Honestly, if you've ever spent a Saturday night spiraling down a 90s nostalgia hole, you’ve probably seen it. A high-stakes routine, a dramatic swell of orchestral music, and then—rip. A sleeve catches on a sequin, or a lifting partner’s skate blade gets a little too close to some fragile spandex. Figure skating movies love a good wardrobe malfunction. They use it like a shorthand for "this character is falling apart" or "this sport is actually dangerous." But when we talk about figure skating movies ripped up leotards, we’re usually mixing up a bunch of different things: movie tropes, real-life Olympic scandals, and the actual terminology of what these athletes are wearing.
First off, skaters don't really call them leotards. In the industry, they’re "dresses" or "unitards" or just "costumes." A leotard is for gymnastics.
But Hollywood doesn't care about your technicalities. Hollywood wants drama.
The "Ripped" Tropes We See on Screen
Think about the classic films. In The Cutting Edge (1992), Kate Moseley’s perfectionism is her whole brand. Every sequin is supposed to be in place. When something goes wrong in a movie like that—or even in the more modern, gritty I, Tonya—the costume is the first thing to show the cracks.
In I, Tonya, Margot Robbie’s costumes aren't just clothes; they’re a narrative arc. Jennifer Johnson, the costume designer, actually went out of her way to make some of those outfits look "homemade" and slightly "off." Why? Because Tonya Harding actually made her own costumes. They weren't the $5,000 Vera Wang creations that Nancy Kerrigan was sporting. When you see a costume in that movie that looks like it’s straining at the seams or made of cheap, one-way stretch spandex, that’s a deliberate choice. It’s meant to look like it could rip at any second.
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Why the "Ripped" Aesthetic Matters
It’s basically a metaphor. You’ve got this athlete performing something incredibly difficult—a triple axel, a throw twist—and the tiny piece of fabric holding them together is failing.
- Ice Castles (1978): While the original didn't feature a "ripped" costume as the main plot point, the fragility of Lexie Winston's world is shown through her delicate, blue "farm girl" dress. When she falls and loses her sight, the costume remains a symbol of her past life.
- Blades of Glory (2007): This goes full parody. They lean into the absurdity of spandex. Remember the "Fire and Ice" costumes? They’re basically designed to be a disaster. The "ripped" or "failed" costume here isn't a tragedy; it’s the punchline.
Real Life vs. The Movies
Most people searching for figure skating movies ripped up leotards might actually be remembering real-world "wardrobe malfunctions" that felt like they were pulled straight from a script.
Take the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Gabriella Papadakis, a French ice dancer, had a literal "ripped" moment when the clasp on her dress broke seconds into her short dance. It was a nightmare. She stayed in it, finished the routine, and won silver, but that's the kind of grit movies try to replicate. Movies like Spinning Out (the Netflix series) try to capture that "the show must go on" energy.
The Evolution of the "Leotard"
It’s kinda wild how the rules changed because of one outfit. In 1988, Debi Thomas wore a black unitard (basically a leotard with legs). The ISU—the governing body for skating—hated it so much they made the "Katarina Rule," named after Katarina Witt, which basically forced women to wear skirts.
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The rule was eventually repealed in 2004, which is why in modern movies or shows like Spinning Out, you see a lot more variety. You see the "ripped" aesthetic used intentionally in practice scenes, too. Pro skaters don't wear the glittery stuff to practice. They wear ripped leggings, layers of sweaters, and functional gear that looks nothing like the "Ice Princess" vibe.
What Really Happened with the Costumes in "I, Tonya"
If you're looking for the most accurate "ruined" or "ripped-looking" costumes, I, Tonya is the gold standard. They didn't just buy stuff. They used a Bedazzler. They used cheap fabrics to mimic the "desperado" feeling of Tonya trying to fit into a world that didn't want her.
One of the most intense scenes in the movie is Tonya in the locker room, trying to fix a broken lace or a costume issue right before she goes out. It’s not a "rip" in the fabric, but it’s a "rip" in her composure. The movie understands that in figure skating, your costume is your armor. If the armor breaks, the athlete is exposed.
Common Misconceptions About Skating Outfits
- They're fragile. Actually, high-end skating dresses are built like tanks. They use power mesh and industrial-strength stitching. They don't just "rip" because you moved the wrong way.
- They're just for show. Every piece of fabric is weighted. If a sleeve is too heavy, it can throw off a rotation.
- The "ripped" look is always an accident. In modern "edgy" programs, some skaters actually incorporate distressed or "ripped" elements into the design to fit a specific theme (like a post-apocalyptic program).
How to Spot Quality in Figure Skating Cinema
When you’re watching these movies, look at the costumes. If they look too "store-bought," the movie probably didn't have a big budget or a consultant. The Cutting Edge had actual skaters as doubles (like Christine Hough and Doug Ladret), so the costumes had to be functional.
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In Ice Princess (2005), the costumes were designed to show Casey Carlyle’s transition from a physics nerd to a "swan." They start out simple and become more complex. You don't see many "ripped" moments there because Disney wants things polished, but you do see the struggle of the "hand-me-down" skates, which is the equipment version of a ripped leotard.
Basically, the "ripped leotard" is the ultimate trope for the "underdog" skater.
Moving Past the Sequins
If you're interested in the reality behind the costumes, your next step is to look at the work of real-life designers like Vera Wang (who designed for Nancy Kerrigan and Michelle Kwan) or Tania Bass. They’ve spoken extensively about how they build these "suits of armor" to prevent the very rips and malfunctions that movies love to dramatize. You might also want to check out the 2018 Olympic footage of Papadakis/Cizeron to see how a real professional handles a costume failure in real-time. It's way more impressive than anything Hollywood has scripted so far.