“Nearly 30 years after co-winning her first Academy Award — for the elegant, Edwardian costumes of “A Room With a View” — English designer Jenny Beavan finally scored again. Her work spans a vast variety of styles — she’s been nominated in the past for her Regency period costumes of “Sense and Sensibility” and her cool, ’30s-era duds for “Gosford Park” — but she won this year for what’s been called a“riot of post-apocalyptic steampunk” in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” And she took the prize her way — looking comfortable as hell.
Beavan has never been the dressy-dress type. When she won back in 1987, she wore a tux and a gold scarf. Last month at the BAFTA awards, she showed up in a black leather jacket, T-shirt, pants and scarf. At the show, host Stephen Fry provoked online outrage when he quipped that “Only one of the great cinematic costume designers would come to the awards dressed like a bag lady,” but Beavan herself later shrugged, “We are friends, and I am absolutely not upset, but I don’t want to talk any further because if I talk about it it will just create more fuss.”
And five years ago, when she was nominated for “The King’s Speech,” she showed up similarly casually attired. She’s explained, “I have no interest in my own clothes or in clothes in general. My love is creating character through clothes.”
Later in the evening, Beavan said that “I had a bit of a shoe malfunction and the glitter fell off. I just like feeling comfortable and as far as I’m concerned I’m really dressed up. I am very happy to talk about it. I don’t do frocks and absolutely don’t do heels, I have a bad back. I look ridiculous in a beautiful gown. This was a homage to ‘Mad Max’ and I obviously didn’t get it quite right at the BAFTAs — the scarf was meant to be an oil rag.”
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Congratulations Jenny Beavan! AMAZING WORK on Mad Max: Fury Road!!!