An Inside Look at Team USA’s $3,000 Gymnastics Leotards With 47,000 Crystals
The Olympics gymnastics tumbling floor is basically a designer runway, with athletes donning $3,000 leotards adorned with thousands upon thousands of Swarovski crystals. Fortune spoke with design team GK Elite about the craft that goes into these stunning garments and the evolution of Olympic gymnastics fashion over the years.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Harris is set to showcase a unique runway this summer on its Olympic Gymnastics tumbling floor.
00:15This unofficial fashion week has the U.S. Gymnastics team fighting for gold in eight
00:20custom-made leotards, sparkling with 47,000 Swarovski crystals.
00:25The dazzling costumes aren't for sale but would retail for about $3,000 each.
00:32The entire collection, we wanted to make sure that we were elevating the looks of Team USA
00:40and connecting fashion, which Paris is the world center of fashion, so connecting
00:47the location of the Olympics with Team USA.
00:51Created by the Pennsylvania-based company GK Elite, these leotards feature up to 10,000 crystals,
00:57each meticulously arranged on custom fabric.
01:01The red, white, and blue color scheme shows off the athlete's nationality,
01:04while the intricate crystal patterns pay tribute to Paris, the city of lights.
01:08The crisscross design comes into play, mimicking corsetry and then also having the pearls
01:14hand placed in the back too.
01:16The mesh used in this leotard is called Jacquard Mesh and we are the only gymnastics manufacturer
01:23in the world to offer this mesh to our customers.
01:26It's super soft, super comfortable, and it has a lace effect to it without actually being lace,
01:34so has that comfort element but also has the high fashion element.
01:38With the Olympic Games only happening once every four years, Annie Heffernan,
01:42vice president of the women's program at USA Gymnastics, told the Washington Post,
01:46Quote,
01:53When designing, we don't really have to worry about
01:56how our designs are going to affect functionality.
01:59Certain gymnasts bring in their own personality into each garment that they wear,
02:04so even though it was designed with team mentality, with the styling of it,
02:08they can really let their own skills and personality shine on that world stage.
02:14Though gymnastic uniforms have always been eye-catching,
02:17according to the New York Times, bedazzled leotards emerged around the early 2000s,
02:22with just a few crystals here and there to catch the light in the arena.
02:25But the trend has accelerated dramatically this century,
02:28with the number of crystals per leotard going from under 200 in 2008 to up to 10,000 per uniform now.
02:35Back in 2016, a rep from GK Elite even predicted,
02:39Quote,
02:44We wanted to make sure that we were keeping with patriotic red, white, and blue tones.
02:51We incorporated our slate mystique, and then we paired it with a grounding black
02:57to really let the crystal design pop and do the talking.
03:02And then the negative space stars are created
03:06through the stones being clustered on the outside of the star,
03:11and we have touches of gold in the crystal design to really pay homage to
03:17our dynasty that USA Gymnastics has built.
03:20These eye-catching uniforms might be hard to miss,
03:22but it's the athlete who truly steal the show.
03:25A whopping 8.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Simone Biles
03:28clinch her spot in the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team last month,
03:31making it one of the top-rated moments of this year's U.S. Trials.
03:35With seven Olympic medals, Biles has rocketed herself and gymnastics
03:39into the heart of American pop culture.
03:42Being so overtly inspired by the American flag just helps that sense of patriotism
03:49and representing your country, which is really what the Olympics is all about,
03:53and that spirit of strong athleticism and strong patriotism just merging together.
04:00Beyond their stunning appearance,
04:01these intricate leotards have boosted athletes' confidence.
04:04At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021,
04:06U.S. gymnasts dubbed one particular leotard,
04:09quote, our lucky Leo, because every athlete who wore it won a medal.
04:13As these garments have become more popular among competitors,
04:16gymnasts have personalized the colors and patterns to reflect their own taste,
04:20drawing inspiration from icons like Beyonce.
04:23In a sport where athletes often earn more from endorsements than from competition winnings,
04:27creating a recognizable brand is essential,
04:30and these stunning leotards play a crucial role in that branding.
04:33I think as Americans, we all have kind of like this universal experience of going to fireworks
04:38and having like the bright, bold, beautiful lights in the sky with the sparkling streams,
04:43kind of like leaving everybody wanting for more.
04:45I think there's like no better way than to embody the national team in that same way.
04:49They're bright, they're beautiful, they're strong,
04:51and we've all just been dying to see what they're going to do next.