For the casual Winter Olympics watcher, one particular sport would stand out above the rest: figure skating, where athletes are judged not just for the technicality of their skate routine (the jumps, the spins, the fancy footwork!) but also for the artistry of their costumes. It’s like haute couture on ice: figure skaters often collaborate with designers to create custom skating ensembles, often embellished with sequins and crystals, that capture the essence of their performance.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, aka the Milano Cortina 2026, figure skaters are indeed dressed to impress. Ahead, we spotlight the best ice skating costumes we’ve seen this season, from Olympic athletes like Alysa Liu, Madison Chock and more.
Alysa Liu
If figure skating has a Gen Z icon, it’s Alysa Liu. The 20-year-old Team USA ice skater is known for making unconventional style statements, whether by adding a bleached stripe to her hair each year, or taking to the skating rink in leopard-print tights. Even her song choices reflect her edgy tastes: Liu previously skated to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance while dressed in a silver costume adorned with crystal spikes and chains, designed by Lisa McKinnon. In 2026, Liu returned for her second Olympic Games in another custom look by McKinnon: she skated to Laufey’s Promise in a breathtaking white dress with a sheer, draped bodice and a ruffled skirt that fades to grey. Her elegant ensemble certainly went well with her shiny new gold Olympic medal.
Kaori Sakamoto
The twirls and spins that Japanese ice skater Kaori Sakamoto performed to Edith Piaf’s Non, je ne regrette rien allowed us to better appreciate her costume: an ombré, open-back dress in deep plum and rose pink, embellished with a layered necklace of pearl-like beads. The dress, crafted by the French costume design label Astraee Couture, was just as impressive on the back, where the strands of glittering beads criss-crossed elegantly. Sakamoto, a three-time world champion, certainly left an impression at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where she won the silver medal for Japan.
Madison Chock
For her matador-inspired skate routine with her husband Evan Bates, Madison Chock designed a black ensemble with a sheer bodice embellished with rows of black crystals—mimicking the epaulettes on a matador jacket—glittering leggings, and a red skirt that doubled as her cape. Although the Team USA couple took home silver, Chock’s costume is our pick for gold for most original and dramatic costume of the competition.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry
Taking to the ice with partner Guillaume Cizeron, Laurence Fournier Beaudry performed a skate routine set to Madonna’s Vogue that saw her and Cizeron, well, voguing. Beaudry was also dressed in a pink satin bustier leotard with swirled pleating on the cups—a clear homage to Madonna’s cone bra corset designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Beaudry completed her look with a pair of crystal-embellished black gloves that emphasised her hand movements.
Piper Gilles
Team Canada ice skaters Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier had an artistic vision for their dance: “There’s this idea of Paul becoming Vincent [Van Gogh], and you really see the painting come off his sleeves and onto me, like he’s painting it in front of everyone” said Gilles. The painting in question is Van Gogh’s famous The Starry Night, which previously inspired one of Gilles’s skating costumes a few years ago. This time, Gilles donned a new dress on which she added intricate beading on the bodice that mirror the blue swirls of Van Gogh’s painting, finished with a printed skirt that depicts the rest of the Starry Night.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
