The

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

for Best Costume Design is an annual award presented by the

Society of London Theatre The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is a British trade association for West End theatre in London. It was founded in 1908 as Society of West End Theatre Managers, becoming the Society of West End Theatre in 1975, and then changing to its curren ...

in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of

West End Theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

Awards in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, and renamed in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

in honour of English actor and director

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. This award was introduced in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. There had been an award for Designer of the Year from 1976 to

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, originally focused on

set designers Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

but including an increasing number of commingled nominations for other design specialties through the years. The commingled single award was retired after the 1990 ceremony, with more granular awards introduced in 1991 for Best Set Design and Best Lighting Design, along with this Best Costume Design award.

Winners and nominees

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Multiple awards and nominations for Best Costume Design

Awards

;Two awards *

Alison Chitty Alison Chitty (born 16 October 1948) is an Olivier Award winning production designer and set and costume designer, known for her collaborations with Mike Leigh, Francesca Zambello, Peter Gill and Sir Peter Hall. She is also the Director of the ...

Deirdre Clancy Deirdre Clancy (born 31 March 1943) is a British costume designer. She has won the Olivier Award for Best Costume Design twice. She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design for ''Mrs. Brown''. She started working in the London theatre in ...

* William Dudley * Tim Goodchild *

Christopher Oram Christopher Oram is a British theatre set and costume designer. Background He trained at the West Sussex College of Art and Design (latterly Northbrook College). Early assisting work for designers Anthony Ward and Ian MacNeil, included ''A ...

*Mark Thompson *Vicki Mortimer *

Catherine Zuber Catherine Zuber is a costume designer for the Broadway theater and opera, among other venues. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, and has been referred to as "one of theater's most sought-after costume designers on both coasts."Hefflet ...

Nominations

;Six nominations * Hugh Durrant * Rob Howell *Christopher Oram ;Five nominations *

Bob Crowley Bob Crowley (born 10 June 1952) is a theatre designer (scenic and costume), and theatre director. He lives between London, New York and West Cork in the south west of Ireland. Career Born in Cork, Ireland on 10 June 1952, Bob Crowley is t ...

*Mark Thompson *

Anthony Ward Anthony Ward (born 1957) is a British theatre designer specializing in set and costume design. He studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed productions for the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Don ...

;Four nominations *

Gregg Barnes Gregg Barnes is an American costume designer for stage and film. Barnes is a three-time winner of the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Musical for his work on the Broadway productions of ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (2006), ''Follies'' (2011) ...

*William Dudley ;Three nominations *Deirdre Clancy * Nicky Gillibrand *Robert Jones *

William Ivey Long William Ivey Long II (born August 30, 1947) is an American costume designer for stage and screen. His most notable work includes the Broadway shows '' The Producers'', ''Hairspray'', ''Nine'', '' Crazy for You'', '' Grey Gardens'', '' Young Fran ...

;Two nominations *

Sue Blane Susan Margaret Blane, (born 23 April 1949) is an English costume designer. She is best known for her costume designs for both ''The Rocky Horror Show'' and ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. With her designs for ''Rocky Horror'', Blane is cred ...

*Alison Chitty *Tim Goodchild *

Tim Hatley Tim Hatley is a British set and costume designer for theatre and film. He has won the Tony Award for Best Set Design and Best Costume Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, a ...

* Roger Kirk *

Peter McKintosh Peter McKintosh is a British theatre set and costume designer. Background He obtained a degree in Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick and then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His work as an assistant to Mark Thompson ...

*Jon Morrell *Vicki Mortimer *

Martin Pakledinaz Martin Pakledinaz (September 1, 1953 – July 8, 2012) was an American costume designer for stage and film. He won his Tony Awards for designing the costumes for '' Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and the 2000 revival of ''Kiss Me, Kate'', which ...

Paul Tazewell Paul Tazewell (born September 15, 1964) is an American costume designer for the theatre, dance, film, opera and television. After training at New York University Tisch School of the Arts he started his career on Broadway (theatre), Broadway. He ha ...

* Jenny Tiramani

References

External links

* {{OlivierAward CostumeDesign

Costume Design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

Costume design awards