JC Olivera/WWD via Getty; Cynthia Erivo/Instagram
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Costume designer Paul Tazewell tells PEOPLE that it's a "compliment" that Elphaba's "sex cardigan" went viral
"I know that the decision and the collaboration with Cynthia Erivo around the cardigan was very specific," he tells PEOPLE
Wicked: For Good is in theaters now
Costume designer Paul Tazewell poured his heart and soul into the wardrobe forWickedandWicked: For Good.
And while Glinda's gowns have certainly drawn buzz, it's that Elphaba sex cardigan that's still taking up residence in so many fans' brains.
The movie may have landed in theaters over a month ago, but the cardigan that Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) wears during her intimate scene with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) while they're singing "As Long as You're Mine," is still a hot topic.
Tazewell has heard it all — and he's addressed it, defending the cozy, furry piece that's decidedly unsexy during the loving moment. For him and Erivo, the piece was perfect, and he's tickled that it's gone so viral.
Cynthia Erivo/Instagram
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"At first I was like, 'What is this about the cardigan?'" he tells PEOPLE with a laugh at theWicked: For Goodhome release event in New York. "But then it became a huge compliment. I know that the decision and the collaboration with Cynthia Erivo around the cardigan was very specific."
Tazewell adds that everything about the creation of the cardigan was "very intentional."
"The fact that she's in exile, Elphaba at this moment in the story, we needed to make sense of, where does she get all these things? And what we set up was that she can be a maker. She's actually a Munchkinlander, and that culture is based on making."
The floor-length cardigan, in Tazewell's mind, would have been created by Elphaba's own hands, because he imagined that she "grew up knowing how to knit and sew and create for herself and take care of herself."
"That made it plausible to have a cardigan that was comforting, that was protective, that was practical, and that was reflective of her environment," he says.
Tazewell previously toldNPRthat itwouldn't have made sense for Elphaba to wear something more sexybecause that was simply not in character. He said a "black, slinky peignoir" would not have worked at that point in time (though it was more fitting for the end of the movie as Elphaba heads off into the sunset with Fiyero as the Scarecrow).
Erivo, who worked closely with Tazewell in crafting Elphaba's wardrobe, also previouslydefended the piece, saying that the scene with Fiyero was a different side that the character hadn't been able to show yet. She wanted to appear "soft."
"I just wanted to present an opportunity to see this character who everybody at this point has seen as this strong fighting woman, who is the wicked witch, as someone who could actually be on her own," the star said at Elphaba's Wicked Retreat Airbnb Originals Experience in Los Angeles at the beginning of December. "I just wanted something that removed the armor for a second and yes, shows you a more sensual, more connected side of her."
She clarified that the intention was "not to turn her into a sexual object.""The aim is to make her a soft human that could be worthy of being loved and having an intimate moment with someone. That's beautiful."
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
In creating these two larger-than-life films' wardrobes, Tazewell tapped into a variety of inspiration, whether it was Gregory Maguire'sWickedbook or the original source material,The Wizard of Oz. He tells PEOPLE that he wanted everything to come together to tell the story of Oz.
"I also went to nature, elements of nature that are timeless. And establishing a style, a visual style and a sensibility that was specific to the people of Oz, even though you have groups, communities that live in Munchkinland, you have communities that are Uplanders where Glinda is from, you have communities that are in Emerald City, all of those lands needed to speak together," Tazewell shares. "I think that the beauty of the story ofWickedis that these are very real emotions that our two main characters are grappling with, and the idea of love, idea of intimacy with Fiyero, are all told allegorically through these fantasy characters. So I wanted to make sure that we were establishing a world that felt completely real in itself, that you as the audience member can walk into Oz and everything was answered, everything made sense. It's not a cartoon of the world, it is the world. And that was a great joy for me as a designer."
Wicked: For Goodis available to watch at home starting Dec. 30.
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