Marine Brevet of France competes in Rio 2016 Getty Images
This week in Rio, all eyes have been on the women’s gymnastics events as the competitors showed off their incredible athleticism and great artistic flare. The U.S. women's team of Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian, Laurie Hernandez and Simone Biles stole the show in the team all-around event, dominating the competition and beating out Russia and China to take home the gold medal. Biles followed up by winning the gold medal in the individual all-around event. But it’s not only the gymnasts’ prowess on the bars and the beams that make the audience sit up and take notice: Their blinged-out leotards are show-stoppers as well.
Each American Olympic gymnast receives 12 training leotards and eight competition leotards which are heavily embellished with Swarovski crystals. These would most likely retail at around $1,200.
According to The New York Times, when Nastia Liukin won the gold medal in the individual all-around competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, her leotard had 184 crystals on it.
In 2012, when Gabby Douglas won the same event in London, her leotard had 1,188 crystals. But this year, many of the Team USA leotards have close to 5,000 Swarovski crystals each.
“It’s difficult for me to imagine how we could get more crystals on,” Kelly McKeown, executive vice president for design and corporate relations at GK Elite, the official outfitter of the American national gymnastics team, told The Times. This Olympics, “we may have hit peak crystal.”
Competitive gymnastic leotards have not always been as sparkly and shiny as they are today. They have evolved from something plainer and simpler before the1980s into the bedazzled garments on display in Rio this week.
According to one theory, embellished leotards were born from the need for tiny women, often under five feet tall, to stand out in a large auditorium.
The New York Times goes as far as to credit the gymnastics power couple Bela and Martha Karolyi as being responsible for pushing the change from mostly all-white suits that showed off a gymnast’s physique to something bolder and brighter.
From around 2004, leotards began being manufactured in a fabric called Mystique, which overlays foil and hologram atop the spandex to create even more shine. Hence leotards gymnasts wore became ever glossier, especially as the crystals crept down the sleeves and over the body of the garment. “Martha [Karolyi] always wants ‘more sparkle, more sparkle." McKeown told The Times.
Click through the slide show for images of the most blinged-out leotards - #7 is amazing. Then keep clicking to #15 to see how the Olympic gymnastics leotard has evolved. See #37 - You won't believe how the looked in the 60s!
Elena Zamolodtchikova of Russia in Sydney 2000 wearing a all-white leotard embellished with crystal trim Getty ImagesTracee Talavera competes in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles wearing a bold navy, white and red chevron striped leotard Getty ImagesCathy Rigby competed for the U.S. in 1968 in Mexico. Her leotard was plain red with a white trim Getty ImagesThe legendary Russian gymnast Olga Korbut competed in Munich in 1972 wearing a plain red leotard with white trim Getty ImagesYelena Shushunova of The Soviet Union in Seoul 1988 wearing a plain red leotard with three white stripes on the sides Getty ImagesCarly Patterson of The USA in Athens 2004 wearing a shiny leotard with a bold flame print of red, white and blue Getty ImagesCarly Patterson of The U.S. in Athens 2004 wearing a shiny red leotard with crystal trim Getty ImagesElise Ray of the U.S. competes in Sydney 2000 wearing a white and red colored-blocked leotard Getty ImagesNadia Comaneci in Montreal 1976 in a white leotard with three simple side stripes Getty ImagesSimona Pauca and Ecaterina Szabo of Romania in Los Angeles 1984 wearing white leotards with chevron stripes Getty ImagesAmerica's Shawn Johnson in Beijing 2008 wearing a shiny printed leotard with some crystal trim Getty ImagesAlexandra Raisman of The U.S. in London 2012 wearing a shiny hot pink leotard embellished with stars Getty ImagesMary Lou Retton in Los Angeles 1984 in a white leotard with bold stars and stripes placed print Getty Imagesplainer leotards Getty ImagesNadia Comaneci of Romania competes in Montreal in 1976. Her leotard is mostly white with three simple stripes on the sides Getty ImagesSoviet gymnast Larissa Latynina competes in Melbourne 1956. Her leotard is almost competely plain other than an emblem on the chest Getty ImagesCzech gymnast Vera Caslavska competed in Mexico in 1968. Her leotard was a simple red vee-neck style with emblem Getty ImagesLauren Mitchell of Australia in London 2012 wearing a shiny green leotard with intricately printed sleeves Getty ImagesSimone Biles competes in Rio wearing a US team leotard in red, white and blue embellished with crystal Getty ImagesEythora Thorsdottir of the Netherlands competes in Rio wearing a shiny suit in grey and orange ombre embellished with Swarovski crystals Getty ImagesGabrielle Douglas of The U.S. at London 2012 wearing a shiny pink leotard embellished with crystal Getty ImagesSimone Biles in a red and blue shiny leotard with Swarovski crystal embellishment Getty ImagesSimone Biles at the Rio Olympics 2016 wearing a red leotard embellished with Swarovski crystals Getty ImagesRebecca Andrade of Brazil in Rio wearing a shiny purple leotard with white trim and crystal embellishment Getty ImagesThe Chinese team in Beijing 2008 wearing shiny red leotards with bold gold decoration Getty ImagesAlicia Sacramone of The U.S. and her teammates at the Beijing 2008 Games in shiny red leotards with large placed print Getty ImagesCarlotta Ferlito of Italy competes in Rio wearing a black and hot pink leotard embellished with crystalGetty ImagesNastia Liukin competes for the U.S. in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in a shiny pink leotard embellished with crystal Getty ImagesMohini Bhardwaj of The U.S. in Athens 2004 wearing a white leotard with bold diagonal stripes Getty ImagesNadia Comaneci in Moscow 1980 in a white leotard with a bold placed print front and centerGetty ImagesIn 1996 in Atlanta Joanna Hughes of Australia competed wearing an almost plain white leotard Getty ImagesKerry Strug in Atlanta 1996 in a white leotard with stars and stripes embellishment at the shouldersGetty Imagesplainer leotards Getty ImagesShannon Miller in Atlanta 1996 wearing a almost all-white leotard with bold placed prints Getty Images
