Award is all sewn up
Costume designer behind many David Cronenberg films honoured
The costume designer behind David Cronenberg ’s films Scanners, The Brood and Videodrome is being recognized for her decades of work in the Canadian film and television industry. Delphine White is the first recipient of an industry icon award from the Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design. The award recognizes a costume designer, creator or contributor who has distinguished themselves over the breadth of their career. White’s credits also include Cronenberg ’s Fast Company, Terry Gilliam’s Tideland, Norman Jewison’s Bogus and Barry Levinson’s TV series Copper and the fourth season of Guillermo del Toro’s TV series The Strain.
The honour will be handed out at the inaugural Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design awards in Toronto on Feb. 10.
Among the contenders is Luis Sequeira for his big-screen work on the Cold War-era love story The Shape of Water about a mute woman who falls in love with a sea creature. Sequeira, competing in the period film category, had also been nominated for an Oscar for that work. Meanwhile, Debra Hanson of Schitt’s Creek earns a nomination for dressing a once-rich family whose designer duds are among the few remnants of their previously privileged life. She competes in the best contemporary TV design category
The event is run by the Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design, which was formed in 2008 to promote costume design for film, television and media. It aims to celebrate Canadian citizens and permanent residents who worked on productions here involving costumes primarily made in the country. For coproductions, organizers say at least half of the creation and build of costumes must be within Canada. Productions with multiple nods include three each for The Shape of Water and Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and two for the Space series Killjoys.