In Wicked, the slippers are silver mainly to honor the original Oz books and avoid copying the 1939 movie’s ruby slippers.

Connection to the original book

In L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s magical shoes are silver, not ruby, and Wicked (both stage and film) deliberately follows that book detail. Gregory Maguire’s Wicked novel also describes Nessa’s shoes as silvery or crystal-like, so silver slippers keep the adaptation consistent with that source as well.

Legal and design reasons

The ruby slippers as seen in the 1939 MGM film are a specific visual invention that remains protected as part of that movie’s intellectual property, so other studios cannot freely replicate that exact design and color association. Using silver instead lets Wicked evoke Baum’s world while sidestepping those rights issues and visually differentiating itself from the classic film.

Symbolism and aesthetic

Some scholars read Baum’s original silver shoes on the Yellow Brick Road as a subtle reference to the late‑19th‑century debate over silver and gold currency, symbolism that returns when Wicked restores the silver color. Designers have also noted that silver or crystal slippers fit neatly into fairytale imagery (like Cinderella’s glass slipper) and give more flexibility for lighting and magical visual effects on stage and on screen.