We finally know where Elphaba got her infamous ‘sex cardigan’ from in Wicked: For Good

A particularly unusual clothing item from the Wicked films has been holding space in everybody’s brains. I cannot escape memes about the “sex cardigan” Elphaba wears in Wicked: For Good. Thankfully, the actual costume designer from Wicked has answered our burning questions about where Elphaba actually got this unorthodox item from. Yes, even the cardigans in Wicked have complicated backstories.

Apparently, the costume designer Paul Tazewell put a lot of thought into what clothing Elphaba would realistically have for her love scene with Fiyero in the woods. He told NPR: “It came out of very literally an organic decision of ‘What does Elphaba have access to?’ And, ‘Living alone, what choice would she make when she’s looking for a robe, some way to be protective and warm?’ It’s operating as her robe for that moment.”

Elphaba was taking no chances when Fiyero got in that treehouse. Broke out the good lingerie and her sex cardigan. pic.twitter.com/hIZEVoBr8A

— Karl Delossantos (@karl_delo) November 21, 2025

So, he came up with lore for where Elphaba could have got her sex cardigan from. “She’s got a loom in her treehouse, where she’s weaving her own clothing,” he continued, “she’s manifesting all these things from the elements that are around her, and the sweater is just in keeping with that.”

Woah, so it’s a magical cardigan?

I would argue that the item looks like it was knitted with needles, not woven on a loom. But perhaps Elphaba has some magical methods for handicrafts…

Time for the cardigan to shine
(Image via Universal Pictures)

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Paul Tazewell felt it wouldn’t have made sense for Elphaba to have more conventional lingerie. He continued: “Now indeed, you could say, ‘Well, why wasn’t it a black, slinky peignoir?’ But where would she get that? Well, why would she even have it? I think that it just follows through with reasonable choices that define who a character is and what is important for them, where their priorities are.”

Well, I’m glad we’ve cleared that up. We can all sleep at night, now.

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Featured images via Universal Pictures.