The evolution of the leotard: The more sparkles, the merrier.
Sixty years ago, gymnastic leotards were made of plain jersey. They hung around the figure loosely and covered as much of the chest and buttocks as possible. The gymnasts wore their hair down and their skin looked make-up free. Today however, the world’s best female gymnasts can’t enter the arena without perfectly styled ballerina-like buns, their muscular figure is hugged tightly with shiny, bright, dazzling nylon, and their often childish faces are covered in make-up. Why have fashion and style become vital in a gymnast’s success?
The main reason behind the gymnastics fashion (r)evolution is that the sport itself has transformed – from elegant slow walking, turning and hopping on and off the balance beam, vaguely resembling the old Czechoslovak Spartakiade parades, to extremely acrobatic and dangerous jumps, turns and somersaults. Current Olympic gymnastics medallists are muscular, not slim. Their bodies could be compared to those of professional boxers or track and field athletes, not ballet dancers. Their leotards must therefore be more flexible and enduring.
Shouldn’t the gymnasts be judged on their physical ability, not the number of crystals carefully sown onto their leotards?
Members of the public have mixed feelings. Tatiana Saad, 25, a business developer from London, believes that gymnastics are about the art of the human body. “The tightness carves out the body and makes it easier to see what the gymnast is doing,” she says. “Another factor is that the media play a huge role in all of this. Major sports events are entirely covered by the TV, and photographers are everywhere. Shine and crystals look good on camera!”
Valeska Molnar, 22, a part time photographer from London, admits that she finds it annoying that commentators often talk about the gymnasts’ beauty. “They should be analysing the physical ability, not their clothes,” she says. “I think all the outfits should be uniform, so that the competitors can be judged objectively.”
London student Johanna Moro, 21, approves of the new gymnastic gear. She says that “it demonstrates that women are freer to show their shape and reveal their bodies than they were 60 years ago”.
Whether the sparkling leotards are a symbol of women’s empowerment, or are merely a way of attracting the eyes of the audience and the lenses of cameras, they have certainly *sparked* a topic of conversation.
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