‘Dancing With the Stars’ Costume Designers Reveal Their Favorite Looks (PHOTOS)

“I’ll always call it ‘The Amazing Race of Costuming’ because we never know what the challenge of the week will be,” says costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner, who, with Steven Norman Lee (below), keeps sambas sparkling and cha-chas chic on Dancing With the Stars. “Sometimes the ones that look really intricate and difficult come together much faster,” she says. “Sometimes in the fitting, celebrities don’t feel comfortable in something.”

Problems must be solved quickly. The turnaround time from concept to completion is under a week. The designers’ job begins with a day of virtual meetings with the show’s creative producers, during which they see visuals of the lighting, sets and overall vision for each dance. “Ideas come from that,” Lee says. They meet each couple and discuss looks. “We sketch along as they say things,” says Gschwendtner, who draws by hand; Lee uses digital tools. “Decisions are made so fast,” she adds. “We may hold drawings up to the screen or text them. If something’s not right, we can pivot right then and there.”

The initial sketch is taken to the workrooms. A team of nine to 11 people start creating the female looks with Gschwendtner, while a smaller tailor’s team make men’s costumes with Lee, who calls them “superheroes.” Next comes the first of three fittings. “You get an idea down, but what if the person wants the neckline lower or higher?” Gschwendtner says. The final fitting is the day before the show. Outfits get “rhinestoned” in the last 24 hours.

Fabrics have to be what the pair call “danceable.” For the men, “If we were to shop [for a suit], the pants wouldn’t have enough stretch and it would rip in the crotch, the shoulders would rise. We have to build every suit to give them mobility,” Lee says. For the women, costumes start with a stretchy base, which is overlain with “more expensive fabrics that look a little less like dance wear,” Gschwendtner says. “We normally use silk for the skirts because it moves the best.”

Used costumes go into storage. They don’t generally get reused for main dances, but, Lee says, “if we had a huge opening number, we have the red suits, the red dresses that we could throw on everybody for that. Sometimes we use [past outfits] for a tour.” Gschwendtner recalls, “We did a Disney opening number with [Aladdin‘s] Genie from Broadway, and we had some of our oldest dresses on that and revamped them. I watched it and was like, ‘Damn, those look so good again. Just get more stones!’”

No matter how great a costume, these designers know it won’t work unless the wearer is happy. “Week 1 is the hardest because we don’t know the stars yet and we have to be careful,” Gschwendtner says. “We under-design.” Lee continues, “We get football players, basketball players, astronauts, people who have never worn any type of costumes before, let alone performed on a full stage with millions of viewers. You have to consider how they feel and what they’re comfortable with.”

In the gallery below, check out the designers’ favorite looks.