Costume jumpsuit for the Wizard in The Wiz on Broadway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This cream jumpsuit with silver rhinestone decorations is part of a costume worn by André De Shields as The Wizard in "The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz'" on Broadway. The jumpsuit is a full-length garment with bell-bottom flared pant legs and full-length sleeves made from a cream twill synthetic fiber. The jumpsuit closes at the center front with a silver zipper that runs from the waistline to the bottom of the stand-up collar. An asymmetric flap of the cream twill fabric covers the zipper and fastens with Velcro™ to the proper right front side. The edge of the flap is decorated with silver rhinestones that are also sewn to the proper left side of the body of the jumpsuit in a mirror image, creating the appearance of a bib front. There are two hook and eye closures at the proper front neck opening. The proper back bodice of the jumpsuit has two darts that form a tapered waist, and the upper back is decorated with small silver rhinestone studs in lines that are spoked from the lower center back to form a ray design. A silver sequin five-pointed star is sewn at the center of the proper back side just below the waistline. The set-in sleeves are straight to the wrist, with four (4) silver rhinestones sewn in a line at the outward facing cuff of each sleeve. The jumpsuit is not lined.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1975
• Designed by: Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian American, 1930 - 2014
• Created by: Grace Costumes Inc., American, founded 1961
• Worn by: André De Shields, American, born 1946
• Subject of: Black Fashion Museum, American, 1979 - 2007
• Type: jump suits
• Medium: synthetic fiber, rhinestones, and Velcro™
• Dimensions: H x W x D (overall): 62 1/8 × 23 1/2 × 3 1/4 in. (157.8 × 59.7 × 8.3 cm)
• Dimensions: Inseam: 35 1/2 in. (90.2 cm)
• Place used: New York City, Manhattan, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2007.3.8.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.