Who's the biggest Oscar hog in Hollywood? Ask an actress and she'll point to Meryl Streep. Ask a costume designer, though, and she'll point to the corset. Or the bonnet. Or the hoop skirt. Or the ruff. Every year, it seems, the Academy Award for costume design goes to a showy period film—last time around, The Aviator's glamorous take on old Hollywood won the day—while groundbreaking work in contemporary films gets snubbed.