5. Jackie
6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
7. Hail, Caesar!
8. Rogue One
9. Doctor Strange
10. Love & Friendship