Tazewell wins keep coming for ‘Wicked’

With less than three weeks to go before the 97th annual Academy Awards (on Sunday, March 2), Paul Tazewell continues to be recognized by various award groups for his outstanding costume design work on the record-breaking box office musical adaptation of “Wicked” which premiered in November.  

In addition to 12 film festival awards across the country (so far!) as well as receiving the International Press Satellite Award and the Astra Award by the Hollywood Creative Alliance in recent weeks, the 60-year-old Ohio native added the prestigious Costume Designers Guild (CDG) award in the Best Film Fantasy Costumes category in Los Angeles ceremonies on Thursday, Feb. 6. Other winners were “Conclave” (for Best Film Contemporary Costumes) and “Nosferatu” (for Best Film Period Costumes).  

When reached by phone in California, the humble Tony- and Emmy-winning designer (whose proud mother Barbara lives in Asheboro) admitted that “it was a beautiful evening.”  

During his speech from the podium, Tazewell shared, “Before I accept this wonderful award, I want to acknowledge this community of heroes, many who have experienced the tragedy of losing their homes or someone very close to them who has — my heart goes out to all of you. It is also imperative to thank the incredible first responders and firefighters who have faced unimaginable destruction; your resilience gives us all hope for recovery and rebuilding.”

He continued, “Thank you so much to the members of the Costume Designers Guild for this incredible recognition. There is no playbook for becoming a well-known costume designer, let alone one who gets asked to design the costumes for an epic film like ‘Wicked.’ ”

The NC School of the Arts graduate will face both of the CDG-winning films above plus “A Complete Unknown” and “Gladiator II” in competition for an Oscar in a few weeks.  Interestingly, in his winning the Costume Designers Guild Award over four other nominees, Tazewell bested the designs by 3-time Oscar winner Jenny Beavan, who was nominated this year for “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”; Beavan had won one of her Oscars in 2022 for “Cruella” (starring Emma Stone) over Tazewell when he received his first Academy Award nomination for Steven Spielberg’s remaking of “West Side Story.” However, Beavan was rightfully presented the guild’s Career Achievement Award for her 50 years in show business.  

The following night, on Feb. 7, Tazewell won again for Best Costume Design at the 30th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on the E! network. Hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler, these ceremonies honored cinematic achievement in both films and television, but the televised show had been postponed twice in January due to the devastating California wildfires. Tying “Conclave” with the most nominations at 11, “Wicked” won 3 awards, including Best Director (for Jon M. Chu), Best Production Design and the aforementioned Best Costume Design.  

Next up for Tazewell are the BAFTA Film Awards to be presented in London on Sunday, Feb. 16. His “Wicked” work is one of the film’s seven nominations.