The Costume Designers Guild Award honors the achievement of excellence in Costume Design in film, television, and short-form design. The Award is presented solely to the credited costume designer/s within the eight detailed categories listed below.
– Excellence in Contemporary Film
– Excellence in Period Film
– Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
– Excellence in Contemporary Television
– Excellence in Period Television
– Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television
– Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
– Excellence in Short Form Design
January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022
Costume designers can nominate themselves. Agents, Studios, and PR Departments may also nominate costume designers. Costume designers may not nominate other costume designers. If a designer and a third party both submit the same project, the costume designer’s entry will take precedence.
Submission forms must be submitted online in the Awards section of the CDG website.
Eligibility is subject to the review of the Costume Designers Guild Awards Committee. If you feel your project warrants inclusion in a different category than allowed by the guidelines, you may submit a petition via the submission entry form and state your case. The Committee will discuss it internally and notify you of their decision. The Awards Committee reserves the right to change an entry’s category or disqualify it, should they feel that the entry was submitted in the wrong category.
Eligibility may also be denied for any entrant who fails to follow the submission rules and guidelines. All submission forms must be complete.
All entries must be released during the eligibility period on a platform accessible for public viewing.
The decision of the Costume Designers Guild Awards Committee in concurrence with the Costume Designers Guild Executive Board is definitive and final.
Monday, September 26, 2022:
CDGA Submissions open and accessible on CDG website
Friday, November 4, 2022:
Submission Entries close at 5:00 p.m. PT
Monday, December 19, 2022:
Nomination Ballot voting opens online at 6:00 a.m. PT
Friday, January 6, 2023:
Nomination Ballots voting closes at 5:00 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 12, 2023:
Official Announcement of Nominees to the Press
Monday, January 30, 2023:
Final Ballot voting opens online at 6:00 a.m. PT
Friday, February 17, 2023:
Final Ballot voting closes at 5:00 p.m. PT
Monday, February 27, 2023:
Winners Announced at the 25th Costume Designers Guild Awards
Effective 2018, all films whether theatrically released, aired on television, or streamed, will now compete collectively in the Excellence in Film category.
Submissions are for a single television episode rather than an entire series.
Excellence in Contemporary Film
Any entry with at least 55% of all costumes existing within the last 25 years from the current award year [on or after January 1, 1997] will be considered a Contemporary entry.
Excellence in Period Film
Any entry with at least 55% of all costumes existing in a historical era, or a stylized historical era, greater than 25 years [on or before December 31, 1996] from the current entry year will be considered a Period entry.
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Film
Any entry with at least 25% of all costumes being Science-Fiction or Fantasy, i.e., costumes that are not reality-based, but based on a fictitious magical, mythical, and/or alternate world will be considered a Sci-Fi / Fantasy entry.
Excellence in Contemporary Television
Any entry with at least 55% of all costumes being contemporary, i.e., costumes existing within the last 25 years from the current entry year [on or after January 1, 1997] will be considered a Contemporary entry.
Excellence in Period Television
Any entry with at least 55% of all costumes existing in a historical era, or a stylized historical era, greater than 25 years [on or before December 31, 1996] from the current entry year will be considered a Period entry.
Excellence in Sci-Fi / Fantasy Television
Any entry with at least 25% of all costumes being Science-Fiction or Fantasy, i.e., costumes that are not reality-based, but based on a fictitious magical, mythical, and/or the alternate world will be considered a Sci-Fi / Fantasy entry.
Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
Any entry of a variety, reality-competition, or live television or special, i.e., sketch show, award show, live musical, pre-recorded stage production, competitive reality show, and talk show will be considered a Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television entry.
Excellence in Short Form Design
Short films, commercials, music videos, and individual episodes of a web series under 15 minutes will be considered a Short Form Design entry. If an episode of a web series has a running time over 15 minutes, it will be considered in the appropriate television category. Multiple commercials made for the same product or business by the same costume designer may not be entered more than once. Commercials and music videos longer than 15 minutes will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
*CATEGORY DISCREPANCIES
In some instances, costumes may cross over or exhibit multiple genres. These projects will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Costume designers are invited to share their intent in a written paragraph petition, as well as to share any materials they can provide to determine the appropriate category. A final decision will be made following a review by the Awards Committee.
Submissions open on September 26, 2022, at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time and close on November 4, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
When entering info: No ‘all caps’, please. Proper casing is appreciated! Titles with “A or The” should be placed at the end of the title, separated by a comma. All entries with these placed at the beginning will be corrected to uniform an A-Z listing. Example: “Lone Ranger, The,” “River Runs Through It, A.”
Submitter note: After making all your entries, you must go to the bottom of the page to finalize your submissions. If you submit on behalf of the designer or studio, you can add three (3), additional email recipients to receive an email confirmation. You receive your own confirmation as well.
If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail following your submission, please email the CDGA office at awards@cdgia.com.