2021 Oscar Predictions: COSTUME DESIGN (September)

As with cinematography, costume design could be a place where Emmy nominees graduate to become Oscar nominees for David Fincher’s Mank. In this case, Trish Summerville makes the leap from HBO’s Westworld to the black and white tale of the creation of 1941’s Citizen Kane in the upcoming film.

Speaking of Emmy nominees, Bina Daigeler, nominated this year at the Emmys for her costume design in Mrs. America, is a major contender for her diverse and beautiful work in Disney’s Mulan that features everything from detailed and traditional Hanfu (above) to warrior garb for thousands.

They’ll both battle seasoned Oscar favorites like two-time winner Mark Bridges (this year with News of the World) and 15-time nominee/three-time winner Sandy Powell (this year with The Glorias), among others.

Here are my ranked 2021 Oscar predictions in Costume Design for September [UPDATED to reflect the just announced move of West Side Story to December 2021]

1. Mank (Netflix)
Trish Summerville

2. Dune (Warner Bros) [moved to October 2021]
Jacqueline West

3. Mulan (Walt Disney Pictures)
Bina Daigeler

4. Ammonite (Neon)
Michael O’Connor

5. Death on the Nile (20th Century Studios)
Paco Delgado

Other Contenders (alphabetical)

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Donna Berwick

Emma. (Focus Features)
Alexandra Byrne

The Glorias (Roadside Attractions)
Sandy Powell

Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros)
Charlese Antoinette Jones

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Ann Roth

News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Mark Bridges

One Night in Miami… (Amazon Studios)
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck

The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Suzie Harman and Robert Worley

Respect (MGM/UA)
Clint Ramos

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Susan Lyall

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Paramount Pictures)
Paolo Nieddu

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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