One bubble dress, two films and 20,000 beads: How Wicked’s costume designer defied gravity

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How do you make a gown appear lighter than air – as if it’s “defying gravity”?

This was the question on Paul Tazewell’s mind as he set off to design one of the most iconic looks for Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Wicked. The task? Glinda’s bubble dress. About 20,000 beads and 225 hours later, he achieved the impossible.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it felt really lightweight and just kind of like a bubble itself,” Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in the film, said in a Variety interview. “It feels like the perfect representation of what Glinda’s magic is, which is her ability to take darkness and figure out how to make it light.”

The dress, which is currently on display alongside other Wicked costumes as part of Melbourne Fashion Week’s Wicked Wardrobe Exhibition, exemplifies the genius behind Tazewell’s work – work that earned him an Academy Award last year. He doesn’t just design beautiful garments, he tells nuanced tales through silk, taffeta, lace and chiffon.

“I wanted the costumes to reflect the characters’ emotional arc,” Tazewell says. “For Glinda, she chooses to align with Emerald City and those who are in power – to act as a propagandist or political figure who pushes this idea of goodness, whether it’s true or not, to the citizens of Emerald City. So, her clothing is reflective of a woman in that position.”

Inspired by the pink dress worn by Billie Burke (the original “Good Witch”) in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Tazewell created a floating quality by layering different fabrics – taffeta, satin organza, silk organza, tulle – all of which had been hand-painted or beaded and crystallised to create variations in colour.

“It makes it feel magical because the fabrics catch the air in different ways. It provides that kind of lighter-than-air quality,” Tazewell says.

In stark contrast to Glinda’s translucent bubble dress is Elphaba’s Wicked Witch of the West ensemble (worn by Cynthia Erivo in the film), replete with long black boots, sweeping cape and, of course, a dramatic pointed hat.

“She begins as a woman who’s mindful of the fashion sensibility of Oz, albeit in a dark and austere way. But then, through different silhouettes and fabric choice, you see a softening of her personality as she becomes more comfortable within her environment.”

The addition of trousers then offers more agility, symbolising Elphaba’s growing understanding of the responsibility she bears for those discriminated against in Oz. This culminates in Wicked: Part One with her taking flight on a broomstick, her cape sweeping out behind her – a striking, powerful image of a woman who finally understands she must define herself.

Tazewell says viewers can expect to see a deterioration in parts of Elphaba’s original look throughout the second film Wicked: For Good, which lands in cinemas in November.

Glinda’s iconic bubble dress is on display at Melbourne Fashion Week’s Wicked Wardrobes Exhibition.

“Her coat and tunic worn with the trousers later are actually remnants of the dress she wore at the end of the first film. So, the costume is tracking her progress all the way through until she fully sheds the persona of the Wicked Witch of the West. That persona is no longer useful to her, so she reverts into her final look.”

The Oscar-winning designer created about 1000 costumes for the first film, a mammoth undertaking even for someone used to working on major musical productions like West Side Story and Hamilton. The second film required an additional 650 or so original costumes (including Glinda’s wedding dress and Fiyero’s “Gale Force” suit) all of which had to be made around the same time, given the movies were filmed back-to-back.

Each costume is in some way in conversation with both the Broadway play and The Wizard of Oz, which Wicked is a prequel to. While it was important to honour the original productions – which are themselves cultural phenomena – Tazewell says he wanted to reinterpret a new, slightly contemporised version of the Wicked world.

Now, for the first time, Australian Wicked fans will be able to immerse themselves in that world, as Tazewell’s costumes go on display at Fed Square as part of Melbourne Fashion Week.

“I’m hugely honoured that they have made their way to Australia because until you see this artistry up close, you don’t actually understand the detail and care that goes into these costumes,” Tazewell says. “You can’t properly see it in a photograph or on screen.”

The Wicked Wardrobes Exhibition is a free event held at Fed Square as part of Melbourne Fashion Week until October 26. Wicked: For Good will land in Australian cinemas on November 20.

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