‘Dancing With The Stars’ Costume Designer Shares What Really Happens Backstage

It's hard to believe Dancing With The Stars is already in its 19th season! Along with the anticipation to watch our favorite dancers perform each week, it's always a joy to see the intricate costumes each contestant wears as well.

With so many contestants over the show's 9-year span, it's hard to imagine exactly how head costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner and her team are able to create custom designed costumes for each contestant. However, Daniela is not intimidated by the task. According to StyleBlazer, as a veteran designer who has worked with the show from the very beginning, Daniela knows a thing or two about "creating the right look."

"The costumes are always based on the style of dance that the contestants will be performing that week," said Daniela. It's also about the emotion that goes along with it, she says. You wouldn't put Alfonso Ribeiro in a penguin suit if he's about to perform the samba."

For contestants like fashion designer Betsey Johnson, who is 61-years-old, and YouTube vlogger sensation Bethany Mota, who is 18, Daniela said there really is no difference between how they choose to dress either star. Besides the style of dance being performed, Daniela and her team make sure they create something that will make each contestant feel their best while dancing.

The DWTS design team must make at least 200 costumes over the course of the season. "We only have a few days, about 3-4 days to complete each costume. Once they tell us which style each contestant is dancing, we get to work. It can get crazy," she said with a laugh.

With that sort of time frame, wardrobe malfunctions may seem inevitable, but the DWTS costume design team has been doing this for so long that outfit mishaps are very few and far between. "When we first started the show there have been a few wardrobe malfunctions," said Daniela, "but what can we do, it's not like we can run out on the stage while the contestants are dancing to fix it. They just have to keep on dancing!"

Daniela got her start interning in the fashion offices at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bisou Bisou. She then moved on to Barney's where she eventually began her work as a celebrity stylist with clients like Nicole Kidman and Barbara Streisand.

After she left Barney's, her career really began to take off. Since then, she's worked with many celebrities and has styled ad campaigns for Lancome, Hanes, Porsche and MCM. Currently, she styles with DWTS and just launched her own Ready-To-Wear label, GDE.

As for the celebrity she would love to see in a DWTS-inspired gown? "Halle Berry," she said without hesitation.

Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m on ABC.