For Randall Christensen and his wardrobe team at ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," the next 10 weeks are going to be a crystal-encrusted, chiffon-wrapped blur.
"Dancing" is known as much for its dazzling costumes as its disco-ball trophy. Every week, celebrity contestants and their professional partners step out in costumes ranging from glamorous to outrageous; from swingy dresses reminiscent of Ginger Rogers and old Hollywood elegance to skimpy spangled hot pants.
Each outfit is one-of-a-kind, handmade and custom-designed with the dancer's personality, figure and ability in mind. They're couture pieces, cut and assembled by veteran costumers and seamstresses from fabrics selected specifically for each performance. Every feather wisp is glued on individually, each rhinestone and sequin carefully sewn on by hand. And the entire episode's attire is conceived of, styled and stitched into reality in about four days.
"People really don't realize that there's no magic closet that we pull this from. It is a bolt of fabric every Wednesday," said Christensen, a dancer who has been making costumes professionally since 1978. "We never use a ready-made costume. … Every single solitary thing is made from scratch."
During the season premiere, 22 custom-made costumes and 11 new stars made their debut. Each contestant is paired with a professional dancer who choreographs and teaches the week's routines and dreams up the costume concepts.
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Christensen translates their visions into sketches on Tuesday and buys the fabrics on Wednesday. His team of two patternmakers and 10 seamstresses transforms the raw materials into costumes by Friday.
Their workroom contains the highest concentration of sequins anywhere at CBS Television City, where "Dancing" is filmed. Along one wall are bolts of fabric: shimmery purple, emerald green and royal blue — materials ordered from a company in Europe where the fringe, stretch fabric, mesh and chiffon all match.
Fourteen sewing machines and mannequins from size 0 to 16 are in the room, as are costumes in various stages of creation. (A tiny pewter beaded number sits on a plastic-covered dress form outfitted with "booty pads.")
And the gowns aren't just gorgeous on the outside; bra cups and body-shaping panels are hidden inside to provide a solid foundation and prevent wardrobe malfunctions.
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Christensen also has to consider the show's requisite spray tans when it comes to each costume's color and fit: "They're going to be mahogany by Monday; they just keep spraying and spraying," he said. "We can't use double-stick tape. It does not stick with the perspiration, the gyration and the tanning creams. So if it's gaping somewhere, we have to take that dress off, rip the stones off, put a dart in, re-sew it and re-stone it."
The crew has a few hours to correct wardrobe issues between Monday's dress rehearsal and that night's live show.
Seamstresses sit at large tables at one end of the room, meticulously adding fringe, feathers and crystals to some of Monday's outfits. Each is assigned a celebrity. If her dancer is eliminated, she assists another dressmaker. Since season two, these 10 women have worked together, creating couture gowns at a breakneck pace.
"We enjoy what we do; that's the most important thing," said seamstress Karina Avakyan, adding that they like the creativity, glamour and reward of seeing their work during prime time.
"You see your job all the time on TV," she said, "and you feel proud of yourself that you did such a beautiful job. It's very exciting."
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