Oscar Buzz 2014 – Best Costume Design

Who will take home the prize?

Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan

With the 86th Academy Awards right around the corner, many fashionistas may be wondering which Costume Designer will take home the Oscar.  This year, the category has two former winners, two new nominees, and even one six-time nominee.  The nominees for Best Costume Designer are:

Gatsby Party Costumes

Catherine Martin: "The Great Gatsby" – The Australian born Martin has won awards for this beautiful and high-fashion film already, winning a BAFTA, a Critics Choice Award and a Costume Designers Guild Award.  I would bet on Catherine Martin winning the Oscar, as well.  The way she designed from start to finish for the movie was absolutely breathtaking, and the Academy will be drawn to the enormity of the task, the glitter and glam and the stunning visual impact that the costumes brought to the film.  This is Martin’s third Oscar nomination, she won two Oscars for Moulin Rouge! in 2001, Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction.

Michael Wilkinson: "American Hustle" – This is Wilkinson’s first Oscar nomination, and my second favorite costume design as far as the nominees.  You have seen his costume work before in 300, Man of Steel, and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 1 & 2. He did a brilliant job bringing life to the characters in this film, and has been nominated for the BAFTA Award, the Costume Designers Guild Award and the Critics Choice Award for the film.  

The Cast of American Hustle

While I don’t think he will win, anyone who has seen American Hustle knows that Wilkinson is amazing and certainly deserved the nomination.  Jennifer Lawrence's and Amy Adam's multiple looks throughout the films were nothing short of awesome, and what an era he had to work with!  The 70's outfits are so hot! While not exactly a costume award, I personally think there should be a special award for Bradley Cooper's daily permed hair; it deserves an award of its own.  To be honest, it was actually really awesome! 

Patricia Norris: "12 Years a Slave" – a six time Oscar nominee, Norris is the veteran of this group.  She, too, deserved the nod from the Academy, but this is not the sort of glitzy or in-your-face kind of costume design that normally garners the win.  However, she is 82 years old and has paid her dues with such films as Scarface, The Elephant Man and Days of Heaven.  She has never won an Oscar; could this be her year?  One never knows.

12 Years a Slave Costuming

Norris has never won an Oscar; could this be her year?  It would be a long shot, but one never knows.  To see a wonderful interview that Katie Van Sykle did with Patricia Norris, check out NYMAG.COM.  I really enjoyed reading it; what a determined woman!

William Chang Suk Ping: "The Grandmaster" – Perhaps the biggest surprise in this category is Suk Ping’s nomination for the Hong Kong film The Grandmaster.  The BAFTA’s, for instance, nominated Saving Mr. Banks and Behind the Candelabra in this category, and many expected that Daniel Orlandi would be nominated for his costume design on Saving Mr. Banks at this year’s Oscars.  

The Grandmaster - Sleeper?

South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo

Some may know Suk Ping's work from The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale, or My Blueberry Nights with Jude Law and Natalie Portman.  Since this is an Asian (Chinese) film, however, many think that it has no chance of winning.  The mere fact that it is nominated and the elaborate Asian-style costumes make it a great contender.  It could certainly be a sleeper for the award, so don't count it out just yet. 

Michael O'Connor: "The Invisible Woman" – Born in London, England, O’Conner is a former Oscar winner for The Duchess.  He was also nominated for 2011’s

Straightforward & Sharp -  not "invisible"

Jane Eyre.  So far this award season, O’Connor has been nominated for a BAFTA, though he lost to The Great Gatsby.   
The Oscars could be a repeat, I predict, for O’Conner; The Great Gatsby is just so much more visually stimulating than The Invisible Woman.

Who do you think will win Best Costume Design at the 86th Academy Awards?  Please comment and  follow me if you love film & fashion.  Let me know who your favorite costume designer is, and which of these films costumes caught your eye.  My vote goes to Gatsby - how about yours?  

NOTE:  I hope to hear from you!  I will be tweeting LIVE starting with the red carpet events on Oscar night leading up to the show at @filmfashionista, so follow me on twitter, too.   For more on the upcoming Oscars, go to Oscars 2014.