Costume exhibition showcases the story of Carter’s journey as an artist
- Last updated: February 17, 2026 | 10:42 ..
“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler’s vampiric period film starring Michael B. Jordan made Academy Award history recently when it was nominated for 16 Oscars, more than any other film in the history of the award ceremony’s 98-year run. It toppled the 14 nominations previously received by “All About Eve” (1950), “Titanic” (1997) and “La La Land” (2016). In addition to Michael B. Jordan’s best actor nomination and Coogler’s best director nod, “Sinners” Oscar-winning costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, received her fifth nomination for work on the film.
And six of those costumes are on display at the African American Museum through September in the travelling “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism and Costume Design Exhibit.” That includes Smoke and Stack’s (twins played by Jordan) memorable 1930s-era three-piece suits, with complementary fedora and newsboy cap, time pieces, and tiepins. When working on the costumes, Coogler’s only direction to Carter was to dress Smoke in blue and Stack in red, she told The Inquirer in November.
“Sinners” was written, directed and produced by Ryan Coogler, and also produced by Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. The movie, released on April 18, 2025, explores Black culture and the Blues through the lens of a Southern Gothic thriller.
The story is set in 1932 Mississippi and stars Michael B. Jordan as two twin brothers, Smoke and Stack, who, after chasing success in the North, return to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open a juke joint and revive the soul and spirit of their hometown. As the town embraces a new avenue for artistic expression, culture, and community, a dark force lingers in the shadows and threatens the foundation of a community whose strength is tested by the evils of humanity.
Carter, not one to fret long, dove into her arsenal of research. By the time she began the fittings, she’d amassed an array of blue and red looks befitting of the 1930s sharecroppers-turned-bootleggers and juke joint owners. “[And] when I put that red fedora on him, Ryan flipped out and said, ‘That’s it!’,” Carter said. “We wanted people to resonate with their clothing and it did.” The Smoke and Stack effect went beyond “Sinners.” This Halloween there were tons of social media posts of revelers dressed as the mysterious twins. Also a part of AAMP’s “Sinners” display is the earthy flowing dress best supporting actress nominee Wunmi Mosaku wore in her role as Annie.
Annie is Smoke’s lover and a root woman who discovers the vampires in their Clarksdale, Mississippi, town. Cornbread’s (Oscar Miller) tattered sharecropper outfit is on the dais along with Mary’s (Hailee Steinfeld) cream knit dress with its short sleeved bodice and pussy bow accent. Her matching knit beret and pearls are also on display. In the film, Mary is Stack’s childhood friend, turned girlfriend, turned vampire. “I immerse myself in the mind, body, and soul of my characters,” said Carter. “Then I see them in my mind, how they move and with research I come up with a look that I feel is unique to them.” The “Sinners” pieces are among the more than 80 looks featured in “Afrofuturism,” joining outfits from “Malcolm X,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler,” “Coming 2 America,” “Black Panther” and its sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
The show, headlining the African American Museum’s Semiquincentennial celebration, will be on display through September. During her five decades in the movie business, Carter’s more than 60 films are big screen documentations of where Black Americans have been, who they are at the given moment, and who they dream of becoming. Her work has shaped how the world sees African Americans around the world.
In the 2010s, a friend of hers suggested she plan a museum exhibit around her costumes. After “Black Panther,” she partnered with Marvel and in 2019, “Afrofuturism in Costume Design” debuted at the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta Campus. Philadelphia is the exhibit’s ninth — and longest — stop. It’s also the first stop for the “Sinners” costumes. “I am a griot,” Carter said. “[Throughout my career,] I’ve developed a knowledge base that embraces our culture and speaks to all of us in a positive way.”
“Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” will be on view through Sept. 6, 2026. African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch St., Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children.
Costume designer Ruth E. Carter earned her fifth career nomination for her work on “Sinners,” setting a new record for the most Oscar nominations by a Black woman in any category. Carter, who won Oscars for her designs on “Black Panther” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” was previously tied at four nominations with Viola Davis. With the new nod, she now ranks behind only Denzel Washington and Quincy Jones among the most-nominated Black creatives in academy history, and is tied with Spike Lee and Morgan Freeman.
Both “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another” were nominated in the academy’s new casting category, a first-year addition that helped push each film’s nomination total higher. At the box office, “Sinners” has also been one of the year’s strongest performers among the best picture contenders, earning $368 million worldwide, trailing only “F1,” which pulled in $632 million globally.
Tribune News Service