
"Dancing with the Stars" costume designer Randall Christensen stitched up the unexpected this week and let the celebrity contestants put their own flirty spin on costumes for the tango, quickstep and paso doble.
Kendra Wilkinson wore an elegant confection of glittering fuchsia and red organza --not the predictable black lace --for her tango. And 61-year-old actress Kirstie Alley continued to bravely show off her slimmed-down frame in voluminous tulle, black sparkly leggings and peek-a-boo leopard bra straps.
Here, Christensen takes us behind-the-seams to dish on some of the best looks of the night.
Adam Taylor, ABC
Alley: The inspiration for her big flirt jive look was the "Cha Cha" character from "Grease." Her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, ordered up the sparkling leggings for his partner. "We wanted to expose those naughty leopard bra straps and we covered her shoes in leopard on Friday," Christensen says. After her first fitting, Christensen ripped off an over-skirt to expose the layers of tulle. Then, Alley asked for more sparkle on her leggings, which was applied an hour before show time. "Of course, I couldn't deny her THAT."
Hines Ward and Kym Johnson: The football pro channeled James Bond in a tango hall, wearing a white dinner jacket, while his partner wore an ultra-sexy, one-shoulder lace gown with a seductive rose fastened at the skirt's leg-baring hip slit. "The black lace over the nude mesh was the ultimate tango dress. And Hines was Bond -- suave, sophisticated and masculine."
Adam Taylor, ABC
Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff: Climbed to the top of the leader board in a kelly green roaring '20s inspired ensemble that produced as much drama backstage as it did in the ballroom. Christensen had to rework Smirnoff's look hours before the live show after fringe for a planned skirt was sent out for dye and came back the wrong color. "It was a moss green, yikes," says Christensen. "Karina was a real trooper trusting us to bring the newly conceived skirt idea to reality."
Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas: Her head-to-toe lace body stocking wasn't exactly a typical Paso Doble look. Nor were the edgy goth details on partner Ballas' jacket, but Christensen is game for the young Disney star's desire for unusual costumes. "Traditional paso doble? No! Perfectly appropriate for her age, music and talent? Absolutely!"
For more "Dancing with the Stars" fashion scoop read last week's recap.
And check out Smirnoff's whopper of an engagement ring.