"Dancing with the Stars" Costumes

One of my primetime TV guilty pleasures is “Dancing With the Stars”. Not only is it fun to watch B (and lower) list celebrities shake their groove things on the dancefloor, but I also love to watch and see what costumes the dancers are going to be wearing. The costumer for DWTS is Randall Christensen and the bright, spandex-y, creations he puts the celebrities are always a joy to view. The costume process works like this: Christensen meets with the dancers and has about 15-20 minutes to converse with them about what they want to wear. The wardrobe is usually a combination of the dancer’s personal style and they type of dance that will be performed. For example, if its Salsa week, then more than likely the female dancers will be wearing skirts and/or dresses with sweeping hemlines and tops with bare midriffs. He then has 6 days to sketch, construct, and fit the costumes to the dancers.  Each costume usually ranges from $3,000-$5,000 a piece and can only be worn once. Usually the costumes are one piece because that makes it easier for the dancers to move in and it eliminates too much clothing which can hinder a dancers movement. Some common elements seen week to week are rhinestones (in which 1.2 million are used by the end of the season), sheer materials, and of course lycra.

DWTS costumes make each dancing episode that much more interesting to watch because you never know what you’re going to see and its always fun to see how Christensen combines the culture of the dance with both fashion and the dancer’s personality.

Here’s a link to more beautiful costumes.

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