Ruth E. Carter has won the 2023 Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This win is exciting for a couple of reasons.
First off, Carter is now the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars in any category. In 2019, Carter won the Oscar for the costume design in the first Black Panther. Carter dedicated her win to her recently deceased mother, and in a touching tribute, she asked the late Chadwick Boseman to watch over her.
Secondly, Carter’s win once again proves that Marvel movies aren’t the cinematic junk food that some moviegoers think they are. These films may focus on comic book characters and superheroes, but the people who work on Marvel projects pour unquantifiable amounts of talent and love into what they do. That effort shows in the best of Marvel movies, whether it’s through incredible acting, an arresting story, or amazing costumes.
And if there’s a Marvel movie that deserved Best Costume Design, it was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The costumes that immediately come to mind, of course, are Namor’s Talokani feathered regalia and Queen Ramonda’s unforgettable crowns. There are also the Dora Milaje and the Midnight Angels, the new suits that are debuted towards the end, and of course Shuri’s new Black Panther suit. There’s also the distinctive look of the gorilla-influence Jabari tribe. Every costume in the Black Panther series is a feast for the eyes.
There are also a lot of details in Wakanda Forever‘s costuming that can be overshadowed by the more striking costumes. Take, for instance, Okoye and Shuri’s outfits when they go to retrieve Riri Williams from MIT. From the moment the camera pans up on them, showing Shuri’s ’90s-inspired jumpsuit and Okoye’s sleek suit and sunglasses, you instantly see their personalities outside of their roles as princess and general.
Ruth E. Carter and Wakanda Forever were up against some stiff competition this year, including Everything Everywhere All at Once, which also had amazing costumes. Maybe, somewhere out in the multiverse, both movies got the Oscar—but if we can’t have that in this reality, at least we got this win.
(featured image: Marvel Entertainment)
