The 2018 Winter Olympics are underway in Pyeongchang, which means the pressure is on for the competing athletes to not only deliver athletically, but, in the case of figure skaters, aesthetically too.
Over the years, fans have witnessed a parade of vibrant figure skating costumes, each designed to immortalize the skaters wearing them.
But even in a sea of bedazzled illusion sleeves and sheer panels, these 30 costumes have tested the ISU’s official dress code, and therefore manage to stand out as the most risqué figure skating costumes of all time.
Katarina Witt’s infamous blue dress at the 1988 Olympics is the reason figure skating now has a dress code.
“The Katarina Rule” dictates that women’s hips, midriffs, and butt are covered.
Tanith Belbin’s bedazzled red dress and Benjamin Agosto’s plunging neckline pushed the boundaries of said dress code.
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin’s “Aborigine inspired” outfits were deemed offensive.
Domnina and Shabalin’s outfits were purportedly meant by the skaters to be Aboriginal, but were instead denounced as offensive and exploitative.
Additionally, the ISU states: “At ISU Championships, the Olympic Winter Games, and International Competitions, the clothing of the Competitors must be modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition — not garish or theatrical in design. Clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music chosen.”
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