Colleen Atwood can bite my ass.

[hadespussercats]

Really? Better than Jenny Beavan? Sandy Powell?

What really pisses me off about the Academy Award for Costume Design is that it, without fail, goes to the film with the most outlandish costumes-- not the most truthfully-rendered, or the design with the most carefully-constructed color palette, or the design that evokes individual characters with the most style and clarity, or...

Over-the-top. That's what wins awards. And it's bloody tiresome.

I realize few of you probably care as much about costume design as I do. But I'm pissed, and I wanted the world to know.

Coleen Atwood. Pffffft.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Yeah! Pffft!

Who?

[JimC]

One fine day, our very own Mousy will win one, and, in her acceptance speech, dedicate her win to the inspiration of Ratz when she was a young 'un!

[rachelbean]

This year I kinda rather she win. Almost every year it goes to whoever can most correctly re-create well documented period pieces, at least she did something interesting

[hadespussercats]

This year I kinda rather she win. Almost every year it goes to whoever can most correctly re-create well documented period pieces, at least she did something interesting

Hmmm. I don't know what's interesting about re-heating the Tim Burton/goth/Alice in Wonderland look we've been seeing since the early 90's.

I agree with you-- there's a pre-ponderance of historical period pieces that win awards-- that's part of my point, actually. A historical piece with powdered wigs will win out over a brilliant design set in the 1970's, almost every time. And you can forget a contemporary film ever winning, no matter how clever the design is.

I posted about this last year, after Sandy Powell (my hero) won-- http://www.rationalia.com/forum/viewtop ... =31&t=9928

Here it is, in case you don't feel like clicking:

I love you, Sandy Powell.
You were already my favorite film designer, for such gems as Orlando, and Shakespeare in Love, and Velvet Goldmine, and Wings of the Dove, and, well, you seem to work constantly. I don't know how you do it.

But Sunday night, as you accepted your third Oscar, you had the class and the insight to point out all the designers who work as hard as you, but who do the sort of costume designing that never wins awards.

In your honor, I'm posting my choice of five films that fall in that category--
Perfect Costumes That Will Never Win Awards:

1. The Virgin Suicides
From the home-made flannel nighties to the prim prom dresses, not to mention the pitch-perfect chopped-down wedding dress worn by the youngest ghost girl, it's hard to think of costumes that would more perfectly capture the essence of claustrophobic Christian family fashion in the mid-seventies. The mother's severe skirt suits and the father's beaten-down-by-life science teacher's garb were also excellent. I could go on-- this film is a particular gem-- not too surprising, given director Sofia Coppola's generation and her life-long interest in fashion.

2. Pecker
This is a less-watched Waters film, which is a shame, because it is a rather scathing indictment of the art world of the nineties. The main character takes photographs of characters from his life-- and they all read like real people. Real, strange, and wonderful people. The little girl in particular is a shining example of how far a designer can take everyday clothes without breaking the boundaries of verisimilitude.

3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The transformation of Johnny Depp is reason enough to include this one. It's a great film-- if you don't mind disturbing, you should rent it tomorrow.

4. Reservoir Dogs
This movie single-handedly created the iconic bad man in a black suit, white shirt, and skinny black tie. Think how often this look has been copied/evoked since: Men in Black is just one example that comes to mind

5. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I loved the look of their prison garb, and the creation of the Dapper Dan man was genius. John Goodman as a cream-suited Polyphemus was brilliant, as well.


and I realized this list just isn't complete without

6. Little Miss Sunshine
I could write a whole thesis about the costumes in this film-- from Steve Carell's character's White-Suit-Years button down shirt with sleeves flapping over his bandaged wrists, to Olivia's little red cowgirl boots, to her silent brother's T-shirt (getting the perfect T-shirt for look and fit is much harder that you'd think)-- never mind the brilliant contrast between the creepy child pageant girls and Olivia's dumpy but sweet costumes. She ended up being the only contestant who looked like a real little girl-- never mind the 'Superfreak' strip-tease.


To all of these films, I salute you! Which I hope counts for something, because it's unlikely anyone else will.

But feel free to prove me wrong, or to add some of your own to the list.