As Seen on Strictly: Week 5

As you can imagine, things are pretty busy at DSI at the moment with the annual spooktacular that is Halloween Week only days away. But we have just enough time to look back at Week 5 – and there was so much to love about the incredible creations by Vicky Gill and her amazing team.

As always, from zoot suits to baseball costumes, it was a wonderfully varied display but our two featured favourites this week are Ashley’s exquisite rumba dress and Kate’s beautiful Viennese waltz gown.

You can’t beat a high-necked frock for pure elegance and style, and Ashley’s was created with a single layer of Navy Mesh over a Navy Lycra leotard. Her stunning figure looked wonderful in the high-cut skirt, with the exquisite stoning in Bermuda Blue and Heliotrope really standing out as the star of the show on this piece.

Meanwhile Kate’s stunning dress was created with two layers of Tan Mesh over a leotard in Tan Lycra, with one layer of Tan Mesh for the sleeves.

As for the skirt, the half-circle godets were something special and moved beautifully on the floor courtesy of our very popular Shaded Georgette in Tan to Black. Again, the stoning by DSI’s Ash was something special here in Apricot, Light Peach, Crystal AB, Crystal, Labrador, Capri Gold, White Opal, Sunrise and Light Gold Pearl – phew! Plus, check out the black frogging motifs and black-covered buttons on the back.

Another costume that received lots of attention last week was worn by Karen Hauer for her brilliant street dance. “Karen’s zoot suit was a perfect fit from the off,” says DSI’s Production Manager, Theresa Hewlett, “though unusually we altered the breast pockets to allow for the handkerchief choreography.”

Finally, Katya’s pretty polka-dot frock – with considerably less bling than the norm – also received lots of praise on Twitter and Instagram, with some demand for a DSI “day dress” collection along similar lines. (Look out for Theresa’s video of the making of the dress on Instagram and Twitter.)

“Katya’s dress was referred to as very Kate Middleton,” says costume designer Vicky Gill of the lovely frock. “I am not surprised it was popular. It’s was simple but effective.”

To hear more pearls of wisdom from our knowledgeable team, you might like to sign up for one of our Behind the Seams tours, which are booking up fast. We’ve just added several new dates to the calendar. Join us at 2pm on the following Mondays: 29th October, 12th November, 26th November and 10th December.

For more information, visit www.dsi-london.com/behindtheseams