Two of the most distinguished costume designers in the nation—Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther) and Patricia Field (Sex and the City) will be honored at FashFilmFete™, to be held on Sept. 23 at Phoenix Art Museum.
A premiere film festival, FashFilmFete’s mission is to provide a platform for historically underrepresented voices in film and television.
The day-long festival celebrates fashion storytelling and features presentations and films where fashion plays a pivotal role in the film’s narrative.
The two iconic designers will be honored with the inaugural Costume Design Career Achievement Award.
Carter, one of the most prolific costume designers of the 21st Century, will receive the 2023 Costume Design Career Achievement Award in Film and Field will receive the 2023 Costume Design Career Achievement Award in Television.
Carter, an Oscar award-winning costume designer, costumed more than 40 films, including Malcolm X, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Amistad, and Selena.
She’s collaborated with Hollywood glitterati running the gamut from directors Spike Lee, Ryan Coogler, and Ava Duvernay to actors such as Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, and Chadwick Boseman.
She also made history twice with the iconic Black Panther franchise, when in 2018, she became the first Black person to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design, and in 2023 at the 95th Academy Awards, she became the only Black woman to win two Oscars, with her second win for the Black Panther sequel.
Field’s career began in the 1980s, and her boundary-pushing style quickly became synonymous with the “it” crowds in New York City. She’s costumed TV shows, including Sex and the City, Younger, and Emily in Paris.
Her design prowess was also seen on the big screen in films such as The Devil Wears Prada and Second Act.
Happy Clothes: A film about Patricia Field, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, is the showcase film for FashFilmFete. The director Michael Selditch will be in attendance for a Q&A.
Other films being screened and in consideration for FashFilmFete awards include:
- American Made, directed by Dana Nies
- CityCenterDC – ‘Celebrating You,’ directed by Dean Alexander
- Finissage, directed by Pabli Stein and Sebastian Muro
- Franciacorta - A Golden Feeling, directed by Enea Colombi
- House Of Mystic Magic, directed by Alexander Miguel
- How to Deal With Fame, directed by Tiffany Ike
- The Missing Piece, directed by Hitaali Dharamshi
- The Power is Yours, directed by Urivaldo Lopes
- Time is Eternal, directed by Daniel M Lir and Bayou Bennett
“Our goal is always to bring together a global community of fashion and film aficionados to explore style in cinema and its influence on pop culture, fashion design, contemporary art, and beauty standards,” says founder Mignon Gould. “This year it is particularly special because we will be honoring two icons with the inaugural Costume Design Career Achievement Award.”
There will also be an encore presentation of select award winners from the 2022 festival.
Early bird passes go on sale today, July 24 ($35-$75) exclusively through phxart.org.
House Of Mystic Magic
CityCenterDC – ‘Celebrating You’
Time is Eternal