Paul Tazewell is first Black man to win Oscar for best costume design for ‘Wicked’​on March 3, 2025 at 6:47 am

Paul Tazewell is the first Black man to win the Oscar for best costume design. He won an Academy Award on Sunday for his work on “Wicked.”

Tazewell was nominated for an Oscar in 2022 for costume design on “West Side Story” and became the first Black man nominated in the category.

This isn’t Tazewell’s first big award. He won a Tony for his costumes in “Hamilton.”

For his work on “Wicked,” Tazewell designed more than 1,000 costumes, which were worked on by 70 people.

Glinda and Elphaba had 60 costumes, each with more than 25 looks for the movie.