The costume vault

The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards are finally out and... they are a mixed bag for me. At least in the Costume Design Category, which is the one I'll focus on here today. These are the nominees for Best Achievement in Costume Design: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Costume Design by Jacqueline Durran I have talked at length before about Disney live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast , and not in a very positive light (see here ). It is no secret that I hate this movie and this Costume Design. So this nomination is really painful for me. Despite that hate, I must recognize that there are some parts of the design that I like and that are worthy to look at. Still, considering the amazing Costume Designs that we've seen this year ( Lady Macbeth ,  Wonder Woman ...), it is terribly unfair that this gets nominated only because it's Disney and because it's a grand and flashy Costume Design. DARKEST HOUR. Costume Design by Jacqueline Durran I still h...

So the nominations for the 89th Academy Awards are finally out and... I am frustrated at how predictable they were. At least in the Costume Design category, which is the one that concerns us here. Here are the Nominations for Costume Design: ALLIED. Costume Design by Joanna Johnston This is a World War II Epic Romance-Drama very reminiscent of the Classic Hollywood Wartime dramas, even down to the excess of melodrama. This movie, though it didn't flop, it didn't impress either. Bland and predictable are terms as applicable to the plot as to the costumes. Don't understand why it's even here. FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. Costume Design by Colleen Atwood I was doubting, back in my 2016 Favorite Costume Design's List (read here ) whether to include this or Miss Peregrine's , as both are designed by the splendid Colleen Atwood. In the end, I prefer Miss Peregrine's . I guess they don't. FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS. Costume Desig...

Mad Max: Fury Road , the fourth installment in the Mad Max franchise, is nothing like we've seen before. Certainly nothing like any Best Picture Nominee that's come before it. And there is, precisely, where lies its strength. Directed by George Miller (who had already directed the previous three movies of the franchise), this epic chase is, at its core, as simple as it gets. It hits all the notes you'd expect of a Mad Max movie, but somehow it has a magic that had not been captured before. More than a movie, it's an experience. Precisely because the story is so simple (basically, a two-hour-long chase), the movie has the time to really immerse you in the universe without any dialogued exposition or your usual tropes in fantasy worlds. And it's there where the costume design really comes into play. From the dictatorial world of Inmortan Joe to the rebellious Furiosa and her clan; the designs manage to transport the viewer into the crazy world that th...