Fashion plays a vital role in a film. Despite this, costuming can easily be overlooked by movie fans. What’s important to understand is that clothing can bring a character to life, reflecting their mood and personality throughout the film in profound ways beyond their words or actions. Costuming can also be used to create a believable and cohesive backstory of the characters and the world they live in. From accurate period-piece costumes or fantastical designs of sci-fi and fantasy heroes and villains, to the relatable everyman and all the characters and situations in between. Still, costuming can be overlooked as less important during award season with many viewers tuning in for the “five major categories,” of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (original or adapted). But true fashion fans always keep an eye out for the Best Costume Design category.
The 2025 Oscars commenced on March 2nd and there were many things to consider when deciding the winner of the Best Costume Design category. The nominees of the year were Arianne Phillips for A Complete Unknown, Lisy Christl for Conclave, Janty Yates and Dave Crossman for Gladiator II, Linda Muir for Nosferatu, and Paul Tazewell for Wicked. These five films had some unique differences in their uses of and approaches to costuming. At the 2025 Oscars, the Best Costume Design award was presented by five actors from each of the nominated films, each discussing the costume designers’ achievements as well as the significance of the costumes in each film.
A Complete Unknown is a biopic about Bob Dylan, following his rise in New York’s West Village in 1961 to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Costume designer Arianne Phillips transformed academy award nominee Timothée Chalamet, bringing Bob Dylan’s style to life with around 67 costume changes as his style evolved from being an unknown, bohemian artist to becoming a global sensation. Costumer Phillips started with worn-out shoes, boxy jackets, and graphic shirts – eventually switching to slim-fitted two-piece suits, dark glasses, and a more polished look overall. Researching Bob Dylan to work on his style, as well as that of a larger ensemble cast, she worked with the brand Levi’s to recreate Dylan’s signature 501 jeans for the album cover of ‘The Freewheelin.’’ Through this process, Phillips discovered that Dylan was a meticulous dresser who modeled himself after folk star Woody Guthrie with dungarees and Pendleton shirts. While presenting the Best Costume Design award at the Oscars, Elle Fanning who played Bob Dylan’s girlfriend Sylvie, mentioned how she met Phillips before filming. According to Fanning, Phillips brought artistry and dedication to the characters through the effortless use of vintage pieces which created energy, rebellion, and the overall moment of 1960s Greenwich Village.
Conclave is a religious thriller adapted from the Robert Harris novel, about a cardinal tasked with finding a successor to the deceased Pope with a dangerous secret. It was challenging for costume designer Lisy Christl to remake costumes that were already considered precious and stood the test of time, especially in a rich setting of the Vatican. Her costumes speak to the ideas of power, wealth, and faith. This is seen through the variations of fabrics used in the film such as redesigning the cassocks with heavier wool, balanced and deep color coordination, and an overall regality. Since many of the characters were dressed in identical red robes, she differentiated them with small details such as crosses, rings, shoes, and overcoats. Presenting the Costume Design award, John Lithgo who played Cardinal Tremblay discussed how Christl comfortably dressed the 108 cardinals with her extraordinary commitment to research.
Gladiator II takes place twenty years after the original film, as the Roman empire continues to implode. Janty Yates and Dave Crossman created the costumes for the Roman military and gladiators. They took inspiration from painters Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant and Jean-Leon Gerome to deliver classical Roman attire with opulence for the character Macrinus. Meanwhile, the costumers went over-the-top for eccentric emperors Geta and Caracalla with embroidery, adding tone of gold-on-gold and silver-on-silver, and giving Lucilla more of a modern touch with some nods to 20th-century designers Halston and Courreges. Overall, the attention to detail in the costumes was unmatched between the reliefs on the armors, the embroidered tunics of the emperors and Roman bourgeoisie, contrasted with the wardrobe of the people living in the deserts. They had a crew of cutters, leather workers, metal workers, jewellers, embroiders, etc. making the costumes from scratch. Presenting the Costume Design award, Connie Neilson who played Lucilla, mentioned how she worked with Yates for the first Gladiator film for which she had won the costume award in 2000. Neilson also mentioned how Yates worked with Crossman and many artisans to craft thousands of pieces for Gladiator II to honor the original film while creating something new and bringing history to life.
Nosferatu is a modern-take on the pre-Victorian tale of gothic horror, following vampire Count Orlok, his desire for Ellen Hutter, and her husband Thomas who fights for her. Costume designer Linda Muir delved into the fashion history of 1830s Germany, where the story takes place, to mimic accurate designs by dressing the characters based on their personalities, plot arcs, and social status. For example, Muir wanted Ellen Hutter’s wardrobe to look ethereal while also alluding to her troubled state of mind showcased through her connection with Orlock. It was also important to reflect that Ellen came from a rich family but willingly agreed to “downgrade” to a lower class to marry Thomas while in contrast, the couple’s friends, Anna and Friedrich, are wealthy as their looks are made from more expensive materials. She wanted Orlock’s costumes to look “lived in,” with him first hiding his decaying state with his mente cloak and kalpak hat which showcases his high degree of wealth and status despite typically being worn by younger men. Presenting the Best Costume Design award, Lily-Rose Depp who played Ellen, discussed how Muir’s costumes created history and reflected the restriction and urge to break free for women of the time while transforming the vision of vampires.
Wicked is based on the broadway musical – a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, that tells the origin story of Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Costume designer Paul Tazewell was involved in the intricate, labor-intensive work that went into crafting many costumes, especially those of Glinda and Elphaba. From the Fibonacci sequence in Glinda’s bubble gown, to the darker textiles for Elphaba’s uniform to set her apart from the rest of the students at Shiz. Tazwell’s approach to their costumes involved creating intentional differences while highlighting the juxtaposition of light and dark, refined and textured, using a floating sensibility for Glinda and a connection with nature for Elphaba. While presenting the Best Costume Design category, Bowan Yang who played one of Glinda’s school side-kicks, jokingly showed up in his Shiz uniform from Wicked and mentioned how admiring and discussing Tazewell’s talented costume work can sound overzealous or pretentious. This was Paul Tazewell’s second nomination for Costume Design, but he made history that night with his Oscar win as the first Black man to receive the Costume Design award.
Each of the films nominated for best costume design have interesting pieces that are styled and used in different, unique ways both for each character and within each film itself. Fashion is so important in film, even nominations for such a broad category can still be rewarding in its own way.