The 2026 Oscar nominations are upon us, and—as usual—we at Vogue have opinions aplenty. While some members of our staff have strong feelings about who should take home the night’s top prizes, the cinephiles and fashion-lovers are uniquely concerned with the best costume design award.
This year’s films offered all manner of costuming, from Paul Tazewell’s fantastical creations for Wicked: For Good to Kate Hawley’s Gothic designs for Frankenstein. Elsewhere, Miyako Bellizzi presented a swaggy reimagining of the 1950s Ping-Pong set in Marty Supreme, while Malgorzata “Gosia” Karpiuk brought the Shakers back to life in The Testament of Ann Lee.
The Academy loves a period piece, but a few less obvious costumes caught our eyes, too: the sweaters in Sentimental Value made us yearn for cozy days, while KPop Demon Hunters gave us fashion envy for actual cartoons.
Ahead of the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations on January 22, Vogue staffers share what they hope to see nominated for best costume design—from sure bets to wild swings.
While Leonardo DiCaprio’s plaid robe and gas station shades in One Battle After Another will go down in Halloween costume history, I was especially taken with how Colleen Atwood dressed the members of the Christmas Adventurers Club. Outfitting a network of high-powered white supremacists in Lacoste polos and Patagonia vests instantly transformed anodyne pieces into a sinister uniform. —Hannah Jackson, fashion writer
Mia Goth’s Elizabeth looks in Frankenstein are seared into my brain. The iridescent gowns were impeccable, and the headpieces were even better. (The blue feathers that frame her face were especially impactful.) I also appreciated that Jacob Elordi’s Creature’s costumes weren’t typical of what you usually see from Frankenstein stories. His prosthetics and makeup were obviously impressive (and took 10-plus hours a day), but it’s his huge layered, shaggy coat that I keep coming back to. —Maddie Schulz, US Editor, Vogue Business
I’m truly baffled that The Testament of Ann Lee hasn’t been getting more awards season love in the craft categories. The score, production design, and cinematography were all breathtaking, but the clothes deserve a look-in, too. Costume designer Malgorzata “Gosia” Karpiuk brought the world of the Shakers vividly back to life, creating hand-made garments that reflected the simple, harmonious principles of Amanda Seyfried’s Ann Lee and her followers—as well as drawing inspiration from the dramatic shadows in Caravaggio paintings and the comic cartoons of William Hogarth. —Liam Hess, senior lifestyle editor
“Hygge” is a Danish term and Sentimental Value is Norwegian, but I say close enough and vote for Joachim Trier s profoundly beautiful film to get a costume design nomination. That’s because all I can think about this time of year are sweaters and ways to be comfortable indoors, and Sentimental Value has a gorgeous gabled house at its center and two sisters (played by Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) who knock around in it in enveloping knits and woven tanks. They may be sad for the movie’s entire running time—they have a very badly behaved dad (Stellan Skarsgård)—but they look great. —Taylor Antrim, deputy editor
One more shout-out from me for Hamnet, a period film with none of the gilded raiments typical of the genre. Remember Shakespeare in Love? Hamnet covers similar-ish ground, but the two films couldn’t look or feel more different. Hamnet costume designer Malgosia Turzanska’s feat wasn’t making Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley’s characters, William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, countless costumes, one more splendid than the next, but breathing so much real life into their clothes. That authenticity rendered the film only more searing. —Nicole Phelps, global fashion news features director
If your film produces the most popular Halloween costume of the year for every age group, your costume designer must have been doing something right! Huntrix’s outfits in KPop Demon Hunters have been embedded in my brain from a summer spent watching the film with my children, and then seeing legions of other children—and their parents—dressed as Rumi, Mira, and Zoey. Rumi’s lilac braid and Vuitton-esque sharp-shouldered silhouettes in particular combined power with creative spirit. Who wouldn’t want to dress like her? —Chloe Malle, head of editorial content
I think horror films are always snubbed when it comes to Oscars, but Weapons was one of the best spooky films of the year—to say nothing of the costumes. The unique look that Trish Summerville created for Aunt Gladys was utterly genius. The red wig! The glasses! There is a lot that goes into making a character so creepy that it gives you nightmares. That, my friends, is worth an Oscar. —Christian Allaire, senior fashion writer
When I left the theater after seeing Marty Supreme, I couldn’t shake the urge to overhaul my closet. But the thing is, I wasn’t sure whose fashion I admired the most: Marty’s undone normcore in wide-legged trousers and open button-downs or Kay’s old-school glamour in ladylike silhouettes and a fishnet fascinator. Costume designer Miyako Bellizzi hit it out of the park. —HJ
