Oscar-winning 'Wicked' costume designer on designing Elphaba’s darker, more empowered sequel look

Few costume designers have earned icon status throughout their careers. Enter Paul Tazewell.

His over three decades-long career in costume design for the stage includes credits from Hamilton, The Color Purple and — most recently — Death Becomes Her. Beyond the stage, he worked on Wicked and Wicked: For Good, the two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical. His work on the first installment earned him an Academy Award for best costume design.

LAist’s Julia Paskin sat down with Tazewell to talk about his thought process in costuming the characters in Wicked and how he expands the worldbuilding of Oz through clothes.

Nature as inspiration for Elphaba’s outfit

Throughout the events of the first Wicked movie, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, becomes an advocate for the animals of Oz, for which she ultimately becomes ostracized.

As Elphaba is forced to flee to the forest and become a political fugitive, Tazewell says he wanted the deterioration and transformation of her costume to reflect her emotional arc.

Paul Tazewell: She's taking care of herself. She's upcycling her clothing and still continuing to refine who this image is of a wicked witch. Part of that is by leaning into this silhouette that was nostalgic of The Wizard of Oz film from 1939 [...]  her hat sizes up just a bit, so that it's a little bit more reflective of the original Wicked Witch of the West.

And also that transforms into a more modern idea of womanhood and agility. So she leans into her trousers because they allow her to be more active.

Julia Paskin: There was that very poignant moment [in Wicked] when Glinda takes that piece of fabric down and it's kind of dusty, and then wraps it around Elphaba to keep her warm because she knows she can't go with her. Do we see that cape anymore?

Paul Tazewell: Oh, absolutely. You see this cape that is beautiful silk velvet that has kind of a bark pattern that's been burnt into it. And then that starts to deteriorate. But as it's deteriorating, it's growing longer as well. And it just continues this idea of heroic transformation.

One of Elphaba's costume sketches in the "Wicked" film series. Costume designer Paul Tazewell says he leaned into the original silhouette of the Wicked Witch of the West from "The Wizard of Oz" for inspiration.

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Lara Cornell/Universal Pictures

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One of Elphaba's costume sketches from the Wicked film series. Tazewell says he used a bark pattern to signal a heroic transformation of the character.

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Lara Cornell/Universal Pictures

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Tazewell’s first foray into Oz goes back decades

When Tazewell was 16 living in Akron, Ohio, he created costumes for his high school production of The Wizard of Oz. He says it was influential in his ethos for designing costumes now.

Julia Paskin:  You have a history with this universe of storytelling going back to when you were quite young.

Paul Tazewell: Yes, absolutely. It's been a part of my life for quite a long time. When I was 7 or 8, we would watch The Wizard of Oz film every Easter. And that was hugely influential in how I see fantasy, how I design now, just how I reinterpret magical moments like going from sepia into color that you see in the original The Wizard of Oz film.

It's capturing those ideas, that way of storytelling and then figuring out how I can use the same energy in a different way and still give that moment for the audience.

Why ‘The Wizard of Oz’ has endured over a century later

Throughout the years, the story of The Wizard of Oz has gone through over 25 film adaptations, over a dozen TV shows and various spin-offs, like Wicked itself.

Why does Tazewell think the story endured this test of time?

Paul Tazewell:  The Wizard of Oz is probably the most well-known fairytale that's American made.

I think that American culture has really embraced the ideas around The Wizard of Oz. Some of that is about speaking truth to power, and it's about self-identity. Even with Dorothy, her story and finding herself. Those archetypal questions, I think, are answered within the culture of The Wizard of Oz in multiple ways, with the reinterpretation with The Wiz and updating that and seeing it through the lens of African American culture. Again, asking those same questions around identity and empowerment.  

And now with Wicked, even more so.

These excerpts have been condensed and edited for clarity. Watch the full interview below.