The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes is presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2015, this category and Outstanding Period Costumes were created. They replaced the now retired categories of Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special and Outstanding Costumes for a Series.
Rules require that nominations are distributed proportionally among regular series and limited series/movies, based on the number of submissions of each. For instance, if two-fifths of submissions are limited series/movies then two of the five nominees will be limited series/movies.
Winners and nominations
2010s Year Program Episode Nominees Network 2010 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special Return to Cranford"Part 2" Jenny Beavan and Alison Beard PBS Emma "Part 2" Rosalind Ebbutt and Amanda Keable PBS Georgia O'Keeffe Michael Dennison and Frances Vega Lifetime The Pacific "Part 3" Penny Rose and Ken Crouch HBO You Don't Know Jack Rita Ryack and Maria Tortu Outstanding Costumes for a Series The Tudors "As It Should Be" Joan Bergin and Susan O'Connor Cave Showtime Glee "The Power of Madonna" Lou Eyrich and Marisa Aboitiz Fox The Good Wife "Crash" Daniel Lawson, Jennifer Rogien Faletti and Daniele Hollywood CBS Mad Men "Souvenir" Janie Bryant and Le Dawson AMC 30 Rock "I Do Do" Tom Broecker, Remy Pearce and Joanna Brett NBC 2011 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special Downton Abbey"Part 1" Susannah Buxton and Caroline McCal PBS Cinema Verite Suttirat Anne Larlarb and Joseph T. Mastrolia HBO Mildred Pierce "Part 2" Ann Roth, Michelle Matland and Patrick Wiley Upstairs, Downstairs "The Fledgling" Amy Roberts and Giles Gale PBS Outstanding Costumes for a Series The Borgias "Lucrezia's Wedding" Gabriella Pescucci and Uliva Pizzetti Showtime Boardwalk Empire "Anastasia" John Dunn, Courtney McClain and Chris Peterson HBO Game of Thrones "The Pointy End" Michele Clapton and Rachael Webb-Crozier Glee "New York City" Lou Eyrich and Marisa Aboitiz Fox Mad Men "The Beautiful Girls" Janie Bryant and Le Dawson AMC 2012 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special Great Expectations Annie Symons and Yvonne Duckett PBS American Horror Story "Halloween" Chrisi Karvonides and Conan Castro FX Hatfields & McCoys "Part 2" Karri Hutchinson and Adina Bucur History Hemingway & Gellhorn Ruth Myers and William McPhail HBO Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia Sarah Arthur and Ceri Walford PBS Treasure Island "Part 1" Lorna Marie Mugan and Rhona McGuirke Syfy Outstanding Costumes for a Series Game of Thrones "The Prince of Winterfell" Michele Clapton, Alexander Fordham and Chloe Aubry HBO Boardwalk Empire "21" John Dunn and Maria Zamansky HBO The Borgias "The Confession" Gabriella Pescucci and Uliva Pizzetti Showtime Downton Abbey "Episode One" Susannah Buxton PBS Once Upon a Time "Hat Trick" Eduardo Castro and Monique McRae ABC 2013 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special Behind the Candelabra Ellen Mirojnick and Robert Q. Matthews HBO American Horror Story: Asylum "Madness Ends" Lou Eyrich and Marcy Lavender FX The Girl Diana Cilliers and Melissa Moritz HBO Killing Lincoln Amy Andrews Harrell and Renee Jones Nat Geo Parade's End "Episode 3" Sheena Napier and Jenna McGranaghan HBO Phil Spector Debra McGuire and Lorraine Calvert Outstanding Costumes for a Series The Borgias "The Gunpowder Plot" Gabriella Pescucci, Uliva Pizzetti and Gábor Homonnay Showtime Boardwalk Empire "Resolution" John Dunn and Maria Zamansky HBO Downton Abbey "Episode Four" Caroline McCall and Dulcie Scott PBS Game of Thrones "Walk of Punishment" Michele Clapton, Alexander Fordham and Chloe Aubry HBO Once Upon a Time "Queen of Hearts" Eduardo Castro and Monique McRae ABC 2014 Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special American Horror Story: Coven Lou Eyrich, Elizabeth Macey and Ken Van Duyne FX House of Versace Claire Nadon and Nicole Magny Lifetime The Normal Heart Daniel Orlandi, Gail A. Fitzgibbons, Hartsell Taylor and Maria Tortu HBO Sherlock: His Last Vow Sarah Arthur and Ceri Walford PBS The White Queen "Long Live the King" Nic Ede, Raissa Hans and Elizabeth Healy Starz Outstanding Costumes for a Series Game of Thrones "The Lion and the Rose" Michele Clapton, Sheena Wichary, Alexander Fordham and Nina Ayres HBO Boardwalk Empire "New York Sour" John Dunn, Lisa Padovani and Joseph La Corte HBO Downton Abbey "Episode Eight" Caroline McCall, Heather Leat and Poli Kyriacou PBS Mad Men "Time Zones" Janie Bryant, Tiffany White Stanton and Stacy Horn AMC Once Upon a Time "A Curious Thing" Eduardo Castro and Monique McRae ABC Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series or Movie Transparent "Symbolic Exemplar" Marie Schley and Nancy Jarzynko Amazon Empire "Pilot" Paolo Nieddu and Eileen McCahill Fox "The Lyon's Roar" Rita McGhee and Sukari McGill Gotham "Under the Knife" Lisa Padovani and Danielle Schembre-Burakovsy The Mindy Project "San Francisco Bae" Salvador Pérez Jr., Gala Autumn and Ivy Thaide Olive Kitteridge "Incoming Tide" Jenny Eagan and Debbie Holbrook HBO American Horror Story: Hotel "Chutes and Ladders" Lou Eyrich, Helen Huang and Marisa Aboitiz FX Empire "Past Is Prologue" Paolo Nieddu, Jennifer Salim and Mary Lane Fox The Good Wife "End" Daniel Lawson, David Brooks, Daniele Hollywood and Angel Peart CBS Grace and Frankie "The Party" Allyson B. Fanger and Lori DeLapp Netflix Transparent "Kina Hora" Marie Schley and Mark A. Summer Amazon Big Little Lies "You Get What You Need" Alix Friedberg, Risa Garcia and Patricia McLaughlin HBO Empire "Light in Darkness" Paolo Nieddu, Jennifer Salim and Mary Lane Fox Grace and Frankie "The Art Show" Allyson B. Fanger, Heather Pain and Lori DeLappNetflix House of Cards In 2017, Hala Bahmet, Marina Ray and Elinor Bardach were nominated for the NBC series This Is Us. The nomination was rescinded after it was determined that the submitted episode "Moonshadow" was primarily set in the 1970s, violating the TV Academy's rule that "more than 50 percent" of the episode must be contemporary (within 25 years of the air date). Sixth place finisher House of Cards became the fifth nominee. "Chapter 61" Johanna Argan, Kemal Harris, Jessica Wenger and Steffany Bernstein-Pratt Transparent "To Sardines and Back" Marie Schley, Hannah Schneider and Leslie Herman Amazon Outstanding Contemporary Costumes The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story "The Man Who Would Be Vogue" Lou Eyrich, Allison Leach, Rebecca Guzzi and Nora Pedersen FX Black-ish "Juneteenth" Michelle Cole, Delores Ybarra and Devon Patterson ABC Empire "Slave to Memory" Paolo Nieddu, Jennifer Salim and Steffany Bernstein-Pratt Fox Grace and Frankie "The Expiration Date" Allyson B. Fanger, Heather Pain and Lori DeLapp Netflix This Is Us "The Wedding" Hala Bahmet and Elinor Bardach NBC Russian Doll "Superiority Complex" Jennifer Rogien, Charlotte Svenson and Melissa Stanton Netflix Black-ish "Purple Rain" Michelle Cole and Devon Patterson ABC Escape at Dannemora "Episode 6" David Robinson, Ann Bryant and Barbara Hause Showtime Grace and Frankie "The Wedding" Allyson B. Fanger, Kristine Haag and Lori DeLapp Netflix Schitt's Creek "The Dress" Debra Hanson and Darci Cheyne Pop TV Sharp Objects "Closer" Alix Friedberg and Shawn Barry HBO
2020s