Costume Designers Who Were ...
The lucky five who were nominated yesterday for Best Costume Design are a worthy bunch. Sandy Powell’s sumptuous work for The Young Victoria and Catherine LeTerrier’s ode to the queen of fashion in Coco before Chanel lead the field. But perhaps Oscar should have widened the category as it did the Best Picture prize, because plenty of amazing designers were left in the lurch. Here’s our list of the egregiously overlooked for this year’s sartorial honors.
Arianne Phillips, A Single Man
Regardless of whether you thought Tom Ford’s directorial debut was a poignant portrayal of grief and loss, or a manipulative, this-is-what-you-should-be-feeling-now bore, there’s a moment in A Single Man where George Falconer (played by Oscar-nominee Colin Firth), a literature professor grappling with the death of his partner, walks upstream through a sea of plucky undergraduates, dozens and dozens of them, all dressed in distinctive early-60s brilliance as imagined by Arianne Phillips. If Mad Men draws you to this era, Phillips’ work makes you never want to leave it.
The Academy has noticed her genius before—she was nominated for 2005’s Walk the Line. Apparently Oscar has since developed glaucoma, because Phillips deserved a second nod for this film. My favorites are the black sleeveless dress and gold earrings worn by Charley (Julianne Moore) and, of course, the white mohair sweater and skinny white jeans donned by Kenny (Nicholas Hoult).
CIGARETTES AND COMMISERATION: Colin Firth and Julianne Moore in A Single Man
Sonia Grande, Broken Embraces
There's nothing in modern cinema more delicious than a Pedro Almodovar film. What made Broken Embraces all the more appetizing was its sly references to the Spanish director's 1988 comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, starring the incomparable Carmen Maura. Penelope Cruz, playing the escort-cum-actress Magdelena, is perhaps Almodovar's most enduring muse, and carries off Sonia Grande's opulent, often frenzied glamour with aplomb in this noirish gem. Grande worked with Almodovar for his 2002 film Talk to Her and with Cruz for Woody Allen's Vicky Christina Barcelona. For Broken Embraces, she delved into 90s style, took inspiration from Chanel and Dior, and, as she told Elle in a recent interview, "We searched from the most sophisticated stores to Dumpsters. On occasion, garbage can take you to paradise."
MAGDALENA IN CHAINS: Penelope Cruz in Broken Embraces
Monika Jacobs, The Last Station
Costumes for The Last Station, a historical drama about the struggle over Leo Tolstoy's literary legacy, are a juxtaposition between the aristocratic excess of the pre-Revolution and the socialist modesty of a commune the sprouted in honor of the Russian author's spiritual leanings later in life. Created by German costume designer Monika Jacobs—whose credits include a laundry list of European releases—the costuming channels a world where propriety is paramount: Helen Mirren, playing Sofya, Tolstoy's wife, is the picture of privilege in neat white gloves, oversized day-at-the-races hats and buttoned-up Victorian blouses and skirts. But of course it's when things unravel that the plot—and the fashion—gets interesting.
THAT'S MRS. TOLSTOY TO YOU: Helen Mirren and James McAvoy in The Last Station