The latest endeavor by the Olympic Gold Medal figure skater and Dancing With the Stars winner is Tsa.ya, a women’s active wear line that draws on Yamaguchi’s training as an athlete, life as a mom and passion for childhood literacy.
By Ada Tseng
One of Kristi Yamaguchi’s favorite aspects of figure skating has always been the costumes. She still loves the iconic black and gold sequined outfit that she was wearing when she won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics when she was only 20 years old.
“I wasn’t planning to wear it because all year, I had worn a pink dress with short sleeves,” she remembers. “I got superstitious and wanted to wear the pink one again. But I’m glad my mom encouraged me to wear the gold one because it was so much more elegant. The look is so ’90s, and we had costume restrictions back then, so it’s more conservative than what you see now. But I still like it!”
Fashion was an early passion for Yamaguchi. She was not only involved in designing her skating costumes, but post-Olympics, she was the official spokesperson for the apparel fiber company Celanese Acetate’s fashion campaign, where she was able to work with designers including Tadashi, Carolina Herrera and Carmen Marc Valvo. Years later, she slipped back into a number of beautiful, extravagant costumes for her 2008 winning run on the TV reality competition Dancing With the Stars, her favorite being the gold evening gown she wore while dancing the foxtrot with partner Mark Ballas.
Audrey Magazine Winter 2014-15 Issue – See more at: http://audreymagazine.com/olympic-gold-medalist-kristi-yamaguchi-creates-womens-active-wear-line/#sthash.J0IZnZj4.dpuf
Ada Tseng 