Washington DC, June 26: The Locarno Film Festival will honor legendary Italian costume designer Milena Canonero with the Vision Award Ticinomoda, recognizing her iconic contributions to cinema and her transformative influence on screen aesthetics.
Canonero, a four-time Academy Award winner, will be celebrated for a career that has spanned decades and reshaped the visual identity of some of the most influential films in cinematic history. Her most recent work on Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” will also be showcased at the festival.
In a statement, the festival hailed Canonero’s enduring artistic legacy:
“Since making her debut as a costume designer on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), Milena Canonero has produced some of the most visionary costumes in film history and has shaped our collective imagination through the clothes we see on screen.”
A Legacy of Visual Brilliance
Canonero’s career includes partnerships with iconic directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, and Tony Scott. Her most memorable work includes:
- The aristocratic elegance of Barry Lyndon (1975) – Oscar win
- The period athletic wear of Chariots of Fire (1981) – Oscar win
- The extravagant, pastel-toned royal fashions in Marie Antoinette (2006) – Oscar win
- The stylized, Klimt-inspired looks in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – Oscar win
- The gothic chic of The Hunger (1983) featuring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie
- Jazz Age glamour in The Cotton Club (1984)
Canonero’s costumes are known not only for their historical accuracy but also for their narrative depth — often conveying a character’s inner world, social environment, or psychological transformation purely through design.
Continuing the Creative Journey
In addition to her work on Coppola’s Megalopolis, Canonero recently collaborated again with Wes Anderson on the upcoming film The Phoenician Scheme.
The Locarno Film Festival, held annually in Switzerland and revered for its focus on independent and auteur cinema, presents the Vision Award Ticinomoda to artists whose creative work has uniquely shaped contemporary visual culture.
Canonero will receive the award during the festival’s upcoming edition, reaffirming her status as one of cinema’s most influential behind-the-scenes visionaries.