So, I usually refrain from commenting on male figure skating costumes for two reasons. One, as much as I like to appreciate all outfits for what they are, I am just not a big fan of most figure skating costumes, there's something off about them (female and male alike). Second, the men's costumes get extremely boring when they try to shy away from looking too "gay", which is in my opinion worst than looking flamboyant.
BUT, BUT, BUT, after watching tonight's Olympic men's final, i think I have finally saw a men's costume that is sleek, artistic, sophisticated, and most importantly, modern and chic. It was special without being over-the-top. And it's all thank to Evan Lysacek and Vera Wang.
Vera Wang designed a series of costumes for Evan for this Olympic season. They are mostly solid black characterized by interesting and strategically placed embellishments in order to emphasize Evan's 6'2" lines. While the black sculpt the outline of great body lines, it also emphasized the body as a canvas to showcase different embellishments that are sculptural and architectural to say the least. Although Vera Wang cannot shy away from shimmers and rhinestones, it was handled in a way that is contained yet loud, with creativity and taste.
For so long figure skating costumes are accused of tacky, and I think Vera Wang really shoved a big fat sock into those nay-sayer's mouth with Evan's outfits. Although it might still come off as too glamorous or glitzy for an American male, I think, in figure skating terms, this is exactly what masculinity is defined within the sport and I hope to see more, it doesn't have to be all black, although it was quite sleek.
I am really excited to put pictures of what Vera Wang designed for Evan, it's so hard to put all these words into perspective without seeing what the end product is; but it's super late at night right now and I really need to sleep, so I'll do it as soon as I can tomorrow.
By the way, did anyone know that Vera Wang used to be a competitive figure skater??
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