Oscars costume design exhibit opens at FIDM

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Costumes from 20 movies, including all five Oscar nominees for best costume design, go on public exhibit Wednesday for free at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

FIDM's 21st annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design in downtown Los Angeles will also feature costumes from last year's winner for best costume design, "The Artist." The film's designer, Mark Bridges, says winning costumes have to be more than clothes to stand out.

"It tells a story, pushes the plot forward and tells a great deal about the characters, but it also somehow captures your imagination," Bridges said. "You think about those clothes after you leave the theater."

The exhibit will also feature the designs of 10-time nominee and three-time winner Colleen Atwood for "Snow White and the Huntsman." Costumes for the same fairy tale were interpreted for "Mirror Mirror" by Eiko Ishioka, who battled cancer during production and died before learning she was a nominee.

Starting next year, the best costume design nominees will not come from a wider voting group of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominees will be coming from just the costume designers themselves.

What better than to have the people who actually understand what they're looking at and what it took to get something on screen to function and perform and be magnificent on screen costume-wise, than have the people who actually create it nominate their colleagues," said curator Kevin Jones.

Jones says students at the FIDM can study the costumes first hand, but all movie fans can visit to appreciate in person what is truly an art exhibit.

The free exhibit runs through April 27. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

With the big night quickly approaching, play the My Picks game to choose who you think will win in each award category.

The My Picks experience will live on Oscar.com, the Oscars App, Facebook, ABCNews.com, OTRC.com and GMA.Yahoo.com. Play My Picks right now!

Have a smart phone or tablet? Download the free official Oscars app to get news and updates about the show. It's available for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.

Get the full list of 2013 Oscar nominees

The Oscars will air live on ABC7 on Feb. 24.

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