Celebrate Ruth E. Carter’s achievements as a 2026 Black Women in Hollywood Honoree. The 2026 awards show is available to stream: Watch Here
Style Files offers an in-depth exploration of some of the most influential Black women in fashion that deserve more praise. Here, we highlight and celebrate their journeys and the legacies that have helped secure their place in the history of fashion.
Ruth E. Carter is an award-winning costume designer known for her work on legacy films like B.A.P.S. and many of Spike Lee’s films, including Do the Right Thing. Since then, the 19th-annual ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood honoree has continued to make history with two Academy Awards for her work on Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In both films, she thoughtfully designed the costumes for Marvel’s first Black superheroes.
Now, audiences have been buzzing about her incredible work in Sinners, which has earned her another Academy Award nomination. From the subtle distinctions between the characters Smoke and Stack, both portrayed by Michael B. Jordan, to the plaid dress worn by Wunmi Mosaku’s character, Annie, Carter’s work once again proves her undeniable talent.
Now, ESSENCE dives into the archives to trace the journey and history-making impact of Ruth E. Carter.
Early Life
Ruth E. Carter was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, as the youngest of eight siblings raised by a single mother. At age nine, she began attending the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where she learned how to sew using her mother’s old sewing machine.
After graduating from her local high school, she went on to study Theatre Arts at Hampton University, then known as Hampton Institute. At the time, the school didn’t offer a specialization in costume design, so Carter found other ways to pursue the craft—acting in plays while spending hours in the library teaching herself the fundamentals of costume design. Eventually, she became known across campus as the costume designer, taking on a busy role that kept the young Carter constantly creating.
Ruth & Spike Lee
After graduating from Hampton, Carter returned home and worked as an intern in the costume department at CityStage before moving on to the Santa Fe Opera. In 1986, she relocated to Los Angeles and began working at the city’s Theater Center, where she met director Spike Lee.
Lee initially hired Carter for his second film, School Daze. The collaboration marked the beginning of a decades-long creative partnership. After that project, Carter went on to design costumes for several of Lee’s most iconic films, including Do the Right Thing, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, and Malcolm X. Their partnership would span more than 25 years and 14 films.
In an Instagram post reflecting on their collaboration, Carter wrote that Spike Lee “shaped how [she] thinks about story, culture, and character.” She added that, together, they were “writing their own Afro-future both on and off camera.” In other words, telling stories the way they wanted—rather than the way Hollywood insisted they tell them.
B.A.P.S. & More
Outside of her work with Spike Lee during that period, she also designed costumes for Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, which takes place in the early 1800s in New England during the slave trade which included colonial style outfits with cravats tied around the neck, knee length blazers and breech styled pants, and several films by John Singleton, including Rosewood and Baby Boy that emphasize her expertise in colonial dramas from colonial times to the pulse of the 90s.
She later designed costumes for the television series Being Mary Jane. Created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union as a successful news anchor, the show became known for its polished, office-ready style. Union’s character frequently wore body-hugging, knee-length silhouettes that balanced professionalism with sex appeal, often paired with a slingback heel or a sleek pump.
And, of course, my personal favorite: B.A.P.S. by B.A.P.S., directed by Robert Townsend. The film is iconic for its towering high buns with zig-zag partings, dramatic edge designs, and bright blonde bleaching, paired with latex matching sets in vibrant colors, fluorescent orange jumpsuits, and a distinctly Y2K-inspired “hood rich” aesthetic.
The First
Throughout the 2010s, Carter worked on films like The Butler, Selma, Sparkle, and more, but the project that would change her career forever was the 2018 film Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler. The film marked the first Marvel movie centered on a Black superhero and became a defining turning point in Carter’s career.
In 2019, Ruth E. Carter won her first Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Black Panther. A few years later, she won again for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2023.
Between those two historic wins, Carter also became the first Black costume designer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sinners
With her nomination for costume design for Sinners, she earned her fifth Oscar nomination, making her the most-nominated Black woman in Academy Awards history.
Carter carefully crafted the multipiece suits for both of Michael B. Jordan. One pinstriped and the other checkered, paired with a red fedora and a blue flat cap to differentiate the two.
Annie, portrayed by Wunmi Mosaku, is a Hoodoo priestess, Smoke’s wife, and a mother-to-be. She wears a plaid dress with bell-shaped sleeves layered with several beaded necklaces, including a mojo charm, an important symbol within the Hoodoo community that represents ancestral protection and spiritual healing.
Then there’s the visceral costume design during the film’s climactic turning point, when the demon first bites Mary and the infection slowly spreads, transforming each character into a gory, devil-like version of themselves, complete with glowing eye sockets and blood-soaked garments.
What’s Next?
As we approach the 98th Academy Awards, all eyes are on Ruth E. Carter, who could take home her third Oscar for her remarkable costume design in Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler. The film has also earned an impressive slate of nominations—26 in total—including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and several other major categories.
Looking ahead, Carter will reunite with Michael B. Jordan in 2027 for The Thomas Crown Affair, an upcoming American romantic heist film that Jordan is both directing and starring in.