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Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Meguire Hennes

Ariana Grande Takes Her Final Anti-Glinda Bow in a Black 2026 Golden Globes Ballgown

Ariana Grande at the 2026 Golden Globes.

Fans couldn’t be happier Wicked hit theaters in two parts: It confirmed Ariana Grande’s presence at the Golden Globe Awards in 2025 and 2026. Tonight, the two-time “Best Supporting Actress” nominee returned with one last anti-Glinda-coded Globes look up her sleeve.

Earlier this week, Variety reported Cynthia Erivo would miss the January 11 ceremony due to Dracula rehearsals in London’s West End. (She’s busy prepping to play 23 characters in the one-woman show.) Thankfully, her co-star held down the sartorial fort on the red carpet—in Elphaba Noir, no less. Stylist and image architect Law Roach sourced an off-the-shoulder black dress on Grande’s behalf from Vivienne Westwood Couture. A crimped chiffon covered the corseted foundation, before cascading into a voluminous ballgown.

Sure, the shade channeled Elphaba's aesthetic more than Glinda's, but the bubble-like train still revived the Good Witch's signature silhouettes. She's no stranger anti-Glinda gowns: see her Wicked: For Good after-party pick last November. Another angle revealed the pleated gown's plunging V-neck back, plus the skirt's bustled bum. The textured fabric called for few accessories, including diamond studs and a matching necklace, both from Swarovski.

Ariana Grande channeled Elphaba Black in a Glinda Ballgown at the 2026 Golden Globes. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Give it up for the back of the ballgown. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Grande seems like the star to own shelves stocked with Golden Globes, but she made her debut just last year. Before the Sunday evening soirée, Grande scored an invite to the first-time nominee luncheon, alongside Mikey Madison, Zoe Saldaña, and more.

Still, she looked every bit a veteran in a vintage tea-length dress, courtesy of Dior's Fall 1959 collection. The 65-year-old dress was her oldest archival look, until she attended November's Wicked: For Good London premiere in a circa-1952 design crafted by Wizard of Oz costume designer Gilbert Adrien himself. Just like magic, the satin Dior dress didn't look a day over 50.

Grande pulled off a decades-old Dior dress with ease at the pre-Globes luncheon. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Fans should've known Grande's vintage streak would stretch onto the actual 2025 Golden Globes red carpet. (The luncheon was, for all intents and purposes, her practice round.)

On Jan. 5, she took a more subtle approach to Glinda method dressing in a butter yellow, empire-waist column dress from Givenchy's archives. The Spring 1966 Couture slip started with a strapless, hand-beaded bodice, before cascading into a petal-like skirt. Opera gloves, a Swarovski tennis necklace, and matching diamond drop earrings added that Old Hollywood charm you know and love her for.

Blink and you'll mistake Grande for an Old Hollywood star at the 2025 Golden Globes. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Wicked: For Good may be out of theaters, but Glinda will live on in Grande's glamour forever. Take her Golden Globes look as proof: Fans would've never seen her in Vivienne Westwood Couture without the Good Witch's preppy, yet poised influence.

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