Colleen Atwood

Colleen Atwood
Born	1950 (age 60–61) Yakima, Washington
Occupation	costume designer
Years active	1981-present

Colleen Atwood (born 1950) is an American costume designer.

Atwood has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design nine times and won Academy Awards for the movies Chicago in 2002, Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and Alice in Wonderland in 2011. Atwood has collaborated several times with directors Tim Burton and Jonathan Demme. ^[1]

Early life and education

Born in Yakima, Washington, she studied painting at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington 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.^[2]

Career

She moved to New York in 1980, where she studied art at New York University.^[3] Her movie career started after a chance encounter in New York, with someone whose mother was designing the sets for the film, Ragtime (1981), and she got the job of a PA (Production assistant) in the film.^[2][4] She worked as an assistant to a costume designer, eventually earned her first film credit, for A Little Sex (1982)," directed by Bruce Paltrow.^[3]

Beginning her career as a fashion advisor in Washington State in the early 1970s, Atwood eventually 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. ^[5] An important turning point in her came when through the production designer with whom she had worked in Joe Vs. The Volcano (1990), she met director Tim Burton, with whom she ended up doing over seven films in next two decades, including, Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood, Big Fish, and Planet of the Apes, starting with Edward Scissorhands (1990) ^[2][4], after which she moved to Los Angeles in 1990. ^[3]

Atwood has been partially involved in developing or has been the lead designer for producing the costumes on over 50 films to date. Atwood was the lead costume designer for all of the new costumes created for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 2005-2006. She designed The Black Parade band uniforms for the band My Chemical Romance, as well as the following album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys costumes.

Personal life

Colleen has two daughters, Tracey (born 1987) and Charlotte (born 1989). She lives in a ranch house in the hills of Pacific Palisades.^[3]

Filmography

• Firstborn (1984)
• Bring on the Night (1985)
• Manhunter (1986)
• Critical Condition (1987)
• The Pick-up Artist (1987)
• Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
• For Keeps (1988)
• Married to the Mob (1988)
• Fresh Horses (1988)
• Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
• Hider in the House (1989)
• The Handmaid's Tale (1990)
• Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
• Edward Scissorhands (1990)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Rush (1991)
• Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
• Born Yesterday (1993)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Cabin Boy (1994)
• Wyatt Earp (1994)
• Ed Wood (1994)
• Little Women (1994)
• The Grotesque (1995)
• The Juror (1996)
• That Thing You Do! (1996)
• Head Above Water (1996)
• Mars Attacks! (1996)
• Buddy (1997)
• Gattaca (1997)
• Fallen (1998)
• Beloved (1998)
• Mumford (1998)
• Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Golden Dreams (2001)
• The Mexican (2001)
• Planet of the Apes (2001)
• CinéMagique (2002)
• Chicago (2002)
• Big Fish (2003)
• Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
• Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
• Public Enemies (2009)
• Nine (2009)
• Alice in Wonderland (2010)
• The Tourist (2010)
• The Rum Diary (2011)
• Dark Shadows (2012)

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Little Women (1994)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Beloved (1998)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Chicago (2002)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Memoirs of a Geisha (2006)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Nine (2009)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Alice In Wonderland (2010)

BAFTA Awards

• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Edward Scissorhands (1991)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Little Women (1994)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Sleepy Hollow (1999)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Chicago (2002)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Memoirs of a Geisha (2006)
• Nominated: Best Costume Design, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
• Won: Best Costume Design, Alice In Wonderland (2010)

References

1. ^ "Oscars: Colleen Atwood wins for Alice in Wonderland costume design". LA Times. February 27, 2011. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2011/02/oscars-colleen-atwood-wins-for-alice-costume-design.html. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Who dresses Johnny Depp? Costumer Colleen Atwood, a Northwest native". The Seattle Times. December 11, 2010. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2013630076_atwood12.html?syndication=rss. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Jamie Diamond (February 24, 2005). "A Costume Drama in Modern Dress". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/24/garden/24coll.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Behind the Scenes; A Dozen Bright Talents Who Are Helping To Shape the Season Ahead:COLLEEN ATWOOD: Clothes Conscientious". New York Times. September 9, 1990. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/09/arts/behind-scenes-dozen-bright-talents-who-are-helping-shape-season-ahead.html?scp=20&sq=Colleen+Atwood&st=nyt. 
5. ^ Janet Maslin (November 8, 1985). "SCREEN: STING IN 'BRING ON THE NIGHT'". New York Times. 

• Colleen Atwood Biography (1950-) filmreference
• "From Sketch to Still, a Visual History of Alice in Wonderland’s Costumes". Vanity Fair. January 28, 2011. http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2011/01/from-sketch-to-still-a-visual-history-of-alice-in-wonderlands-costumes.html. 

External links

• Colleen Atwood at the Internet Movie Database
• Palm Springs Life, January 2004

Persondata
Name	Atwood, Colleen
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1948
Place of birth	Yakima, Washington
Date of death
Place of death