137 pattern pieces. 20,000 beads hand applied over 225 hours. 140 costume crew members working around the clock. Glinda’s glorious bubble ball gown in the film adaptation of Wicked is certainly a sight to behold.
Rendered in petal pink, with shimmering sequins, embroidery, and beadwork, the gown is the newest entrance look for Glinda, Oz’s iconic Good Witch. Worn by Ariana Grande when she first appears in the film, costume designer Paul Tazewell’s gown is the third iteration of the classic costume.
That bubble dress is one of the most iconic entrance looks in costume design history. Following in the footsteps of Glinda’s decadently sleeved pink gown in the 1939 Wizard of Oz film (designed by Adrian Adolph Greenburg, known by his mononym Adrian) and Glinda’s shimmering blue gown in the Broadway production of Wicked (designed by Susan Hilferty), Tazewell’s version is, in many ways, the best of both worlds.
“There was no question,” costume designer Paul Tazewell enthuses, referring to the choice to return to pink for the Wicked film. “They weren’t able to use it in the original designs for Wicked, for many reasons, but we worked out a way to use it, because truly, our Glinda had to be in pink.”
When Wicked first came to Broadway in 2003, the design team was limited in the inspiration they were allowed to use. Glinda's blue bubble dress, which drew inspiration from the wedding dress worn by real-life Princess Diana, was strictly regulated to prevent the production from infringing on the creative copyrights of the original 1939 Warner Brothers film.
As Broadway costume designer Susan Hilferty told Playbill in 2018, "When I was designing the show originally, we had the rights to use only the W. W. Denslow illustrations from the original L. Frank Baum book, and had no rights to anything that was connected to the movie. I actually had to prepare a brief for the production’s lawyers describing why I wanted to use a full skirted dress in order to show that I wasn’t taking what Adrian did in the original movie."
Affectionately referred to as “Billie Burke Pink” in Ozian circles, the particular shade of pink used by Adrian (not too warm, not too cool, not too bright, not too muted) is often prized as one of the most recognizable uses of color in cinema history. The image of Burke descending from the sky into the technicolor Munchkinland is imprinted on the memory of Oz fans everywhere, and Tazewell knew his Glinda’s entrance had to measure up.
“I can remember sitting in front of the television when I was four years old, and watching The Wizard of Oz when it would play on television once a year,” Tazewell recalls. “It left such an imprint on how I see color, how I look at design overall, what I find magical. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to pull from those icons that were established in that film, and re-envision them through a more modern lens, while still embracing the energy of what they originally were.”
For the character of Elphaba, Tazewell faced a different kind of challenge. While embracing aspects of Glinda’s bubble gown was a necessity from the moment he signed on, the entrance look worn by adult Elphaba offered Tazewell the opportunity to establish an all-new look. While in the musical, Elphaba wears a simple blue and black school uniform consisting of a mid-calf skirt and loosely fitted suit jacket when she first appears, Tazewell has produced something far more striking for the screen.
Featuring dramatic puff sleeves, asymmetrical rows of buttons cascading from shoulder to shin, and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it subtle appliques, the coat dress Elphaba wears upon her arrival to Shiz University cuts a striking figure on actor Cynthia Erivo as she bounds into the scene, undaunted by the shocked reaction of the student body.
"It's a rare opportunity to be able to design for a group of actors that you really, really know," Tazewell shares. Like Adrian, Tazewell has become a treasured costumer for the actors he designs for, knowing exactly how to craft wearable confidence for each individual (he won a Tony Award for Hamilton and his newest Broadway show is Death Becomes Her). Prior to Wicked, Tazewell had worked closely with Erivo on the film Harriet, crafting historically accurate costumes to help her bring Harriet Tubman to life. Now, as he's helping Erivo assume the role of a different freedom fighter, he's relishing their established bond.
"There is such a strong respect and warmth and connection between us," Tazewell enthuses. "She came in with so many ideas, and we found her Elphaba together." The gorgeous, evolving manicures that Erivo sports throughout the film may have been overseen by Tazewell, but behind the scenes it was truly Erivo and Wicked's Hair, Makeup, and Prosthetics Designer Francis Hannon finishing off that final detail of Elphaba's ensemble. "I gave input on the length, but the designs were all handled by Cynthia and Francis."
Elphaba's coat dress is a prominent example of the unique tailoring Tazewell has established as a part of his Oz, serving as a guiding principle across the more than 1,000 costumes constructed for the film. That tailoring, which is most easily visible in the wide variation of Shiz University uniforms sported by ensemble and principal characters alike, is sure to have sewists everywhere scrambling for reference patterns.
“I wanted for Oz to feel otherworldly,” Tazewell explains, energized. “But there has to be a point of reference so everything belongs in the same otherworld.” While traditional Western tailoring is built on the symmetry of the golden rectangle in geometry, Tazewell’s Wicked designs call upon the Fibonacci spiral, which favors asymmetry. “You could call it off-kilter,” Tazewell laughs, “but it automatically creates this new sense of interest. When you look at the silhouettes, we're starting with a corset figure that then has a petticoat, and then it shifts,” Tazewell holds up his hands, cocking them slightly to the side, "and something that simple can become a huge statement."
Whereas Glinda is light and airy with oversized shoulders and large skirts, Elphaba is firmly grounded with simpler design and more form-fitting. “We see these two opposites coming together, and as they're finding themselves, we see their uniforms shift until they basically wear the same silhouette as they go into Emerald City.” Throughout it all, Elphaba sports two unchanging accessories: two gold spiral pinkie rings, establishing the witch as the center from which the rest of the Fibonacci spiral originates.
Those pinkie rings, which may seem tiny in the grand scheme of Wicked's maximalism, are what ground Tazewell's Oz, making the world feel like a real environment rather than a pure fantasy. When asked to trace the impetus behind a number of micro details, Tazewell had the following quick-fire answers.
Shiz student costumes
"For Shiz, I was making a huge statement in the tailoring for the uniforms. I was going crafting a series of looks that could feel reflective of how students wear uniforms in school today. You take a uniform that's all the same, and then they make it their own by wearing certain pieces in different ways. Every single person as a bit of individuality, down to everyone having a different kind of collar. There are cropped jackets, kilts, half kilts, trousers, shorts, and so many variations that turn the idea of a uniform on its head, so that it was reflective of these students self realization, and of finding your own style within gender inclusivity."
Glinda's butterfly motif
"My Glinda represents all things that are airborne, and the choice of a butterfly showcased that."
The pajamas worn by Glinda and Elphaba during their private bonding scenes
"Glinda was opulent; 600 metres of net strips per pegnoir. Elphaba was simple; the only detail was the embroidered triangles which are threaded thematically throughout her all of clothing and on her buttons, which are all reflective of her hat. Glinda is excess, and Elphaba is almost Elizabethan, with that creme de la creme pointed edging, embroidery, and smocking."
The floral embroidery embedded throughout Nessarose's costumes.
"That is reflective of her mother, the red poppies and white milkflowers. Everything she wears ties her back to Mrs. Thropp and that trauma."
His choice to eschew Fiyero's iconic skin-tight white pants from the Broadway show.
"I think that it's hard to make Jonathan Bailey look anything but attractive and sexy. He didn't need the pants to make you look at him. Instead, I focused on his boots, because I knew his body would take care of the rest. And hey, his pants are still light! They're just not pure white."
The choice to only costume Madame Morrible in intricate wedges instead of traditional heels or boots
"Morrible has to feel different. She is this magical being, she controls the very weather around them, and her connection to the world had to feel different than everyone else, hence her footwear."
Cynthia Erivo and Bowen Yang's unique eyewear.
"It's all about what I thought they could pull off. With Bowen especially, I wanted to give his character a point of flair that showed he could keep up with Glinda and her fashionable sensibility."
Dr. Dillamond's sweater.
"I oversaw all of the looks for the animals, from Dr. Dillamond to the flying monkeys. So even though they were rendered in CGI, I was choosing fabrics and patterns and dictating how the asymmetry needed to work. Since these are real animals, not animals moving through life with a human body on two legs with hands, it was a challenge to figure out how to navigate their place within this human world, and how they might put on a piece of clothing. What are the closures that an animal that doesn't have thumbs could use? How can they get into the clothes? That's how Dr. Dillamond's sweaters came to be."
The silver shoes.
"The ruby slippers are probably one of the first things that comes to mind when anyone thinks of The Wizard of Oz. But in the original [L. Frank Baum book], they were silver shoes, and that's what is seen in The Wiz and Wicked. My shoes are this precious element, a gift that is presented in a ruby jewelry box, and they have the story inside them that starts with the heel, creating a tornado that spirals up and then swirls around the foot when Nessarose puts them on."
These costumes are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Tazewell’s designs. With dozens of costumes attributed to each character, with hundreds of auxiliary characters and extras carefully clothed as well, Tazewell has embraced maximalism in every aspect of the film's design.
“My god, it’s heaven!” Tazewell exclaims, smiling. “We have created this playground where things can be delightful and beautiful and surprising and scary and breathtaking. We’re sweeping you into another world, and that world is so, so full of wonder. I can only hope audiences are as swept away by it as I was designing it.”
Check out some of Tazewell's detailed designs in the gallery below, and be sure to see Wicked in theatres beginning movie theatres November 22.
Madame Morrible's Boots
Glinda costume sketch
Shiz Uniforms
Elphaba costume sketch
