I first saw Wicked when I was 14. Ever since then I always wanted Elphaba’s main dress from act 2. But sadly then I had just started to sew and knew it would be sometime before I could even attempt to recreate the tony award winning dress. As time went on I made more costumes and competed at conventions and walked away with awards. then one day visiting the fabric shop i saw a bolt black based multicolor ruffled fabric. To me that was the sign, it was time to make my dream costume.
I bought 6 yards of the fabric and cut up an old black skirt to line the material. cut 12 panels of each. In the ruffle material alternated between the multi color and the black. Sewed them to the panels from the cut up skirt. Once that was done started sewing the panels to each other. The last two seams I had to do by hand since by then the skirt was too big for the machine. in 24 hours I had finished panel skirt. I still had a yard left so i made a wrap skirt in the muilti color.
The dress was left on the shelf for a bit wile I did some more research and got to see Wicked on stage again for another look at it. it was clear this dress would have to be in layers and with different types of fabric. after testing different fabrics under the lace I choice a black sparkle velvet for the main part of the top and a black sparkle knit for the selves. I also took a purple velvet for the corset. I had taken a corset apart for the boning and I got home and put it together with the new fabric. I made the top and sleeves and got some black netting and cut and sew them individually to the sleeves and then added the sleeves to the bodice. I attached the corset to the dress using snaps.
I then bought two iron on black florals. I had never done beading on a dress before so I needed a guide. I sewed the beads onto the iron on pattern one by one till the designs were complete. I installed a heavy duty zipper into the back of the dress cause it would make it easier to get into with the green makeup on. I figured out the same stage makeup used for the show through trial and error. I bought some purple “Liquid gold” fabric bought 3 yards to make my two capes and snapped them to the dress. This way the capes could be taken off so they didn’t get snagged in the zipper. I ordered a black curl wig and found a black velvet witches hat at a thrift shop and dressed it up and installed clips into the hat so it would stay on the wig. After eight months of hard work the dress was complete.
The hardest parts for me was the corset and the beading. These two things I had never done before and the beading seemed to take forever. The funniest part was bringing out the completed dress for the first time to show my mother. She was speechless for a time, then she finally said “Its witchcraft”. I’ve taken the dress to photo shoots and entered her into a contest at a con the dress walked away with a gold medal and a free ticket for next years con. Later this year the dress will be entered into another con along side my friends Bubble dress.
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