‘Wicked’ Costume Designer Paul Tazewell

Fresh Air

Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design for the first installment of Wicked. He talks with Tonya Mosley about Wicked: For Good, the movies that inspired him, and learning to sew as a child. “I made the decision that I would devote myself to costume design and live vicariously through other characters,” he says. “Where I might not be cast in certain roles because of how I looked, as a designer, I could be anyone.

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Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Oscar for costume design for the first installment of Wicked. He talks with Tonya Mosley about Wicked: For Good, the movies that inspired him, and learning to sew as a child. “I made the decision that I would devote myself to costume design and live vicariously through other characters,” he says. “Where I might not be cast in certain roles because of how I looked, as a designer, I could be anyone.

Follow Fresh Air on instagram @nprfreshair, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for gems from the Fresh Air archive, staff recommendations, and a peek behind the scenes. 

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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2025-12-01 44 min
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