The Oscar-Winning “Mad Max” Costume Designer Is Inspiring Women Every Day

"I absolutely don't do heels."

By now, you've probably heard of Jenny Beavan. She's this year's Oscar winner for Best Costume Design, awarded for her work on Mad Max: Fury Road.

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Beavan became an overnight folk hero after taking to the stage in a black "Mad Max"-themed motorcycle jacket, pants, and boots, fashion choices that may or may not have perplexed some Academy Awards attendees.

It turns out, Beaven doesn't care about what anyone thinks of her, and that's evident in some of her recent press quotes...

1. On why she won't wear gowns — or heels.

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"I really don't do frocks, and I absolutely don't do heels. I simply can't wear them," the Brit said in the Oscars press room. "I just like feeling comfortable. And I'm sorry, as far as I'm concerned, I'm really dressed up. And also for my friends at PETA, the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals: fake, not leather."

2. On dress codes — and her hatred for heels:

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"The Academy didn't say anything about a strict dress code. I think it may have said to wear black tie, but you know nothing about whether you must wear heels, not like in Cannes where apparently any woman who walks down the red carpet has to wear heels," she told The Hollywood Reporter after the Oscars. "I was furious about that! I mean, come on, it’s crazy."

3. On the audience members who didn't clap for her:

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"I don’t mind in the least if they didn't clap," she also told THR. "I was so proud of doing the film for George [Miller] and it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, really."

4. On being nice to people and our environment:

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"It could be horribly prophetic, Mad Max, if we're not kinder to each other, and if we don't stop polluting our atmosphere," she said during her Oscar acceptance speech.

5. On clothes and character:

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“I have no interest in my own clothes or in clothes in general," she told The Seattle Times. "My love is creating character through clothes.”

6. On what Hollywood could learn from costume designers:

"We're extremely good organizers. We're good at scheduling. We're good at budgets. I think they could learn quite a lot from us," she said to reporters in the Oscars press room.

7. On why you shouldn't give a fuck about critics:

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"You don’t actually have to look like a supermodel to be successful. If that could be a takeaway, I think that would be a good thing," she said to THR. "It is really good to have a positive feeling about yourself, because then you can do anything. People don’t have to clap for you; they don’t have to like the work."