Who would Dorothy be without her ruby red slippers, Princess Leia without her white dress, Edward Scissorhands without his…scissor hands? Ahead of Vogue World 2025: Hollywood, we’ve been thinking about the fashion that brings these stories to life.
Throughout the Academy Awards’ 97 years of existence, the Oscar for Best Costume Design has been given 94 times. But the award itself didn’t exist until 1949—a full 20 years after the first-ever ceremony. From 1949 to 1957 and 1960 to 1967, two trophies were awarded for costuming—one for black-and-white films and one for color.
Amongst the winners, you’ll recognize (or learn!) the people who revolutionized costuming: Edith Head, the eight-time winner who fashioned some of Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic characters in Sabrina and Roman Holiday; or Irene Sharaff, who was responsible for Elizabeth Taylor’s opulent costuming in Cleopatra and Anita’s famous purple dress in West Side Story; Milena Canonero, meanwhile, has become the modern master of the period piece, from Barry Lyndon to Marie Antoinette.
In chronicling every Best Costume Design winner, one can’t help but notice patterns: the Academy’s love of Shakespeare (the first-ever winner, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Shakespeare in Love), futurism (both Black Panther films, Mad Max: Fury Road), and period pieces galore. Another standout? The Great Gatsby, which won costume design Oscars in 1974 and 2013.
Below, see every single Oscar winner for Best Costume Design, from 1948 through the present.
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