One of the side attractions at the Olympics is checking out all the various outfits designed for the competitors. For Team USA's gymnastics contenders, this year is going "big on bling," per People, with leotards crafted with thousands of Swarovski crystals to make the gymnasts sparkle and shimmer on the mat. The women's team—featuring Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Hezly Rivera—will have a choice from eight leotard options designed by GK Elite, one of which boasts more than 10,000 crystals.
The New York Times describes that "Luminous Legacy" leotard as featuring "a V-neck and a corset design at the waist so it looks almost as though the gymnast is wearing an elaborate bustier," with the 10,000-plus crystals deposited "on a base of red, white, and blue." "The more crystals, the more impact, the more the leotards are talked about," Jeanne Diaz, GK Elite's design chief, says, adding, "They're really evening-wear looks. We wanted to lean into that hard for Paris, the fashion capital of the world."
The Washington Post takes a deeper dive into the two-year, "kind of top-secret" process to make the leotards, each of which weighs about a pound weighed down with all those tiny sparklers. They're estimated to cost between $3,000 and $5,000 each, though they're not available to the public. For context, the women's team saw leotards with about 5,000 crystals in 2016, at which point GK Elite announced it "may have hit peak crystal." However, in 2021 in Tokyo, the gymnasts upped their leotard game with 6,400 crystals. This year's offerings surpass even that. "One day, a gymnast [will] say, 'I'm here to compete in my armor of crystal,' and we're going to make it happen for them," GK Elite CEO Matt Cowan tells the Times. (More Team USA stories.)
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