‘Wicked Green’ is the colour of the moment – and it’s flattering for everyone

Bing Crosby might be dreaming of a White Christmas, but for a growing number of women, there’s only one colour to be seen in this festive season – and it’s not brown, despite its current popularity. The most ubiquitous shade of the year? That accolade would indisputably have to go to green.

Consider the evidence. There we all were, minding our own business in those early days of summer when along came “brat green”, hitting us like a particularly lurid juggernaut. Until Charli XCX released her album, Brat, in June, “brat green” had hitherto been known as “lime” – a hue which many women had studiously spent their lives avoiding, on account of it making them look peaky at best, sick as a parrot at worst.

“I wanted to go with an offensive, off-trend shade of green to trigger the idea of something being wrong,” said Charli in a Vogue interview, adding that she’d experimented with 65 colours before landing on this particularly putrid shade. Thanks to what is surely one of the world’s most successful – or at least relentless – marketing campaigns of modern times, “brat green” rapidly became unavoidable. Marketeers adopted the shade to sell everything from vegan bratwurst to Kamala Harris (the Harris campaign’s official Twitter page changed its branding to embrace the lurid hue). By the time Architectural Digest came to run a think piece about “brat green’s” significance in July, most women were on their knees begging for “Barbie Pink” to come back into fashion again – at least it was flattering.

That didn’t happen. What has happened, however, is the emergence of a pleasing alternative to “brat” that is just as green, but far more flattering to wear. Drumroll, please, for “wicked green”.

Just as “brat green” defined summer, so too is “wicked green” set to define winter, thanks to an equally potent marketing campaign on the part of Wicked, the film based on the smash hit musical based on the 1995 novel based on the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz (itself based on a 1900 novel by L Frank Baum).

Released in UK cinemas on Friday, the Wicked press tour has seen Cynthia Erivo (who plays Elphaba) gracing red carpets and TV studios dressed in a series of looks incorporating “wicked green”, starting off with a bang at the Olympics’ opening ceremony in July, dressed in a custom-made strapless gown by Louis Vuitton.

Aided by her stylist, Jason Bolden, Erivo has rung the changes in a number of high fashion green looks, including a jewelled shift dress by Erdem, a Marc Jacobs suit and a shiny patent bustier and skirt set by Louis Vuitton. She’s also incorporated green into her look in a series of subtler ways. At the London premiere earlier this week, she wore a black velvet and tulle gown by Schiaparelli Couture, her only nod to green courtesy of her bejewelled green manicure.

Erivo has done a masterful job in persuading us that “wicked green” can be our new go-to festive party hue. Less cliched than red, cobalt or purple but equally jewel-like, it’s a cheerful, uplifting shade that flatters most skin tones. What “brat green” was to lime, so “wicked green” is to emerald – its next door neighbour on the colour spectrum, but ramped up a tone or two. There’s a grassier element to “wicked green” that immediately draws the eye towards it.

Those who remember the impact of Kiera Knightley’s delicious green satin dress in the 2007 film Atonement will already have its impact stored in their memory bank. When it comes to partywear, ideally, this is the shade (and the effect) that you are looking for. Taller Marmo, one of Olivia Colman’s favourite brands, currently has a few dresses in this exact hue.

Although “wicked green” is too pleasing a colour to be contained to cocktail hour. According to the colour expert Jules Standish, this particular shade is also a good option for a job interview, since it conveys the wearer is someone capable of fair judgement and balanced decision making. “It also helps show your kind side, and your ability to solve conflicts and bring about peaceful solutions,” she adds. Someone hand Putin a “wicked green” tie.

A fan herself, Standish also believes “wicked green” can bring out the wearer’s kittenish side. “It’s a great colour to embrace over the festive season, as although it’s a striking shade, it’s also calming to wear.” Indeed, green has always been symbolic of happy things such as wellness, growth, fertility and renewal, as well as being worn for luck in Ireland and India.

As for how to integrate it into your wardrobe, it rather depends on the effect you’re after. While “through colour” is still a trend, it’s understandable that head to toe green might have you feeling like a leprechaun, a Celtic fan or an ensemble member of the Wicked cast. An easier approach would be to choose one item and wear it with softer colours such as off-white, navy or mid-blue.

“Wicked green” also lends itself particularly well to knitwear (Toast and Me + Em both currently carry the perfect shade) which in turn lends itself very well to jeans. Or for a bolder look, do as Miuccia Prada does, and team it with pale pink. The two shades might not seem to go together, but they work: just look at Ariana Grande’s pale pink dresses next to Cynthia Erivo’s green ones throughout the Wicked press tour.

If you can’t be persuaded to wear any green, wicked or otherwise, jewellery is another effective way to nod to the trend. Rather than emeralds, you could consider favourite garnets, which have a slightly lighter, grassier hue. “They’re expensive when compared to other garnets, but their energy is very potent,” says the jewellery designer Amy Russell Taylor. “They’re also believed to inspire perseverance, determination and strength.” We could all do with more of that.

Find your style

Taller Marmo Satin gown, £1,130, My Theresa

Omnes Recycled polyester dress, £89, John Lewis

Plisse top, £89, Whistles

Cashmere vest, £125, Me+Em

Metallic pleated skirt, £150, Boden

The Frankie Shop Bomber jacket, £362, Net-a-Porter

Metallic leather bag, £525, Cambridge Satchel Company

Wool cashmere cardigan, £215, Toast

Velvet bow, from £45, VV Rouleaux

Suede trainers, £145, Jigsaw

Cord and nylon bracelet, £230, Miu Miu