With the Academy’s nominations announcement drawing closer by the day, it’s time to lay it all on the line with my final Oscar nomination predictions. As is the case with practically every year, the race for Best Costume Design is dominated by period and fantasy contenders. One day, we’ll have a contemporary winner again. The only potential candidate on that front this year is Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but there’s just no room for it in the final five nominees.
Babylon and Elvis both have nominations from the three major precursor awards in BAFTA, the Critics’ Choice Awards, and the Costume Designers Guild. Just like its predecessor, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever missed a BAFTA nod. That didn’t affect the first film’s Oscar chances and I don’t think it means anything here either. So consider those three films locked in.
We know the Academy loves to nominate films about fashion for Best Costume Design. Think Coco Before Chanel, The Devil Wears Prada, Phantom Thread, and Cruella. It’s why it was so surprising to see House of Gucci miss out last year. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris certainly fits that bill this year, even if it’s not a contender anywhere else. Fashion design is integral to the film’s plot and those outfits are designed by three-time winner Jenny Beaven, no less. She’s in.
That leaves us with one spot left to fill. Personally, I would love to see it taken by Everything Everywhere All at Once. While there are certainly many fantasy-inspired outfits within the film, it’s mostly a contemporary affair, which naturally works against it. It could be an international contender in either All Quiet on the Western Front or Corsage. But I feel there’s something about the warrior costuming of The Woman King that’s too hard to overlook.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN PREDICTIONS:
1. Elvis – Catherine Martin (Warner Bros.) – BAFTA, CCA, CDG
2. Babylon – Mary Zophres (Paramount Pictures) – BAFTA, CCA, CDG
3. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Ruth E. Carter (Walt Disney Studios) – BAFTA longlist, CCA, CDG
4. The Woman King – Gersha Phillips (Sony Pictures) – CCA, CDG
5. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Jenny Beavan (Focus Features) – BAFTA, CDG
Alternate: Everything Everywhere All at Once – Shirley Kurata (A24) – CCA, CDG
