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I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

Next week is the global release of Wicked for Good, the sequel to the wildly popular movie Wicked.

And ahead of that big premiere, we are sharing this powerful talk from the film's Oscar-winning

costume designer, Paul Taswell.

He takes us inside his thinking around the subconscious language of clothing.

It shapes who we view as heroes and who we view as villains.

From his work on the period silhouettes of Hamilton and the blending colors of Westside story

to the visual dualities of Wicked, Taswell makes the case that design is never neutral.

And stick around after his talk for a short Q&A with Ted's Monique Rough Bell.

Thank you. Stick around after his talk for a short Q&A with Ted's Monique Rough Bell. What makes someone wicked?

Is it the color of their skin?

Is it the story we've been told?

Or is it what they wear? How do we make those judgments?

What clues do we rely on? What assumptions do we carry, sometimes without even realizing it?

As a costume designer, it's my job to use those assumptions for better or for worse.

People often assume my job is all fabric and sequins, dresses, buttons, maybe a good hat.

In truth, my job is about perception.

I am a storyteller and my medium, about perception. I am a storyteller, and my medium, my language, is clothing. Through silhouette,

color, and texture, I shape how you see someone before they speak a word. I decide whether you lean

forward with curiosity or pull back with suspicion.

When I put a character in a shade of scarlet or wrap them in velvet or cut them up in sharp black lines,

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