Gold medals won't be the only bling on display at
the upcoming Olympic Games.
The 2024 Paris Olympics kick off on July 26th,
with gymnastics taking center stage the next day.
In a new twist, 8 distinctive leotard designs for Team
USA have been revealed ahead of the competition.
On July 10th, the women of Team USA opened gift
packages containing their outfits on NBC's Today show.
This is beautiful. Four time gold medalist Simone Biles is
a big fan of Leotard's decked out with glittering gems
and this year's uniforms reached new heights in terms of
their dazzling designs. Swarovski crystals are an essential component of
the leotards,
and they're unparalleled. Sparkle adds to the spectacle as the
gymnasts perform,
SUNY Lee told The New York Times.
I'm obsessed with how the lights of the arena reflect
off the crystals.
The Go for Glory design boasts 9929 individual crystals dotting
the neckline,
the red and white stripes,
and every star on the leotard.
While the majority of these crystals are positioned via a
special machine,
some are painstakingly attached with a steady hand created by
GK Elite.
In Reading, PA, the swoon worthy fits were two years
in the making.
Gian Diaz, GK's design director,
told Vogue their confidence plays a huge role in their
performance.
Paris is a fashion capital of the world,
so we really leaned into the fashion aspect.
While crystals have been lending their signature shine to the
gymnasts ensembles throughout the 21st century,
the number of individual sparkles keeps expanding.
In addition, some of the 2024 outfits also have pearls
to add a warm glow.
Oh my God, I like the boy.
Wake up with the miracle.
The 8 designs, the number of crystals range from 3423
on the fireworks style design of the Sovereign Sparkle to
more than 10,000 on the brilliant blue Luminous Legacy leotard.
This particular design includes red and blue crystals in addition
to the traditional variety,
with stars made entirely out of crystals gracing the mesh
sleeves and back.
A close up of the Luminous Legacy bodice reveals how
the company made the most of their crystal forward design
with tightly packed lines in a stunning geometric layout given
the amounts of crystals and the complexity of the designs.
These leotards have been valued anywhere from 3000 to $5000
each,
while beyond the cost of Simone Biles is leotard for
the 2020 Games.
Luckily, GK Elite is also selling replica leotards priced at
8999.
Of course, this garment doesn't have as much bling as
what the actual gymnasts will wear in the competition.
Crystals have become such an integral part of Team USA
Woman's Gymnastics uniforms for the last several Olympics,
but it's difficult to imagine a time before their eye-catching
shimmer.
For instance, while Mary Lou Retton's 1984 leotard was an
iconic patriotic.
Design. It lacked sparkle at the time.
This air is revolutionary design was the fact that the
leotards were made of body hugging lycra.