Strictly Come Dancing's Wardrobe Secrets And Why You Might Spot The Same Outfits In More Than One Series

8 November 2019, 16:33

A lot of organisation goes into the Strictly Come Dancing wardrobe.

The gorgeous outfits on Strictly Come Dancing are just one of the factors that get viewers talking about the programme, as each of the contestants are clad in sparkles, tassels and glitter every week without fail.

This year there's not yet been any wardrobe malfunctions, but there are a number of tactics the production crew use to ensure there aren’t any mishaps.

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Strictly’s wardrobe team also ensure nothing goes to waste, by passing on some of the outfits and recycling them into new ensembles.

Eagle-eyed viewers noticed toward the start of the current series that professional dancer Amy Dowden was wearing a dress previously worn by Alexandra Burke when the pop star took part in the competition in 2017.

The dress was a sparkly silver number adorned with shimmering tassels, but when Amy wore it it was given thinner, plain shoulder straps, whereas Alexandra’s version had tassels on the straps.

And that’s not the first outfit to receive a refresh; the fashion team often sew into the dresses and suits to make amendments or add new details.

If they’re not given a new design, costumes are passed on to dance companies and retailers to be worn by someone else.

The fashion and design team are also experts at avoiding embarrassing wardrobe mishaps, there’s even one person on hand to check the stars’ outfits before they go onto the dance floor.

2014 contestant Scott Mills previously told The Mirror: “There was a man just to check that my fly was not undone… The make-up artist will do final checks a bit before you go down the stairs. Then a man was like, 'Just checking your flies’.”

When their ensembles involve shirts, believe it or not, it’s not a simple art of tucking which is keeping their outfit in place but, in fact, the men are dressed in leotards to ensure a neat and tidy finish.

Costume designer Vicky Gill told OK! online in 2017 they also use built-in bras, romper suits and angled straps to avoid any awkward flashes when the contestants are being flipped around.

Vicky appeared on Strictly’s spin-off show It Takes Two recently to discuss an outfit change of Saffron Barker’s, revealing she had to make a last-minute change to her outfit to keep her modesty in tact.

Instead of wearing sparkly knickers (as per the original plan) beneath her dress for her and AJ Pritchard’s Salsa on Saturday 2 November, Saffron wore a sturdy pair of black high-waisted knickers.

Explaining the change, Vicky told the show’s host Zoe Ball: “To be honest, nothing drastic [changed], we had lots of lovely young faces in our dress rehearsal on Saturday.

“And there was a lot going on and some people were a little bit scared and some people were like, ‘We love it’. So, when we were going to live, I had to make the decision, are we going for safety first or are we going for the sparkly knickers? And I caved and went for that.”

Vicky designs all 400 of the costumes for every series.

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