Elphaba’s Dress in ‘Wicked’ Was Inspired by Mushroom Gills

As Paul Tazewell was conceiving design ideas for “Wicked,” mushroom gills served as an unlikely inspiration for Elphaba’s black dress.

The costume designer had stumbled across a documentary about mushrooms. Tazewell says, “I became aware of the beauty of different kinds of mushrooms because of the texture and different colors.”

Tazewell was tasked with designing the costumes for “Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The idea to align Elphaba with nature stemmed from the character’s history.

Says Tazewell, “She is this little oppressed girl being called out because of the color of her skin and ostracized even within her family.” He added that because of her connection and allyship to the animal community he turned to nature to define what her look would be, and that’s where mushrooms became the inspiration.

Speaking with Variety, Tazewell says the idea was to “create a look and have it spring from a place of naturalness and groundedness which would be a contrast with what her power is and that she can defy gravity.” He adds, “It felt appropriate and how I wanted to represent her. She’s an advocate for animals, and because she’s marginalized, she finds solace in nature more so than in the people that are surrounding her.”

Tazewell whose career spans Broadway (“Hamilton,” “Suffs”), TV (“The Wiz!”) and film (“Harriet,” “West Side Story”) says, “In holding mushrooms and seeing that pleated quality, it became about interpreting that into fabric and texture.” He used felted fabric, gauze and chiffon to make the dress. “The way we were able to manipulate it, created the idea of the underside of a mushroom.”

As for finding the pink for Glinda’s bubble dress, Tazewell looked at the original 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz” and the dress worn by Billie Burke. While the costume designer knew it was important to nod to the original Glinda and capture the “iconic” creation, Tazewell went for a softer pink and a warmer shade that became its own new design.

The silhouette of the dress had a structured, hand-beaded and embroidered bodice which opens up to a bell shape. Tazewell also wanted to keep it translucent. He says, “It gives us a lighter-than-air quality.”

He used different kinds of crinoline, tulle and silk organza for the fabric with an ombre design so the pink got darker as it went towards her face. Says Tazewell,  “We added swirling bubbles in the pattern that was printed onto the organza, and there was embroidery at the bottom.”