Colleen Atwood


Colleen Atwood is an American costume designer. She has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and two Emmy Awards. She was honored with the CDG Career Achievement Award in 2006 and named a Disney Legend in 2024.
Atwood frequently collaborated with directors Jonathan Demme, Tim Burton, and Rob Marshall. She has received 12 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and has won four times for Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha, Alice in Wonderland, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Early life and education

Born in Ellensburg, Washington, Atwood grew up in the small farming community of Quincy, Washington. At 17, she became pregnant and didn't graduate high school with her class. To support her baby and her husband, who was in college, she took a job at a French fry factory. Then, Atwood received a scholarship to attend Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle in the early 1970s, and later worked in retail at various places, including the Yves St. Laurent boutique at Frederick & Nelson department store in the city.

Career

Atwood began her career as a fashion advisor in Washington in the early 1970s. She moved to New York in 1980, where she studied art at New York University. Her movie career started after a chance encounter with someone whose mother was designing the sets for the film Ragtime, and she got the job of a PA in the film. She worked as an assistant to a costume designer and eventually earned her first film credit for A Little Sex, directed by Bruce Paltrow.
File:Costumes from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ 2010, Fairy Tales exhibition QGOMA, 03.jpg|thumb|upright|Costume worn by Mia Wasikowska as the title character in Alice in Wonderland, designed by Atwood.
Eventually Atwood ventured into the world of costume design for theater and film, initially coming to fame through her work on Sting's Bring On the Night World Tour, also made into a documentary by the same name. An important turning point in her career came when, through production designer Bo Welch with whom she had worked in Joe Versus the Volcano, she met director Tim Burton. Atwood and Burton worked together on over seven films in the next two decades, starting with Edward Scissorhands and including Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood, Big Fish, Planet of the Apes, and Sweeney Todd. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990.
Atwood has been partially involved in developing or has been the lead designer for producing the costumes on over 50 films to date. She was the lead costume designer for all the new costumes created for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2005–2006. She also designed The Black Parade band uniforms for the band My Chemical Romance, as well as costumes for the following album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. She also designs for television, including Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. Director Tim Burton brought on Atwood as the costume designer for the Netflix series Wednesday to design the looks for Gomez and Morticia Addams. The first thing she did was read the script. She started with Nevermore Academy and worked on the costumes for Wednesday Addams and Enid.
Atwood's favorite fashion designers include Azzedine Alaia, Yohji Yamamoto, and Alexander McQueen.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

;Major associations
Academy Awards
YearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
1995Best Costume DesignLittle WomenNomitated
1999Best Costume DesignBelovedNomitated
2000Best Costume DesignSleepy HollowNomitated
2003Best Costume DesignChicagoWon
2005Best Costume DesignLemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate EventsNomitated
2006Best Costume DesignMemoirs of a GeishaWon
2008Best Costume DesignSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetNomitated
2010Best Costume DesignNineNomitated
2011Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
2013Best Costume DesignSnow White and the HuntsmanNomitated
2015Best Costume DesignInto the WoodsNomitated
2017Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemWon

BAFTA Awards
Emmy Awards
;Miscellaneous awards
AwardYearCategoryTitleResultRef.
Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards2024Best Costume DesignBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceNomitated
Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards2024Artisan Icon Award
Astra TV and Creative Arts Awards2023Best Fantasy or Science Fiction CostumesWednesdayWon
Astra TV and Creative Arts Awards2025Best Costume DesignWednesdayWon
CFDA Fashion Awards2013Board of Director’s Tribute Award
Costume Designers Guild Awards1999Excellence in FilmBelovedNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2000Excellence in Period/Fantasy FilmSleepy HollowWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2002Excellence in Period/Fantasy FilmPlanet of the ApesNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2003Excellence in Period/Fantasy FilmChicagoWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2005Excellence in Period/Fantasy FilmLemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate EventsWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2006Excellence in Period FilmMemoirs of a GeishaWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2006Career Achievement Award
Costume Designers Guild Awards2008Excellence in Period FilmSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2010Excellence in Period FilmNineNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2011Excellence in Fantasy FilmAlice in WonderlandWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2013Excellence in Fantasy FilmSnow White and the HuntsmanNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2015Excellence in Fantasy FilmInto the WoodsWon
Costume Designers Guild Awards2017Excellence in Fantasy FilmFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2017Excellence in Fantasy FilmMiss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar ChildrenNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2023Excellence in Contemporary TelevisionWednesday Won
Costume Designers Guild Awards2024Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy FilmThe Little MermaidNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2025Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy FilmBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceNomitated
Costume Designers Guild Awards2026Excellence in Contemporary FilmOne Battle After Another
Costume Designers Guild Awards2026Excellence in Contemporary TelevisionWednesday
Costume Designers Guild Awards2026Excellence in Short Form DesignLady Gaga: "The Dead Dance"
Critics' Choice Movie Awards2010Best Costume DesignNineNomitated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards2011Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
Critics' Choice Movie Awards2015Best Costume DesignInto the WoodsNomitated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards2016Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNomitated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards2026Best Costume DesignKiss of the Spider WomanNomitated
Disney Legends2024Costume Design
Empire Awards2017Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemWon
Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards2025Costume DesignOne Battle After AnotherWon
Hollywood Film Awards2005Hollywood Costume Design AwardMemoirs of a GeishaWon
Hollywood Film Awards2009Hollywood Costume Design AwardNineWon
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards2000Best Costume DesignSleepy HollowNomitated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards2007Best Costume DesignSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWon
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards2010Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards2016Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemNomitated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards2025Best Costume DesignKiss of the Spider WomanNomitated
Middleburg Film Festival2014Distinguished Costume Designer
Newport Beach Film Festival2024Career Achievement in Costume Design
Online Film Critics Society Awards2003Best Costume DesignChicagoNomitated
Online Film Critics Society Awards2026Lifetime Achievement Award
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2002Best Costume DesignPlanet of the ApesNomitated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2003Best Costume DesignChicagoWon
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2005Best Costume DesignMemoirs of a GeishaWon
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2007Best Costume DesignSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWon
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2010Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2014Best Costume DesignInto the WoodsNomitated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards2016Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemWon
SCAD Savannah Film Festival2024Variety’s Creative Impact in Costume Design
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards2024Best Costume DesignBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceNomitated
Satellite Awards1999Best Costume DesignBelovedNomitated
Satellite Awards2000Best Costume DesignSleepy HollowWon
Satellite Awards2002Best Costume DesignPlanet of the ApesNomitated
Satellite Awards2005Best Costume DesignMemoirs of a GeishaNomitated
Satellite Awards2009Best Costume DesignNineNomitated
Satellite Awards2010Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
Satellite Awards2012Best Costume DesignSnow White and the HuntsmanNomitated
Satellite Awards2015Best Costume DesignInto the WoodsNomitated
Satellite Awards2017Best Costume DesignAlice Through the Looking GlassNomitated
Satellite Awards2019Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts: The Crimes of GrindelwaldNomitated
Saturn Awards1992Best Costume DesignEdward ScissorhandsNomitated
Saturn Awards1992Best Costume DesignThe Silence of the LambsNomitated
Saturn Awards1997Best Costume DesignMars Attacks!Nomitated
Saturn Awards1998Best Costume DesignGattacaNomitated
Saturn Awards2000Best Costume DesignSleepy HollowNomitated
Saturn Awards2002Best Costume DesignPlanet of the ApesNomitated
Saturn Awards2008Best Costume DesignSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetWon
Saturn Awards2010Best Costume DesignNineNomitated
Saturn Awards2011Best Costume DesignAlice in WonderlandWon
Saturn Awards2013Best Costume DesignSnow White and the HuntsmanNomitated
Saturn Awards2015Best Costume DesignInto the WoodsNomitated
Saturn Awards2017Best Costume DesignFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemWon
Saturn Awards2017Best Costume DesignAlice Through the Looking GlassNomitated
Saturn Awards2025Best Costume DesignBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceWon
Venice Film Festival2012Gucci Award for Women in CinemaSnow White and the HuntsmanNomitated