Wicked's Costume Design Win Offers A Staggering First For The Oscars

The 2025 Academy Awards ceremony has been full of surprises and history-making moments. From Kieran Culkin delivering an all-time great speech after winning Best Supporting Actor for "A Real Pain" to "Flow" becoming the first Lativan movie in Oscars history to win an award, this year's ceremony is one of the most feel-good in recent memory (so far). And those aren't the only moments worth celebrating, as Paul Tazewell became the first-ever Black man to win the Best Costume Designer prize, which he received for his work on the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked."

Of course, Tazewell's moment has been a long time coming. In 2021, the acclaimed costume designer was nominated for Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story," only for "Cruella" designer Jenny Beavan to take home the trophy at the end of the night. However, Tazewell is no stranger to winning prestigious awards, as he previously earned a Tony for his contributions to the "Hamilton" stage show. Still, it's great to see him finally get his flowers at the Academy Awards, recognizing him for his equally-awesome work in Hollywood.

What's more, Tazewell's win comes years after Ruth E. Carter became the first Black woman to win the award in question for her work on "Black Panther," before taking home another for the sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Tazewell's historic moment wasn't lost on him either, as he gave an emotional speech acknowledging the significance of his win.

In addition to being historic and feel-good, the 2025 Academy Awards ceremony has been a celebratory affair. For the most part, the award hosts typically announce the nominees and present the prize to the winner, and we move on to the next segment. However, this year's show allowed the presenters to give heartfelt tributes to the nominees, with Bowen Yang taking a moment to heap praise on Paul Tazewell's costume designs. (Let's keep this trend going at future ceremonies.)

After receiving a well-deserved tribute from his industry peers, Tazewell took to the stage and thanked everyone for his career-high moment, delivering a speech that was both humble and appreciative. Here's what he had to say (in part):

"This is absolutely astounding. Thank you, Academy, for this very significant honor. I'm the first Black man to receive the costume design award for my work on 'Wicked.' I'm so proud of this."

Tazewell also thanked "Wicked" stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for inspiring him to create the costumes, along with everyone else who worked on the movie. At the end of the day, filmmaking is a collaborative affair, but there's no denying that Tazewell deserves his big moment in the spotlight.