New Zealand costume designer Kate Hawley has won the Oscar for Best Costume Design at the 98th Academy Awards in 2026. She won for her work on Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Her victory marks the culmination of a remarkable awards season. It recognizes a body of work that blends historical research with emotional storytelling. The work also includes bold visual invention. Hawley’s costumes for Frankenstein reimagined classic Gothic iconography with modern sensitivity. She used fabric, silhouette, and color to bridge the line between horror and humanity.
Kate Hawley poses backstage with the Oscar® for Costume Design during the 98th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026. 
Kate Hawley poses backstage with the Oscar® for Costume Design during the 98th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
The win is a milestone for Hawley, who has spent years shaping the look of large-scale, visually rich productions. In Frankenstein, she crafted a world rooted in the 1850s. It is alive with psychological detail. Garments speak to grief, class, power, and vulnerability. They convey as much meaning as period authenticity. From the fragile, unsettling presence of the Creature to the refined yet haunted elegance of the human characters, her designs give the film its tactile emotional charge. They help define its characters even before they speak.
Hawley’s Oscar highlights the crucial role of costume design in contemporary cinema. World-building relies on what characters wear just as much as it does on sets, lighting, or visual effects. Her work on Frankenstein stands as a showcase of the power of costume. At the highest level, costumes articulate inner lives. They support performances. Costumes also create a cohesive visual language that audiences remember long after the credits roll.
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