Paul Tazewell

vibrant florals, colors inspired by sun and sea, but cut with elegance and aspiration.

These young men and women were dressing for a life they were yet to claim.

I rejected the impulse that these two gangs are just mirror images of each other.

separated by language and skin color.

At the same time, I clung to what was iconic, like Anita's dress, but gave it my own twist.

And then, the dance at the gym, that iconic scene where the two worlds collide.

I let the colors bleed together, warm tones crossing cool, fabric echoing across lines, because even in conflict, cultures mix, the borders are never as fixed as we pretend.

Design here could have perpetuated stereotypes, but my goal was to dismantle them, to give both sides dignity, authenticity, complexity.

The tragedy of West Side Story isn't that these two sides were so different.

The real antagonist was the city itself, a system of development and displacement that was tearing their neighborhoods apart.

Both gangs were fighting for ground they would lose regardless.

Costume allowed me to underline that truth.

The beauty wasn't in the separation.

It was in the blend.

Then came Wicked.

Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, has green skin.

She wears black.

We are very familiar with the Wizard of Oz story that tells us the Wicked Witch of the West is evil.

Beside her, Glinda sparkles in pink and glitter.

These colors confirm who is good and who is wicked, or so we think.