For Good’ designer Paul Tazewell gets candid about source of inspiration
Paul Tazewell has opened up about the intricate thought and emotional depth that went into designing the costumes for Wicked and its follow-up, Wicked: For Good.
In a new conversation with PEOPLE Magazine, the acclaimed costume designer shared that every detail was approached with intention, as he wanted the wardrobe to fully support the storytelling and immersive world of Oz.
“I also went to nature, elements of nature that are timeless,” Tazewell explained.
He went on to describe the challenge of unifying Oz’s many regions through costume while still honoring their individuality.
He added that “establishing a style, a visual style and a sensibility that was specific to the people of Oz,” was key, especially given the variety of communities, from Munchkinland to the Uplands where Glinda hails from, to the Emerald City.
“All of those lands needed to speak together.”
Tazewell added that beyond aesthetics, the emotional core of Wicked deeply influenced his design choices.
He explained that the relationships, love and inner conflicts experienced by the characters are conveyed symbolically through fantasy, making it essential that the world itself felt authentic.
“I think that the beauty of the story of Wicked is that these are very real emotions that our two main characters are grappling with,” he shared.
‘The idea of love, the idea of intimacy with Fiyero, are all told allegorically through these fantasy characters.”
To support that emotional realism, Tazewell emphasized that Oz had to feel like a place audiences could truly step into.
“I wanted to make sure that we were establishing a world that felt completely real in itself, that you as the audience member can walk into Oz and everything was answered, everything made sense.”
Before concluding, he summed up his creative mission by saying, “It’s not a cartoon of the world, it is the world. And that was a great joy for me as a designer.”
