Background

Mrs. Powell was born on April 7, 1960 in London, England.

Education

Inspired by her mum, who made clothes for her and her sister. She taught young Sandy Powell to sew at an early age, making clothes for dolls and taking more and more of an interest in the fabrics and shapes.

Eventually Mrs. Powell started to make her own clothes. She studied at Central Saint Martin’s (now a part of the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design) for a theatre design degree, but costume was where her heart was. During the summer, after her second year, she saw dance classes with Lindsay Kemp (British choreographer) advertised and went along. The class didn’t go very well but she introduced herself to Mr. Kemp, had tea with him, showed him some of her designs and the two became friends. She started to work in the theatre world and decided not to return to Central. Sandy Powell ones remarked that studying can work for some people, but that it wasn’t right for her.

Career

After leaving her institute, for a year Mrs. Powell worked as an assistant to a costume designer who worked for multiple theatre companies, after which she started to get her own commissions. When she began thinking about working in film, she met up with Derk Jarman (British film director and stage designer) who advised her to get some experience before taking the step into movies.

Having gained design experience on the music videos, a year later Derek Jarman asked Sandy to design the costumes for Caravaggio (a film directed by Jarman). He also took her around the set and introduced her to the crew members and explained their roles. The budget was very low so there was a lot of costume making with a team.

The movie Orlando directed by Sally Potter was her next project. Then Mrs. Powell really worked hard on getting the job for Velvet Goldmine, her first film with Todd Haynes. The film was set roughly in 1974, when she had been fourteen. She describes that period as very influential for her and she designed the film from her memory.

Next came Shakespeare in Love, Mrs. Sandy’s first Oscar win, Far From Heaven, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Young Victoria, Hugo etc.

Achievements

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  She has won the Academy Award for Costume Design for Shakespeare in Love (1998), The Aviator (2004), and The Young Victoria (2009), and has been nominated 12 times for the award. She has also received 13 BAFTA Award nominations, winning for Velvet Goldmine and The Young Victoria. She won many other awards in costume design for the latter film. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the film industry.

Works

More photos

• design

  • Costume rendering for The Young Victoria

    2009

  • Costume rendering for The Young Victoria

    2009

  • Design for Cate Blanchett as Caro

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Carol

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Carol

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Cinderella

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Cinderella

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Cinderella

    2015

  • Sketches for the film Cinderella

    2015

  • Costume for The Other Boleyn Girl

    2008

References

• Sandy Powell, ‘Costume is More Interesting than Fashion’ (Part one)
• Oscar-Winner Sandy Powell Costumes The Stars : NPR