Wicked stars’ incredible costumes among exhibits at Oscar-winning designer’s new show
Costume designer Paul Tazewell’s Chicago exhibition features his designs for Wicked’s Glinda and Elphaba, Hamilton, West Side Story and more
Long before audiences saw Glinda’s dazzling pink dresses or Elphaba’s dramatic layered ensembles on the big screen, Paul Tazewell was imagining how silhouette, colour and texture would bring the witches of Oz to life.
Tazewell, the award-winning costume designer behind both Wicked films, the stage musical Hamilton and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, will be the focus of a new exhibition opening on January 19 at the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois.
“Crafting Character: The Costumes of Paul Tazewell” in the museum’s Kenneth C Griffin Studio will showcase designs all the way from early projects in Tazewell’s career to some of his most recognisable pieces in film, theatre, television and the red carpet.
“To allow visitors to engage directly with the work, to see it up close and in person, I’m hopeful that it will be exciting for them,” Tazewell says. “I think overall it would be a very full experience for anybody that chooses to come and see it.”
It is the designer’s debut exhibition and Tazewell says being approached by the museum was a blessing. His retrospective is near the museum’s 56th annual “Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition”, which highlights black innovators and artists.