Ariana Grande Inverts Her Pink ‘Wicked’ Method Dressing in Vintage Lilli Diamond at Paris Premiere

Ariana Grande arrived at the Paris Opera on Friday night in a vintage 1950s Lilli Diamond silk dress, marking the first meaningful shift in the pink-forward wardrobe she has maintained throughout the nearly two-year “Wicked” promotional cycle. The appearance, tied to the Paris premiere of “Wicked: For Good,” kept the method-dressing concept intact — but restructured it. Instead of leading with pink, Grande put the color on the inside, a move that has become increasingly common leading up to the release of the sequel.

The dress, sourced from Timeless Vixen, featured a ruched black bodice with thin straps and three-dimensional fuchsia floral appliqués across the neckline. The coordinating coat was cut from the same black silk, with the fuchsia satin lining visible only when the hem lifted. The effect preserved the Glinda signal without repeating the full monochrome palette she predominantly relied on for screenings, television tapings and photocalls while promoting the first film in the two-part musical epic.

The earlier phase of her “Wicked: For Good” era has leaned visibly pink — a two-tone Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood dress opened the tour in New York — but there were exceptions. At CinemaCon last April, Grande traded Glinda pink for a black strapless velvet dress; at the MTV VMAs in September, she wore a vintage strapless black Fendi gown with a pink pleated peplum that pushed the color to accent rather than headline; and in early January at Palm Springs, she chose a black vintage Chanel dress. Those detours foreshadowed Paris, where the styling again backs away from surface-level pink and redistributes it to the interior.

While the dress was vintage, her footwear choice was much more modern. Grande paired the dress with black Balenciaga Knife pumps — a pointed-toe, stiletto-heel style that has won over a slew of celebrity fans. Jewelry was minimal, and her hair was pulled into a high twisted bun, a to-go look for the Good Witch.

Lilli Diamond, active from the 1940s through the 1970s, was known for occasion dresses with contrast linings and appliquéd bodices — a construction detail visible in surviving catalog advertisements and red carpet archival sourcing. Grande’s use of a mid-century label fits the broader pattern of her “Wicked” press tour, which has alternated between contemporary runway and historically sourced pieces.

“Wicked: For Good,” starring Grande and Cynthia Erivo, opens Nov. 21.