The Beijing Winter Olympic Games are adding sparkle to a young costume designer’s growing business, as more Chinese take to the ice and seek tailor-made outfits for figure skating.
Zhang Yifan, a 25-year-old designer based in Beijing, has seen business boom since the city won its bid for the Games in February, and began a campaign to lure 300 million Chinese to embrace snow and ice sports.
“The effect is showing up on ice rinks,” Zhang said.
Photo: Reuters
However, while fashion on the ice has long been a highlight of Olympic figure skating, China’s skaters had few choices until recently.
Zhang noticed the gap in the market when her teenage sister, Zhang Yixuan, began competing in figure skating, but struggled to find outfits that matched her music.
A student of theater costume design at the time, the older Zhang quickly pivoted to skating costumes, learning the trade by experimenting on her sister.
“With figure skating, the drama just moves from the stage onto the ice,” she told reporters during a visit to her studio.
Skating outfits have to combine elegance with function, so they can withstand powerful twists and turns on the ice. Crystals sewn onto dresses cannot be so heavy that they weigh the athletes down.
Although Zhang Yixuan is not on the national team, her outfits for regional competitions are just as glamorous.
On a recent day of training, Zhang Yixuan showed off a jet-black jumpsuit, embellished with crystals on one shoulder, with gold and black sequins across the body and sleeves.
The outfits, all handmade, take about one month to make and cost up to 15,000 yuan (US$2,354) apiece.
Zhang Yifan is inspired by Japanese designer Satomi Ito, whose designs for famous Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu are “stunning — a perfect match with his music.”
However, she also looks to other art forms and Chinese culture for inspiration.
For Zhang Yixuan, who started out wearing secondhand outfits handed down by teammates, they make her feel like the “most beautiful princess in the world.”
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