On Mar. 2nd, Wicked won an Oscar with the film’s costume designer, Paul Tazewell. He received a standing ovation from his fellow nominees as he made a historical milestone in the Academy. Tazewell is officially the 1st Black male to win the award for ‘Best Costume Design’.
Who is Paul Tazewell?
Tazewell is an Akron native from Ohio with three decades of costume designing experience. He studied his craft at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and New York’s Tisch of the Fine Arts. In an interview with The Talks, he was in a fashion program at Pratt University but later swapped to theater design to become a performer.
Tazewell explained, “[…] The biggest reason I was taught to design was because of clothes for the market. There are designers that were, and doing really extreme, beautiful clothing, but it was always the thought of selling the clothes. I made the decision to go back towards theater design to express myself without the notion of sales.”
The Wicked designer expressed his philosophy of how clothing can tell the story of a character. He applied his creative thought process in multiple Broadway productions. Tazewell’s name became more well-known as he was submitted for award shows including the Emmys and Tonys. A couple of the shows he helped arrange costumes for include Hamilton, West Side Story, The Color Purple, and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Becoming an Oscar Winner
Tazewell’s most recent costume work can be found in Warner Bros’ adaptation of 2003’s Broadway sensation, Wicked. He joined Director Jon M. Chu and the Wicked cast to bring the characters to life in December 2022. Many viewers were amazed by how the characters’ styles blended whimsical and modern. The costumes even transformed Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh’s appearances, noticing the Internet calling them ‘zaddy’ and ‘serving mother’.
Most of Tazewell’s energy channeled into Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda. While the world of Shiz is bright and colorful, the Wicked Witch of the West wore black. He gained inspiration from the loss of her mother, fabric texture, and mushrooms. For Glinda’s updated design, Tazewell adjusted the pink color for as he describes, “A lighter-than-air quality.” This gave Erivo and Grande’s on-screen appearances contrast while understanding their characters’ personalities.
Wicked’s costumes earned Tazewell three film awards throughout 2025. At the time, he won a Critics Choice Award, a Costume Design Guild Award, and a BAFTA. He soon made history when his name was announced for ‘Best Costume Design’ at the Oscars ceremony. In 97 years, the Academy of Motion Pictures declared him as the 1st Black Man to win in the category. This also makes him the 2nd Black designer as Ruth E. Carter became the first. She won two Oscars for her contributions in Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Astonished by his efforts, Tazewell shares his victory in his winning speech. “I’ve been designing for over 35 years, that has been on Broadway and now, it’s film. There was never a black male designer I could follow and see an inspiration from. But to realize now it’s actually me.”
A New Role Model Takes Stage
Being honored with the most sought-after film award is truly a tremendous milestone for Tazewell’s work ethic. Scoring an Oscar as the first Black Male costume designer will inspire creative diverse artists to study the fine arts. His achievement along with other winners like I’m Still Here and Latvia’s Flow have shown the world the ambitions of ethnic filmmakers to be presented in Hollywood.
