Paul most recently designed Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (20th Century Fox/Amblin Entertainment) and “Harriet” (Focus Features). In “Harriet,” we see iconic abolitionist Harriet Tubman like we have never seen her before. The panel talked about the long road bringing the film to the screen, and, of course, how it was costumed by Tazewell. “She has nothing, and she goes through a huge journey and her clothing breaks down completely, almost to the point that it’s falling off. But it is also for function and wear and tear. Paul Gregory Tazewell was born and raised in Akron, OH. Paul Tazewell, Costume Designer: Hamilton. Paul Tazewell’s unique costumes for Tubman are surprisingly androgynous; she wears a sailor’s outfit, a top hat and blazer, and ten-gallon hats.Soon, she becomes mythologized—Southern whites fear her as "Moses." Every time you put something new on, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is a different part of her. I really love what’s on the poster, it’s what we call her “bandit” look. She’s able to confront her nemesis — the grand antagonist of her life. That’s thanks to Cynthia Erivo, who plays her—but it’s also thanks to Paul Tazewell, who dressed her. If Paul Tazewell wasn't a … The Wiz, Hamilton and Jesus Christ Superstar Live! The panel talked about the long road bringing the film to the screen, and, of course, how it was costumed by Tazewell. are just a few of the shows that Paul Tazewell has created costumes for. He has designed extensively in the United States and internationally for theatre, dance and opera. The first time we see her running through the forest, there’s this great connection to the environment that she’s in and that she’s making her way through. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features. We start with that with a red headwrap and that pop of color. Harriet hits theaters on November 1, 2019. Now, Tazewell is setting his sights on the film world. For many, Harriet Tubman’s journey is one we’re taught about in school. “It solidifies how she is kind of a shape-shifter, taking on different looks — some of them male — to ride under the radar of the slave catchers,” he says. From a modern eye, it needs to be part of the appeal. Mostly, it was portraiture of many different economic different levels and races. Keep up with The Credits for the latest in film, television and more. Synthetic fabrics were banned from the set. Ain’t Too Proud…all the Broadway musicals are custom-made. His eclectic range of work spans from revivals of such classics as A Streetcar Named Desire, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Raisin in the Sun and Guys and Dolls to newer hits like The Color Purple, In the Heights, Memphis and Ain’t Too Proud. In the film, Tazewell created the look based on historic daguerreotype photos he found. We had to do a lot for Harriet because she was so physical and had to do so many physical feats, like running through mud, crossing rivers,” explains Tazewell. It’s only taken us until now to have a film about Tubman. With the original look, it’s how I always begin a design, I immersed myself with research. After consuming the script, it became evident to Tazewell just how extensive the wardrobe requirements would be. Unless you’ve read the books by Kate Clifford Larson or Beverly Lowry, “We didn’t receive the whole story,” says costume designer Paul Tazewell. “I wanted to show how we come to know her and then go beyond that. The pattern and that ticking stripe were informed by the possibility that this was a fabric that came from another plantation. Paul Tazewell is no stranger to historical period pieces, having won a Tony for his costumes in “Hamilton.” When he joined “Harriet,” he buried himself in research of a bygone era when photography was in its nascent years and ended up finding a recently unearthed new photo of Harriet Tubman. In ‘Harriet,’ Paul Tazewell Dressed Cynthia Erivo as a Superhero The costume designer used a newly found photograph of Harriet Tubman as inspiration for the looks in the new Kasi Lemmons movie. Official Trailer For Harriet! It was chosen because it resonated with all of the elements; the superhero quality and the fact that she is at her power peak. She was really quite amazing. She’s able to weave through the woods and the river. As the film opens, Harriet, played by Cynthia Erivo, is still enslaved. It goes back to that idea of neutral with pops of color. It was a linen fabric that had the stripe going through it. Paul Tazewell is no stranger to historical period pieces, having won a Tony for his costumes in “Hamilton.” When he joined “ Harriet,” he buried himself in … It was being consistent with how we were painting the clothes. Harriet had two different looks when she goes on her missions to free the enslaved. Costume designer Paul Tazewell won a Tony Award for dressing Alexander Hamilton and his fellow Founding Fathers in their 18th-century garbs … After graduating high school, he initially attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY to study fashion design. Here, the costumes, hair, and makeup designers from "Harriet… For many, Harriet Tubman’s journey is one we’re taught about in school. When you put it together, it looks really powerful and stylish. Making sure the costumes were as authentic as possible was priority number one. As a partner in Never Dull Productions (neverdullproductions.com), he has produced and directed the documentary Sled Shots about the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey team and written video scripts for numerous organizations and clients that include The United Nations, Beyond Meat, Spotify and Causes.com. What became very important, and this came from Kasi (Lemmons) was she wanted to render Harriet as a superhero. She has on knee-high boots, a sturdy skirt, a blouse and a man’s coat. Speaking were film producer Debra Martin Chase, Vanessa Bell Calloway—the actress who played Harriet Tubman’s mother, and Paul Tazewell, the film’s costume designer. Paul Tazewell has over twenty-seven years of design experience. My intent was to render a character of note. “Harriet was one of the most extensive, lengthy trips that I have done,” says Tazewell, “Having worked on Broadway and on different period productions, I’m used to building them. 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For the last two decades, costume designer Paul Tazewell has been conquering Broadway. The fabrics I chose were about function. “You will follow me,” she says. We know she’s a heroine, an abolitionist who led slaves to their freedom via … He strove to ensure that every costume design, in some way, helped advance the story. You had these strong dyes and very strong moments of color, in amongst a field of neutrals. We know she’s a heroine, an abolitionist who led slaves to their freedom via the underground railroad. “I was delighted,” says Tazewell when director Kasi Lemmons, who co-wrote the script with Gregory Allen Howard, approached him to design the costumes for Harriet. Each was designed to look slightly more worn and tattered to show the effect the arduous journey had on her clothing. We’re also embracing her as a mythic figure and a powerful woman. They were all period pieces. The cliche of masculinity and strength—slave owners initially assume her identity to be a man, isn’t massaged extensively here. For more of our Harriet coverage, check out our interview with editor Wyatt Smith. How would she feel in this?’” she says. © Copyright 2021 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. Speaking were film producer Debra Martin Chase, Vanessa Bell Calloway—the actress who played Harriet Tubman’s mother, and Paul Tazewell, the film’s costume designer. We know she’s a heroine, an abolitionist who led slaves to their freedom via the underground railroad. Chris Koseluk has written for the entertainment industry for publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, Make-up Artist Magazine, Mental Floss, Video Business Magazine, Variety and Premiere. Unless you’ve read the books by Kate Clifford Larson or Beverly Lowry, “We didn’t receive the whole story,” says costume designer Paul Tazewell. Before that, it’s really her power costume. Six versions of a green jacket outfit and four of an alternating red costume were created for these scenes. They were sewing their own clothes. Then she recreates herself as this superhuman woman. “The eyes in those faces and the humanity that resonates out of them, I think that’s where I get my inspiration because my work is based in character, developing different types of characters and making those feel as real as possible.”. When Harriet flees to Philadelphia and begins her life as a free woman, she enters a world of sophisticated fashion, reflected in the suits of William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.), who acclimates Harriet into her new life, and the elegant dresses of Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monáe), a leading black business owner who takes Harriet under her wing. The hat is broad-rimmed. Her costumes, and those of her fellow enslaved, were kept simple and basic. If you are a California resident, California law may consider certain disclosures of data a “sale” of your personal information (such as cookies that help Motion Picture Association later serve you ads, like we discuss in our, Chris Koseluk has written for the entertainment industry for publications such as. And he’s doing it in an epic way with Harriet, the sweeping saga of Harriet Tubman, the legendary 19th-century enslaved-person-turned-abolitionist who, after escaping to freedom, orchestrated the rescue of hundreds of fellow enslaved people. They could have purchased the fabric from a neighboring plantation. Tubman, who lived from 1820 to 1913, was born right after the invention of the camera. It’s this pastiche of clothing pieces that all put together makes her into this bad-ass woman.”. Featured image: Cynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman in HARRIET, a Focus Features release. “The daguerreotypes of the period are quite amazing,” he says. The film’s color scheme is also noteworthy. The plantation where Harriet was owned wasn’t big enough for them to have that manufacturing system. Since the film is still in theaters in the U.S., I can’t get many photos, but costume designer Paul Tazewell has been doing the media rounds and shared plenty of details about his fine work. Tazewell used a number of resources. We didn’t receive the whole story. He received a nomination in 2018 for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. “They establish her as this impactive, powerful woman fully embracing her heroic, ethnic persona.”, Erivo couldn’t agree more. Viscerally, it felt right for the period and how I saw Harriet. Crafting the image of such an important character — without much historical imagery — was no small feat. “We needed a backup if anything were to happen to one. Tazewell has done opera and also worked on television shows. Plantations were growing cotton. In this Framing the Scene,  Tazewell breaks down key looks of Harriet’s journey. And he’s doing it in an epic way with Harriet, the sweeping saga of Harriet Tubman, the legendary 19th-century enslaved-person-turned-abolitionist who, after escaping to freedom, orchestrated the rescue of hundreds of fellow enslaved people. With the green dress, we tried to establish this growth and it’s also connected to the forest and nature. Paul Tazewell and Jennifer Nettles attend the "Harriet" New York Screening at The Roxy Hotel on October 24, 2019 in New York City. He describes it as her “bandit look.” Period costumes for the supporting cast and extras were rented, whenever possible, but the wardrobes of all the main characters were designed from scratch. From there, he built the costumes around the narrative arc as Harriet Tubman goes from slave to Union Army officer. He believe they helped build an air of mystery around her. Motion Picture Association, Inc. “I loved that with every new costume comes this extra part of her that you wouldn’t see unless she was in the clothing. That’s where we started. We see her armor up in the dress and the coat and with the gun. Costume designer Paul Tazewell talks about his work transforming the actress into freedom fighter Harriet Tubman, with outfits ranging from a blue Union Army uniform to … “We built a lot. To stay up to date with the Motion Picture Association, please sign up for our newsletter. “To be given the opportunity to tell Harriet Tubman’s story is a huge honor. Everything for Hamilton was custom-made. What I was finding were daguerreotypes of the period. She only used a stunt double once.”, Tazewell cites Harriet’s bandit looks as his favorite designs. The last thing we see her in is in the uniform when she was an officer with the Union Army. It starts to build to the red coat and dress that we see her in towards the end. Household heads and slave owners Gideon Brodess (Joe Alwyn) and his mother Eliza (Jennifer Nettles) needed looks that showed their stature but still suggested their rustic, rural lifestyle. Now, Tazewell is setting his sights on the film world. In “Harriet,” her athleticism gives weight to the scenes in which she and those she shepherds evade slave catchers.) The Library of Congress’ Prints and Photographs collection, in particular, yielded a wealth of information — most notably, photos of the plantations featuring group shots of the enslaved. Fortunately, Tazewell had an advantage to keeping it real. “I imagine the master…the owner wanted to document how many slaves he actually had — whether for a measure of wealth or power,” he says. Everything that she stood for changed my life, as well as the lives of so many others.”. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Paul Tazewell said he took inspiration from daguerreotypes from the 1800s for lead actress Cynthia Erivo’s custom made period costumes for the biopic “Harriet,” but also wanted the clothes to convey her superhero status in both American history and the Black Experience. After looking at the daguerreotypes of the neutral tone, some had been tinted after they had been taken. At the time, that had just become very popular — documenting the slaves on plantations and life on plantations. His work can be seen in Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, the story of slave turned heroine Harriet Tubman. 6,027 Followers, 607 Following, 151 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Paul G. Tazewell (@paultazewell) The coat is an olive-brown. Tazewell felt that the outfits Harriet wears on her quest to free more enslaved people should suggest the stealth nature of her work. That way, you could identify that the slave was from that plantation if they ended up running away. She’s a woman who is pulling elements that are both female and male and suitable for doing the deed at hand. “If you’re dealing with an actual person who lived and breathed, it’s very important to create a world that is believable,” says Tazewell. He’s been honored with seven Tony nominations, winning in 2016 for Hamilton. Director of Photography John Toll and Costume Designer Paul Tazewell shoot and costume the film in various shades of blue. The slaves were picking the cotton, spinning it and weaving it. Vanessa Kirby & Ellen Burstyn on Their Poignant New Film “Pieces of a Woman”, Screenwriter Kata Wéber on Grief and Healing in “Pieces of a Woman”. Harriet is a 2019 American biographical film directed by Kasi Lemmons, who also wrote the screenplay with Gregory Allen Howard.It stars Cynthia Erivo as abolitionist Harriet Tubman, with Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, and Janelle Monáe in supporting roles.. 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