In the years since Jennifer Lopez wore that iconic Versace jungle dress to the Grammys in 2000, I’ve wondered how exactly it stayed on. Its plunging neckline and flowy nature made it absolutely stunning; however, it also left me with questions about how it wasn’t falling off her body. Those same questions resurfaced when that dress got recreated for a moment in the 2026 TV schedule hit, Off Campus. Now, the costume designer for the hockey romance has spilled the tea on how exactly that incredible dress stays in place.
So, in the book-to-screen adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus books, Allie and Dean share a jaw-dropping moment on the dance floor, as they dance to “On the Floor” by Jennifer Lopez while she’s wearing a JLo costume. While the moment felt effortless on screen and propelled Dean and Allie’s relationship forward, I couldn’t help but wonder how they logistically pulled it off behind the scenes, considering how gravity-defying that dress is. Well, costume designer, Charlene Akuamoah, told Page Six how they did it, explaining:
Our go-to tape was Booby Tape… They have an incredible array of skin tones, which is always so important to me.
Well, that tape worked its magic because that dress did not move one bit during that steamy Episode 2 moment (which you can watch with an Amazon Prime subscription). By using Booby Tape, they didn’t have to worry about the dress moving, and it provided push-up without a bra.
It helped this moment be perfect too, which is what Akuamoah was striving for. She explained that when she read the moment between Allie and Dean in the script, she knew she had to ace the recreation of this iconic JLo dress. To that point, she said:
When I read the script and learned that they wanted Allie in that dress, I knew it needed to be perfect; it’s Versace! My earliest years in my career were in fashion so I have a reverence for Donatella.
Clearly, she knew how to slay this assignment too, because not only did the dress stay on Mika Abdalla, it also helped create one of the most viral moments in this sexually explicit Amazon Prime project. Even JLo showed her love for this scene, and she’s spoken very highly about both Abdalla’s performance and the spike in popularity it’s caused for the song “On the Floor.” This reaction wasn’t something the designer saw coming, as she said:
From the very first fitting we all knew it was going to be a moment, but could not have imagined the level that it reached.
Honestly, iconic almost feels like an understatement. The dress, the dance and the relationship highlighted during the scene have all caused a frenzy online that’s only added to the very exciting discourse surrounding Off Campus.
Now, Dean and Allie are set to lead Season 2, and I can’t wait to see what great looks are featured. Hopefully, we get some more callbacks to legendary pop culture fashion moments, like JLo’s dress. However, no matter what, I’m sure they’ll kill it. And if they’re given a costume assignment that seems to defy gravity, I’m positive they’ll figure out how to keep it on and support the actor wearing it.
