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Wicked hasn’t even hit theatres yet, but a swathe of pink and green has swept the fashion industry.
The film’s stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are, in part, to thank. On the red carpet, they’ve been embracing Elphaba’s emerald green and Glinda’s pastel pink since the pair hosted the 2024 Academy Awards in March, after the Wicked trailer premiered in February during the Super Bowl. “I truly hope you are all ready for this press tour,” Erivo posted to her Instagram story at the time, with a photo of herself and Grande in custom Louis Vuitton green and pink sparkly jerseys.
The year-long build up has bewitched audiences, generating major media impact value (or MIV, which calculates the monetary value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions) for the brands dressing the stars — upwards of $27 million to date. (At the Met Gala, Grande in Loewe alone generated $8.5 million.) Now, the cast is in the midst of the premiere run, with Sydney, Los Angeles and Mexico City under their belts, and London and New York to follow.
Viewers are keen. First day advance ticket sales for Wicked are the second highest of 2024 (second only to Deadpool Wolverine), per Deadline. The fashion zeal is picking up, too. Depop has seen an 189 per cent increase in searches for “Wicked” between September and October, building on the 411 per cent increase since the start of the year. “Glinda” searches have surged by 3,812 per cent since July; and “Elphaba” searches are up 5,900 per cent.
Brands are smart to latch onto this audience appetite, experts agree. “We’re in an era where people want to immerse themselves in a world. It’s not just about seeing the movie anymore. It’s about living the movie,” says Seyi Oduwole, foresight analyst at strategic foresight consultancy The Future Laboratory. “Merchandise, collabs, fashion — it’s an extension of fandom. It’s more than a product; it’s an experience.”
Last year’s Barbie extravaganza sowed the seed. The 100-plus brand collabs and star Margot Robbie’s method dressing generated millions in MIV. Though Wicked isn’t as universally known as Barbie, its cult following and megastar cast (bringing in an audience of its own) means it can follow a similar playbook, Oduwole says.
Travel brand Béis is taking this approach. The brand released a Barbie collection last year, which demonstrated how much its audience loves connecting with cultural icons, says Liz Money, Béis’s SVP of creative. For Wicked, the brand released a capsule of pink and green totes, suitcases and toiletry kits. “With Wicked, we saw an opportunity to tap into something equally iconic, but with a different legacy,” she says. Several items have already sold out.
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The appeal is broad, Oduwole says. “It’s niche but also global. It’s about translating something that has previously only been able to be viewed live in the theatre to an accessible, international stage,” she says. Fashion wading in takes this one step further, inviting active participation instead of passive viewership. At a theatre production, you can buy a Wicked T-shirt. Ahead of the film, you can buy a Marc Jacobs ruby shoes-printed bag, a Camilla kaftan embroidered with lines from the movie, or a Gap Wicked-branded hoodie.
Collabs galore
To date, upwards of 60 brands have released Wicked capsule collections. “Wicked has this built-in fantasy element that allows for a lot of visual exploration, so it’s a great canvas for designers who want to push boundaries and captivate audiences,” Oduwole says.
Not unlike last year’s summer of Barbie, many of the film’s fashion appearances are products of collaboration with the IP owner, Universal Pictures. (For Barbie, it was Mattel that coordinated the 100-plus partnerships.)
As expected, mass and fast fashion brands have hopped on quickly, from Forever 21 and Primark to a Target collection, some of which was designed in collaboration with Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell. Bloomingdale’s released its own collection; and its holiday windows, unveiling on 13 November, are also inspired by the film. Gap, Crocs, R.e.m beauty and OPI are also among the fashion and beauty brands with pink and green Wicked-inspired collections.
Others come with heftier price tags. Australian ready-to-wear brand Camilla released an 85-piece Wicked collection that retails from $329 for a tee to $2,999 for an embellished bomber jacket. (The brand’s signature kaftans – now with Wicked prints – range from $599 to $999.) New York based Lingua Franca is releasing $150 Wicked sweatshirts; $380 cashmere sweaters; and a $550 green and black edition of its classic feather pant. Cambridge Satchel’s Mini Sophie — available in a metallic “Wicked Green” — retails for $685.
In cases like this, it’s a relatively easy lift: add an extra (green and/or pink) colour to an existing style, label it ‘Wicked’ and reap the hype and SEO-driven benefits.
Camilla designer Camilla Franks, on the other hand, went deep, creating three new prints for the collection. “My in-house design team and I were granted unprecedented access to the Wicked archives, and we have captured something powerful and truly beautiful,” she says of the design process, which wove motifs and easter eggs from the musical (and film) into the prints. “I love that this story is about what makes us human; about defying expectations, embracing our uniqueness and encouraging others to do the same.”
This considered approach is smart, Oduwole says, because it signals to audiences that the release isn’t a quick cash grab. Consumers are discerning, and can tell when something is authentic to a brand — or not.
Other brands are tapping in even without explicitly name-checking the film. Marc Jacobs just released a Wizard of Oz capsule, aptly named ‘There’s No Place Like Home’, in partnership with Warner Bros Discovery Consumer Products, the studio’s licensing and merchandising arm. It’s ostensibly for the original film’s 85th anniversary, but the drop’s timing to the release of Wicked (a prequel to Oz) is notable. Jacobs enters the cultural conversation in a way that breaks from the sea of pink and green, opting instead for ruby red slippers and bright yellow bricks. After all, it’s the brands that are able to cut above the media noise that will win.
Luxury’s Wicked play
While Marc Jacobs and Camilla released related drops, many luxury brands are engaging in the best way they know how: by dressing the stars.
Erivo, a Louis Vuitton ambassador, has worn green Vuitton at many events since March’s Oscars. The brand dressed her for the Olympics, the Academy Museum Gala and the Sydney and Los Angeles premieres. At the Met Gala, she wore Thom Browne, which Grande wore at the Los Angeles premiere. Grande has also worn brands including Giambattista Valli, Loewe, Balmain, Vivienne Westwood and Bode.
It’s a smart approach, Oduwole says. It’s tried and true, and is a way for luxury to capitalise on the buzz in a way that aligns with their branding. “Luxury brands thrive in high-profile moments, where they can create that aspirational connection with consumers,” she says. “A red carpet dress at the premiere, for instance, gets way more attention than a pricey logoed bag.”
Luxury brands also need to maintain their exclusivity and scarcity of product, she adds, which can be harder to do when pushing a collaborative collection.
Based on Wicked’s press tour — and event appearances leading up to the current premiere trail — it’s working. Grande earned the fifth highest MIV for women’s looks at the Oscars, generating $4.9 million in MIV for Giambattista Valli. Both of her Met looks — along with Erivo’s — generated MIV in the millions. The same goes for the pair’s Olympics opening ceremonies looks, where Erivo was once-again clad in Vuitton while Grande slipped into another Thom Browne.
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How long is the (yellow brick) road?
Audiences are buzzed, but how long can it last?
The musical is one of Broadway’s longest-running productions; it’s been performed since 2003. So, for existing fans, excitement about Wicked fashion will outlast the film’s buzz.
Franks, for instance, designed with longevity in mind. “I’ve designed these pieces as ‘feel-good fashion’. They’re wearable artworks for unique, colourful spirits,” she says, adding that the Wicked pieces are designed just like any other Camilla piece. “They are handcrafted and never trend driven, made to be treasured forever and passed down from generation to generation.”
Béis also designs with non-Wicked fanatics in mind, in hopes that this will broaden the appeal. “A key point of differentiation in our approach to designing these collections is considering how they will be perceived by consumers who may not be Wicked (or Barbie) fans,” Money says. “These collections aren’t just about fandom — they’re about bringing something special and functional to every travel experience.” To this end, Béis added existing black items into the Wicked collection (styled with a witch hat) to capitalise further on the hype.
That said, the brand-opportunity window is limited, experts say. The fashion trend cycle — and news cycle — moves fast, and the majority of Wicked-branded items sell during the peak. “We’ve seen with the Barbie film that, although it was a huge success that took over our feeds for the summer, we’re now onto the next thing,” Oduwole says. Wicked will capture the world’s attention for the season, but will soon become something we reference back to as a pop culture 2024 phenomenon.”
That said, Wicked: Part Two is slated for November 2025, so brands may just be able to reap the benefits of the pink and green fervour once again next year.
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