The costumes from ‘Sinners’ have been nominated for an Oscar. They are at the African American Museum in Philadelphia
Ruth E. Carter is the most-nominated Black woman in Academy Award history.
Costumes from ''Sinners'' at the African American Museum in Philadelphia (Peter Crimmins/WHYY)
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The film “Sinners” directed by Ryan Coogler has been nominated for more Academy Awards than any other film in history, with 16 nods. Among them is a nomination for Ruth E. Carter, who designed costumes for the supernatural horror film set in 1930s Jim Crow-era Mississippi.
That brings Carter’s total nominations to five, making her the most-nominated Black woman in Academy history. She has won twice, for Coogler’s “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Some of the costumes she designed for “Sinners” are on display at the African American Museum in Philadelphia as part of the exhibition “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design.”
“As a history museum, we are so honored to be connected to such a history maker like Ruth Carter,” said Ashley Jordan, president and CEO of the museum.
“The fact that she has been able to achieve this wonderful recognition of another nomination, it just speaks to the great work of this collection, of this show and her work,” she said.

For “Sinners,” Carter was given a mandate by Coogler — who also wrote the film — that the two main characters, a pair of criminally minded twins named Smoke and Stack, be dressed in blue and red, respectively.
“The colors red and blue carry so much metaphor. Fire and smoke. Blood and spirit. Chaos and calm,” Carter is quoted in the exhibition. “My goal was to make that symbolism feel authentic — to build clothing that ‘told a deeper story.’”
The exhibition features mannequins tailored in three-piece suits, one in a navy blue houndstooth pattern, the other a grey worsted with faint red pinstripes that seem to be far too subtle for a movie camera to notice. Hidden inside the coat is a lining of lush paisley in bright red.
The costume for the character Mary, Stack’s white-passing ex-girlfriend, is a knit summer dress in a washed-out pink so pale the color is hardly there. To Carter’s mind, the dress makes Mary a ghost.
“Her costume reflects not only where she’s been, but what she’s trying to forget,” Carter is quoted as saying in the exhibition text.
Carter has been designing costumes since the 1980s, when she did Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing.” Since then, her film career has focused specifically on Black stories, such as “Selma,” “Amistad” and “Malcolm X.”
“She got her start in Colonial Williamsburg working in the costume department. So I do believe that her story is to tell the American story,” Jordan said. “It’s just that through these wonderful encounters with some great producers, such as Ryan Coogler and Spike Lee, she has helped to elevate the presence of African Americans through cinematography.”
“Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” will be on view until Sept. 6. The Academy Award winners will be announced during a televised ceremony on March 15.
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