Coming off these two of our latest latex couture blogs So, Did Nike Break The Olympics? – Dawnamatrix and Nike sexualizes Paris? – Dawnamatrix this new piece from NBC, just published Olympic Gymnastics: Simone Biles & Team USA’s Paris leotard sneak peek (nbcnews.com), presents a nice new and positive spin on the games’ couture.
In particular, the article from NBC above recognizes how much wear and tear these competitors’ leotards will endure, as well as how the various leotards have been so uniquely and sparkly rendered for these particular amazing athletes.
According to the above article, Jeanee Diaz, design director at GK Elite, began creating the leotards two years ago. Surely taking the female athletes’ suggestions to heart when they told her they wanted to wear red, white, and blue…with “the more crystals the better.,” Diaz and her team rendered the leotards with “American womanhood,” “opulent femininity,” and that shimmer and shine of crystals. As much grounded in U.S. iconography, with splashes of 80s fashion thrown in for good measure, the leotards also include a nod to Parisian haute couture and its reputation as The City of Lights.
The “Go for Glory” design, adorns the most blatantly patriot of all the leotards in the collection. This is what the gymnasts hope to be wearing as they hopefully compete for gold medals during the Team Finals on 7/30, This leotard is adorned with 9,929 crystals, cut in diamond shapes. The crystals alone weighing almost a pound.
The USA “Elegance Competition Leotard,” features red and navy, with its own 5,000 crystals, of shaped diamonds and flames. The “Luminous Legacy Leotard” features a constellation of the night sky…and over 10,000 Swarovski crystals.
Whatever Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera wear or how far they get in the upcoming Olympic games, we should all be inspired by them and every other athlete who competes.
Glowing in crystals or not.