During HGO’s 2026-27 season, Charlese Antoinette makes her company debut as the costume designer for Aida. She recently designed the costumes for Children of Blood and Bone, based on the bestselling book by Tomi Adeyemi. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the West African fantasy film stars Thuso Mbedu, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Tosin Cole, Regina King, Chewetel Ejiofor, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, and Cynthia Erivo, with an anticipated release in 2027. Her work was showcased in the Ben Affleck/Matt Damon-produced drama AIR chronicling the launch of Nike. In 2023, Antoinette served as costume designer for her second film with Matt Damon, a heist comedy titled Instigators, directed by Doug Liman and starring Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Ron Pearlman, and Ving Rhames. She also lent her talents to writer/director Nikyatu Jusu’s thriller Nanny, which premiered at Sundance 2022 and received the U.S. Grand Jury Prize. Her most notable costume design work can be seen in the critically acclaimed, two-time Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah, for which she received a 2021 Costume Designers Guild Award nomination. The film was nominated for over 80 awards worldwide. In the last decade, Antoinette has designed the costumes for films including the Spike Lee-produced See You Yesterday, Vincent N Roxxy, and Little Boxes, all of which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival. Additional films include George Tillman’s The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete and writer/director Shaka King’s Newlyweeds, both of which premiered at Sundance in 2013, and earned King a Film Independent Spirit Award. In 2019, Antoinette launched the Black Designer Database with a mission to support Black designers through the amplification of their work while connecting them with consumers and media opportunities. That same year she also founded a fashion design program called DESIGN YOU! in partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northeast Ohio. She became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Costume Branch in 2021.