NEW YORK — Olympic figure skater Emily Hughes will be displaying her fashion flair as well as her athletic skill when she competes next week at the Winter Games.
Although she had to get ready to leave in a hurry, the 17-year-old skater will have some new looks from which to choose for her competitions, said Tania Bass who designs Hughes’ on-ice outfits. Bass said in an interview that the skater has good fashion sense and tends to favor dresses that are athletic looking and not too fancy.
“Emily has a very quiet elegance,” Bass said. “She has a knack for knowing when enough is enough and is not interested in looking like a Las Vegas showgirl.”
The last few weeks have been a roller-coaster for both skater and designer.
Hughes, the sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, left Wednesday for Turin, where she is replacing Michelle Kwan, one of the world’s best-known women athletes. Kwan was forced to withdraw after suffering a groin injury. Hughes had been bumped from the U.S. team when a committee picked Kwan, who was unable to compete in the national championships. Now Hughes joins Sasha Cohen and Kimmie Meissner in representing the U.S.
“First she was going, and then she wasn’t and then she was,” said Bass, who has a studio on Ninth Avenue here. “I had given up on her going, and then all of a sudden Kwan was out.”
Bass, who designed all the outfits that Hughes wore in the National Figure Skating Championships last month, said Hughes has brought a number of those styles with her to Turin, as well some new ones. Among the styles she wore at the Nationals were a long-sleeve purple number, a bright blue dress with a halter neck and a bold red style.
“We were in the process of making the Olympic looks for her when she didn’t get a spot, so we stopped working on them,” Bass said. “I am now putting on the finishing touches for new outfits for Hughes, which her mother Amy will bring her Friday.”
She said the new outfits include a white micromesh dress with crystals, a black beaded number with a silk chiffon skirt and a burgundy lace style.
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“She is going to practice in them in Turin to see how they feel and then she will decide,” Bass said.
Little known outside of the skating industry, Bass met Hughes when she began outfitting Sarah. Designing for skaters requires careful construction that can withstand rigorous activity and usually needs numerous fittings.
“We ask them to stretch, jump, squat and definitely practice in all the looks so that we make sure they are right,” said Bass, who worked closely with Hughes, as well as her choreographer, coach and mother to develop the styles.
Bass said it often takes her months to complete each outfit, including intricate hand-beading work and a variety of fabrics and layers. Bass closed her better sportswear firm in the Nineties to focus on custom-made figure skating outfits, and is now sought after by skaters around the world. The dresses cost between $3,000 and $4,000 each, and Bass usually throws in some warm-ups and practice apparel.
In addition to Hughes, Bass will outfit Russia’s Irina Slutskaya and American ice dancer Jamie Silverstein during the Games, as well as Italy’s Sylvia Fontana.
Kwan’s departure is a loss for Vera Wang, who had planned to dress her in chic dresses with beading. Cohen, known for her flamboyant style on the ice, was the subject of a “Project Runway” competition this year in which budding designers were given the task of developing a functional, yet attractive outfit for her. The stylish Cohen was critical of many of the designs.