TED Talks Daily Wicked's costume designer on how to tell stories with clothes | Paul Tazewell
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Nov 18, 2025 
In this engaging talk, Paul Tazewell, an Oscar-winning costume designer celebrated for his work on Wicked, Hamilton, and West Side Story, delves into the art of storytelling through clothing. He reveals how costume design creates a subconscious language that influences our perceptions of heroes and villains. Tazewell discusses his innovative choices in reimagining stereotypes, using color and texture to elevate cultural narratives, and emphasizes the importance of design in shaping identity and societal biases.
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Clothing Is A Subconscious Language
- Costume communicates character before a word is spoken through silhouette, color, and texture.
- Paul Tazewell uses clothing as a subconscious language to shape audience perception instantly.
Costumes Tell Emotional Arcs
- Costumes evolve with characters and can telegraph emotional arcs through wear and fit.
- Tazewell uses fabric distress, fit, and breakdown to reflect growth, conflict, and resolution.
Hamilton: Modern Bodies, Period Silhouettes
- For Hamilton, Tazewell paired modern Black and brown bodies with restrained 18th-century silhouettes.
- He contrasted that with an opulent, portrait-accurate King George to stage a visual duel between new and old worlds.