Kiwi-Born Costume Designer Kate Hawley Nabs Oscar for Frankenstein

Well, grab your popcorn, folks – because a Kiwi brought home some serious hardware last night. At the 98th Academy Awards, costume designer Kate Hawley took home the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her absolutely stunning work on Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. If you weren't already cheering from your living room couch, you should have been.

For anyone who's been following her career, this wasn't exactly a shock – it felt more like a coronation. Kate, who grew up in Wellington and got her start in the local film scene, has been weaving magic on the big screen for years. From the grotesque beauty of Crimson Peak to the epic scale of The Hobbit trilogy, she's proven time and again that fabric and thread can tell stories just as powerfully as any actor. But Frankenstein? That was something on a whole other level.

Del Toro’s reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic demanded a look that was both timeless and unsettlingly fresh. Kate delivered in spades. The creature’s iconic coat, the decaying elegance of the period costumes, the way every stitch seemed to hold a memory – it wasn’t just clothing, it was character. You could feel the weight of Victor Frankenstein’s obsession in every tailored seam. And Hollywood clearly agreed, handing her the industry’s highest honour.

A career built on storytelling through cloth

This win puts Kate in a very exclusive club. She’s now among a handful of New Zealand designers who’ve truly changed the game on a global stage. But if you know anything about her, you’ll know she’s never been one to chase the spotlight. Her work has always done the talking – and last night, it was practically shouting.

To give you a sense of her incredible range, here are just a few of the worlds she’s brought to life through costume:

• The Hobbit trilogy – the armour of the dwarves, the opulence of Rivendell.
• Edge of Tomorrow – futuristic military gear that felt lived-in and real.
• Crimson Peak – those exquisite, gothic gowns that haunted every frame.
• The Suicide Squad – chaotic, colourful, and perfectly unhinged.

And now Frankenstein joins that list – right at the very top. The moment her name was called, you could almost feel the wave of pride ripple across Aotearoa. It’s one thing to see our actors and directors get love abroad, but when a craftsperson – someone who works with needle and thread, with leather and wool – gets that kind of recognition, it hits different. It says that New Zealand’s creative DNA runs deep in every single corner of filmmaking.

So here’s to you, Kate Hawley. From the streets of Wellington to the Dolby Theatre, you’ve made us all incredibly proud. And honestly? We can’t wait to see what you stitch together next.