Marc Jacobs creates a collection inspired by The Wizard of Oz, especially Dorothy. It is an excuse to be campier than ever

We were looking for the Yellow Brick Road, but we did not find it. To be certain, we knew for sure we were not in Kansas at all. Nor Munchkinland. Rather, we were in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Or, to be more specific, Sogo Department Store, at the corner of the building, where the dead end of Lockhart Road and Hennessy Road meet. Marc Jacobs has created a ‘house’—just beside the lifts to the upper floors—to be the temporary habitat of his one-off capsule that celebrates the 85th anniversary of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, which is among Mr Jacobs’s favourites. The store was fronted by a juvenile interpretation of a house, with a thatched roof, under which was the door in the middle and two windows on each side, presumably to depict the farmhouse in which Dorothy Gale sought shelter from the tornado. It was more cartoonish than the set of the film.

When we spotted the the brick road of yellow, it was not made of bricks, but, plush carpet, marked out to be that pathway, but looked like something from a playground in, say, 南山邨, the residential estate of Nam Shan Chuen. By contrast, the walls of the interior were gleaming in lacquer red. And mere steps from the entrance was one side of the iconic ruby slippers—heeled, vertiginous, and as big as a playground slide. The actual wearable shoes that could be purchased were the sequined Kiki Platform Mary Janes (S$885), seemingly designed to appeal to participants RuPaul’s Drag Race, nothing Dorothy could wear and dance in throughout the movie-musical. As for the tribute merchandise, they were mostly images/graphics from the film applied on what is largely the brand’s staple pieces. Strictly for the film’s fan, such as Mr Jacobs himself.

The Wizard of Oz musical, screened in 1939, was Judy Garland’s breakout role. She was 17, and Dorothy Gale won the actress her one and only Oscar, the Academy Juvenile Award (discontinued after 1961). And the film’s song Over the Rainbow, which won the Oscar for Best Original Song, subsequently became her personal anthem, synonymous with hope, dreams, and the desire for a brighter future—themes that resonated with people of all backgrounds, but in particular with the LGBTQ+ community, especially gay men. Over the Rainbow, apart from mentioning the optical phenomena that is behind the six-colour flag that represents the homosexual identity, is also a song from which the marginalised and the misunderstood drew—and continue to draw—strength and encouragement.

Ms Garland’s performance has been described as “timeless” yet, no matter how celebrated it has been, the making of The Wizard of Oz was an experience for her that was frequently described as “challenging”. During the production, it was said that the studio pressured and exploited her, even putting her on a diet (rumoured to be cigarettes, chicken soup, and coffee) to ensure she looked youthfully slender. She was only 16 when she started filming in 1938. Yet, that was not young enough for the producers. Apart from the grueling schedules, she had to endure physical pain. The famous blue gingham pinafore she wore—which, surprisingly, is not recreated by Marc Jacobs (except the blue checks applied on bags and accessories)—hid the discomfort of wearing a corset, fastened tightly to ensure she looked slimmer, and girlish.

The use of the images of Dorothy and company in the MGM film by a fashion label is not, of course, new. For his debut Louis Vuitton collection in 2019, the late Virgil Abloh, too, had shone the spotlight on the colourful characters. But it would take Mr Jacobs to put a more flamboyant spin on what is already considered a campy film version of the story that was originally a book series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by Lyman Frank Baum. Still, there was some laziness to the execution. Most of the recognisable iconographies were just plonked on the merchandise or what Marc Jacobs called their “signature silhouettes”. They appeared on T-shirts (‘Box Tees’), on hoodies, and on bags (the ‘Mini Sack’ and the ‘Tote Bag’), leaving you with no doubt that Mr Jacobs is a Friend of Dorothy.

Pop culture reference is, of course, very much a Marc Jacobs thing. The film’s lasting impact on pop culture has influenced designers eager to tap the characters’ relatability. But The Wizard of Oz, as a cultural touchstone for everything, from American identity (MAGA? Or is the story too liberal?) to far-out adventure and to wish-fulfilment, is used by not just designer brands, but mass market labels too, including Uniqlo and sister brand GU, whose collaboration with Undercover this season yielded products more alluring than Marc Jacobs’s. Camp could be a creative choice, just as the sparkly ruby slippers were (in the book, the footwear is silver), but design wit could better ensure the characters’ fashion longevity.

The Wizard of Oz X Marc Jacobs capsule is also available at Takashimaya Department Store. Photos: Perrier Cheng for SOTD