Luke Judge

When did you start making dancesport costumes?

Hmm!! Let me think about it!… It was actually when we first started dancing with Mike. Our first outing was in 2000 at the Pink Jukebox, so it was a year earlier preparing for it that I started making our own outfits.

That year we had our Latin trousers made from Ron Gun, one of the best tailor in the industry and then of course we had to think of tops. Well this is when I decided to have a go at it and well the rest is history.

I have to mention two people who were my guinea pigs Kerry Simons and Katsutoshi Nikagawa. The names wont mean a lot to lots of you but they were my first customers.

For the record Kerry did compete at the Pink Jukebox, a few years ago together with her sister Joanne and won the 2nd place in womens A Latin.

Katsutoshi asked me where I had had my shirts made and the next think I knew I was making one for him.

Then Kerry asked me if Id be interested in making a dress for her then one for her sister and so on. Within a few months my name was passed around and I was making outfits for everyone.

I had the privilege of making outfits for a few top junior and juvenile dancers in the UK at the time. For some of you who might have watched the programme Baby Ballroom the girl Ellie Smith wore dresses that I made for her and the design of the Juvenile team which performed on the BBCs first series of Strictly Come Dancing, it was mine.

I wish I knew better when BBC asked me, if they could copy my design. At least I can say I was the first one to make a Juvenile dress in panels and not as a leotard with the skirt attached to it.

How did you develop this skill?

My mum was a dress maker and a very good one I have to say. I have a brother and a sister and we all grew up amongst threads, needles and Singer sewing machines. My mum has always been busy making things for other people and she never had time to make things for us. Well, to be fair, she did but once we could reach the pedal on the sewing machine we were taking our trousers up ourselves. She never spent time showing me exactly how she was making the clothes but quite often she would have me tracing patterns. Although at the time it was a game, joining dotted lines, the shape of a sleeve or a panel of a skirt or a collar of a shirt was registering in my brain. It made much more sense when I started making my own. I have always been artistic and looking back now, I wish I had pursued a career in the fashion industry rather than the Hotel industry — which was what I ended up studying. It’s never too late and this is what Im doing now.

How different is making dancewear from other garments?

Very different! The principles are more or less the same; the construction of the garment is what is different. My mum wouldnt make a dress and attach it to a leotard. A mans shirt wouldnt have cycling shorts built in, would it? An outfit for dancesport has to be fitted and stay in place no matter what position a dancer gets to. And some dancers can get in positions that one wouldnt have thought it was possible! A dance outfit would have decorations with crystals to add that extra sparkle to catch the eye and very often made of stretch fabric to achieve comfort and freedom of movement. You can be more elaborate and creative as a designer in the dancesport industry Id say. My aim is to make dancers feel and look their best.

What are customers expectations when commissioning a costume?

Expectations!!! Well they all want to look the part feel comfortable in it and want an outfit that will enhance their performance. Some have a very clear idea of a design others have no idea at all. For me neither is a problem. If they have an idea I can feed from it and create a design or capture what they have in mind on to paper. When they dont I can let my imagination go wild and come up with the goods.

How different is making mens from womens dancesport garments?