Last year, I watched the first part of Wicked. This past weekend, I saw Wicked: For Good, and after hearing him speak, I viewed the entire show differently. My eyes kept scanning the movie screen, drawn to the fabric, textures, silhouettes, and how each scene was shaped by color and movement. His work turns clothing into emotion.
He reminded me that color, texture, and silhouette can convey courage, vulnerability, power, or even wickedness in seconds. And he challenged the assumptions we carry without even realizing it.
Through his work on Hamilton, West Side Story, and Wicked, he demonstrated how design can reshape history, break down stereotypes, and honor characters who have been misunderstood for generations. His craft evokes emotion even before a single word is spoken.
One line stuck with me. Design is never neutral. It carries memory, culture, identity, and bias. And if perception can be shaped, it can also be reshaped.
When Paul said his job is about perception and that he is a storyteller whose medium is clothing, it struck me deeply. My job is also about perception. I am a storyteller. My medium is communication through words. We both shape understanding, emotion, and meaning long before anyone realizes it. His job seems a lot more fun!
After hearing him speak, I realized that costume designers influence how we perceive things, encourage us to rethink our assumptions, and uncover meaning in even the smallest details. I wonder how often we consider the story we are sharing before we speak at all. Our first impression speaks loudly. What message do we want it to convey? And what biases do we bring into that moment without even noticing?
In many ways, we all have a bit of Wicked in us. The question is how we choose to use it, and how we can turn it into something Wicked for Good.
#Storytelling #CreativeLeadership #Perception #WickedTheMusical #TEDNext #Herstories