Wicked’s’ Paul Tazewell Makes Oscars History as First Black Man to Win Best Costume Design

“Wicked’s” Paul Tazewell has made Oscars history by getting to be the to begin with Dark man to win for best outfit design.

Tazewell, a past candidate for “West Side Story,” as of now has an Emmy grant (“The Wiz Live”) and Tony grant (“Hamilton”) beneath his belt. He triumphed over individual outfit architects: Arianne Phillips (“A Total Unknown”), Linda Muir (“Nosferatu”), Lisy Christl (“Conclave”) and Janty Yates and David Crossman (“Gladiator II”).

Tazewell has cleared the season scooping up the BAFTA, Pundits Choice and Ensemble Architects Society grants along the way. He was too named one of Variety’s 10 artisans to observe in outfit plan, and was honored with the Assortment Artisan Grant in outfit plan at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

He is the moment Dark individual to win in that category by and large – Ruth E. Carter made Oscar history when she won for her work on “Black Panther.” She won a few a long time afterward for the film’s spin-off “Black Puma: Wakanda Forever.”

In his discourse, Tazewell recognized his memorable minute saying, “I’m the to begin with dark man to get the outfit plan award…I’m so pleased of this.” He went on to thank the U.K group for their “beautiful work.” He moreover said thanks to “Wicked’s” driving women. He said, “My Ozian muses, Cynthia and Ariana, I cherish you so much.”

For “Wicked,” he outlined over a thousand outfits for the big-screen adjustment of the Broadway melodic. His most notorious pieces were making Glinda’s bubble dress and Elphaba’s dark dress.

Using the springboard of the 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz,” Tazewell started with the thought of why Elphaba played by Cynthia Erivo wears dark. He felt it set her separated in this colorful world of Shiz, but Tazewell moreover clarified it’s a reflection of her grieving for her mother, who kicked the bucket in childbirth. His challenge was in bringing abundance to his choice since “much of the detail gets ingested into the black.”

He utilized felted texture, dressing and chiffon to make the Elphaba’s dark dress. He found motivation in the creased underside of mushrooms. Said Tazewell, “It got to be almost translating that into texture and texture.”

As for finding the pink for Glinda’s bubble dress, Tazewell looked at the unique 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and the dress worn by Billie Burke. Whereas the ensemble architect knew it was critical to gesture to the unique Glinda and capture the “iconic” creation, Tazewell went for a milder pink and a hotter shade that got to be its claim modern plan. The outline of the dress had a organized, hand-beaded and weaved bodice which opens up to a chime shape. Tazewell moreover needed to keep it translucent. He says, “It gives us a lighter-than-air quality.”