variety.com: As Paul Tazewell was conceiving design ideas for “Wicked,” mushroom gills served as an unlikely inspiration for Elphaba’s black dress.
The costume designer had stumbled across a documentary about mushrooms. Tazewell says, “I became aware of the beauty of different kinds of mushrooms because of the texture and different colors.”
9 comments:
Using nature as inspiration for the dress is such a fantastic idea. This reminds me of a fashion designer that is inspired by underwater creatures. They find ways to make the fabric move as if its underwater. It's really impressive. That reminds me of my line and form which was also inspired by sea creatures, but created in a different and unusual medium. Nature is a great source of inspiration for art and I should definitely look into it for my basic design project. However I wish that they had used a different type of fabric, maybe a two-tone fabric or a translucent fabric. It feels like the beautiful mushroom ridges don't show up very well on the costume, which is a shame because film cameras nowadays are incredible detailed. It reminds me of how, back in the day, film wasn't as expensive and detailed to make because the cameras weren't as good. Wigs did not have to look completely real because the cameras were very forgiving with the quality of sets, props, prosthetics, wigs, costumes, makeup etc. Even how in Psycho, they used chocolate syrup to be the blood in the shower scene because the film was in black and white, and you couldn't tell the difference between chocolate syrup and blood.
It’s so fascinating how many tiny, specific details go into every part of a production, especially with costume design. While some costumes become iconic images of a character, so many of them are on the screen for so little time that the viewer barely has time to register it. Even for these costumes that are on screen for longer and become iconic and well-known by casual viewers and mega-fans alike, there are so many details that will go unnoticed. However, this doesn’t mean these details are unimportant. Every miniscule detail that goes into a costume helps to create the feel of the character, scene, or movie that the designer is aiming for. Learning about these details feels like I’m not just getting an insight into the creation of the film but also getting an insight into why the costume will invoke the feelings that it does. These mushroom-inspired patterns are so cool and I can’t wait to see them on the big screen.
These dresses are absolutely stunning. As a person who loves to take inspiration from nature, I just adore the idea of making Elphaba’s dress replicate the look of mushroom gills. It just gives it such life, and gives the viewer the ability to interpret it in a good or bad way, whether you like mushrooms or not. I thought it was really interesting when he went on to talk about his reasoning, talking about how she “finds solace in nature more than the people around her.” I love hearing about these reasons. It really shows the designer’s values, and knowing how designers chose certain aspects of pieces that can easily be overlooked justifies the passion in the things they create. Paul Tazewell really digs into the story trying to be told and shows the two character’s personalities and backgrounds very well through the clothes they wear.
Mushroom gills are so cool. I am actually using them for a design project to get a similar look. The pattern that is created from the underside of the cap is so intricate and so unique. There are so many different patterns created in nature. In a way, it resembles the rings found in the cross-section of a tree and I think that duality is really cool. Natures resembles itself in the most beautiful and unexpected ways. Mushrooms are something that are often overlooked , and I think that's part of the reason the designer chose to use them for Elphaba. I also love that I now know something about the design that most people would never guess. There are so many thoughts and ideas that go in to a design, whether simple or complex, that are frequently overlooked.
I think good costume design should always be saying something, and that is exactly what Tazewell is doing with his “mushroom gills” idea. By identifying Elphaba with nature, he is able to pull out specific parts of who she is: her kindness to animals and the natural world, for one, but also how she is othered. Tazewell and scenic designer Eugene Lee use flowers and floral motifs when creating Glinda’s costumes and the set for her opening scene. The bright, welcoming colors pair well with Glinda’s bubbly personality and popularity and also help create a visual divide between Elphaba’s dark, almost hauntingly organic pleated dress. I’ve seen a lot of articles that have picked up on this one specific detail and I’m really happy to see people noticing the level of attentiveness costume designers put into their work. Things are never cool for cool’s sake—there’s always something that the artist is trying to get across. Once you realize that, you can start looking at costumes in film and on the stage the same way you look at art in a museum. It gives you a whole new perspective on what you’re seeing.
Inspiration can come from the strangest places sometimes- and this is a perfect example of that. “The costume designer had stumbled across a documentary about mushrooms.” When I think of the iconic character of Elphaba from Wicked, a musical I know by hearing and have had memorized since I was 10, mushrooms definitely don’t come to mind. Reading about this article provided interesting insight into the mind of a designer- and the concept that texture of a fungus can be a driving force in creating an iconic look for one of the biggest roles in musical theatre history. “create a look and have it spring from a place of naturalness and groundedness which would be a contrast with what her power is and that she can defy gravity.” After reading this, the idea of a mushroom makes a lot more sense! The image of the pattern is absolutely stunning, and upon close inspection, I can totally see the relation to mushrooms.
I definitely would not have pinned the idea that Elphaba’s dress was inspired by mushrooms however it really is quite fitting for her witchy character. Taking a lot of inspiration from nature for her costume design absolutely makes sense considering her character’s general connection to animals and nature in general. The texture and detailing to her dress aren’t that noticeable from far away however even still that fits her character really well, how she doesn’t seem to fit in with the others, both in the color of her skin and in her personality. Even her hat has these winding texturing details that almost look like the roots of a tree while still giving that classic black hat witchy feel. The silvery smooth lines add a lot of weight and detail into her costume that so beautifully contrasts with Glinda’s bubbly and airy pink dress, it creates quite the dichotomy between the pair. I absolutely cannot wait to see this movie when it comes to theatres. It'll be very fun to admire all of the well thought out design elements.
I always love those like “behind the scenes” content videos they do for movies and shows. I love seeing how intentional everything is and the construction and reality behind the magic. The pictures of the textures up close were just gorgeously stunning. I really liked the fact that this idea for the textures to represent mushroom gills (which, also, surprised me because I never thought of mushrooms as a thing that could gills) came from Tazewell “stumbl[ing] across a documentary about mushrooms.” This just feels so real and raw as I imagine him surfing down a loophole of YouTube videos at three o’clock in the morning. This proves to me that meaningful inspiration really can come from anywhere, and maybe my doom scrolling will one day be helpful! And dear whoever is reading my news comments, I am so sorry you have to keep reading about me ranting about Wicked, I’m just so obsessed.
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