Teyana Taylor and Michelle Cole to Be Honored at 28th Costume Designers Guild Awards

Actress, director, producer, choreographer, creative director and musician Teyana Taylor will be honored with the Vanguard Spotlight Award, and costume designer and nine-time Emmy-Award nominee Michelle Cole will receive the Career Achievement Award at the 28th CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards).

The Costume Designers Guild Vanguard Spotlight Award is a tribute to a performing artist who sets new standards in their arena, not only for their outstanding achievements but also for their courage as a visionary.

The Career Achievement award recognizes an individual whose career in costume design has left an indelible mark on film and television. Previous recipients of this honor include Jenny Beavan, Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, Deborah L. Scott, Michael Kaplan, Ruth E. Carter, Joanna Johnston, Jeffrey Kurland, Ellen Mirojnick, Aggie Rodgers, Sharen Davis, April Ferry, Judianna Makovsky, Eduardo Castro, Julie Weiss, Sandy Powell, Marlene Stewart, Ruth Myers, Ann Roth, Milena Canonero, Albert Wolsky, Colleen Atwood, and Theoni V. Aldredge, among others.

“I am so honored to be the recipient of the Career Achievement Award because I love my work and treasure my wonderful community of costume designers, directors, producers, actors and of course my team. These are the lasting relationships which have defined my career, and I celebrate them,” said Michelle Cole, recipient of the Career Achievement Award at the 28th CDGA.  

On December 12th, the Costume Designers Guild revealed the official nominees in nine categories for the 28th CDGA, and Kate Hudson was previously announced as the honoree for the Spotlight Award. The annual awards ceremony will take place live on Thursday, February 12 at The Ebell of Los Angeles, California. Take a look at the list of nominees here.

Teyana Taylor – 2026 Vanguard Spotlight Award Recipient

Teyana Taylor is an acclaimed actress, director, producer, choreographer, creative director, and musician reshaping every corner of entertainment. Last year, she starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall and Chase Infiniti, earning Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award nominations for her powerful performance as Perfidia Beverly Hills. On the music side, her latest album, “Escape Room,” earned her a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album.

She will next star opposite Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Netflix’s crime thriller “The Rip” and is also set to direct her first full-length feature, “Get Lite,” for Paramount. Her other recent on-screen credits include Ryan Murphy’s legal drama “All’s Fair” (Hulu) and “Straw” (Netflix), which premiered earlier this year.

Taylor broke out with her celebrated lead role in Focus Features’ “A Thousand and One,” which earned her the National Board of Review’s Breakthrough Performance Award, honors from the Critics Choice Celebration of Cinema & Television, and nominations at the Gotham Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2023.

Her additional film credits include “The Book of Clarence,” “Coming 2 America,” “White Men Can’t Jump” (2023), “The Trap,” “The After Party,” “Honey: RISE UP and Dance,” “Brotherly Love, The Love Section,” “Gang of Roses II: Next Generation,” “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” and “Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming.” She will make her feature directorial debut with “Get Lite” at Paramount Pictures.

Taylor is also the founder of The Aunties, a full-service creative company behind standout visuals such as WTP, the platinum-certified Gonna Love Me, and the gold-selling Issues/Hold On. Her visual work earned her BET’s Director of the Year award, and she continues to shape the creative direction of artists across music and film.

Michelle Cole – 2026 Career Achievement Award Recipient

Michelle Cole is an Emmy-nominated costume designer whose work has helped define decades of television style and shape pop culture history. Best known for her groundbreaking designs on “In Living Color” and the iconic “Fly Girls,” Cole went on to build a career that reads like a timeline of modern TV, from “Martin and The Bernie Mac Show” to “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish,” where she styled everything from bold ’90s silhouettes to Gen-Z fashion evolution. 

Originally trained in theater, Cole carved out a path in an industry that often lacked diverse voices, becoming a nine-time Emmy nominee and a board member of the Costume Designers Guild. 

Teyana Taylor Photo Credit: Dino Serrao