Sandy Powell (costume designer)

Sandy Powell Template:Post-nominals (born 7 April 1960) is a British costume designer. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Film Awards, and two Costume Designers Guild Awards. She has been honored with the CDG Career Achievement Award in 2010 and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2023. Powell was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2025.

Powell is best known for her collaborations with directors Derek Jarman, Neil Jordan, Todd Haynes and Martin Scorsese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She has received 15 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and has won three times for Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Aviator (2004), and The Young Victoria (2009). She has also been nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design a record 16 times and had three wins for Velvet Goldmine (1998), The Young Victoria, and The Favourite (2018).

Early life and education

Powell was born in London in 1960,<ref name=GuardianBromwich>Template:Cite web</ref> and grew up in Brixton and Clapham.<ref name=1Granary>Template:Cite web</ref> Her father worked in casinos, while her mother was a secretary.<ref name=FilmDoctor>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2023, Powell said in an interview with fashion journalist Suzy Menkes that, despite their close friendship, she was not related to fellow costume designer Anthony Powell. Information about them being cousins has falsely spread online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Powell learned to sew from her mother on a Singer sewing machine,<ref name=UAL/> drew pictures of clothes, designed and made outfits for her dolls, and started making her own clothes from a young age.<ref name=WHirschberg>Template:Cite web</ref> She also developed an interest in film and theatre from an early age.<ref name=FilmDoctor/>

Powell attended Sydenham High School,<ref name=UAL/> and in 1978 she completed an art foundation course at Saint Martin's School of Art, where she became acquainted with Lea Anderson, who later became a dancer and choreographer as well as Powell's collaborator.<ref name=IndyHarries>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1979, Powell began a BA in theatre design at the Central School of Art and Design, but left after two years before completing her degree and started working for fringe theatre companies.<ref name=UAL/><ref name=GuardianBromwich/>

Career

1980–1997: Early work

File:Sandy Powell (Berlin Film Festival 2011) 2.jpg

Powell at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival (2011)

After leaving Central, Powell began a working relationship with dancer and choreographer Lindsay Kemp, whom she greatly admired. She designed costumes for his productions, the first of which was the show Nijinsky at La Scala in Milan.<ref name=WHirschberg/><ref name=IrishTimesMcQuillan>Template:Cite web</ref> In the early 1980s, Powell became acquainted with filmmaker Derek Jarman, who became a mentor and an influential figure in her life.<ref name=FilmDoctor/> Following Jarman's advice, she spent a year working on music videos.<ref name=THRFeinberg16>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=InterviewMag>Template:Cite web</ref> She made her entry into the film industry in 1986, designing costumes for the Jarman film Caravaggio.<ref name=UAL/>

In 1992, Powell achieved prominence in the period drama film Orlando, directed by Sally Potter.<ref name=IrishTimesMcQuillan/> Operating on a limited budget,<ref name=NYTHirschberg>Template:Cite web</ref> Powell created elaborate costumes for the gender-switching and time-traveling protagonist (played by Tilda Swinton), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design.<ref name=SalonZacharek>Template:Cite web</ref> Powell also began a collaboration with director Neil Jordan, which would produce a total of six films including the crime thriller The Crying Game (1992), the gothic horror film Interview with the Vampire (1994) and the period drama Michael Collins (1996).<ref name=NYTHirschberg/>

1998–2017: Breakthrough

Powell received dual nominations at the 71st Academy Awards for her two 1998 films, Velvet Goldmine and Shakespeare in Love. Echoing the contemporary tone of Shakespeare in Love, Powell opted to sacrifice historical accuracy in her costume designs but still managed to achieve "emotional accuracy", according to Salon critic Stephanie Zacharek. The detail on the costumes of Gwyneth Paltrow's Viola and the thematic significance of her costume changes were also noted as highlights of the film. For her work in the film, Powell won her first Academy Award for Best Costume Design.<ref name=SalonZacharek/>

File:Costumes from The Young Victoria (4395080516).jpg

Costume worn by Emily Blunt in The Young Victoria, designed by Powell.

Following her win at the 71st Academy Awards, Powell began her collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, starting with his 2002 epic period drama film Gangs of New York, for which she earned her 5th Oscar nomination. The two reunited for the 2004 biographical drama film The Aviator, for which Powell won her second Academy Award.<ref name=WCusumano>Template:Cite web</ref> Powell accepted her Oscar while wearing a dress made by her frequent collaborator, the costume cutter Annie Hadley, which was a version of a dress worn by Cate Blanchett in the film.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2005 she worked on Stephen Frears' Mrs Henderson Presents earning another Academy Award nomination. She worked on Scorsese gain this time for a film set in modern-day creating current day clothing for the Boston crime drama The Departed (2006) starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. She then worked on the historical romantic drama The Other Boleyn Girl which was based on 2001 novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory. The film was directed by Justin Chadwick and starred Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, and Eric Bana.

In 2009, She worked on the romantic period drama The Young Victoria directed by Jean-Marc Vallée.<ref name=NewYorkerMead>Template:Cite web</ref> The film starred Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria, and the film revolves around her upbringing and romance with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha portrayed by Rupert Friend. She won her third Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and a BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film. The following year she worked on Scorsese's psychological thriller Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Julie Taymor's The Tempest with Helen Mirren. In 2011 she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design her work on Scorsese's children's action adventure film Hugo losing to Mark Bridges for The Artist (2011).

File:Zipper Dress (Detail) (5434929696).jpg

Detail of the costume worn by Helen Mirren in The Tempest, designed by Powell.

In 2016, Powell received her second dual nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, having been recognized for her works in Kenneth Branagh's Disney live-action adaptation of Cinderella and for Todd Haynes' romantic drama Carol (2015). The later was based on the Patricia Highsmith novel The Price of Salt (1952). The film starred Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as starcrossed lovers in the 1950s.<ref name=THRChan>Template:Cite web</ref> She reunited with Haynes for the black and white film Wonderstruck (2017) starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Brian Selznick. She also served as an executive producer on the film.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> That same year, she worked on the John Cameron Mitchell's wacky science fiction romantic comedy How to Talk to Girls at Parties (2017).

2018–present

In 2019, Powell garnered her third dual nominations at the 91st Academy Awards for her works in Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite (2018) and Rob Marshall's Mary Poppins Returns (2018), making her the most nominated costume designer in Academy Awards history after Edith Head.<ref name=TheWrapWelk>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, Powell received her 15th Oscar nomination in her seventh collaboration with Martin Scorsese in his epic crime film The Irishman starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. She shared the nomination with her co-designer, Christopher Peterson.<ref name=THRCosgrave>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=NewYorkerMead />

In the same year, Powell collected many stars' signatures on a cream calico suit in a widely publicized tour of 2020 awards ceremonies, including the 92nd Academy Awards and 73rd British Academy Film Awards, to be auctioned to raise funds for the preservation of director Derek Jarman's home, Prospect Cottage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also did the costume design for the British drama Living (2021) starring Bill Nighy and the live action Disney film Snow White starring Rachel Zegler.

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1986	Caravaggio	Derek Jarman
1987	Aria		Segment: "Depuis le jour"
	The Last of England
1988	Stormy Monday	Mike Figgis
	For Queen and Country	Martin Stellman
1989	Venus Peter	Ian Sellar
	Killing Dad	Michael Austin
	Shadow of China	Mitsuo Yanagimachi
1991	The Miracle	Neil Jordan
	The Pope Must Die	Peter Richardson
	Edward II	Derek Jarman	Also makes a cameo as Seamstress
1992	Orlando	Sally Potter
	The Crying Game	Neil Jordan
1993	Wittgenstein	Derek Jarman
1994	Being Human	Bill Forsyth
	Interview with the Vampire	Neil Jordan
1995	Rob Roy	Michael Caton-Jones
1996	Michael Collins	Neil Jordan
1997	The Butcher Boy
	The Wings of the Dove	Iain Softley
1998	Velvet Goldmine	Todd Haynes
	Hilary and Jackie	Anand Tucker
	Shakespeare in Love	John Madden
1999	Felicia's Journey	Atom Egoyan
	Miss Julie	Mike Figgis
	The End of the Affair	Neil Jordan
2002	Far from Heaven	Todd Haynes
	Gangs of New York	Martin Scorsese
2003	Sylvia	Christine Jeffs
2004	The Aviator	Martin Scorsese
2005	Mrs Henderson Presents	Stephen Frears
2006	The Departed	Martin Scorsese
2008	The Other Boleyn Girl	Justin Chadwick
2009	The Young Victoria	Jean-Marc Vallée
2010	Shutter Island	Martin Scorsese
	The Tempest	Julie Taymor
2011	Hugo	Martin Scorsese
2012	Suspension of Disbelief	Mike Figgis
2013	The Wolf of Wall Street	Martin Scorsese
2015	Cinderella	Kenneth Branagh
	Carol	Todd Haynes
2017	Wonderstruck		Also executive producer
	How to Talk to Girls at Parties	John Cameron Mitchell
2018	The Favourite	Yorgos Lanthimos
	Mary Poppins Returns	Rob Marshall
2019	The Irishman	Martin Scorsese	with Christopher Peterson
2020	The Glorias	Julie Taymor
2021	Mothering Sunday	Eva Husson
2022	Living	Oliver Hermanus
2025	Snow White	Marc Webb
2026	Template:Pending film	Maggie Gyllenhaal	Post-production
Template:TableTBA	Template:Pending film	Mike Newell	Filming

Theatre

Year	Production	Venue	Notes
1990	Edward II	Royal Shakespeare Company
1998	Rigoletto	De Nederlandse Opera
	Doctor Ox's Experiment	English National Opera	Commissioned by the ENO with BBC Television
2024	Gatsby: An American Myth	American Repertory Theater

Awards and nominations

Major associations

Academy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1993	Best Costume Design	Orlando	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1997		The Wings of the Dove	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1998		Shakespeare in Love	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Velvet Goldmine	Template:Nom
2002		Gangs of New York	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004		The Aviator	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005		Mrs Henderson Presents	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009		The Young Victoria	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010		The Tempest	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2011		Hugo	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015		Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Cinderella	Template:Nom
2018		The Favourite	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom
2019		The Irishman	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

BAFTA Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
1993	Best Costume Design	Orlando	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1994		Interview with the Vampire	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1997		The Wings of the Dove	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1998		Velvet Goldmine	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Shakespeare in Love	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1999		The End of the Affair	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2002		Gangs of New York	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004		The Aviator	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005		Mrs Henderson Presents	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009		The Young Victoria	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2011		Hugo	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015		Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Cinderella	Template:Nom
2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2019		The Irishman	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	BAFTA Fellowship	Template:N/a	Template:Honored	<ref> Template:Cite web</ref>

Miscellaneous awards

Template:Sronly

Award	Year	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
Apolo Awards	2016	Best Costume Design	Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2019		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
British Independent Film Awards	2005	Best Technical Achievement	Mrs Henderson Presents	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2017	Best Costume Design	How to Talk to Girls at Parties	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2022		Living	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Camerimage	2015	Costume Designer with Unique Visual Sensitivity	Template:N/a	Template:Honored	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Camerimage2015>Template:Cite web</ref>
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival	2002	Capri Umberto Tirelli Award	Gangs of New York	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2015	Best Costume Design	Cinderella	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Capri Legend Award	Template:N/a	Template:Honored
	2018	Best Costume Design	Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Costume Designers Guild Awards	2004	Excellence in Period/Fantasy Film	The Aviator	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2009	Excellence in Period Film	The Young Victoria	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Career Achievement Award	Template:N/a	Template:Honored
	2010	Excellence in Fantasy Film	The Tempest	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2011	Excellence in Period Film	Hugo	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2015	Excellence in Fantasy Film	Cinderella	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Excellence in Period Film	Carol	Template:Nom
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Critics' Choice Movie Awards	2009	Best Costume Design	The Young Victoria	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2011		Hugo	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	2015		Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Cinderella	Template:Nom
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom
	2019		The Irishman	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Empire Awards	2015	Best Costume Design	Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Cinderella	Template:Nom
European Film Awards	2019	Best Costume Designer	The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Evening Standard British Film Awards	1991	Technical Achievement	Edward II, The Miracle and The Pope Must Die	Template:Won	<ref> Template:Cite web</ref>
	1993		Orlando	Template:WonTemplate:Efn
Genie AwardsTemplate:Efn	1999	Best Costume Design	Felicia's Journey	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Hollywood Film Awards	2015	Hollywood Costume Design Award	Cinderella	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	2002	Best Costume Design	Far from Heaven	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Gangs of New York	Template:Nom
	2004		The Aviator	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
London Film Critics' Circle Awards	2015	Technical Achievement Award	Cinderella	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2019	Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film	Template:N/a	Template:Honored	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Online Film Critics Society Awards	2002	Best Costume Design	Far from Heaven	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Gangs of New York	Template:Nom
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	2018	Best Costume Design	The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	2020	Variety Artisans Award	The Irishman	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Satellite Awards	1997	Best Costume Design	The Wings of the Dove	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1998		Shakespeare in Love	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2002		Gangs of New York	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2004		The Aviator	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2009		The Young Victoria	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2015		Cinderella	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2022		Living	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Saturn Awards	1994	Best Costume Design	Interview with the Vampire	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2011		Hugo	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2015		Cinderella	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	2018/19		Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Savannah Film Festival	2021	Variety’s Creative Impact in Costume Design	Template:N/a	Template:Honored	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Seattle Film Critics Society AwardsTemplate:Efn	2015	Best Costume Design	Carol	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Cinderella	Template:Nom
	2018		The Favourite	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
			Mary Poppins Returns	Template:Nom
WFTV Awards	2005	AFM Lighting Craft Award	Template:N/a	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Honorary degrees

Name of school, year given, and name of degree

School	Year	Degree	Template:Abbr
University of the Arts London	2018	Honorary Fellow	<ref name=UAL>Template:Cite web</ref>

Other honours

• Powell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the film industry.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> She was promoted to Commander (CBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to costume design.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
• Powell was made a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society of Arts in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Instagram
• Sandy Powell's vintage clothes, with all proceeds going to domestic abuse charity, Refuge