With three categories, the Costume Designers Guild has a better-than-average chance of picking the eventual Oscar winner. You can ignore the contemporary category because it never has an Oscar impact. However, with the other two categories, you’d think they’d be better predictors. They aren’t. Since their inception, they have accurately predicted the Oscar winner eight times out of sixteen outings. That’s not a very impressive number. Matter of fact, the fantasy winner has gone on to win the Oscar only once out of those eight times. That said, right now, I don’t see a result other than Cinderella carrying over to the Oscars. However, if Mad Max: Fury Road wins, it will build off its BAFTA momentum to possibly win the Oscar.

COSTUME DESIGNERS GUILD AWARDS

Best Period Costume Design

Brooklyn (Peter)
Carol (Tripp, Thomas, RU:Wesley, RU:Peter)
Crimson Peak
The Danish Girl (Wesley, RU:Tripp, RU:Thomas)
Trumbo

Wesley Lovell: This well might be the toughest category to call. Without either of the Oscar frontrunners in this category, it falls to the elegant designs of five films, any of which could actually win. There are two Oscar nominees in this list and while I suspect it will come down to them, I can’t help but look at Crimson Peak and think spoiler. I’m going to give my pick to The Danish Girl because it seems like a film tailor-made for this award even if Carol‘s designs are significantly better.
Tripp Burton: Carol is one of only two Oscar nominees here, and the gorgeous gowns should trump everything else here.
Thomas LaTourette: The stylish work of Carol is likely to win, though the myriad of costumes of The Danish Girl could prevail. My personal choice would be Brooklyn as the cut and color of the costumes of the lead showed her changes and assimilation as she adapted to the freedom of life in America, but I do not think they will win.

Best Fantasy Costume Design

Cinderella (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Thomas)
Ex Machina (RU:Peter)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
Mad Max: Fury Road (RU:Wesley, RU:Tripp, RU:Thomas)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Wesley Lovell: You can forget about anyone in this category except the two Oscar nominees: frontrunner Cinderella and upset-in-the-wings Mad Max: Fury Road. Since the nominations, it’s seemed like a foregone conclusion that this award will go to the fancy and bountiful gowns of Cinderella. However, BAFTA decided to give this award to Mad Max: Fury Road, a film they didn’t even like well enough to give Best Picture or Best Director nominations. While I think this group will ultimately have more sway over Oscar voters, if an upset is going to happen at the Oscars, it will start here.
Tripp Burton: The biggest battle of the evening should tell us a lot about who wins the Oscar this weekend. My hunch is Sandy Powell’s gorgeous Cinderella design over the delightfully disgusting dystopian look of Mad Max.
Thomas LaTourette: The gorgeous gowns of Cinderella seem likely to prevail here, as the rest of the costumes are futuristic and not as memorable.

Best Contemporary Costume Design

Beasts of No Nation (Tripp)
Joy (Wesley, RU:Peter)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (Thomas, RU:Tripp)
The Martian (Peter, RU:Wesley)
Youth (RU:Thomas)

Wesley Lovell: There are certainly some interesting designs in this category, but I think I’ll give the somewhat period designs of Joy an edge over the astronaut uniforms in The Martian. It’s also possible that another film surprises, I just wouldn’t be able to decide which one.
Tripp Burton: I have no idea how this will go, but the impressive make-shift uniforms of Beasts of No Nation seem the most impressive to me, and the film has picked up a few surprising wins this season already.
Thomas LaTourette: I am thinking that they will go with the more flashy work of either Kingsman or Youth rather than the ragged costumes of Beasts, the daily work of Joy or the spacesuits of Martian.