2025 Oscars Best Costume Design Predictions

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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

Paramount Pictures

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.

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** denotes the film is not yet dated or can open in 2025.

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