Discover the hidden gems in "Wicked" costumes! From nature-inspired designs to clever nods to "The Wizard of Oz," we're unveiling the most enchanting costume Easter eggs in this magical musical adaptation. Join us as we explore the intricate details and symbolism woven into every stitch of Oz's most iconic outfits.
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00:00Something happens when all of that green is on, the freckles go on,
00:04and the hair goes on, the makeup goes on, the eyes go on,
00:07and it's not me I'm looking at, it's her."
00:11Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:14for the costume details you might not have noticed
00:17in the 2024 smash hit musical Wicked.
00:20Once you have an actor in the costume, it attains a soul.
00:2510. Mrs. Thropp's Dress
00:29Anyone who knows The Wizard of Oz remembers the scene of Dorothy
00:32and her friends falling asleep in the poppy fields.
00:35Oh, this is terrible! Can't budge or evince!
00:38This is the spell, this is! It's the Wicked Witch!
00:41Inspired by the sedative properties of poppies,
00:44Wicked takes this idea one step further.
00:47In the opening number, we briefly meet the Wicked Witch of the West's mother,
00:50Mrs. Thropp.
00:52She's outfitted in a red dress inspired by the flowering plant,
00:55which costume designer Paul Tazewell describes as an upside-down poppy.
00:59And the reason it's red is because it's a poppy turned upside down.
01:02The idea of poppies relates to the potion that she drinks.
01:06This isn't just a callback.
01:09It's a reference to the elixir she drinks,
01:11which we get a glimpse of during her brief appearance in the film.
01:14Have another drink, my dark-eyed beauty.
01:17I've got one more night left here in town.
01:20So have another drink of green elixir.
01:23Tazewell carried the motif into Nessa Rose's clothing as well.
01:31Here, the brightest and the best young minds can study fascinating subjects
01:37such as logic, literature,
01:39linguification, and of course my specialty,
01:43sorcery.
01:44As the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University,
01:47Madame Morrible is all bluster.
01:49Her genuine magic capabilities let her command the wind and control the weather,
01:53and you need look no further than her styling to know that.
01:56Her various cloaks, robes, and gowns all feature symbols inspired by astronomy.
02:02And that's what I try to do is make all my characters very different.
02:07You want to be her.
02:08You want to be this amazing woman.
02:11Moons, suns, stars, and all sorts of powerful occult symbols can be seen in her attire,
02:16whether it's in the ornate patterns or in the precise embroidery.
02:20Also, note the hair.
02:22That spiral gray updo very much connotes the clouds.
02:25Her magic is her control of weather.
02:28So I've used that idea throughout her clothing and also in her hairstyle,
02:35this undulating cloud.
02:37Number eight.
02:38Fiyero's Sleeves.
02:40Is this how you go through life?
02:41Just running amok and trampling anyone in your path?
02:44No.
02:46No.
02:47Sometimes I'm asleep.
02:49If you don't know what happens in part two, you better skip this one.
02:53In the original Wicked musical and the book it's based on,
02:56Elphaba tries to protect Fiyero and inadvertently curses him instead.
03:00The consequence of her spell is that Fiyero becomes the scarecrow
03:04who will accompany Dorothy on her quest to the Emerald City.
03:06That's the trouble.
03:07I can't make up my mind.
03:10I haven't got a brain.
03:12Only strong.
03:13Eagle-eyed viewers familiar with the original show
03:16may have caught a subtle knot to his fate right there on his sleeve.
03:20No, literally.
03:21There's embroidery in the shape of wheat stitched into the sleeves of his fine shirts.
03:25Elphaba sees in him something that is beyond a physical appearance.
03:29It's actually the vulnerability of someone else that draws him closer to himself
03:34and I think the person that he really wants to be.
03:37Number 7.
03:38Shiz Uniforms.
03:39Dear Galinda, you are just too good.
03:43How do you stand it? I don't think I could.
03:45She's a terror, she's a tartar.
03:47We don't mean to show a bias.
03:49But Galinda, you're a martyr.
03:50Despite all the students at Shiz University wearing the same uniform,
03:54costume designer Paul Taswell wanted to find a way to weave each student's
03:58individual personality into their own look.
04:00As a result, every character's uniform is just a little bit different.
04:05And we're not just talking about the protagonists or the secondary characters either.
04:19Every student on screen, even those who aren't named,
04:22are styled in such a way that no one looks exactly the same.
04:26Some students wear sweaters instead of jackets.
04:29Some have solid patterns while others have stripes.
04:32It's all about each character's expression.
04:34I decided that the Ozian way would be to deconstruct the uniform shape.
04:39It speaks to individuality.
04:41Number 6.
04:42Galinda's Ozdust Dress.
04:44You should join us tonight.
04:46And don't tell me you have nothing to wear.
04:48Because you could wear this.
04:50The intense and emotional Ozdust ballroom scene is a look into
04:53the fiercest fashions Oz has to offer.
04:56It's the moment Galinda spurns public opinion for the first time as she dances with Elphaba.
05:01Seeing as it's such a pivotal moment in Galinda's character arc,
05:04it's well worth noting that it's easily her boldest outfit choice.
05:08She doesn't give a twink what anyone thinks.
05:10Something is not the same.
05:13Of course she does.
05:14She just pretends not to.
05:19Instead of her usual pastels,
05:21she's dressed in a frilly and fiery pink and orange number
05:24that's not quite so prim as what we're used to seeing her wear.
05:27Inspired by the color gradation of roses Paul Taswell glimpsed in London's Regent's Park,
05:32the delicate look features a stunning ombre effect.
05:35A rose that ombred from this wonderful golden yellow to pink.
05:40And I thought, oh my gosh, that would be so reflective of who Galinda is.
05:45Down to the shoes.
05:46Number 5.
05:48The symbolism of Elphaba's costuming.
05:52You're green.
05:55I am.
05:56Throughout her time at Shiz University,
05:58Elphaba Thropp goes from combative, defensive outcast
06:02to the semi-popular paragon of excellence.
06:04Though this comes at a great cost,
06:06she is a freer and more fully realized version of herself by the end.
06:11That journey is also reflected in her clothing.
06:13You see the same silhouette represented in the first time that we see her,
06:17when she has a beautiful black cashmere coat,
06:20and then she comes out of that and then she's in a felted dress
06:24with a blouse that is all micro pleated.
06:26At the start, she's outfitted in more modest and restrictive clothing.
06:30In fact, her early costumes are based on turn-of-the-century Victorian garments.
06:34By the time she's defying gravity,
06:37she's in attire that's so free-flowing,
06:39it seems almost as limitless as her potential.
06:42The same principle applies to her nails,
06:45which also grow longer as the film goes on.
06:47At the beginning of the film,
06:48Elphaba's natural green nails are an extension of her skin color.
06:52As she develops her sense of self and discovers her true potential,
06:56her manicure progresses to a longer, stronger look with powerful nail art.
07:00Number 4.
07:01The Ruby Slipper
07:02The Ruby Slipper is a classic in the film.
07:05It's a classic in the film,
07:06but it's also a classic in its own right.
07:09One of the changes to the original Oz story is actually as old as the 1939 movie.
07:22In L. Frank Baum's original book,
07:24the bejeweled slippers Dorothy ends up wearing are actually made of silver.
07:28This was changed to ruby for the film because MGM wanted to make sure
07:32that the silver was not the same color as the ruby.
07:35This was changed to ruby for the film because MGM wanted to take advantage
07:39of the rich vibrancy of newly implemented technicolor.
07:42In 2024's Wicked, we see the slippers reverted back to their original color.
07:47But the ruby shoes haven't been completely left out.
07:51In the sequence where Galinda vows to make Elphaba popular,
07:54there's a very quick moment where Galinda hands her roommate some familiar footwear,
07:58which she, of course, has to click together first.
08:05because it's a dorm room,
08:06that the closet was all the bags that we had seen in previous scenes.
08:10I love this moment where she grabs the ruby slippers and
08:13taps it three times as sort of our nod to Wizard of Oz.
08:19Gifted to her by her father,
08:20Nessa Rose's slippers are a dazzling set of heels with beaded silver embedded in them.
08:25Fans of the musical know this is no throwaway moment.
08:28These slippers will come into play in the second half of the story.
08:35But their striking appearance in Wicked Part 1 has a lot of fun details.
08:40For starters, the heel itself looks like a tornado,
08:43carrying the same spiral motif Paul Tazewell added to many of the looks.
08:47It starts with a tornado that is spiraling up the heel.
08:51It creates the heel and then it opens up and then the spirals are surrounding the foot.
08:56Also, peep the striped socks Nessa Rose wears in some of her scenes.
09:00Stop! Let her go!
09:06Now don't those look familiar?
09:08Number two, Glinda's bubble dress.
09:10Glinda's fashion story is so much fun.
09:13Her interpretation of what that character is and her spirit,
09:17her personality, I put them all in a pot and stirred it up and out came Glinda.
09:22According to Paul Tazewell,
09:24the Broadway production of Wicked actually ran into a legal snafu
09:27with the film studio who still owned The Wizard of Oz at that time.
09:31As a result, those designers ended up going with a blue dress instead.
09:35Tazewell brought back the pink look and we're so glad he did.
09:39Glinda has arrived!
09:49It's good to see me, isn't it?
09:52When Glinda comes down to Munchkinland in her pink bubble,
09:55she's wearing a look influenced by the film's spiral motif.
09:58Both the dress's construction and design took inspiration from the Fibonacci spiral,
10:02which helps give a lot of body to the garment.
10:05Fibonacci spiral shape.
10:07So with the dress, we were looking at flat shapes that then,
10:11when they're spiraled around themselves, they start to create a specific shape.
10:16And then on top of that, it's over-embroidered and beaded.
10:19At the base of the skirt,
10:21you'll also be able to spot embroidered bubbles and circular shapes.
10:25Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:29No other green.
10:31Elphaba is the only green we see.
10:33Until we get to the Emerald City, of course.
10:44Glinda's popular look is based on 1930s fashions.
10:48The peignoir and teddy underneath reference the period when the original film was made.
10:53It's inspired by the Hollywood glamour of the 30s and 40s.
10:57It's really specific to that silhouette.
10:59Glinda's hemlines get lower.
11:01Her wardrobe changes as she matures as a person.
11:11The spiral patterns.
11:13Many of the costumes and sets sport a spiral motif, inspired by the original film.
11:18The cast is surrounded by spirals,
11:19because that design element was adopted by Nathan Crowley as well.
11:23The wizard's outfits.
11:24Jeff Goldblum's costumes are a nod to his character's carnival background.
11:28His costume is covered in fobs and chains,
11:31that one that's a balloon and another one that's,
11:34it's like trinkets or like little metal Monopoly figures.
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11:53Number 1.
11:54Elphaba's designs are based on nature.
11:57Why is it you're always causing some sort of commotion?
12:00I don't cause commotions, I am one.
12:03Some of us are just different.
12:07Despite wearing mostly black,
12:09the future Wicked Witch of the West's clothing is full of fascinating and intricate details
12:13that really pop on screen.
12:15Pleated fabric and ruffles are used to give her look some dimension and texture.
12:20Paul created this beautiful pleated dress that felt like velvet
12:26with an underlayer of purple and lace.
12:28Paul Taswell felt that Elphaba was distinctly aligned with nature.
12:33Not only is she green,
12:34but she also becomes a staunch savior for the animals of Oz.
12:38But she is also the advocate for animals.
12:41So I aligned her with nature.
12:44We've reinterpreted the underside of mushrooms as these swirling
12:48pleats that are applied onto the net of her blouse.
12:51Her ecological-inspired outfits reflect this part of her personality.
12:55These designs are directly adapted from the natural world.
12:58If you look closely at her velvet bodice,
13:01you'll see fiddle ferns embroidered onto the surface of her waistcoat.
13:05In fact, the costuming of several looks was inspired specifically by mushrooms and other fungi.
13:11What was your favorite look in Wicked?
13:13Let us know in the comments.
13:18Do you agree with our picks?
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