Dear Gossips,   

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were in New York City last night continuing to promote Wicked. The day before, Monday, it was Mexico City, with both wearing their best red carpet outfits so far (in my opinion) on the press tour. 

 

Cynthia was in Thom Browne, the detailing and tailoring on this piece is impeccable. Theme dressing fatigue? Not for me, not when it’s done with this level of skill. 

 

For Ariana it was Versace, iridescent and dreamy, a corset that looked that looked like armor, almost like a breastplate. If you’re going to go Disney princess, you might as well lean all the way. Also the eye makeup, that shimmer all over her lid – it’s the first time I’ve ever been interested in her beauty line, R.E.M. 

 

And I mention the brand because Vogue Business just did a story today on “The Business of Wicked” and how much media impact value (MIV) this long campaign has generated for the brands involved. Last year, over 100 brands partnered with Barbie for the movie, Wicked so far has 60 brands on board, ranging from high to low, luxury to high street. 

 

As Sarah and I have both mentioned, advance ticket sales for Wicked are second highest of the year so far, behind only Deadpool & Wolverine. There’s been a “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.” 

 

Wicked might not be as well-known as Barbie (Barbie is actually older, after all) but the investment might be just as valuable, not only because Barbie’s moment has waned but because there are TWO movies. So next year they can do this all over again. The show’s niche audience has been loyal for a very, very long time. And now the thing they love has been taken to mass market. The closest thing personally that I can compare this to is BTS. For those ARMYs who’ve been riding with BTS from the beginning, when the band went next level, there was a lot of pride in seeing the party get bigger: welcome, we’ve been expecting you. This is how I imagine the Wicked fanbase has been feeling over the last year. 

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey