Around 500 dazzling costumes are created for Strictly Come Dancing each year as celebrities immerse themselves in the world of sequins and glitter.
And after each series, the wardrobe department sells off the show’s old costumes and gets rid of all used costumes in preparation for the next series.
Strictly professional Katya Jones has revealed that even the contestants’ underwear is sold out and fans can also get their hands on presenter Claudia Winkleman’s iconic looks.
Speaking in an interview with HELLO! Magazineexplained how the costume team, led by BAFTA-winning costume designer Vicky Gill, also reuses and recycles pieces throughout the series.
She revealed: ‘The Strictly wardrobe department are magicians. No one would ever know that our Remembrance Day outfits were once a Halloween dress, or that a beautiful dance dress can be turned into a salsa dress in a matter of hours.
Strictly Come Dancing’s wardrobe is being sold at auction and fans can even get their hands on the stars’ underwear, Katya Jones (pictured last year’s winners Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola) revealed.
Around 500 dazzling outfits are created for Strictly Come Dancing each year as celebrities immerse themselves in the world of sequins and glitter (pictured, Layton Williams).
‘Many of our costumes are also used for tours and even travel around the world for versions of Strictly in other countries.’
Katya explained that at the end of the series they have a ‘strictly wardrobe sale’ where more of the season’s casual items are sold to the team.
‘You can even find pants and t-shirts with a name tag ‘Nikita’ or ‘Giovanni’… as well as shirts that still have underwear on them. Sometimes Claudia Winkleman’s costumes even appear.’
While the strictly Although costumes can take shape in just over 24 hours, planning for the show’s costumes begins in May.
Wardrobe manager Vicky, who has headed the department since 2012 and whose fashion CV includes designing for Kylie, Girls Aloud and Dancing On Ice, meets with all the contestants over the summer to discover their tastes and idiosyncrasies.
Vicky and her team like to make a few dresses for each celebrity before the launch, but once the elimination process begins, it’s a week-to-week affair.
She told the Daily Mail in 2021: ‘It’s very fast-paced; I feel like we all get on a train in August and then it speeds up and it’s about keeping everyone on the train.
“We don’t know who’s going to come out, so it’s a seven to 10 day process.”
Katya revealed: ‘Strictly’s wardrobe department are magicians. No one would ever know that our Remembrance Day outfits were once a Halloween dress, or that a beautiful dance dress can be turned into a salsa dress in a matter of hours.
Vicky Gill (pictured) has headed Strictly Come Dancing’s wardrobe department since 2012 and has a fashion CV that includes designing for Kylie, Girls Aloud and Dancing On Ice.
There can be up to 500 feet of feather display per series and a feather-laden dress requires 33 feet of decoration. The costume team has even given the ostrich feather application a name: feather-ography
Having started thinking about concepts for the following week on a Thursday, once you know who survived the weekend results, you’re all set.
“On Sunday night or Monday morning I do very, very rough sketches of all the silhouettes that I think will exist within the show,” he explained.
“I need to think about the whole picture, not just one person, and then I go back to each individual and try to think about what shape I need for the dance style and what shape I think they would like to use.”
And he often works right up until the last minute, explaining, “I may not know what something should look like in terms of the color of the trim (until rehearsals), so at 7:30 p.m. I’ll put those people on a Friday, so we have 24 hours to embellish it and have it ready for Saturday.’
Latest series Claudia revealed the very surprising theme behind her Strictly Come Dancing outfits after sharing how Choose a different theme for your style each year.
In the past he has dressed as rock and roll legend Elvis Presley and even the country of France.
And for the 2023 series, the presenter designed her entire wardrobe around a pool player after a viewer commented that she was dressed like athlete Steve Davis.
Last year Claudia based her outfits around the theme of billiards.
In 2022, Claudia designed her looks based on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic.
Since seeing the comment, Claudia’s stylist Sinead McKeefry went for snooker-themed options, with the 51-year-old sporting a series of monochromatic numbers.
A source said Mirror: ‘Claudia thought the prank was very funny and there are so many bright colors on a pool table (including green felt) that it seemed like the perfect opportunity to have fun.’
In 2022, Claudia styled her look based on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic and even had a cardboard cutout of the pop icon in her dressing room.
The previous year he dressed “only like France.”