Bloomingdale’s is getting ready to unfurl its “Wicked Good Holiday” campaign in partnership with Universal Pictures’ new movie, “Wicked,” the untold story of the witches of Oz.
The collaboration, which goes online on Nov. 5 and in-stores on Nov. 7, brings the magic of the holidays to life with a “Wicked Good Holiday” pop-up. The partnership includes an exclusive Aqua collection, an array of products for gifting, immersive in-store experiences, a takeover of the iconic “brown bag” and the 59th Street window unveiling.
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“Bloomingdale’s comes alive during the holiday season, and this year, we’re more excited than ever for what’s in store,” said Frank Berman, executive vice president, chief marketing officer at Bloomingdale’s. “The magic of ‘Wicked’ will shine through every aspect of the holiday campaign, from our iconic reimagined Santaland, to our lineup of exclusive gifts and products, and our highly anticipated window display. We’re excited to continue to bring joy and wonder into the season for our shoppers.
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“We are confident that this campaign will excite our customer and drive greater traffic to our stores and site,” Berman added.
The first installment of the movie “Wicked,” which is in two-parts, comes out Nov. 22. The second part will be released Nov. 21, 2025.
The carousel space will transport shoppers to Emerald City, with more than 100 exclusive products and 150 participating brands including Béis, Mattel, Volupsa, Stoney Clover Lane, Flamingo Estate, Sydney Evan, La Mer, Furbish and Jonathan Adler, with gifts for home, beauty, ready-to-wear and more, including those licensed and inspired by “Wicked” merchandise. The merchandise is inspired by the gravity-defying world of “Wicked” and a color palette of pink, green and metallic hues.
The partnership features Bloomingdale’s biggest Aqua collection ever, created with inspiration by Wicked’s Oscar-nominated costume designer, Paul Tazewell. The collection will consist of more than 70 items inspired by the film’s main characters, Glinda and Elphaba, spanning women’s and kids’ apparel and accessories, as well as giftable items with popular phrases from “Wicked” in the film’s iconic and pink and green palette.
In addition to “Wicked” products, Bloomingdale’s also offers up holiday gifts and stocking stuffers for men, women and kids’ in the areas of home, beauty, ready-to-wear and accessories.
To kick off the celebration on Nov. 13, Bloomingdale’s will unveil its holiday window display along Lexington Avenue at the 59th Street flagship. The night of festivities will be hosted by the star of “Wicked,” Cynthia Erivo and will feature performances from multiple Broadway stars, including Tony winner Lea Salonga and six-time Emmy nominee Tituss Burgess. They will have a partnership with Broadway Cares, Bloomingdale’s chief executive officer Olivier Bron will be on hand and there will be holiday and “Wicked” songs.
“I don’t want to give too much away but we will be closing down Lexington Avenue for a great holiday performance,” said Kevin Harter, vice president of integrated marketing and the fashion office at Bloomingdale’s.
Guests will view a dance presentation by the film’s choreographer and three-time Emmy nominee Christoper Scott and an eight-piece orchestra playing instrumental medleys from the film’s soundtrack.
The unveiling will be followed by an in-house celebration filled with additional performances, animations, immersive pop-up shops and branded vendor carts, among other activations, including an exclusive first look at this season’s Santaland.
According to Harter, “We’re really coming off this great momentum of our ‘From Italy With Love’ campaign. So I really feel this holiday and partnership with ‘Wicked’ is a continuation of that. What I’m most excited about is it really plays into our strategy of elevating our customer experience.” He said he’s excited about the combination of all the great products, the events and activations, and the holiday window unveil “which is going to be fantastic.”
“We have something for everyone,” Harter said. “This is the largest Aqua collaboration that we’ve ever done. It’s 70 pieces and it’s two deliveries, and that’s catering to part of our younger clientele.” He described the “Wicked” collection by Tazewell as having “a very holiday dress feel.” There is clothing for both holiday and entertaining, featuring a lot of green and pink. “It’s got a casual loungewear element, but there’s also a dress component to wear to holiday parties,” Harter said. There’s also a kids’ component to the collection.
Harter said La Mer is also doing special “Wicked” packaging for Bloomingdale’s with its moisturizing cream. They also have a holiday Advent calendar which is “Wicked-themed.”
“That [the cosmetics Advent calendar] is always one of our bestsellers,” Harter said. The retailer also did an Aqua costume jewelry Advent calendar. They will also be offering exclusive gifts from Sydney Evan, the jewelry designer, and the potter and interior designer Jonathan Adler.
He said he doesn’t know if it’s the biggest promotion they’ve ever done, “but we keep prioritizing these 360 experiences.
“These campaigns come alive not only with our marketing, but with our visual with our product. Even Santaland is going to have a nod to ‘Wicked,'” Harter said.
According to Harter, they are also elevating the Carousel itself. “With this strategy of making it more of a customer experience and to surprise and delight, we worked with a set designer, Stefan Beckman, and he came in and created the Emerald City. It is really fantastic. You’re really going to feel like you’re part of a movie set, but you’re going to have these great holiday gifts within the shop as well,” Harter said.
Harter said you’ll see nods to “Wicked,” throughout the store, “but you’re also going to feel holiday.”
“We want our customer to feel the holiday season throughout, so it’s a combination of both. But quite honestly, they integrate great together,” he said.
Turning to the windows, he said, “The windows on Lexington Avenue are a nod to ‘Wicked,’ and the holiday. We worked closely with Universal to create some exciting windows. Some are interactive, and you’ll feel the holiday season and the best gifts within it.”
Since “Wicked,” is a two-part movie, Harter was asked if they’ll do this again next year.
“I would say we’re not committed to doing it next year. It’s really important for us to offer our customers these unique experiences. I would say as exciting as part two will be, we’ll probably have moved on to something else,” Harter said.
Overall, he said, “We’re really stepping up our activations and events right now throughout the chain. We’ve had a really good reaction to people coming back into the stores and these experiences. Whether they’re private or open to the public, we’re elevating and increasing the amount of elevations we’ll be doing.”
Harter said they started talking about this collaboration 18 months ago. Several people on his team went to London when they were filming it. “We knew it would resonate with our customer,” Harter said.
The 59th Street flagship will be transformed, taking shoppers into the magical world of Oz through an array of immersive gift shops inspired by “Wicked’s” film sets from the land of Oz, and exclusive brand pop-ups. For example, opening the night of the window unveiling Nov. 13, Santaland will be “Oz-ified” into an enchanted forest with a pink and green twist and fitted out with a yellow brick road and a magic stations where visitors can grab wand shaped lollipops and Wicked-themed bracelets.
Shoppers can find pieces from the “Wicked”-inspired Aqua collection while immersed in Glinda and Elphaba’s dorm room, then snap a photo in one of the Aqua Mirrors. On Nov. 13 and Dec. 7, customers can also have their aura read to see if their characteristics are “pink” or “green.” Assouline will have a library pop-up, where it will bring books from the most beautiful places in the world to 59th Street for one’s coffee table.
Elsewhere, Studio59 will be transformed into a speakeasy with a specialty holiday cocktail menu and personalized poems for shoppers, including passed champagne as a gift with each purchase every Saturday throughout the holidays. Further, every Bloomingdale’s customer who spends $300 or more in-store will get to visit the exclusive holiday customization station, where they can receive a customized gift. For Bloomingdale’s American Express Cardholders, they can get the customized gift with no minimum spend.
A variety of brands will have pop-ups and customization carts. On Nov. 13, highlights include Kendra Scott macarons, Marc Jacobs cookies, Swarovski crystal lollipops, and live fashion illustrations. On Dec. 7, there will be Guest in Residence monogramming, a Jimmy Choo hot cocoa bar and custom embroidery from Eberjey. Bloomingdale’s stores across the country will showcase a curated selection of gifts and products through festive initiatives, and Wicked Good holiday celebrations.
Bloomingdale’s will continue to offer its annual limited edition holiday bear. In celebration of the “Wicked” film, Bloomingdale’s will have two Oz-ified bears inspired by the main characters, Glinda and Elphaba. Five dollars from the purchase price of each bear through Dec. 31 will benefit Bloomingdale’s long-standing partner, The Child Mind Institute.