‘Wicked sex cardigan’ explained as viewers distracted by Elphaba’s outfit

Warning: This article includes spoilers for Wicked: For Good

It may have divided viewers, but Wicked: For Good costume designer Paul Tazewell has explained the reasoning behind the controversial 'Wicked sex cardigan'.

The highly anticipated film hit cinemas on Friday (21 November), providing a second part to last year's blockbuster Wicked - a prequel to the goings-on of the Wizard of Oz.

Fans of the first film - and the musical it was based on - flocked to the cinemas to see Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in action as the beloved witches, Glinda and Elphaba.

But, there was one eagerly awaited scene between Elphaba and Fiyero - played by the 'Sexiest Man Alive' Jonathan Bailey - that went viral online, and not exactly for the right reasons.

The scene in question sees the pair get it on while singing the film's sexiest song, 'As Long as You're Mine'.

Viewers of Wicked: For Good were left divided by 'Elphaba's sex cardigan' (Instagram/@cynthiaerivo)

Elphaba whisks Fiyero away to her cosy treehouse lair and slinks off to another room, only to emerge wearing a long, chunky-knit grey cardigan over her lingerie.

Dubbed the 'Wicked sex cardigan', her choice of attire quickly went viral, with many fans dismayed at this dampening down of one of the movie's spicier scenes.

One social media user wrote: "Can’t stop thinking about Elphaba’s grey cardigan."

And another penned: "Elphaba’s sex cardigan is so insanely distracting in wicked 2."

Others defended the tattered knit, or at least saw the funny side of things.

"Those who are hating on Elphaba’s cardigan just don’t know the powers a truly comfy cardigan can hold over a girl," one person said.

Meanwhile, another joked: "Somebody is leaving money on the table by not selling Elphaba sex cardigans. I want one in every colour."

The film's costumer designer Paul Tazewell has explained that it adds to the intimacy of the scene (Universal)

Well, the film's costume designer has since spoken out about the significance of the 'sex cardigan'.

Backing up the argument that it actually adds to the tentative intimacy of the scene, Wicked: For Good costume designer Paul Tazewell spoke to the Evening Standard, saying: "It came out of lots of conversations around how we represent this very intimate moment, the big moment where the two lovers are coming together.

"We see the green skin of her legs and her arms, normalising that for the two of them so that we can actually feel that love connection."

Glamour has also made a case for the cardigan, saying it makes sense outside the context of the scene, citing that it's Elphaba's first time being intimate with Fiyero (and perhaps anyone).

"Plus, we know that she doesn't exactly always feel comfortable in her own skin," write Meg Walters pens.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that she grabbed a cosy cardi to cover herself up with.