The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series welcomed Tony, Emmy and Academy Award-winning costume designer Paul Tazewell back to campus for tours, presentations and classroom visits with students and faculty. He last visited СƬƵ in September 2017 for that year’s Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series.
Joanne Fenn is a professor, collections manager and collections registrar for the СƬƵ Museum. She said that Tazewell’s visit as part of the Thomas Schroth series was organized by the museum and funded by the Schroth Series and Chris Sullivan, a donor from Akron who attended some of the events this week. Tazewell’s visit was also coordinated by СƬƵ’s College of the Arts in collaboration with the СƬƵ College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
‘I’d Love to Hear if He Had Any Advice for Young Designers’
On Sept. 18, Tazewell met with junior fashion students in a studio class in Rockwell Hall. Before he arrived, each student was invited to display some of their current projects on dress forms for Tazewell to view.
Joy McCune, a junior fashion design major from North Canton, is an entrepreneur and founder of Flora and Fibers Boutique. The designs she is working on showcase sustainability and upcycling and are made from upholstery fabric that was donated to the university’s fabric pantry. As she was dressing her mannequin, McCune said that had been looking forward to hearing Tazewell speak.
“I would love to know if he had any advice for young designers and how to get into something as creative as designing costumes for the productions that he does,” McCune said. “I also really want to hear the inspiration behind the pieces. I love the whimsical kind of elements to his work and maybe if he would talk about some of the techniques that he uses to get some of the beautiful effects that are in his finished pieces.”
As junior fashion design major from Evanston, Illinois, Lily Vivian Blackburn prepped her mannequin's wardrobe for the day, she said she was looking to learn more about Tazewell’s design inspirations.
“I know that he, for ‘Wicked,’ specifically for ‘Elphaba,’ he took some inspiration from mushrooms,” Blackburn said. “I’m not sure how much it played into it, but some of the patterning, some of the pinstripe, and I found it really interesting, and I’m curious as to what his design process was like, how he got those certain inspirations and how he connected them to the different characters. I really enjoy character study, just in general, and in fashion design. I feel that’s a really core piece of what fashion design boils down to.”
Offering Invaluable Advice and Sharing His Experiences
After being introduced by Jacqueline Hughes and Daniel Fladung, who are lecturers in СƬƵ’s School of Fashion, Tazewell relayed how he got his start in the industry and spoke about how much he enjoyed engaging with young artists as they work toward whatever their passions might be. He then visited the students at their workstations to see their designs. He answered their questions, complimented their creations and shared helpful advice. Tazwell noticed, in particular, how resourceful and clever some of the students were in incorporating upcycled and non-traditional materials in their designs.
In his creative process, he said he is inspired by textures, fabrics and silhouettes as he creates “a sculpture.” He starts with research about how costume design connects to the story and what the period style may be. He also confers with the production’s director to see what their vision for the story is.
Sticking With Your Bold Choices
He spoke about the importance of being bold and not talking yourself out of bold choices. Tazewell told students they should always be looking to produce excellent work. “It’s all about art,” he said, and “strong ideas.” “If you have a vision of what you want for your design, create that and it will begin to manifest itself.”
“What we do,” Tazewell said, “it all comes from the same kind of place. How we approach and value clothing as it represents how we show up and identify and shapeshift, all of this clothing helps us to be in control of what the individual is.”
“It’s a very powerful medium to use, both individually and also to offer for other people,” he said. “And I think that raising it up and really focusing and being able to present to other people with the value of clothing beyond trend, beyond label brand, it might be inclusive of that, and it might say something about clothing itself.”
“I think that clothing itself carries its own energy and resonates in a way that is very powerful,” Tazewell said. “So, in my work, as I design, I hope to pull that point of view into how I design characters and who those characters are, living a life, whether it’s on stage or in the film, that offers up a story that an audience can relate to.
Tazewell’s СƬƵ Visit Includes a Full Schedule of Events
Later, Tazewell will lead a public conversation in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall. He will be introduced by СƬƵ Museum Director Sarah Spinner Liska, Ph.D., J.D., and the event will be moderated by СƬƵ School of Fashion alumna, Aleah Wright. Wright is a freelance fashion and beauty blogger and founder of WrightFashions and the beauty brand Wright Beauty.
On Sept. 19, Tazewell will meet with students in СƬƵ’s School of Theatre and Dance.
Over the course of more than 30 years, Tazewell has been designing costumes for theatre, dance, opera and film. His recent work on the “Wicked” movie earned him an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Critics Choice Award, the Costume Designers Guild’s Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film Award, an NAACP Image award, and the Innovator Award from the African American Film Critics Association. On Broadway, he received Tony Awards for his work on “Death Becomes Her” in 2024 and for costume design on “Hamilton” in 2016.
At the 2025 MET Gala, he collaborated with Thom Browne to create striking designs for Janell Monaé and partnered with eBay to create an upcycled ensemble for Chappell Roan. Along with driving innovation in costume design, Tazewell continues to reimagine what it means to design with intention in the digital age with projects in product design, interiors, publishing and architecture.
Most recently, Tazewell has designed costumes for the films “Wicked” and “Wicked for Good.” His iconic Elphaba and Glinda costumes from “Wicked” are on display at the СƬƵ Museum from Sept. 11- Nov. 9., courtesy of NBC Universal Archives & Collections.
The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series
Since 2001, the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has presented guest artists respected in the fields of theatre, dance, visual arts, music and architecture. The Schroth series was established by Cecile Draime and her late husband, Max, of Warren, Ohio, to honor their dear friend Thomas Schroth (1922-1997). A noted regional architect, Schroth designed the Butler Institute of American Art’s Trumbull Museum in Howland, Ohio, as well as numerous other award-winning projects. The events are always free and open to the public. For more information on the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series, follow this link.