As the 2014 Winter Olympic wind down, and some Olympians pack up their medals for the last time, the visions of Johnny Weir’s incredible outfit choices linger in my mind. His fabulous Sochi fashions have brought uproar to the Olympic community, and gave us an extra show as we all watched his own personal fashion week during the Olympic games.
Johnny Weir is an American figure skater, with many honors such as a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics, a two-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a three time U.S. national championship in figure skating. His interest in fashion has led him to numerous opportunities such as designing his own skating costumes, and even for other fellow figure skaters. After many long rumors of his sexual orientation, he simply responded “…it’s not part of my sport and it’s private. I can sleep with whomever I choose and it doesn’t affect what I’m doing on the ice”. Shortly after, Weir created a memoir, Welcome To My World, where he openly came out as gay, and explaining it was driven by a string of youth suicides.
Since the expiration of his skating career, he began to shift his focus from the ice to the runway. He has appeared in the most prominent fashion magazines, such as Vanity Fair, and Vogue Japan. However, Weir recently was given the opportunity to be a commenter, along with fellow skater Tara Lipinski, in the Figure Skating portion of Sochi Olympics. He jumped on this opportunity, and according to Today.com, Lipinski and him collectively packed eight suitcases, filled with ten pounds of jewelry, nine designer bags, 25 blazers, and many more unique items of clothing. Some of his outfits include a leather jack with fur, accompanied with a Chanel brooch, adorned with Sochi’s official flower. I found great joy checking his instagram every day, and watching him light up the booth with his witty and fierce personality.
Even though the pair might have over packed just a bit, they had no problem with setting aside all the criticism, and using their fashion to make a statement at this year’s Winter Olympics. When asked why Weir chose the outfits that he did, he simply stated, “we’re in this position where we’re the new kids on the block and we have to prove ourselves. You can’t wear the same black suit every day so we have to mix it up”. All in all, Weir’s extraordinary style has provided an added form of entertainment in the 2014 Winter Olympics, and this is definitely not the last time we will be seeing him.