Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who originally brought Glinda and Elphaba to life in the 2003 Broadway production of the Wicked musical, return to the world of witches with a surprise cameo. They were part of Vizomania when Erivo and Grande’s Elphaba and Glinda arrived in the Land of Oz. Staying true to the magical and whimsical theme of the film, they wore equally whimsical costumes.
Speaking to People magazine, costume designer Paul Tazewell revealed his intentions behind those costumes. “The question was how do you make something dramatic? How do I design something that is dramatic in the context of a fantasy world?” He said.
Product designer Nathan Crowley wanted the film to come to life like a pop-up book, which gave Tazewell the idea of going back to the context of these characters. “She’s the goddess of the Wizomania story and presenting the history of how Oz came into being,” he told the outlet.
The Oscar-winning costume designer, who has also been a part of Broadway productions like Hamilton and Death Becomes Her, shared his vision of creating those gowns using a Christmas tree made of folded pages as an inspiration. He envisioned 19th century dresses to be light, airy and have a whimsical aura.
Tazewell wanted to differentiate Menzel and Chenoweth’s characters compared to their roles in the OG Wicked production. He said, “We know Idina as Elphaba, but I wanted her to be the ‘light’ and Kristin to be the ‘dark’.” So, by putting the former in a pale pink outfit and the latter in a bright purple, he reversed their color schemes.
“They’re both still colorful and very bright visually, but I tried to give them contrast. And it was a crazy effort to get it all because it all came together very quickly,” he added.
He also recalled that the team had to put together these costumes in a short period of time, but after a lot of flying between London and New York, they got it done. “And it was really amazing,” he said of the experience.
Wicked is available in theaters now.
