26th CDGA Calendar
The Costume Designers Guild Award honors achievement of excellence in Costume Design in film, television, short form design, and illustration. The Award is presented solely to the credited costume designer/s, assistant costume designers, illustrators within the nine 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
– Excellence in Costume Illustration
26th CDGA Information
Rules
QUALIFYING PERIOD
January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023
WHO CAN SUBMIT
Costume designers and illustrators can nominate themselves in all categories. Agents, Studios, and PR Departments may also nominate costume designers in the costume design categories. They may not nominate illustrators in the illustration category. Costume designers may not nominate other costume designers or illustrators. If a designer and a third party both submit the same project, the costume designer’s entry will take precedence.
SUBMISSION ENTRY INFORMATION
Submission forms must be submitted online via the CDGA Submission site.
- The release eligibility period for all projects is January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023
- All entries must be received within the following submission period. Late entries will not be accepted.
- Friday, September 29, 2023, 9:00 a.m. PT – Friday, November 3, 2023, 5:00 p.m. PT
- A completed submission form is required for each entry. The submission form contains details about the project and category for which it is being submitted.
- Second unit and re-shoot unit credits are not eligible for submission.
- Only costumes that are in the final edit will be considered.
- Co-Design – In these cases, both designers will be recognized in the submission.
- An entry is considered a co-design when:
- a) Two or more costume designers work as a team or co-design.
- b) A second costume designer is credited for designing a principal.
- If a co-costume designer does not wish to participate on a specific entry, it must be stated within the questionnaire that accompanies the submission entry.
- An entry is considered a co-design when:
- Assistant Costume Designers
- Credited First ACDs will be included in the project nomination.
- To be eligible, ACDs must be active members of CDG Local 892 in good standing.
- Credited Second ACDs may also be eligible upon petition.
- Following petition, supplementary materials will be requested by the Awards Balloting Committee.
- Illustrators
- To be eligible, illustrators must be active members of CDG Local 892 in good standing. The illustrator must have been hired by the costume department and worked on the project under the costume department and under 892.
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility is subject to the review of the Costume Designers Guild Awards Balloting 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 Balloting 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 Balloting Committee in concurrence with the Costume Designers Guild Executive Board is definitive and final.
TIMELINE
Friday, September 29, 2023:
CDGA Submissions open and accessible on CDG website at 9:00 a.m. PT
Friday, November 3, 2023:
Submission Entries close at 5:00 p.m. PT
Monday, December 11, 2023:
Nomination Ballot voting opens online at 9:00 a.m. PT
Friday, December 29, 2023:
Nomination Ballots voting closes at 5:00 p.m. PT
Thursday, January 4, 2024:
Official Announcement of Nominees to the Press
Monday, January 22, 2024
Final Ballot voting opens online at 9:00 a.m. PT
Friday, February 2, 2024:
Final Ballot voting closes at 5:00 p.m. PT
Wednesday, February 21, 2024:
Winners Announced at the 26th Costume Designers Guild Awards
ENTRY FEE
- There is a $150 non-refundable fee per entry for non-CDG members.
- There is no fee for CDG Local 892 members.
FILM ENTRIES
Effective 2018, all films whether theatrically released, aired on television, or streamed, will now compete collectively in the Excellence in Film category.
TELEVISION ENTRIES
Submissions are for a single television episode rather than an entire series.
- Based on the single episode entry rule, an anthology series with stand-alone episodes will fall under the appropriate television category.
- An episode aired within the qualifying period of January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023, must have the required percentage or more of the costumes in the chosen category.*
- A costume designer may submit two separate episodes of the same show in different categories, with no more than one entry per project, per category.
- The television categories will encompass all episodic projects whether aired on television or streamed on digital platforms. The project category is based on an individual episode.
- A pilot may be submitted as a stand-alone entry if designed by a different costume designer.
ILLUSTRATION ENTRIES
Artists may submit one illustration from a project.
- An illustrator or costume designer can submit up to 5 different projects within this category.
- If a costume designer has submitted their project for costume design consideration in a film, television, or short form category, they are not eligible to submit their illustration in this category.
- All entries must be from a film, television episode, or short-form project released or aired within the qualifying period of January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023.
- Entries must be original and official works commissioned by and created under the relevant studio or production company contract.
- Illustration submissions are submitted solely at the discretion of the illustrator.
- Illustrations entirely created in AI generators will not be accepted.
- Illustrations must be submitted without signature or stamp to maintain anonymity.
CATEGORIES
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, 1998] will be considered a Contemporary Film 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, 1997] from the current entry year will be considered a Period Film 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 Film 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, 1998] will be considered a Contemporary Television 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, 1997] from the current entry year will be considered a Period Television 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 alternate world will be considered a Sci- Fi / Fantasy Television 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, live music performance, 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 of 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.
Excellence in Costume Illustration
Any entry of original artwork commissioned by a studio or production company will be considered an illustration entry.
*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 Balloting Committee.
ENTRY NOTES
Submissions open on September 29, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time and close on November 3, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
When entering info: No ‘all caps’ please. The 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 click SUBMIT to finalize your submissions. If you are submitting on behalf of the designer or studio, you can add two (2) 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.
