Renaissance tailcoats and green medleys: Paul Tazewell’s Wicked costume design wins at the Oscars

Be it the various shades of green Emerald City locals flaunt, or the eccentric glasses donned by Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) sidekick Pfannee (Bowen Yang), Wicked’s vibrant catalogue of costumes is a beautiful sight. The excellence of these costumes is evidenced by Paul Tazewell, the costume designer for Wicked, winning this year’s Oscars for ‘Best Costume Design’. Tazewell delivered an emotional speech, noting that he was the first Black man to win an Oscar for the category, ultimately being serenaded with a standing ovation as he concluded his speech. He was previously nominated for the same category in 2022, for West Side Story.

Above all, I’d describe [Wicked] as a spectacle.

Reading about this reminded me of the first time I saw Wicked—while my friend told me to look out for certain music numbers and the iconic rotating library, I was instantly enamoured by the costumes. After all, Wicked tackles a plethora of genres—it is a musical, inspired by a novel. It is a satirical twist on the universe set up in The Wizard of Oz. It is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously and has profoundly serious elements. Above all, I’d describe it as a spectacle.

The film relies on being over-the-top through Glinda’s characterisation and the general environment at Shiz University, with students being preoccupied by vanity and popularity, seemingly having minimal emotional intelligence. To foster this environment of hyperbole, set design and costumes indubitably play an instrumental role in setting the scene. Tazewell, through his masterful skills, delivers on every front.

There were several scenes that left me spellbound—especially when Elphaba (Cynthia Erevo) and Glinda entered Emerald City, and its residents are costumed in everything green. Instead of an entirely monochrome look (which may well work in other contexts), we see several shades of green merging into one another. Be it the signature emerald green, a darker forest green, or a lighter moss green, or a strong parrot green. Extras wear frock coats, dresses, pantaloons and skirts, dancing around, riding bicycles and participating in cultural celebrations. All differently green–all melding into a memorable tapestry. If you’ve ever held a disdain for green or found it an unfashionable colour, this is an opportunity to change your mind.

Tazewell, thus, uses costume as a multi-faceted tool—first to show vibrant beauty, then to show the oversaturation of privileged, happy, rich people, all concentrated in Emerald City.

Apart from the beauty, the green undoubtedly symbolises the city’s name—Emerald City. The central government, where the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) sits in his castle. The extravagantly green outfits we see reinforce Emerald City as a place for prosperity. When we find out that the Wizard of Oz isn’t all he seems—that he perhaps stands as a proxy for ignorant world leaders who favour profit and popularity over people’s needs, these costumes show the faux-prosperity set up in Emerald City. In his ivory (sorry, emerald) towers, the Wizard of Oz surrounds himself with Yes Men. He deliberately ignores the silencing of animals—a central conflict in Wicked. Tazewell, thus, uses costume as a multi-faceted tool—first to show vibrant beauty, then to show the oversaturation of privileged, happy, rich people, all concentrated in Emerald City.

Another look that left me raving was Madam Morrible’s (Michelle Yeoh) forest green renaissance style tailcoat. Embroidered with gold and adorned with a gold brooch symbolising the moon. With her short, silver hair curled to perfection, the costume and look commands power. As the costume covers Madam Morrible’s neck, it perhaps shows the character’s constraint and coldness. Her partiality towards those who impress her—those who can serve her and the Wizard. Also, it’s just incredibly beautiful and graceful—plain and simple. Yeoh, an accomplished actress, and one of my favourite actresses all around, takes Tazewell’s glamorous costume, and seamlessly channels the majestic quality it asks for through confident postures, and an unflinching resolve.

Amidst the extravagant costumes worn by her, the short dress symbolises Glinda’s newness in the Emerald City

Lastly, the knee-length sleeveless dress sported by Glinda was an underrated costume, in my opinion. While Glinda wears a series of extraordinary light-pink dresses throughout the film, the midi-dress worn during the climactic scene—when Elphaba rejects the Wizard of Oz, is understated and minimal. Amidst the extravagant costumes worn by her, for me, the short dress symbolises her newness in being in Emerald City. While in Shiz, she is seen as a princess, in Emerald City, she’s unknown. Surrounded by figures like the Wizard of Oz, Madam Morrible and even the magical prodigy, Elphaba, the dress could be perceived as showcasing her vulnerability.

In the end, through his work in Wicked, Paul Tazewell has not only demonstrated an outstanding series of costumes and outfits that complement and bolster the film’s atmosphere, but he has also paved the way for Black men as costume designers.

In 2023, Ruth E. Carter, was the first Black woman to win ‘Best Costume Design’ twice. First in 2018 for Black Panther, and then in 2023 for its sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Last year, in 2024, the ‘Best Costume Design’ award was won by Holly Waddington for Poor Things. While Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had majestic metal suits and a timeless armour-design, Poor Things costumes were characterised by their hyperbolic and outlandish frills and embellishments, complementing filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s surrealism.

Indeed, Tazewell had huge shoes to fill against the previous years’ victors. For me, he has not only excelled and flourished at this feat. Wicked is a tapestry—of music, satire, comedy, tragedy and spectacle, and the costumes form a substantial amount of its threads.