The Rocky Horror Picture Show costumes are almost as iconic as the movie itself. Released in 1975 as an independent musical horror comedy, Rocky Horror was one of the biggest flops in movie history when it hit theaters. However, that all changed over the years when it morphed from a failed theatrical release to a beloved midnight screening. It has since become the longest-running theatrical movie in history, as it closes in on 50 years in limited release in theaters with that anniversary coming in 2025. The road has been glorious for the movie, as it even entered into the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in 2005.
Now considered a cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has a lot of costumes for fans to choose from when dressing up for the popular live screenings that take place year-round. It is easy to pick out Tim Curry’s sequined corset and fishnet garters when he introduced the world to Dr. Frank-N-Furter. However, it is remiss to forget about the maid and butler costumes, the alien costumes, and even the tiny speedo worn by the muscular Rocky himself. As there are plenty of fans who love to dress up in the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show costumes, there is always plenty to choose from for a very diverse crowd.
10 Columbia, Magenta, & Riff Raff At The Wedding
American Gothic Themed Outfits
Avid watchers of Rocky Horror will know that Magenta, Columbia, and Riff Raff can be seen in the background during the musical number “Dammit, Janet!” At the beginning of the song, Magenta and Riff Raff are seen wearing outfits reminiscent of the art piece “American Gothic,” complete with a pitchfork. Then they go inside the chapel and Columbia joins them.
The outfits are almost pilgrim-like, and it’s a fun and unexpected deviation from the trio’s louder looks from the rest of the film. It’s this juxtaposition to their usual look that makes these particular Rocky Horror Picture Show costumes so iconic, as they’re a clear and hyperbolic representation of the normalcy that Richard O’Brien’s musical is a thematic rejection of. It’s also an Easter egg from the movie that Magenta, Columbia, and Riff Raff in the scene at all, and even their makeup makes them almost completely unrecognizable.
9 Brad & Janet At The Wedding
Brad & Janet’s Wedding Clothing
Brad’s plaid tie and cummerbund paired with Janet’s lilac skirt suit and white sun hat blowing in the wind make this one of the most iconic and well-known looks of the movie. While it’s not the most entertaining thing the pair wears in Rocky Horror, it’s the first outfit viewers think of when they hear “Brad and Janet.” It’s also the first official glimpse viewers get into the main characters of the story, which gives the costumes an added special meaning to the audience watching.
Brad and Janet’s wedding outfits are also iconic in the context of Rocky Horror Picture Show for similar reasons to Magenta, Columbia, and Riff Raff’s wedding attire, although not to the same exaggerated level. Still, Brad and Janet’s outfits when the audience first meet them represent normalcy and a conservative, restrained lifestyle, all things that the 1975 movie and the musical it’s based on stands as a defiant rejection of.
8 Rocky’s Golden Speedo
Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s Greatest Creation
Rocky’s golden speedo is perhaps the simplest costume in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but this doesn’t mean the outfit is any less iconic. As the “Frankenstein’s Monster” equivalent in the movie, viewers might think Rocky would look more like a monster. Instead, he is the bronzed god that Dr. Frank-N-Furter created for himself, so he’s tanned, bleached blonde, and golden metallic, all while wearing a Speedo.
Rocky, who famously does not sing his song in Rocky Horror, even has matching metallic gold boxing boots to complete his look. Rocky is the titular character of the movie, and when he makes his first appearance in his flashy and memorable costume, he turns a lot of heads. His skimpy attire being entirely gold has thematic importance too, as it represents his status as the “perfect man” in Frank-N-Furter’s eyes.
7 Eddie’s Leather Jacket & Head Wound
Meat Loaf’s Homage To Elvis
Meat Loaf may only have a small appearance in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but the rock legend still manages to make his character iconic, and the motorcycle-riding Eddie has an incredibly memorable costume to match his larger-than-life persona. In one of the most iconic looks of the movie, Meat Loaf shows up channeling Elvis. When Eddie comes flying out of the freezer on a motorcycle to sing “Hot Patootie! (Bless My Soul),” he couldn’t look more scary, yet cool.
He’s got a biker jacket on that’s cut into a vest by hand. It’s got an animal print, chains, and a red-painted sun design on the back. Eddie’s use of accessories makes this outfit amazing, as he rides around, sings, and dances, all with a saxophone over his shoulder. One of the things that make this look truly unique is Eddie’s very prominent wound across his forehead, inflicted some time ago by Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
6 Riff Raff & Magenta As Aliens
The Aliens’ True Appearances
The Rocky Horror Picture Show may be mostly a statement against the hyper-conservative attitudes of mainstream culture in the 1970s when it came to sexuality, but it’s also a sci-fi tale, and this becomes evident when Magenta and Riff Raff first appear in costume as their real extra-terrestrial selves. In a bizarre twist, Riff Raff and Magenta reveal themselves to be not only aliens, but they are also plotting against Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
They also happen to be incestuous siblings, a part of Rocky Horror that has not aged well, although it was strange at the time as well. Incest aside, they detail their plan while wearing insulated silver minidresses with pointed black shoulder details and garters. Magenta has a Bride of Frankenstein hairdo and Riff Raff has a tiny bun on the top of his head. It’s exactly what you might expect from aliens from the Transylvania galaxy.
5 Magenta’s Maid & Riff Raff’s Butler Outfits
The Rock Horror Aliens’ Disguises
While Riff Raff and Magenta in their alien garb is certainly a memorable look, the outfits they wear throughout the majority of The Rocky Horror Picture Show remain the most iconic when it comes to the strange pair. The most iconic costumes for Magenta and Riff Raff are their disguises before revealing themselves as aliens, and it’s these outifts which are synonymous with the characters.
Riff Raff had a giant faux hump that was an homage to Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant, Igor. He also wears a tuxedo vest as a shirt, all with blood splatters on it. For Magenta, her costume plays on the classic maid outfit, which is equal parts creepy and sultry. She even has an old-time apron and French maid hat, but spices up the look with garters and her signature heavy black eyeliner and dark red lip gloss. The two were only pretending to be a maid and butler, but they looked the part.
4 Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s Lab Look
The Rocky Horror Mad Scientist
Tim Curry’s performance as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a career-defining role for the actor, and his myriad of outlandish outfits are a key reason. Dr. Frank-N-Furter has some amazing costume changes throughout Rocky Horror, and one of the best ones is his mad scientist outfit in the lab while showcasing Rocky to his party guests. He wears a dirty green surgical gown with hot pink rubber gloves over fishnet tights and pumps.
Paired with his pearl earrings and necklace, Dr. Frank-N-Furter reveals his creation. If fans look closely, there are a few uncleaned spots of blood on the surgical gown that are most likely from Eddie. One theory about the pink triangle on his gown is that it’s a reference to the symbol given to gay prisoners in Nazi concentration camps and reclaimed as a symbol of gay pride (via Reddit).
3 Columbia’s “Time Warp” Ensemble
Sparkling Showgirl Attire Suits The Classic Musical Number Well
There are many great musical numbers in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but the “Time Warp” is inarguably the most memorable. When the song appears in the 1975 movie, the sequence also contains one of the most iconic costumes – Columbia’s sparkling showgirl attire. Columbia sports one of the more intricate and colorful outfits in the film for the majority of her time onscreen. She wears a sequined multicolored corset with shorts that have multicolored ribbons sewn on.
However, during the “Time Warp” number, she pairs it with tap shoes, a gold sequined jacket, and a top hat for her dance solo and dons a pink face mask over it in the lab. Columbia has fewer outfit changes than other characters in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it may be because her look is perfect. The sequins and sparkles reflect light to the camera and the bright and shiny costume perfectly reflects her bubbly countenance and high-pitched voice. She has child-like excitement, and her look translates that.
2 The Floor Show
The Cabaret Dancers
The ensemble cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show all have many notable outfits and costumes, though it’s during the Floor Show sequence that most of them are donning their most iconic attires. The Floor Show features some of the more extravagant and over-the-top outfits in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, especially when it comes to the costumes worn by Brad and Janet.
Each character has exaggerated clown-like makeup on, and a can-can style corset with feather boas, fishnet garters, and full-length fingerless gloves. The dancing that accompanies this scene in these outfits is unforgettable, with Brad’s leg shaking adding to it. The entirety of Rocky Horror flips gender roles, making it one of the most influential movie musicals of all time. This scene especially does a wonderful job of that because all the characters are wearing the same thing, regardless of gender, and they all look incredible.
1 Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s “Sweet Transvestite” Debut
Tim Curry’s Definitive Rocky Horror Picture Show Look
Dr. Frank-N-Furter is the heart of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and while this is mainly due to Tim Curry’s phenomenal performance, the costume he wears throughout most of the movie definitely helps. Curry based his voice and mannerisms on his mother when she would talk on the phone, mixed with Queen Elizabeth II. His attire when he first appears in The Rocky Horror Picture Show combines lingerie and make-up, though it’s complete with a full-blown cloak with a Dracula-esque collar concealing the most famous outfit of the film.
It’s when this cloak is removed that the movie introduced the film world to Tim Curry for the first time, and revealed the costume which many consider the best in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s black sequined corset, fishnet garters, black glitter gloves, and pearl jewelry are perfectly complemented by his makeup and “Mom” tattoo. He also spends the entire movie in sky-high heels, making it the most iconic look in the entire movie.
Originally based on a stage play, The Rocky Horror Picture show is considered one of the most significant countercultural films of all time and maintains a wide cult following to this day. The film stars Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick, and follows Brad and Janet, a young couple who, after experiencing car trouble on a stormy night, are taken in by scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, an alien transvestite who lives in a nearby castle with his equally colorful servants.
- Director
- Jim Sharman
- Release Date
- August 15, 1975
- Cast
- Richard O’Brien , Peter Hinwood , Tim Curry , Barry Bostwick , Nell Campbell , Patricia Quinn , Susan Sarandon , Meat Loaf
- Runtime
- 100 minutes