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Hairspray Live Fashion Secrets Revealed: Ariana Grande's Nerdy Turn, 40,000 Crystals and More

Costume designer Mary Vogt breaks down NBC's latest live musical production's bright and fun costumes ahead of its Dec. 7 performance

By Tierney Bricker Dec 05, 2016 2:00 PMTags
Hairspray Live! NBC

2016, welcome to the sixties.

NBC's latest live musical Hairspray Live is taking us back to the '60s, thanks to its seriously big, bold and beautiful colors, retro prints, and, of course, hairspray. So. Much. Hairspray.

Mary Vogt is the costume designer behind the live production, which airs on Wednesday, Dec. 7, and she gave E! News all of the behind-the-scenes secrets of pop culture's latest trip to Baltimore, which includes 40,000 hand-sewn crystals. (No, that's not a typo!) 

With a few different wells to pull inspiration from, given Hairspray's long history since its debut in 1988, Vogt told us she tried to mix them all when it came to her take on the live production's costumes. "I tried to take a little realism from the '60s, but the color of the play and some of the eccentric quality from the John Waters film that started the whole thing."

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Everything You Need to Know About Hairspray Live's Colorful Costumes

Vogt revealed that many of the A-list, which includes Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth and Martin Short, cast offered "great suggestions" about their costumes, and she encouraged them to speak up about any changes they'd like to see. "You have to work with the actors because they're the ones wearing the clothes, it's their character, they're creating it," she explained. "It's about them, it's not about the clothes. And with these actors, you don't have to worry, but usually you want to make sure the clothes don't overpower the actor. In this case, it's impossible. They very much guide the process."

The most involved, of course, was Harvey Fierstein, who made the role of Edna Turnblad famous on Broadway, who Vogt said she "always sent sketches to first," as well as Dancing With the Stars' Derek Hough, who "knows absolutely everything about dance clothes," and even has his own tailor he's worked with for years.

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Ariana Grande Won't Get a New Song In Hairspray Live!

And Vogt even put Hough, who plays dance show host Corny Collins, to work in order to test the durability of the male dancers' pants, asking to "try and rip his suits," hoping to avoid any live wardrobe malfunctions. "We don't want to be embarrassed," she said with a laugh. 

Vogt joined the creative team early on, when rumors about the cast were just beginning, which helped her come up with each character's look. "There were a lot of rumors, but the rumors were all big people, so you knew the quality of the cast—that's what they were going to go with. I knew that they were all stars. One after another, it was like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. They're just so fantastic and with this cast, you can do bright colors because you don't want the clothes to be brighter or bigger than the personality of the actor, and with these actors, it's impossible. It's impossible to make anything brighter than them."

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Inside the Fun Retro Fashion of Grease: Live
NBC

Arguably one of the biggest stars to join the cast was Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton, Tracy's nerdy BFF, and Vogt said the pop star took "a real personal interest" in her character, wanting her to "be very nerdy." Of course, she still needed her six-inch boots.

"They're like six inches tall! And they're cheap! I said, 'Are you sure you can dance in these horrible, cheap, tall boots?!! She said, 'Yeah, they're comfortable!' She's really amazing."

For more secrets about Hairspray Live's colorful fashion, click through our gallery for the inside scoop from costume designer Mary Vogt. 

Hairspray Live airs Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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