Pratt alumnus Paul Tazewell’s recent triumph at the Oscars makes him the first Black man to be presented with the award for Best Costume Design by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Tazewell’s costumes for the feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked pay homage to the aesthetics of the beloved show and classic movie, while carving out a new sartorial direction for the well-known story.
From Glinda’s ruffled pink confections to Elphaba’s iconic black hat, the ambitious project involved creating over a thousand costumes, including those worn by the movie’s computer-generated animals, according to the New York Times.
Beyond their eye-catching appeal, the costumes were also designed to reflect the nuances of each character’s journey. “With Wicked, I used a lot of references to nature: mushrooms, ferns and fungus in the forest, trees and bark, things like that felt aligned with the character of Elphaba, because of her reserve and groundedness, and also aligned with her advocation for animals,” Tazewell told The Talks. “Then that really contrasted with Glinda: all her costumes and fabrics were airy and in flight and whimsical, there was bubbles and beading and iridescence and a swirl in the clothing.”
In addition to the Oscar, Tazewell’s costuming for Wicked also garnered him a BAFTA, Critics Choice, and Costume Designers Guild award. Previously, Tazewell has received an Oscar nomination for his work on West Side Story. He has received six total Tony Award nominations, including winning Best Costume Design of a Musical for his work on Hamilton. Tazewell has also won four Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Costume Design, two Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Costume Design, the Henry Hewes Award, and the Theater Development Fund’s Irene Sharaff Award, among other accolades.
You can view a few of Tazewell’s designs from Ain’t too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations in person at Black Dress II: Homage, on view now at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery.