‘Dancing With the Stars’: Tyra Banks Reveals Wardrobe Malfunction That Fans Didn’t Catch

When Tyra Banks signed on as the new host of Dancing With the Stars, she wanted to raise the bar when it came to the ABC show’s fashion, upping the ante with at least one or two costume changes an episode. But even her supermodel background didn’t prepare Banks for the difficulties this would bring, she told Entertainment Tonight Monday.

“I think it was the third or fourth episode, I walk out and my hand is on my back and I was holding my dress together,” Banks revealed. “It was not zipped up! And I did not have on any of my jewelry.” Later in the show, fans could see her hand in a normal position as her zipper was fixed during a break, and her jewelry made a sudden appearance.

Banks has a specific aesthetic she has her costumers follow so she looks her best. “There’s certain rules that I have. You have to play to your strengths, so I play to making sure that the waist is snatched — because, if it’s not, I’m well-endowed naturally and it can look a little bit like a mumu,” the model explained. “I have very broad shoulders and sometimes the dress doesn’t really cover the shoulder… so it’s got to be wide enough up here.”

Another rule for Banks is no satin “on the boobies, on the tummy or on the booty.” She explained of the specificity, “Satin on my booty, shows cellulite, satin on my boobies on TV makes the size they already are ten times bigger. So there’s all these [things to remember], like a checklist.”

Going through redesigns and refits is nothing new for the runway model, but things have changed physically since she was at the height of her modeling career. “Sometimes I put something on and I’m like, ‘Okay, they obviously don’t know I got a booty,’ cause it’s something like off the runway,” she joked. “Yes I used to model, I did fashion shows, fashion weeks, all across the globe — but I don’t have that body anymore. But for some reason, designers just think, ‘Oh she was a model, let’s give her this size four.’ Honey, can you add a ten to that?”

Looking back on her mother, who was always comfortable in her skin and never even dyed her hair, Banks said has allowed her to speak so candidly about her body and the modeling industry over the years “Just being raised with that has not made me not super concerned.” Banks shared. “Also, for me, I just have gone up and down in weight my entire career… So I’m like, ‘You just never know what Tyra you’re going to get!’”