Paul Tazewell’s costumes were the MVP of Wicked. Of the 10 nominations, it was his work on the 2024 adaptation of the stage musical that took home one of two Academy Awards. He was the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design, and also snagged a Bafta. Fashion fans and costuming nerds spent months unpacking the quality and detail of his work on social media.
The gills of mushroom undersides that he incorporated into the clothing worn by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba to symbolise the witch’s connection to nature. Golden ratios of asymmetry baked into every piece to match set designs alluding to the tornado of the Wizard of Oz and the start of the Yellow Brick Road. Pattern-matching on the Shiz uniforms that, if you look close enough represent the innermost feelings of the wearer (perfectly matched for Ariana Grande’s Glinda, slight misalignment for future renegade Elphaba).
