Paul Tazewell

They evolve.

Sometimes they even tell lies.

They reflect growth, conflict, resolution.

I can telegraph an entire emotional arc in the fit of a jacket, the fraying of a hem, the way fabric breaks down under stress.

What's extraordinary is this.

You feel it.

even if you don't realize it.

Costume is a subconscious language.

I'm using your power of perception to lead you through the story."

This manipulation of perception carried me to Hamilton.

At its core, Hamilton is a story of us versus them, colonists versus empire,

immigrants versus the establishment.

But Lin-Manuel Miranda handed me something radical.

He said, I want the audience to see our founding fathers through today's lens.

So imagine that challenge.

Black and brown bodies dressed in 18th-century coats and breeches rapping about revolution.

History reimagined in real time.

I designed period silhouettes, yes, but with restraint.

Neutral tones on much of the ensemble while allowing their skin to show through and the power of their voice to ring true in center stage.

And then, in contrast, King George III appears in full regalia, bewigged, jeweled, painted in perfect detail from his portraitist.