Paul Tazewell

What makes someone wicked?

Is it the color of their skin?

Is it the story we've been told?

Or is it what they wear?

How do we make those judgments?

What clues do we rely on?

What assumptions do we carry, sometimes without even realizing it?

As a costume designer, it's my job to use those assumptions for better or for worse.

People often assume my job is all fabric and sequins, dresses, buttons, maybe a good hat.

In truth, my job is about perception.

I am a storyteller, and my medium, my language, is clothing.

Through silhouette, color and texture, I shape how you see someone before they speak a word.

I decide whether you lean forward with curiosity or pull back with suspicion.

When I put a character in a shade of scarlet or wrap them in velvet or cut them up in sharp black lines, I'm asking you to feel something about them instantly, silently.

That's what fascinates me, how simple fabric can tell us who is a hero and who is wicked.

I seek out a thematic hook in every project, something human, something that allows me to find myself in the story.

I'm not just decorating a character.

I'm telling a parallel story, one that lives in the clothing.

Costumes are not static.

They move with the body.