When it comes to fashion, figure skaters tend to be a little extra. The sequins, the feathers, the SWAN HEAD.
With the U.S. figure skating team gearing up for Beijing, we are looking back at some of the all-time greatest skating costumes. What ice skaters wear can become the cutting edge of fashion — think Dorothy Hamill's haircut, or the second skins and sequins that hit the runway after the last Winter Olympics.
So for a look back at the best figure skating costumes of all time, we turned to someone who understands it best: two-time Olympian and NBC commentator Johnny Weir.
Weir told TODAY that skaters pull out all the stops when it comes to the Olympics, the biggest audience they have by far.
"I know we’ll be treated to magnificent skating and excellence in sport but also, the worlds sparkliest fashion show," he said.
Here are Johnny Weir's personal favorite figure skating costumes:
Johnny Weir: The Swan
"My favorite personal costume was my 2006 Olympic short program costume where I portrayed a dying swan and it is so special because my dreams came true in front of the world on Olympic ice for the first time in that costume. Also, I wore a red glove that was meant to resemble a swan beak so I always had a friend out there. His name was Camille."
Elena Illinykh and Nikita Katsalapov: Tutu drama
"My favorite ice dance costumes ever belong to Elena Illinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia who competed at their Russian home Olympics in from of millions of adoring fans, to “Swan Lake” and brought the house down and Elena’s tutu gave me all the drama I ever wanted."
Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov: Simplicity on ice
"My favorite pairs costumes of all time were from Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov at the 1994 Olympics. Their whole vibe on the ice was skating as one and their simple costumes made the performance so special because they were like watching one beating heart."
Oksana Baiul: The pink that dreams are made of
"My favorite women’s costume ever was worn by Oksana Baiul in 1994. Her Olympic gold medal winning performances are why I started skating and her pink maribou lives rent free in my head forever because it was part of the image that helped me dream about competing in the Olympics some day. Galina Yakovlevna Zmievskaya who coached Oksana, also coached me and she would always smile when we talked about the pink costume and the brilliant skater who wore it."
Tomáš Verner: More pink! This time for men
"My favorite men’s costume of all time was worn by my competitor and very close friend Tomáš Verner from Czech Republic. For the time in 2007, pink was a bold color choice for the men and I just found that it was one of those perfect times when a skaters personality is truly reflected in their costume as it was classy and also humorous."
Related:
