It’s Latin Night on Dancing With The Stars, and we got the chance to chat with costume designers Steven Lee and Daniela Gschwendtner for a behind-the-scenes peek into one of our favorite parts of the show: the outfit creation. Read on below (then grab your dancing shoes).
Rue La La: Two words: wardrobe malfunction. Is there anything you do in advance to prevent one?
Steven Lee and Daniela Gschwendtner: Lots of fittings, rehearsal runs, and tons of topstick… and, most importantly, prayers to the costume gods.
RLL: Spray tans – loop us in!
SL and DG: Our dancers love their spray tans, but we’re always nervous that it could stain the costumes during rehearsal. Especially the guys, because they’re lifting and twirling their partners.
RLL: From the jive to the paso doble, we know the dances are certainly complex. Is there a dance genre that’s more complex when it comes to the costumes?
SL and DG: Each dance has its own complexity. But since we’ve created all the costumes for so long, there’s no difference in difficulty between the dances.
RLL: Each week, there’s a time crunch. How long is the concepting phase, and how many people are on your team to get the job done?
SL and DG: Our time frame from concept to completion is from Tuesday to Monday. That gives us less than a week to sketch, shop fabrics, build, fit, and rhinestone the costumes – time is always tight.
RLL: We know Mark Ballas tends to choreograph some pretty out-there routines. From a costume perspective, is this something you look forward to?
SL and DG: Mark is always very creative – we really enjoy collaborating with him. He usually wants designs that are unique, and it really challenges us to make them come to life. It often involves unusual fabrics, custom painting, and textural leathers and materials. We can really think outside of the box when designing for Mark and his partners.
RLL: Who has been your favorite contestant (or contestants) to work with?
SL and DG: We have been extremely lucky. Every contestant has been great to work with! It’s really hard to pick a favorite.
RLL: When do you breathe a sigh of relief – when the costume is done or when the dance is complete?
SL and DG: When the dance is complete. Once we’re finished with one week, we’re already starting to work on the following week.
RLL: What has been your favorite costume ever designed for the show?
SL and DG: We really love the theme weeks… especially Disney week and movie week. That’s when we really get to be creative.
RLL: What happens to the costumes after they hit the stage?
SL and DG: They get stored, and we often alter and reuse them for the extra dances we have on the show.
RLL: Talk to us about your favorite backstage moment.
SL and DG: We have many interesting guests who visit us backstage, including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, and even some famous friends of our talents.
By Brianna Lapolla, Associate Content Editor
