Holly Waddington

Holly Waddington is a British costume designer active since 2007. She has worked on many period drama films, often with a modern twist. She is best known for her work in the 2023 absurdist comedy film Poor Things, for which she received an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. Waddington was hired to design the costumes for the upcoming HBO television series Harry Potter.

Early life and education Holly Waddington grew up in Burnley, Lancashire and would often visit vintage clothing shops with her mother. After moving to London, she trained at and worked for Angels Costume House as a ladies' period costume designer. Waddington has a degree in Fine Art from Oxford University's Ruskin School of Art. She pursued her passion for "imperfect" creative pursuits such as painting and drawing, but struggled to create clothing and so has preferred to focus on costume design and let others complete the task of crafting the materials. In recent years, her focus has been on period film projects with a modern influence, such as the 2016 film Lady Macbeth and the television series The Great (2020–2023). In a 2024 interview with Vogue magazine, she said that she has "often found it frustrating when periods are recreated exactly as they were, and I'm more interested in the scope to play with ideas." Set anachronistically in the Victorian era, Waddington studied 19th-century fashion plates, but for eclectic influences she also drew upon nontraditional sources such as the modernism of early 20th-century German Expressionism and 1960s fashion; she attempted to "create a wardrobe that was based on a Victorian wardrobe but with the elements kind of broken down and not worn correctly. And so it's playful. It's supposed to be playful. ... You know, she's a woman who is living in a totally made-up world. You needn't root [it] in any reality." Waddington and her team of 40 staff spent 22 weeks creating hundreds of pieces, and for her efforts she eventually won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. She is best known for her work in this film. Departure (2015) Lady Macbeth (2016) Poor Things (2023) Harry Potter (2027)

Assistant costume designer Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) The Other Man (2008) Glorious 39 (2009) Clash of the Titans (2010) ("other") 1st Night (2010) (Costume Design Assistant) Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) (key costumer) The Two Faces of January (2014) (costumer)

Selected plays Beware of Pity (2015), a co-production with the Schaubühne and Complicité

Awards and nominations Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2024 Best Costume Design Poor Things

BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.British Academy Film Awards 2024 Best Costume Design Poor Things

Miscellaneous awards + Award Year Category Title Result Ref. American Cinematheque's Tribute to the Crafts 2024 Costume Design – Feature Film Poor Things Astra Film and Creative Arts Awards 2024 Best Costume Design British Independent Film Awards 2017 Best Costume Design Lady Macbeth Chicago Film Critics Association 2023 Best Costume Design Poor Things Costume Designers Guild Awards 2024 Excellence in Period Film Critics' Choice Awards 2024 Best Costume Design Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2024 Best Costume Design Las Vegas Film Critics Society 2023 Best Costume Design Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2007 London Film Critics' Circle 2018 Technical Achievement Award Lady Macbeth 2024 Poor Things Online Film Critics Society 2024 Best Costume Design San Diego Film Critics Society 2023 Best Costume Design Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024 Variety Artisans Award Satellite Awards 2024 Best Costume Design Seattle Film Critics Society 2024 Best Costume Design St. Louis Film Critics Association 2023 Best Costume Design WFTV Awards 2024 The MBS Equipment Co Craft Award