A Defying Fashion Moment for the Wicked Co-Stars AT the Oscars Performance
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It’s 2003 and the Broadway musical revised off the Wicked Witch of the West, by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz premieres. It is based on the premises of The Wizard of Oz and follows two witches, one ‘good’ and one ‘bad’- Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda the Good Witch (Glinda).
Wicked, the 2024 critically-acclaimed film, directed by Jon M. Chu. The movie stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The co-stars have many Wicked-inspired looks.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Oscar’s performance sent high notes across the world, singing, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz, “Home,” from The Wiz, and “Defying Gravity,” from the musical, Wicked, but their outfits sparked a conversation from news outlets such as InStyle and Vogue.
Ariana Grande’s Custom, Schiaparelli Haute Couture Dress
Ariana Grande started the 7-minute long performance with a flawless cover of, “ Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz. She takes the stage in an homage to Wicked’s ancestors.
The gown Grande is wearing has an obvious appeal to the Dorothy-inspired, Ruby Red Slippers. Her gown was form-fitting yet had a layer of fabric- peplum style. The bedazzled, ruby gown is made custom by Schiaparelli with over 150,000 sequins, beads, and Swarovski crystals, according to InStyle.
Grande’s dress is breathtaking and pays a hidden homage to its successors. The ‘easter egg’ is seen when Grande exits the stage to allow her co-star, Cynthia Erivo to shine. The Schiaparelli Haute Couture dress had a singular, ruby red slipper on the top back of it. Iconic can we say the least?
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Cynthia Erivo’s Homage to Vintage Collections
Erivo joins a hand-to-hand embrace with Grande, taking the stage to sing, “Defying Gravity,” together, the song that ends the first part of the 2024 film, Wicked.
Erivo looks stunning, in a bridal gown by Vivienne Westwood’s Spring/Summer 1997 collection, Love is Blind, which is recreated, according to Vogue.
The ball gown is wedding white, with a faux-floral bouquet, starting on her right shoulder and her left hip, and has a touch of sage green, (a nod to Elphaba). The idea of the Vivienne Westwood collection can represent the deeper meaning of the movie- being blinded by love.
The dress has one strap, asymmetrical features, and is simple in white.
Grande leaves before Erivo belts, the rest of the song. Erivo starts the last song of the Oscar’s performing the song, “Home,” in honor of The Wiz, a family musical from 1978 that stars Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and more.
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Paying Homage to Respective Successors
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The honor to sing music and wear outfits, that respect the original movies that the musical is based on, The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, and Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz is iconic.
Wicked: For Good, is going to be released in theaters on Nov. 22, 2025.
Harry Styles Makes the Rules
“There’s so much joy to be had in playing with clothes. I’ve never thought too much about what it means- it just becomes this extended part of creating something.” - Harry Styles, December 2020 Vogue Issue.
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Harry Styles is one of the most talented singers of our generation. Styles won a Grammy for Best Pop Solo Performance for Watermelon Sugar from his album Fine Line at the Grammys a few weeks ago. The outfit he wore at this year's Grammys, was a top 10 look by him. I love the all-black leather suit, but with no shirt, since his collection of tattoos adds spice. The sage green boa is exactly what the outfit needed. The gold chunky rings he rocks are a perfect accessory to any outfit.
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Harry Styles has had many iconic looks. At the Today Show in 2017, the 31st annual Aria Awards, and at the 2019 Met Gala, he strays away from what is considered to be “normal” and shows that fashion is about expressing oneself. On NBC’s Today show in 2017, Styles proved men can, in fact, wear pink.
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In December 2020, Harry appeared on the cover of Vogue as the first male. Harry Styles received backlash for wearing “feminine” clothing in the December issue. The key factor of Harry’s success and persona is doing whatever he wants- he always has. Styles being the first male on a Vogue cover opens the doors to men in the fashion industry. The industry constantly needs change and he showed how it needs to be done. No idea of what is the norm will ever influence him.
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Harry Styles makes the rules because he never fails to wear and do what he wants, which is so inspiring and important. It is important to stay true to yourself and not do what other people want you to do.
The Savage X Fenty Show 2021
Rihanna is the CEO of the brand Savage x Fenty. Savage x Fenty is a lingerie brand that she created. She also owns another brand called Fenty Beauty and Skin. Fenty comes from Rihanna's real name- Robyn Rihanna Fenty. This show was the 3rd one so far in her lingerie-making career. The best thing about the show is that Rihanna hand picks every fabric, color, and outfit for each person. She values the ideas of comfort and feeling sexy in your own skin.
The Savage x Fenty show is the most inclusive show known to man.
She took down Victoria's Secret empire by thriving off of diversity. The models in her runway shows are of all different races, ethnicities, disabilities, heights, and body types, and she even has men walking. She also has celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens, Cindy Crawford, Adriana Lima, and Sabrina Carpenter, who may not fit the model standard today for not being tall enough or being young enough.
Savage x Fenty is different from all runway shows because she includes dancing. The dancing may look ‘weird’ or ‘creepy’ but it represents way more than the surface level. It shows how bodies move and look in different angles and positions, instead of having a stick-straight walk. This represents the true human body and how we have wrinkles, stretch marks, cellulite, tattoos, and many other characteristics that do not define us as people.
This year for the Savage x Fenty 2021 show, Rihanna included more men than years prior. She had a whole few minutes dedicated to the men dancing and walking in the middle and the end. She always has men in her show but this year I noticed a huge increase.
Rihanna takes inclusivity and fashion to another level.
The Met Gala of 2021
The Met Gala is one of the most prestigious, highly looked forward to, events of the year. The majority of the world follows the celebrities, designers, etc who receive an invite to this event. People are excited to see the outfits and to see who is invited to the event. The Met Gala is always on the first Monday in May but due to the pandemic the 2021 Met Gala was in September, and there has not been one since May of 2019 when the theme was Camp. The theme for this year is In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. The theme means to dress like old Hollywood but also represents what America stands for.
The best-dressed List for the 2021 Met Gala consists of the hottest names today.
This year, most of the big celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Blake Lively, Harry styles, and many more were not at fashion's biggest night out. This year the gala was for younger designers and artists in the industry ranging from music to fashion designing, who were invited.
Out of the celebrities who could make it this year, some of the best dressed were Billie Eilish, Zoey Deutch, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Emily Ratajkowski. My personal favorites were all of these beautiful and humble women. We typically never see Billie Eilish wearing dresses, so when she wore a nude-pink, Oscar de la Renta dress at the Met Gala, it was something never seen by her. It was breathtaking to see her without wearing her normal colors like black or neon green. Next on the list or whom I consider the best dressed, was Zoey Deutch. She wore a lavender-Fuschia Versace, bedazzled dress, with matching gloves. Her look was inspired by a 70’s disco Cher and she did it perfectly.
Another person who struck my eyes was Kim Kardashian's look with Balenciaga. I did not like Kim’s outfit but the message and meaning behind her outfit were really interesting. She wore an all-black look, which covers her face and the silhouette of her body was what we all saw. The meaning of her outfit was to represent American culture and no matter what she wore, people would still judge her because that's how Americans are. People will always find a way to be negative and she proved that to be true. One message is how she has always been known for her body.