The Evolution of Men's Ice Skating Costumes

All the various categories of ice skating are among my favorite winter Olympic events. And no one who knows me will be surprised that part of what I love about ice skating is the fabulous costumes. The women have worn spangled, glitzy, themed, sexy costumes for years, but the men (with a few notable exceptions - Johnny Weir, I'm looking at you) have stuck to subdued singlets for much longer. But over the past 10 years or so, men's costumes have become glitzier, adding colors, sequins, and truly becoming "costumes," representing the character they are portraying rather than being simply functional. Here's a look back over how men's ice skating costumes at the Olympics have changed through the years.

Any discussion of the first memorable Olympic male ice skaters has to start with American Dick Button, who won gold in both 1948 and 1952. His outfit in '48 was a pair of black pants and a white sweater with black detailing. The rink in St. Moritz was outside and no doubt warmth and practicality were more important than looks.

In 1952 in Olso, Button moved toward a more formal style in a short white tuxedo jacket with black pants and a black bow tie.

Another American, Hayes Jenkins, took gold at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina. Jenkins followed in Button's footsteps in a similar short white tux jacket with black pants and black bow tie.

At Squaw Valley in 1960, American David Jenkins (no relation), the bronze medalist from 1956, moved up to gold wearing a standard black tuxedo.

Germany broke the Americans' winning streak in 1964 when Manfred Schnelldorfer took gold in Innsbruck, wearing - you guessed it - a tuxedo.

Wolfgang Schwartz of Austria took gold at Grenoble in 1968. He broke out of the tuxedo tradition in a solid black outfit with a zip-front jacket over a white turtleneck.

Czech skater Ondrej Nepela was the champion at the 1972 Games in Sapporo. Nepela split the difference, skating in a white turtleneck under a black vest, paired with black pants. Formal, yet casual.

Great Britain's John Curry brought a more athletic look to the white shirt/black vest and pants combination when he won the gold at Innsbruck in 1976. His costume was more fitted and stylized, certainly not something that would be confused with street clothes.

1976 Canadian bronze medalist Toller Cranston was an early adopter of the single-color singlet with flared pants and low-cut neckline (so 70s!) and spangled details.

At the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, all three medalists - Canada's Robin Cousins (gold), East Germany's Jan Hoffmann (silver), and American Charles Tickner (bronze) - wore fitted spangled singlets in black, blue, and red, respectively.

  

In 1984, American favorite Scott Hamilton took the gold in Sarajevo wearing a blue singlet with a red yoke. Silver medalist, Canadian Brian Orser, sported a purple singlet with metallic gold and silver detailing at the neck and matching purple skate covers. The costumes are definitely becoming more eye-catching, but there's still a certain amount of uniformity.

The 1988 Calgary Olympics became known as "The Battle of the Brians," with American Brian Boitano taking gold and Canadian Brian Orser taking silver. Both went with monochromatic singlets, but added gold epaulets, buttons, braid, and sashes to create a military look, the first time Olympic men's skaters reflected a character rather than simply being a flashy but functional uniform.

In Albertville in 1992, gold medalist Viktor Petrenko of the Unified Team took the "character" style costume a step further, pairing a purple military jacket with silver spangles with high-waisted black pants and a white shirt and short red necktie.

The silver medalist that year, American Paul Wylie, kept to the monochromatic look in all black, but paired fitted pants with a loose, low-necked black shirt.

1994 gold medalist, Russian Alexei Urmanov, went full-on character in a puffy, ruffle-fronted white pirate shirt with black accents.

Canadian Elvis Stoyko, the silver medalist that year, became known for his flashy costumes, like this black outfit with Egyptian-inspired gold collar, shoulder details, cuffs, and belt buckle.

1998 gold medalist Ilia Kulik of Russia took flashy costumes to a new level in Nagano when he skated to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" wearing a wild giraffe print batwing shirt with white cuffs and a white vest. Check out those 1990s shoulderpads!

Nagano silver medalist Stoyko paled in comparison, despite his bright purple velvet pants and matching purple military shirt with plenty of gold braid.

In Salt Lake City in 2002, Russian gold medalist Alexei Yugudin provided us with a double-dose of flash, wearing a black spangled singlet with a black and white tree branch-patterned top and a solid black outfit with stylized gilt faces covering the front, pairing both outfits with black gloves.

Yagudin's countryman, silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko, sported a rather unfortunate straight blond mullet, but also a flashy stylized military uniform with silver vest and trim, a striking red sash, and gloves.

Plushenko took the gold at Torino in 2006 wearing a much more subdued black singlet with red yoke. He shared the podium with silver medalist Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, in a zebra-striped shirt with cobalt blue sleeves, and bronze medalist Timothy Goebel of the US, in a puffy cranberry shirt with gold-trimmed cuffs.

2010 Vancouver champion, American Evan Lysacek, took Olympic fashion in a new direction with this velvet turtleneck with feather shoulder trim and textured gold front, paired with slicked-back hair.

 

Plushenko fell back to silver that year in a subdued black singlet with dark red vest, and again black gloves. Bronze medalist, Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, was by far the flashiest, in a loose black and white checked shirt topped with a red and black vest.

Of course, no discussion of fashion and the 2010 Olympics would be complete without a nod to Johnny Weir, whose flashy outfits at other events were already turning heads. Although he only took 6th in Vancouver, this open-front sheer black vest with pink lacing and ruffles took first place in fashion.

Sochi in 2014 saw a few more unusual costumes, including both a very casual mottled blue shirt and a daring fringed one-shoulder white and black draped shirt both worn by gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu (he of Winnie the Pooh fame). Hanyu was joined on the podium by Patrick Chan of Canada, in a low v-necked gray top with black embroidery, and Denis Ten of Kazakhstan in an open white shirt over a black tank with a loose red necktie. Subdued colors, but some more daring styles.

So that brings us to 2018. Let's look at what some of the men have been wearing during their routines this year.

Adam Rippon of the US sported a fully-spangled, multi-hued turquoise shirt with purple detailing and skin-tight pants.

Jason Brown skated to music from the musical "Hamilton" and wore a stylized period waistcoat in cranberry and black and a lavender vest over a puffy white shirt

Bronze medalist Javier Fernandez of Spain also paired his costume with his music, looking very Don Quixote in his laced-front puffy white shirt as he skated to music from "The Man of La Mancha."

Canada's Keegan Messing's costume harkened back to the early days of men's skating in an elegant tuxedo, complete with boutonniere.

Russian Mikhail Kolyada wore nearly all black, with just a peek of vivid purple shirt, and silver-trimmed belt and frog details.

Silver medalist Shoma Uno of Japan rocked an open-necked midnight blue velvet jacket with high collar, gold trim, and chiffon sleeves.

Hanyu stuck gold once again, wearing a white tunic with bell sleeves and a gold belt and detailing, along with black gloves. The loose tunic fluttered to show his incredible speed as he skated.

And although he may not be on the ice any more, Johnny Weir has sported a succession of eye-catching outfits in the announcers' booth.

Bonus points for coordinating with fellow announcer Tara Lipinski. I'm not the biggest fan of Weir as an announcer, and sometimes he tries too hard, but to paraphrase Kingsley Shacklebolt, you can't deny that Weir's got style.