\n<\/p>\n
What’s the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars<\/em>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.<\/p>\n “We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair],” costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner<\/strong>\u00a0told TV Insider<\/a> back in 2017. “Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That\u2019s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It\u2019s a big enterprise.”<\/p>\n In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee<\/strong> said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department “might use a pair of pants again for the boys,” he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.<\/p>\n As Gschwendtner added, “We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don\u2019t reuse things unless there\u2019s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n