Ribble Valley designer scoops Oscar for Poor Things film starring Hollywood heavyweight Emma Stone

Holly Waddington, who attended Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, accepted the award for Best Achievement in Costume Design last night.

She is the brains behind the extravagant costumes worn by Stone, who also won the Oscar for best actress, in the movie adaptation by Tony McNamara of Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel.

In her acceptance speech, Holly thanked all the cast and crew who worked on the film, saying: “Thank you to the academy, thank you to my fellow nominees. It’s an amazing privilege to be in the same room as you all. You’re the people who inspired me to be a costume designer in the first place.”

But she did not forget to thank the people who’d thrown their weight behind her from the very beginning, adding: “Thank to my family who have always supported me.”

Poor Things, a Victorian steampunk film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, also stars Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo. It tells of the incredible evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by a brilliant and unorthodox scientist before running off with debauched lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents.

Holly, who also attended St Wilfrid's CE High School before studying Fine Art at the University of Oxford, went up against huge competition to win the award, namely Barbie’s Jacqueline Durran and Killers of the Flower Moon’s Jacqueline West.