Filipino craftsmanship showcased in ‘Wicked’ costume design

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in “Wicked” | Image: Instagram/@arianagrande

At the very start of the screen adaptation of the Broadway classic “Wicked,” viewers are swept into a decrepit-looking hall towards a wide-brimmed conical shaped hat, if a little askew, resting on a puddle of water, with a big round window as backdrop.

This iconic witch’s hat owned by Glinda Upland (played by Ariana Grande) and eventually given to Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) happened to have a Filipino connection, as did other hats in the film, courtesy of its senior milliner Harvy Santos, who is a Filipino now based in the United Kingdom.

Santos came a long way and found his own yellow brick road to the Land of Oz, now working on the film’s most iconic costume pieces. “I originally came from the Philippines. My fascination for costume started when I was six,” he said in a mini feature released by Universal Pictures.

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Like many dreamers wanting to break into Hollywood, Santos started his career in a completely different path, as a dancer at the Hong Kong Ballet, then saved enough money to start educating himself on costumes.

“I used to be a ballet dancer. All of the money that I got from dancing, every payday I would buy myself books on garment construction and costume design.” He went on to study millinery at Kensington and Chelsea colleges, and his award-winning hats have been featured in magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and other fashion publications.

Working on “Wicked,” Santos found the process of creating hats that become symbols of empowerment and strength enjoyable.

Ariana Grande as Glinda holding the iconic hat worn by Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Image from “Wicked” / Universal Pictures

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba poised to take flight wearing Santos’ hat. Image from “Wicked” / Universal Pictures

“Millinery is like sculpture, we started playing with materials, to experiment with shapes,” he said. “Until this post, it’s still fascinating, it’s still challenging, and I quite like those challenges because I get to be inventive and creative with it.”

Santos said he is thrilled to be part of putting the magic inside the world of Wicked through his work. “Every day, I’m part of what I have accomplished, and knowing the fact that you are contributing on an epic film, that’s very exhilarating.” he says.

“Wicked,” the first of two Universal Pictures films based on a Broadway prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” is currently being shown in local cinemas and abroad. It topped the US and global box office, pulling in $114 million at US and Canadian theaters, plus $50.2 million in international markets, for a global total of $164.2 million.