Flashing a Lot of Skin, Ice Skating Now Resembles 'Mardi Gras' on Ice
Feb. 24, 2006 — -- Ice skaters on the Olympic ice in Turin flashed a lot of skin, gobs of Day-Glo, and headbands galore. Fashion this year didn't score gold in my book especially as the women and men tried to recreate "The Sopranos" rather than "Swan Lake."
The International Skating Union changed the judging to make it more uniform, but I think it overlooked the actual uniforms.
Apparently, modesty was cut from the ice-skating programs. Now, racy and, dare I say it, trashy is in.
The women Thursday night cooled it with the metal-band trasher style but bared as much as possible.
"I do find some of the costumes sometimes are over the top," figure skater Dick Button told The Associated Press. "You almost feel you've been trapped in a windmill in the Metropolitan Opera House costume department."
Button never strayed from the formal attire look when he won the 1948 and 1952 gold medals.
American Sweetheart: If you recall, Dorothy Hamill stole our hearts in the late '70s with her signature wedge-cut hairdo and feminine style. The Olympic winner never strayed from the "modest, dignified and appropriate" ISU regulations. That meant she wore leotards with a miniskirt and avoided plunging necklines, opting for long-sleeved numbers barely showing off her neck.
Classic Chic, Not Kitschy Shock: Brits Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean let their fancy footwork dazzle the judges instead of relying on theatrical and Vegas showgirl numbers. Dubbed the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers combo on ice, the pair won gold with classic, chic outfits.
Ole Katerina Witt: Things got a little racy when East German skater Katerina Witt caused a furor at the 1988 Calgary Games with her "Carmen" costume. It was deemed too sexy. The ISU cracked down with the unofficial "Katerina rule," requiring that women's outfits cover the "hips and the posterior."
Looking back at Witt's ruby-red outfit with the short skirt, she was dressed like a cardinal if you compare her to this year's batch of metal-band-inspired skaters. The "Katerina rule" was abandoned, but the ISU's rule book still insists that clothing "must be modest … not garish or theatrical in design." It goes on to say that "clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music chosen."
Not following the no prop, no accessories, no "excessive nudity" leads to a 1.0 point deduction.
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