WCW: Miss Piggy

Fashion icon, proud feminist, and a pig of many talents, Miss Piggy needs no introduction (I’m going to assume you’ve not been living under a rock for the last 52 years, at any rate). The star of the Muppet Show since day one, Miss Piggy has captured the hearts and minds of her adoring fans for generations. She is as timeless as a Chanel suit and as enduring as a work of fine art. Her beauty, wit, and intellect have made her a role model for young people everywhere, showing them how to grasp their dreams and hold onto it with a karate grip no matter the challenges that come.

To discuss Piggy, however, you have to also talk about the three main costume designers who have worked closely with the pig over the years, creating her iconic looks for television, film, and print media. The first costume designer to design for Piggy was Callista Hendrickson, who designed the costumes for the early years of The Muppet Show (1976-81). Polly Smith was hired on as her assistant and then took over the head designer role which she held through 2002 before retiring. And most recently, Daniel Selon is credited with the designs for the revived Muppet Show (2026), most famously collaborating with Sabrina Carpenter and Piggy to create a set of beautiful matching outfits for both the woman and the pig.

Here, Miss Piggy remembers working with Hendrickson on The Muppet Movie (1979), “When we all dressed like porcelain dolls.”

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One of the things I’ve always loved about the Muppets (or, indeed, any Henson project) was the level of care and craftsmanship that went into costumes that may have been only onscreen for a split second. Everything was consciously designed to be as realistic as possible, as Polly Smith remembers:

In the beginning, “there was a temptation to be like, ‘Oh, it’s a puppet,’” Smith says. “But that was just really dissatisfying for me.” She worried about the effect an unfinished hem could have on a young fan. “In their mind, especially kids, the minute they look in the Muppets’ eyes they think they’re talking to a real thing,” she says. “I didn’t want it to be on my watch that they become distracted and realize that isn’t the case.”

Polly Smith, Vulture.

That attention to detail extended to all levels of a costume, including many, many historical costumes worn by Miss Piggy on the original Muppet Show, in Muppet films, and in other forms of print media. Let’s take a look at a selection of her legendary historical costumes, shall we?

 

Cleopatra (Various)

 

Marie Antoinette

 

Mona Lisa

 

Various other roles

 

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

 

Muppet Classic Theater (1994)

 

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

 

Do you love Miss Piggy as much as I do? Let’s chat about it in the comments!