Best Costume Design Oscars Predictions (January)

The nominations for the 24th Costume Designers Guild Awards dropped in late January. All the major players nabbed a nod, so that’s probably not giving us any strong indication of how the Oscar nomination race is shaping. Learning the winners in early March won’t help that much either, given the guild splits their nominations into period, contemporary, and sci-fi categories. That being said, whoever the guild picks as their period winner will make this a two-horse race with Dune for the Oscar.

So who are the strongest contenders to land a nomination from the Academy? Cruella, Dune, and West Side Story have felt safe for months. The latter did miss out on BAFTA nomination, but I’m trying not to read too much into the selections made by the small BAFA juries. Case in point – The French Dispatch scored a costume nod from BAFTA, but hasn’t been seen anywhere else this season in this category.

Given its narrative centres on one of the most famous fashion houses in history, House of Gucci has also felt relatively safe for some time. Its Oscar campaign has been sketchy, but it’s certainly surged in January. On the flip side, Spencer has seen a disastrous month with snubs across the board. Jacqueline Durran’s impeccable costuming deserves acknowledgement, but I can’t see it happening anymore.

That leaves that fifth spot open to a number of possibilities. Maybe it’s the gorgeous designs of Nightmare Alley. Perhaps Best Picture frontrunners Belfast or The Power of the Dog sweep the technical categories and their costume designs get taken along for the ride. But the combination of CDG and BAFTA nominations for Cyrano makes it hard to overlook as the fifth pick.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN PREDICTIONS:
1. Cruella (Disney)
Jenny Beavan
2. Dune (Warner Bros.)
Jacqueline West
3. West Side Story (20th Century Studios)
Paul Tazewell
4. House of Gucci (MGM)
Janty Yates
5. Cyrano (MGM)
Massimo Cantini Parrini

IN CONTENTION
Being the Ricardos (Amazon Studios)
Susan Lyall
Belfast (Focus Features)
Charlotte Walter
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Searchlight Pictures)
Mitchell Travers
The Green Knight (A24)
Malgosia Turzanska
The Last Duel (20th Century Studios)
Janty Yates
Licorice Pizza (MGM)
Mark Bridges
Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures)
Milena Cananero
The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
Kirsty Cameron
Spencer (Neon)
Jacqueline Durran
The Tragedy of Macbeth (A24/Apple TV+)
Mary Zophres