Cate Blanchett to Receive Spotlight Award at 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards

Two-time Academy Award® winning actress Cate Blanchett will receive the LACOSTE Spotlight Award at the 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards (CDGA) on February 23, 2016 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The LACOSTE Spotlight Award honors an actor whose talent and career personify an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special awareness of the role and importance of costume design. Blanchett is being honored for her unparalleled talent as much as for her status within the costume design community. Her appreciation for the artistry of costume design and her collaboration with the Costume Designers has made her an icon both on and off the screen.

Blanchett has received much recognition throughout her career with two Academy Award® wins and more than 200 awards and nominations, including those from the prestigious Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards®, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit Awards.

She has been praised for her roles in films such as The Aviator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, I'm Not There, Blue Jasmine, Notes on a Scandal, Veronica Guerin, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Bandits, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and The Hobbit: The Battle of THE FIVE Armies.

Most recently, Blanchett stars alongside Rooney Mara in Carol, directed by Todd Haynes and based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt. She also serves as an executive producer on the project, which was produced in association with Dirty Films, the company that Blanchett founded with Andrew Upton.

Last year, Blanchett starred as evil stepmother, Lady Tremaine, in Disney's live-action adaptation of Cinderella, working closely with beloved Costume Designer Sandy Powell and director Kenneth Branagh. Blanchett also received rave reviews for her role as Mary Mapes in Truth for which she starred opposite Robert Redford. Blanchett will soon appear in Terrence Malick's films Knight of Cups and Voyage of Time.

LACOSTE has been a supporter of the CDGA for more than a decade and returns as Presenting Sponsor for the seventh consecutive year.

Whether on playing fields or in everyday life, LACOSTE's story is rooted in a quest for authenticity, performance, and elegance. Each crocodile-branded product is designed to allow men and women to feel free in their mind and body with clothes and accessories that enable confidence and ease by adapting to an ever-changing life. It's this vision of optimism and courage that is promoted by the brand message: "Life is a Beautiful Sport."

For the fourth year, LACOSTE will partner with the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) and their costume design students on creative collaborations. This year, five students were asked to select an iconic character from Quentin Tarantino films, research their selection, and sketch and design a polo shirt based on the character. LACOSTE provided each student with its famous branded polo shirts, as well as piqué fabric, trims, and crocodile logos. Using the provided materials, they will sketch, design, and construct their character's polo shirt. The shirts and their accompanying sketches will be displayed at the 18th CDGA as well as at the LACOSTE Symposium, an intimate Q&A event with today's leading Costume Designers, on February 24th. The FIDM students will attend the Awards Gala as guests of LACOSTE.

With the support of presenting sponsor LACOSTE, the red carpet and black-tie awards gala celebrates outstanding film, television, and short form costume design. The CDGA has become a marquee event of the Hollywood awards season, notable for its lively, fun, warm, and engaging celebration of Costume Designers and their essential contribution to film and television. The awards presentation will honor the work of Costume Designers in seven categories, including contemporary, period, and fantasy film and television.

The 18th CDGA will be produced by JumpLine, with Executive Producer JL Pomeroy, Supervising Producer Sarah Cowperthwaite, and Producer Demetra Stavrakas. For more information about the awards, visit: http://www.jumpline-group.com/cdga.

Find the CDGA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and use #CDGA18. For updates and live tweeting during the show @CostumeAwards.

ABOUT THE COSTUME DESIGNERS GUILD: The Costume Designers Guild, IATSE local 892, is a proud member of the international alliance of theatrical stage employees. In addition to our union services, we promote the artistry, technical expertise, and creative vision of our members who design authentic fictional characters with accuracy and integrity. The Guild's membership includes over 900 Costume Designers and Illustrators working in motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos, and new media programs throughout the world.

ABOUT LACOSTE: For LACOSTE, Life is a Beautiful Sport! Since the very first polo shirt was created in 1933, LACOSTE relies on its authentic sportive roots to spring optimism and elegance on the world thanks to a unique and original lifestyle for women, men and children. With a vision to be the leading player in the premium casual wear market, the Crocodile brand is today present in 120 countries through a selective distribution network. Two LACOSTE items are sold every second in the world. As an international group gathering 10,000 women and men, LACOSTE offers a complete range of products: apparel, leather goods, fragrances, footwear, eyewear, homewear, watches, and underwear, all of them being elaborated in the most qualitative, responsible, and ethical way. In 2013, the brand garnered a turnover of 1.8 billion euros. For more information: www.lacoste.com

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