Spotlight On Costume Design

Hollywood doesn't have much on equestrian vaulters, months are spent planning, designing and making the intricate costumes that vaulters wear for their compulsory, technical and freestyle tests. Careful consideration is taken to adhere to the FEI rules for competition attire and to make sure that it ties in with the overall theme of the vaulters music. The FEI rules state that, "dress must be formfitting and all articles of clothing, or parts thereof, must remain attached to the vaulters body at all times. Trousers must be secured to the foot and skirts may only be worn over tights or leggings."

Laura Loonstein from Italy tells us that she is wearing a brand new costume at this event. She had it designed specially for her; she wanted a costume that was feminine yet strong for her freestyle. As she lives in the fashion capital of the world, she had one of her mothers friends who is an Italian designer, Mirca Morselli, lend a hand during the design phase. It is a turquoise lycra with black and clear crystals on white stripes. She especially likes it because all of the lines on the uniform are continuous and the lines are beautiful.

Inspiration comes from many places for the vaulters, Anna VanVranken saw a card in an airport while she was traveling for vaulting that sparked her imagination for a new uniform design. The card had a beautiful black, blue and green butterfly on it as does her freestyle costume now. Her routine is choreographed to graceful music and so, the skirted butterfly costume really allows her to tell her freestyle story.

Kristian Roberts tells us that he tried to keep his uniform simple but themed in line with his music which is from the movie, "Narnia." His coach Jill Palmer made the costume for him, it's black Under Armor with some silver material added to look like armor. He thinks it adds to the overall ambiance and really makes the performance exciting to watch for the audience.

Laura and Mackenzie Jassowski are both designers of their own costumes. Laura said, "I really tried to make something that was dramatic and that no one else had. I designed the whole thing myself, down to the last stitch." Mackenzie tells us that she wanted something that would be bright and stand out from the crowd. It was also important to have something that was simple yet elegant to match with her music. She loves wearing her uniform and feels proud that she designed it herself.