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Read MoreGet ready for your floor routine to shine like a disco ball. Today, sportswear manufacturer GK Elite and USA Gymnastics unveiled the leotards and apparel that gymnasts will wear on the mats at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Team USA, led by Simone Biles, will take the stage in crystal.
The eight women's leotards, of course, sparkle in red, white, and blue and are adorned with more than 47,000 Swarovski crystals and hand-applied with flag designs, paisley patterns, star shapes, swirls, stripes, and bursts of color detailing. In addition to the crystals, Swarovski pearls will adorn USA Gymnastics leotards for the first time as a tribute to the Olympic host city of Paris.
According to a press release, the collection is inspired by "classic American patriotism and old Hollywood glamour" with a touch of Parisian high fashion. A limited number of replica leotards and men's shirts are being sold through the GK Elite website in anticipation of their Olympic debut.
Jeanne Diaz, GK Elite's design director, told Vogue that she and her team have been working on the glamorous uniforms for the past two years. Diaz said, "We started quite a while ago because, in addition to surveying the players and getting their input, we wanted to lay a solid foundation for a really cohesive collection to be presented. They love crystal."
But before considering style, GK Elite considered comfort and movement in each design. First and foremost," she continued, "this is performance wear. The leotards are made of four-way stretch fabric, including custom red-dyed stretch satin.
GK Elite has worked with Team USA since 2000, and Swarovski crystals have become their signature decoration; at the 2016 Olympics, some 5,000 crystals were used on the leotards of US gymnasts. Swarovski has continually worked to develop lighter crystals for the quadrennial occasion.
"There is definitely a change in the fabrics that [athletes] want to wear," Diaz says. 'Athletes are focusing more on being comfortable and prefer matte fabrics with crystals on them.' Shiny fabrics are becoming less of a choice."
Diaz explained that the ultimate goal is to create memorable, timeless looks that gymnasts would be proud to wear: "These looks will become iconic and will grace Wheaties boxes and magazine covers. These looks will become iconic and will grace Wheaties boxes and magazine covers. The hardest part is to do justice to the USA Gymnastics team"
. [The leotards are intended to evoke the same feeling as when an athlete wins a medal, receives an American flag, and drapes it over his or her body.
This year's 2024 Team USA Gymnastics team includes Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Childs, and Hesley Rivera, who will take to the mat in glittering new uniforms for the women's qualifier on July 28.
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