(CNN) -- Costume designer Mark Bridges can create eras with fabric.

For "Boogie Nights" and "Blow," he evoked the 1970s. "The Fighter" showcased the early '90s. "There Will Be Blood" went back to gritty early 20th century California, and "8 Mile," "Punch-Drunk Love" and "The Italian Job" offered a range of contemporary looks befitting their locales -- and characters.

With "The Artist," a black-and-white silent film, Bridges brings back that golden Hollywood age -- both the peak of its glamour and pit of its shabbiness. He earned an Oscar nomination for his work -- his first, perhaps surprising given his work on some of the most notable films of the past 15 years.

He spoke with CNN about how his job combines the best of all worlds, and what (or "who," for those who prefer the favored Oscar pre-show word) he'll be wearing on the red carpet. The following has been edited and condensed from the original transcript.

Mark Bridges received his first Oscar nomination for his costume design on "The Artist."

CNN: I understand you have a fondness for silent-era pictures.

Mark Bridges: Ever since I was young. I have book reports from when I was in fifth grade or seventh grade on silent movies. My mother used to take us to revival houses because I was interested in it, so it's always been a lifelong interest of mine. And it combines with my vocation, and I was really, really excited with the possibility of doing this film. Read More...