Why ‘The Wizard of Oz’s’ Ruby Slippers Turned Silver for ‘Wicked’

Dorothy Gale’s ruby slippers are arguably the most recognizable shoes in pop culture history. The magical pumps, which have been reinterpreted by designers like Prada and Marc Jacobs, protect “The Wizard of Oz” heroine from the evil powers of the Wicked Witch of the West, and with the click of a heel, they transport her back home to Kansas.

In “Wicked,” Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, the shoes also play an integral role, giving Elphaba’s sister, wheelchair-bound Nessarose — later known as the Wicked Witch of the East — the ability to walk. Costume designer Paul Tazewell teamed up with artisan Miodrag Guberinic to reimagine the recognizable footwear, renamed the jeweled shoes.

“They needed to resonate in an iconic way, like the ruby slipper,” Tazewell told WWD. “I wanted for it to not just be another ruby slipper, but to be specific to the world we were creating.”

As “Wicked” flies into theaters on Friday, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, WWD looks back at the original ruby slippers and reveals where they are today.

Who designed the ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz?”

In L. Frank Baum’s 1900 book “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy’s slippers aren’t ruby, but rather, silver. MGM, the production company behind “The Wizard of Oz,” wanted to take advantage of Technicolor’s groundbreaking three-strip film, as most movies at the time were shot in black and white. It was the film’s screenwriter, Noel Langley, who suggested they be red, offering a more vibrant contrast with the yellow brick road.

Initially, costume designer Adrian Adolph Greenburg, mononymously known as Adrian, created two different styles of the ruby slippers. The first featured a curled “Aladdin” toe and were used in costume tests, though it was ultimately decided that they clashed with Dorothy’s “farm girl” aesthetic.

The bow-encrusted red satin shoes audiences recognize today were originally adorned with bugle beads, but these proved too heavy, and were replaced with 2,300 sequins. Multiple pairs were produced for different purposes, including those used for close-up shots versus ones suited for dancing. The exact number of pairs made for the film is still unknown.

Where are the ruby slippers and replicas today?

Five pairs of the ruby slippers are known to have survived, including one displayed by the Smithsonian’s American Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and another at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.

At the time of “The Wizard of Oz”‘s production, film props or costumes were typically discarded, though costume designer Kent Warner managed to salvage five pairs of the ruby slippers. One was auctioned off as part of a sale of MGM memorabilia in 1970, fetching $15,000. The buyer of that pair still remains anonymous, though they were eventually donated to the Smithsonian in 1979.

The shoes in the Smithsonian’s possession were likely used during dance sequences, as the soles of each pump were lined with felt to muffle the sound.

Another pair ended up at a Christie’s auction in 2000, realizing $666,000. The buyer was David Elkouby, a known collector of Hollywood relics.

Warner ended up keeping a pair of the ruby slippers for himself, though they changed hands in 1981, when Christie’s sold them to an unknown buyer for $12,000. Out of the remaining pairs, this one is known to be in the best condition. Thirty years later, the shoes were sold again, with a price tag likely somewhere in the millions. They were acquired by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in 2012 with help from famous benefactors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg.

Warner sold yet another pair of ruby slippers to Michael Shaw, also a collector, who paid just $2,000 for them in 1970. These shoes were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005. A reward of $1 million was offered for the shoes, which were eventually recovered in a sting operation in 2018. The thief, former mobster Terry Jon Martin, was indicted in 2023 and sentenced earlier this year.

Now, the stolen pair has been put on the block by Heritage Auctions. Starting at $800,000, the shoes are included as part of their Hollywood/Entertainment Signature auction. Bidding ends Dec. 7.

The “Aladdin” toe pair of the ruby slippers was once owned by actress Debbie Reynolds, who also got them from Warner. In 2011, they were sold at an auction of Reynolds’ own collection of Hollywood memorabilia, achieving $510,000.

What was the inspiration behind the jeweled silver shoes in “Wicked”?

The rights to the original design of the ruby slippers is still owned by MGM, but this wasn’t a problem for Tazewell and the rest of the “Wicked” crew, who decided to stick with the original color of silver, as portrayed in the musical. The jeweled shoes will also appear in the sequel to “Wicked,” which is currently slated for a 2025 release.

Tazewell was tasked with creating a completely new look for the film’s characters, but he managed to incorporate some familiar elements from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” Spirals are a key motif of Tazewell’s elaborate costumes in “Wicked,” referencing the tornado that sweeps Dorothy out of Kansas.

“I have the heel starting as a tornado of jewels that swirls up and then wraps over the foot, and swirls around the foot,” Tazewell explained. “We also used short socks on Nessarose when she’s wearing the shoes, which is how we see them on Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’”

After Tazewell drew up his design, the shoes were 3D-printed by Guberinic, an artisan who recently fabricated wings for the revived Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Guberinic is also responsible for creating Glinda’s crown in “Wicked.”

The shoes were then hand-jeweled with 1,165 Preciosa crystals. Similar to the ruby slippers in “The Wizard of Oz,” multiple versions were made.

“[The jeweled shoes] were cast in the right product so that they were flexible enough to wear,” Tazewell said. “We had a pair that was just a prop version and then one that actually fit Marissa [Bode, who plays Nessarose] and could go on to her feet easily.”

Tazewell wanted the shoes to resonate as a piece of jewelry, seeking inspiration from the design of crowns such as the Boucheron Wave Tiara, made in 1910, which likely borrows its name from Hokusai’s ancient block print, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” The whereabouts of the antique Boucheron piece, embellished with hundreds of round-cut diamonds, are unknown.

“I was looking at looking at the movement of those wave shapes, and how it might relate to how we were dealing with spirals,” Tazewell said. “I was also looking at things that were more structural, like girders, so that they had more of an industrialist look, but I really just sank into the world of spirals because that seemed to be the best way to represent the most whimsical shoe that I could.”