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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Ellie Violet Bramley

‘Oz as a high-fashion, elitist society’: how Wicked made musicals chic

Ariana Grande touches her head against Cynthia Erivo and they hold hands while looking at an encrusted-framed vanity mirror
Ariana Grande, left, as Glinda, with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film Wicked. Photograph: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures via AP

Musicals used to be associated with glee club kids more likely to be wearing jazz shoes than anything cutting edge from the catwalks. But with the film version of Wicked – which was released this weekend and was expected to take more than $100m (£80m) at the US box office alone – promoted by global pop star Ariana Grande and actor Cynthia Erivo ­wearing Vivienne Westwood, Schiaparelli and Louis Vuitton, musicals are having a pitch-perfect style moment.

Even before it opened, there was a glut of Wicked collaborations across skincare, haircare and hoodies – more than 400 in total, including Gap, Kipling, Crocs, H&M, Claire’s Accessories and Marks & Spencer. Fancy London department store Liberty, with its tasteful Tudor-beamed building, has teamed up with Universal Pictures to make over its windows Wicked-style.

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