2025 Oscars Best Costume Design Predictions
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
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2025 Oscars Predictions:
Best Costume Design
Weekly Commentary (Updated Nov. 4, 2024): The buzz around the technical categories at the upcoming Oscars is reaching a fever pitch, with “Wicked” anticipated to be a force to be reckoned with, especially in the costume design arena.
At the helm of this potential triumph is renowned costume designer Paul Tazewell, an Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Tony Award-winning visionary, who first garnered Oscar attention for his work on Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of “West Side Story,” made history as the first Black male costume designer to receive an Academy Award nomination. Only one Black costume designer has won previously: Ruth E. Carter, who shattered records by becoming the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars for her innovative threads in “Black Panther” (2018) and its sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022). Tazewell’s eye for detail and authenticity is brilliantly worn by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in “Wicked,” whose work promises a fusion of whimsical fantasy and sophisticated craftsmanship.
In this year’s race, Tazewell will likely face Janty Yates, another industry stalwart who claimed the Oscar in 2001 for her iconic work on “Gladiator.” Yates returns with “Gladiator II,” and audiences and industry voters will see the gritty, opulent Roman aesthetics that made the original film a triumph on full display.
Also vying for gold is Jacqueline West, a seasoned artisan with five Oscar nominations under her belt but yet to secure the win. Her distinguished portfolio includes nominations for “Quills” (2000), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008), “The Revenant” (2015), “Dune” (2021) and “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023). West’s collaboration with director Denis Villeneuve on the film’s second installment finds her designs playing a crucial narrative role, as they embody the spirit of Villeneuve’s dystopian world-building.
Meanwhile, Colleen Atwood, a titan of costumes, is back with a vengeance. Currently tied for the second-most nominations in the category with a remarkable 12 nods (a record she shares with “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story” designer Jenny Beavan and the late Dorothy Jeakins), Atwood’s four wins — for “Chicago” (2002), “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005), “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), and “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (2016) — could put her within reach of another piece of recognition. This year, she is in the running with “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the sequel to Tim Burton’s cult classic that Warner Bros is positioning for tech prizes. Known for her fantastical and often gothic aesthetic, Atwood’s return to Burton’s zany world is edgy and has her as a dark horse.
More to come as the season unfolds.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.
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And the Predicted Nominees Are
Rank Performer & Film 1 “Wicked” (Universal Pictures) — Paul Tazewell 2 “Gladiator II” (Paramount Pictures) — Janty Yates 3 “Dune: Part Two” (Warner Bros.) — Jacqueline West 4 “Maria” (Netflix) — Massimo Cantini Parrini 5 “Nosferatu” (Focus Features) — Linda Muir Oscars: Best Costume Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Next in Line
Rank Performer & Film 6 “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (Warner Bros.) — Colleen Atwood 7 “Blitz” (Apple Original Films) — Jacqueline Durran 8 “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures) — Arianne Phillips 9 “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix) — Francine Jamison-Tanchuck 10 “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” (Warner Bros.) — Jenny Beavan Oscars: Best Costume Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Other Contenders
Rank Performer & Film 11 “The Brutalist” (A24) — Kate Forbes 12 “Saturday Night” (Sony Pictures) — Danny Glicker 13 “Queer” (A24) — J.W. Anderson 14 “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix) — Virginie Montel 15 “Bob Marley: One Love” (Paramount Pictures) — Anna B. Sheppard 16 “Better Man” (Paramount Pictures) — Cappi Ireland 17 “The Apprentice” (Briarcliff Entertainment) — Laura Montgomery 18 “Firebrand” (Roadside Attractions) — Michael O’Connor 19 “Megalopolis” (Lionsgate) — Milena Canonero 20 “The Book of Clarence” (Sony Pictures) — Antoinette Messam Oscars: Best Costume Design (Variety Awards Circuit Predictions) -
Eligible Titles (Best Costume Design)
** This list is incomplete and not yet finalized. Not all films have distribution or release dates. All are subject to change.
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More Information (Costume Design)
2024 category winner: “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures) — Holly Waddington
2024-2025 Oscars Calendar and Timeline (all dates are subject to change)
- Eligibility period: Jan. 1, 2024 – Dec. 31, 2024
- General entry, best picture, RAISE submission deadline: Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
- Governors Awards: Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024
- Preliminary voting begins Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Preliminary voting ends Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Shortlists Announcement: Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024
- Eligibility period ends: Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024
- Nominations voting begins Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT.
- Nominations voting ends Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT.
- Oscar Nominations Announcement: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
- Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Monday, Feb. 10, 2025
- Final voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, at 9 a.m. PT
- Final voting ends: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. PT
- Scientific and Technical Awards: Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025
- 97th Oscars: Sunday, March 2, 2025
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About the Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, is Hollywood’s most prestigious artistic award in the film industry. Since 1927, nominees and winners have been selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Seventeen branches are represented within the nearly 10,000-person membership. The branches are actors, associates, casting directors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, executives, film editors, makeup and hairstylists, marketing and public relations, members-at-large, members-at-large (artists’ representatives), music, producers, production design, short films and feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.
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