All Photos By Gail

In 1988, film director John Waters created a new level of shock by making a family friendly, PG-rated movie. Set in 1962, two years before the Civil Rights Act, Hairspray centers on Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), a self-identified “pleasantly plump” teenage girl, who attempts to racially integrate a teen dance show.

The fictional Corny Collins Show was modeled after Baltimore’s popular Buddy Dean Show, a real-life television program with an all-white cast that aired six afternoons a week from 1957 to 1964. Waters watched it religiously as a teenager, and his personal experiences informed the story of Hairspray. The film’s premise, production design, and costumes all directly reference the Buddy Dean Show and other early 1960’s variety shows.

Ricki Lake Wearing the Roach Dress in a Scene from Hairspray

Costume designer Van Smith was Waters’ go-to for nearly all of his films, and the Roach Dress is one of her more unique creations. In Hairspray,  Tracy becomes as a regular dancer on the Corny Collins Show. In one scene, she wears a Pink Satin formal gown flaunting a print pattern of huge black roaches, which she wears while dancing to “The Roach” (1961) by Gene and Wendell. The dress has since gone on to achieve iconic status and has been recreated for Halloween year after year.

Smith’s creation is on display along with other outfits from the film as part of the exhibit John Waters: Pope of Trash at the Academy Museum in Hollywood through August 4th, 2024.

Roach Dress Installation View with Other Costumes from Hairspray