The New York premiere of Wicked: For Good marks the final stop along the yellow brick road, bringing a two-year press journey to an end — and Cynthia Erivo knew she needed to give Elphaba the send-off she deserved.
Rather than choosing the runway look as-is, she wore a custom Balenciaga look from Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Spring 2026 collection. The sculptural black gown begins with the silhouette of look 51, but the drama truly comes alive thanks to the spindly leather and feathered accents taken from look 16 — curling like enchanted claws around her arms, a sly nod to the Elphaba mythos without slipping into costume territory.
Add the elongated gloves (look 5), and you have a masterclass in runway remixing: three different looks, re-engineered into one seamless, storytelling moment. That’s the magic of Pierpaolo’s Balenciaga — the collection is designed to be modular, re-cut, re-imagined, and re-staged depending on the wearer. If you judged these pieces only by the runway photos, you’d never predict this outcome — and that’s the point. We also saw this with Rosalía.
Balenciaga’s infamous mask sunglasses gave the look an extra edge.
There may be more TV appearances to come, but as far as major red carpets go, Cynthia ended on a high. This press tour brought fashion, memes, references, and cultural impact in equal measure. As much as the teams likely need a lie-down and a vitamin drip, I’m going to miss the chaos, the couture, and the shared language this tour created.
What a way to drop the curtain.
Stylist: Jason Bolden. Makeup Artist: Joanna Simkin.
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