Oscar Winner Predictions: Best Costume Design

The competition: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Mary Zophres), Black Panther (Ruth E. Carter), The Favourite (Sandy Powell), Mary Poppins Returns (Sandy Powell), Mary Queen of Scots (Alexandra Byrne)

Previous winners: Phantom Thread, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Great Gatsby, Anna Karenina, The Artist
My winner: Announcing shortly after the Oscars!
The facts: Zophres was previously nominated in 2010 for “True Grit” and in 2016 for “La La Land.” Carter was nominated in 1992 for “Malcolm X” and in 1997 for “Amistad.” Byrne was nominated in 1996 for “Hamlet,” in 1998 for “Elizabeth,” in 2004 for “Finding Neverland,” and in 2007 for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” her only win. This is the third time that Powell has earned two nominations in a single year, first in 1998 when she won for “Shakespeare in Love” in addition to a bid for “Velvet Goldmine,” and then in 2015 when she contended for “Carol” and “Cinderella.” She won for “The Aviator” in 2004 and “The Young Victoria” in 2009, with eight additional nominations. All but “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” contend for the Costume Designers Guild prizes for period or sci-fi/fantasy films, which will be handed out next week. Four times in the past decade, this award went to a Best Picture nominee.

Who should win: Though I didn’t like the film, I can appreciate the top-notch costuming in all the vignettes of “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” The wardrobe in “Mary Queen of Scots” is one of its strongest and most vibrant elements. “Mary Poppins Returns” owes much of its magic to the way that its characters are outfitted. It’s a hard pick between “The Favourite” and “Black Panther,” two extraordinarily different films, and I’d be happy with either being rewarded.
Who will win: This is extremely competitive. My money is on The Favourite though it could honestly be any of them.