Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
'Wicked' costume designer breaks down Elphaba and Glinda's costumes
www.hercampus.com: Costume designer Paul Tazewell visited Kent State’s campus Thursday, Sept. 18, during “An Evening With Paul Tazewell,” discussing with fashion writer and alumna Aleah Wright what viewers can expect for the costumes in “Wicked: For Good.”
8 comments:
Sid James
said...
I love Paul Tazwell!! He is such a relevant and significant force in the world of theater and design today. I think what made the movie adaptation of Wicked so successful and impactful was the attention to detail and deliberate design choices that the creative team made in bringing a well known story like the wizard of oz, and the long running musical, to the silver screen. I appreciate how Tazwell emphasizes the contrast between Elphaba and Glinda’s character arcs through their costumes. Its especially interesting to see how the movie costumes differ from the musical’s costumes as Tazwell is able to use more detailed textures with the benefit of the camera being able to capture more fine detail than a live audience. It is very clear that Tazwell has a deep understanding of the story and concept of the Wicked film, which makes his design cohesive and representative of the story’s concept in every detail.
Paul Tazwell is definitely someone I want to work with someday. He has designed so many iconic shows and costumes, and really is an inspiration for the costumer in me. His designs really bring to life the character, and each piece has some sort of meaning behind it that adds to it. The design for Wicked is absolutely gorgeous and really sells the world of the story. The article talks about all of the little details within Glinda's and Elphaba's dresses and how they are made to contrast each other while bringing out their personalities. I love how he shows these characters through their costumes, but also how he shows the character arcs along with them. His costumes are also a look into the time period of The Wizard of Oz, and I think that is really neat. The fact that Tazwell has also worked with multiple productions and adaptations of The Wizard of Oz allows for this more thorough design. His design for this movie is truly wonderful, and I can't wait to see what he has done for part two.
Reading about the Wicked costume designer breaking down Elphaba and Glinda’s looks was so cool. I love this designer so much and would love to work with someday. I liked how Elphaba’s outfits are darker and layered to feel more grounded while Glinda’s are light and sparkly, almost floating. It totally matches how they act. The ombré pink bubble dress sounded amazing too, it feels like something straight out of a dream. I think it’s awesome that they tied some of the style back to the 1930s but still made it modern, it gives the whole thing such a unique vibe. I’ve always loved Wicked but this makes me want to watch again just to for the costume details I missed before. It’s crazy how much storytelling happens through what the characters are wearing without even saying a word.
I loved the costumes of Wicked. I was worried they were gonna do something really weird and different. But I felt like the costumes were upgraded from the broadway version but still felt like they fit. The only thing I missed that I was excited to see was the yellow dress Galinda wears to the emerald city. I was disappointed when I saw that it was cut. I would love to hear more about the decision to cut that dress, especially because it is such an iconic dress from Broadway and the only time she wears anything different. I do think this was such a good choice of designer from what I read in the article it seems like he has put in the work and understood the weight of this design and really knows the story. I think it was well done and I cannot wait to see what he does with the second movie.
Paul Tazewell is an icon! He is probably the most distinguished costume designer of this generation. I found it really interesting to hear about some of his creative process for the Wicked movies. I actually thought that the costuming was the best part of the Wicked movie. Paul has definitely created some iconic silhouettes. His attention to detail is outstanding. All of the time spent creating the textures on Elphaba’s and Galinda’s costumes paid off! You can feel the character’s emotions through their clothing. It is really interesting to hear how he tried to connect Elphaba’s costume to the earth and Galinda’s to bubbles, both of which resonate on screen. I really feel like he made great use of contrast. The way that Elphaba is constantly connected to Earth themes, and then “flys away” from that in Defying Gravity is really powerful. Additionally, the contrast between colors and textures between Elphaba and Galinda are significant, as they clearly represent each character’s personality.
Seeing Paul Tazwell’s thought process behind the costumes is extremely interesting and, quite frankly, very exciting for me! I do a lot of character design in my free time, and I always find it cool and constructive to see what others do in order to express certain parts of the character and their story in their design. Of course, in most live-action and theater settings, this comes down most often to the costume and outfit. Him pointing out that the clothing is very much inspired by the 30s really made me notice it, and it's a neat detail! More importantly, the fact that the clothing is representative of both their personalities and character arcs, and the way it's executed, is incredible. The idea of Elphaba’s outfit being meant to resemble the earth and how that adds to her whole arc with Defying Gravity is incredible. I can also see the bubbly personality portrayed in Glinda’s outfit. Overall, it is very impressive work and extremely interesting and I cannot wait to see more of his work and how it plays out in Wicked: For Good.
Though I am not particularly interested in Wicked, I am very much interested in costume design and the costuming choices that are being made for the upcoming movie, especially when it is a movie like this that is this heavily in the spotlight when it comes to the media. Paul Tazwell has exactly the right mentality when it comes to the progression of the characters and how that should take a forefront of the design work. Showing progression of the characters is the most important. What really interested me was Tazwells focus on nature and what that meant for the differences in Elphaba and Glinda, especially as we push forward into this second film. Throughout the use of texture and other crucial design elements, it is clear that both characters have made drastic changes. Not only that, but the inspiration from the traditional silhouettes of the 1930’s that still keep us as the audience rather grounded. Stunning work, and I can’t wait to see the looks for this next movie.
The wicked movie has become a favorite among many theater kids who grew up singing and dancing to the songs in their bedrooms. This musical has been a favorite of mine for many, many years. The costumes that were designed by Paul Tazewell in the movie were amazing and are some of my favorite Wicked costumes that I have ever seen. The colors that match the sets give such a loving and warm feeling. I loved the details on Elphaba’s dres; for me, it gave the feeling that even though on the outside people make easy assumptions about her, if you look closer, and on the inside, you will see a very thought-through and complicated soul. For me, Galinda’s bubble dress I like that they chose to design her dress to be pink instead of the iconic blue. It gives the pleasing image of a bubble and gives her a clear and open feeling that matches her character's intended political appearance.
8 comments:
I love Paul Tazwell!! He is such a relevant and significant force in the world of theater and design today. I think what made the movie adaptation of Wicked so successful and impactful was the attention to detail and deliberate design choices that the creative team made in bringing a well known story like the wizard of oz, and the long running musical, to the silver screen. I appreciate how Tazwell emphasizes the contrast between Elphaba and Glinda’s character arcs through their costumes. Its especially interesting to see how the movie costumes differ from the musical’s costumes as Tazwell is able to use more detailed textures with the benefit of the camera being able to capture more fine detail than a live audience. It is very clear that Tazwell has a deep understanding of the story and concept of the Wicked film, which makes his design cohesive and representative of the story’s concept in every detail.
Paul Tazwell is definitely someone I want to work with someday. He has designed so many iconic shows and costumes, and really is an inspiration for the costumer in me. His designs really bring to life the character, and each piece has some sort of meaning behind it that adds to it. The design for Wicked is absolutely gorgeous and really sells the world of the story. The article talks about all of the little details within Glinda's and Elphaba's dresses and how they are made to contrast each other while bringing out their personalities. I love how he shows these characters through their costumes, but also how he shows the character arcs along with them. His costumes are also a look into the time period of The Wizard of Oz, and I think that is really neat. The fact that Tazwell has also worked with multiple productions and adaptations of The Wizard of Oz allows for this more thorough design. His design for this movie is truly wonderful, and I can't wait to see what he has done for part two.
Reading about the Wicked costume designer breaking down Elphaba and Glinda’s looks was so cool. I love this designer so much and would love to work with someday. I liked how Elphaba’s outfits are darker and layered to feel more grounded while Glinda’s are light and sparkly, almost floating. It totally matches how they act. The ombré pink bubble dress sounded amazing too, it feels like something straight out of a dream. I think it’s awesome that they tied some of the style back to the 1930s but still made it modern, it gives the whole thing such a unique vibe. I’ve always loved Wicked but this makes me want to watch again just to for the costume details I missed before. It’s crazy how much storytelling happens through what the characters are wearing without even saying a word.
I loved the costumes of Wicked. I was worried they were gonna do something really weird and different. But I felt like the costumes were upgraded from the broadway version but still felt like they fit. The only thing I missed that I was excited to see was the yellow dress Galinda wears to the emerald city. I was disappointed when I saw that it was cut. I would love to hear more about the decision to cut that dress, especially because it is such an iconic dress from Broadway and the only time she wears anything different. I do think this was such a good choice of designer from what I read in the article it seems like he has put in the work and understood the weight of this design and really knows the story. I think it was well done and I cannot wait to see what he does with the second movie.
Paul Tazewell is an icon! He is probably the most distinguished costume designer of this generation. I found it really interesting to hear about some of his creative process for the Wicked movies. I actually thought that the costuming was the best part of the Wicked movie. Paul has definitely created some iconic silhouettes. His attention to detail is outstanding. All of the time spent creating the textures on Elphaba’s and Galinda’s costumes paid off! You can feel the character’s emotions through their clothing. It is really interesting to hear how he tried to connect Elphaba’s costume to the earth and Galinda’s to bubbles, both of which resonate on screen. I really feel like he made great use of contrast. The way that Elphaba is constantly connected to Earth themes, and then “flys away” from that in Defying Gravity is really powerful. Additionally, the contrast between colors and textures between Elphaba and Galinda are significant, as they clearly represent each character’s personality.
Seeing Paul Tazwell’s thought process behind the costumes is extremely interesting and, quite frankly, very exciting for me! I do a lot of character design in my free time, and I always find it cool and constructive to see what others do in order to express certain parts of the character and their story in their design. Of course, in most live-action and theater settings, this comes down most often to the costume and outfit. Him pointing out that the clothing is very much inspired by the 30s really made me notice it, and it's a neat detail! More importantly, the fact that the clothing is representative of both their personalities and character arcs, and the way it's executed, is incredible. The idea of Elphaba’s outfit being meant to resemble the earth and how that adds to her whole arc with Defying Gravity is incredible. I can also see the bubbly personality portrayed in Glinda’s outfit. Overall, it is very impressive work and extremely interesting and I cannot wait to see more of his work and how it plays out in Wicked: For Good.
Though I am not particularly interested in Wicked, I am very much interested in costume design and the costuming choices that are being made for the upcoming movie, especially when it is a movie like this that is this heavily in the spotlight when it comes to the media. Paul Tazwell has exactly the right mentality when it comes to the progression of the characters and how that should take a forefront of the design work. Showing progression of the characters is the most important. What really interested me was Tazwells focus on nature and what that meant for the differences in Elphaba and Glinda, especially as we push forward into this second film. Throughout the use of texture and other crucial design elements, it is clear that both characters have made drastic changes. Not only that, but the inspiration from the traditional silhouettes of the 1930’s that still keep us as the audience rather grounded. Stunning work, and I can’t wait to see the looks for this next movie.
The wicked movie has become a favorite among many theater kids who grew up singing and dancing to the songs in their bedrooms. This musical has been a favorite of mine for many, many years. The costumes that were designed by Paul Tazewell in the movie were amazing and are some of my favorite Wicked costumes that I have ever seen. The colors that match the sets give such a loving and warm feeling. I loved the details on Elphaba’s dres; for me, it gave the feeling that even though on the outside people make easy assumptions about her, if you look closer, and on the inside, you will see a very thought-through and complicated soul.
For me, Galinda’s bubble dress I like that they chose to design her dress to be pink instead of the iconic blue. It gives the pleasing image of a bubble and gives her a clear and open feeling that matches her character's intended political appearance.
Post a Comment