{"id":297313,"date":"2026-02-18T11:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/297313\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T11:56:10","slug":"oscars-menswear-takes-center-stage-in-costume-design-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/297313\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscars: Menswear takes center stage in costume design race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A one-size-fits-all sartorial approach is out of the question for the showmen of \u201cSinners<\/a>,\u201d \u201cHamnet<\/a>,\u201d \u201cFrankenstein<\/a>\u201d and \u201cMarty Supreme<\/a>.\u201d But whether the arena is theater, music, science or sports, all wear garments that accentuate their emotional states and prodigious talents \u2014 and leave an enduring mark. Here, Oscar-nominated costume designers Ruth E. Carter<\/a> (\u201cSinners\u201d), Malgosia Turzanska (\u201cHamnet\u201d), Kate Hawley (\u201cFrankenstein\u201d) and Miyako Bellizzi (\u201cMarty Supreme\u201d) discuss defining menswear statements with The Envelope.<\/p>\n

In Carter\u2019s third collaboration with Ryan Coogler<\/a>, Michael B. Jordan\u2019s<\/a> sharply dressed twins Smoke and Stack return to the Mississippi Delta in 1932 to open a juke joint, tapping their gifted blues musician cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton), to perform. \u201cYou see this style that [old blues players] embodied, whether it\u2019s two-tone shoes, the hat, vest, shirts; all of that was laced into the storytelling,\u201d says Carter. He might be a preacher\u2019s son, but Sammie wears his passion on his blues-infused clothing in the record-breaking \u201cSinners.\u201d \u201cThe vest is patched to show the wear from the guitar strap.\u201d <\/p>\n

Before the night goes to vampire hell, all eyes are on Sammie in earthy and gold tones as he sings \u201cI Lied to You<\/a>.\u201d Artists spanning centuries and continents (including an electric-guitar-playing rocker and a Zaouli dancer) add to the mesmerizing sequence<\/a> before returning to Sammie. \u201cWhen we come back to him, we\u2019re coming back to his own force and look,\u201d Carter says.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A sketch of Sammie\u2019s bluesman-inspired costume in \u201cSinners.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Ruth E. Carter)<\/p>\n

A final scene set in 1992 shows Sammie (played by musician Buddy Guy) still beguiling audiences. Carter incorporates Guy\u2019s real-life signature polka dots to highlight \u201cthis is a real story of the blues, and this is a real bluesman.\u201d Stack\u2019s authentic Coogi sweater (a nod to Biggie Smalls) contrasts with Sammie\u2019s classic tailoring, which doubles as a memorial to his other cousin: \u201cThe color blue was an homage to Smoke and the flat cap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clothing is also for remembrance in Chlo\u00e9 Zhao\u2019s<\/a> \u201cHamnet,\u201d in which a grieving William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal<\/a>) turns to a meaningful shade in paying tribute to his son during the inaugural run of \u201cHamlet\u201d at the Globe Theatre in London. \u201cWill, in my head, was imagining, remembering and holding on to the memory of Hamnet,\u201d Turzanska says. \u201cAnd in a super crude, simplified way, putting the paint and the colors that he remembered onto Hamlet\u2019s character with those brushstrokes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turzanska constructed the players\u2019 costumes from raw linen, using slightly enlarged, period-accurate shapes combined with contemporary latex paint. Using this stage language, Hamlet\u2019s (Noah Jupe<\/a>) jerkin is \u201cquilted and painted flat,\u201d to conjure Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe): \u201cIt was a memory of the vertical stripes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Costume <\/p>\n

There are echoes among the costumes for William Shakespeare, Hamlet and Hamnet in Malgosia Turzanska\u2019s costumes for \u201cHamnet.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Malgosia Turzanska)<\/p>\n

Offstage, growing slashes in Will\u2019s leather doublets depict \u201cemotional turmoil.\u201d Still, his turn as Hamlet\u2019s murdered father (the Ghost) is the most overt example. The off-white cloak caked in clay is deliberately drained of all color. Turzanska tested the symbolic shroud (\u201cYou put this little harness on\u201d) to ensure Mescal could move freely. Catharsis comes after Will exits the play: \u201cThe clay is cracking and falling off. Finally, when he washes it off, we see him break down for the first time and actually cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not every stage has a paying audience. In Guillermo del Toro\u2019s<\/a> \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac<\/a>) reanimates a corpse during a disciplinary hearing demonstration. Clad in red, white and black, the renegade scientist\u2019s sartorial inspiration is not bound to a single era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the first note from Guillermo [about Victor]. He goes, \u2018Dandy, rock star. Look at David Bowie. Look at Prince,\u201d says Hawley. \u201cWhen we started talking with Oscar, he came in with his Prince stuff. When you look at his performance, you see all those subtleties, the physicality, the swagger.\u201d Piping on the waistcoat is \u201ca kick\u201d to stand out against judges in black.<\/p>\n

Hawley embraces \u201cwonderful peacock\u201d 1850s menswear shapes: Victor\u2019s puffed-out chest accentuates the \u201cwasp waist\u201d likening him to a matador. An exaggerated period heel adds flair. \u201cShoes are what root the actor to the ground and their character,\u201d Hawley says. \u201cIt elevates every gesture from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Victor <\/p>\n

Victor Frankenstein\u2019s costumes in \u201cFrankenstein\u201d were inspired by musicians like David Bowie.<\/p>\n

(Kate Hawley)<\/p>\n

\u201cMarty Supreme\u2019s\u201d Bellizzi is equally mindful of footwear. Bellizzi \u201cworked with Keds to find the shape\u201d resembling a narrow 1950s sneaker for Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a> to wear as ambitious table tennis player Marty Mauser. \u201cWhen he was training, I would give him a few different sneakers to see what looked good but also what felt good,\u201d says Bellizzi. \u201cBecause he had to wear them all day and play in them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marty switches from a sedate black polo shirt and high-waisted wool pants while playing at Wembley in London to an eye-catching pink satin set on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters during a lighthearted interlude in Josh Safdie\u2019s<\/a> propulsive comedy-drama. \u201cWe overexaggerated the pants and the sleeves in the body so it is big and flowy,\u201d says Bellizzi.<\/p>\n

By the time Marty arrives in Japan, his everyday suit \u201chas been through the wringer.\u201d Luckily, a rigged ping-pong exhibition match allows Marty to embrace his theatrical talents. \u201cIt was an opportunity to show him as someone else. He\u2019s undercover,\u201d says Bellizzi. \u201cHe has the cap and the jumper.\u201d Ever the showman, Marty relishes ditching the pretense and his wardrobe onstage, embracing his competitive streak. \u201cHe turns it into a bigger situation than it should have been, and maybe part of the surprise is that he\u2019s derobing,\u201d Bellizzi says. \u201cIt shows how much passion comes out.\u201d Across venues and centuries, each man\u2019s attire is ovation-worthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A one-size-fits-all sartorial approach is out of the question for the showmen of \u201cSinners,\u201d \u201cHamnet,\u201d \u201cFrankenstein\u201d and \u201cMarty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[150560,94479,6935,146,4959,106948,30850,85,46,52814,95200,43792,60407,150559,54544,150558,60879,150561],"class_list":{"0":"post-297313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-carter","9":"tag-center-stage","10":"tag-character","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-frankenstein","13":"tag-hamlet","14":"tag-hamnet","15":"tag-il","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-kate-hawley","18":"tag-malgosia-turzanska","19":"tag-marty-supreme","20":"tag-menswear","21":"tag-miyako-bellizzi","22":"tag-oscar","23":"tag-sammie","24":"tag-sinner","25":"tag-twin-smoke"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}