The leotard, along with makeup and hair, helps the gymnasts to better convey the intended image. At the Alina festival and at the Sky Grace tournament, you can generally see a variety of original leotards, which help put together the director’s idea.
However, the leotard did not always play such an important role. When rhythmic gymnastics first came about, the leotards were as simple as possible - just a plain jersey suit without a skirt or decoration. Sleeves could be either long or short, the neckline most often was a boat cut, or a V-neck. The simple outfit did not distract the judges or the spectators from the gymnast’s movement.
Over time, leotards were made from elastic materials with patterns. Until the end of the 20th century, those were the costumes for gymnastic performances. However, gradually the design and patterns became more and more complicated. Gymnasts began to experiment with sequins, complicated patterns and appliqués. The winners of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta already performed in leotards that complemented the image conveyed by the music and movement. For example, many people remembered Yana Batyrshina's lantern sleeves in an exercise with a rope.
The real revolution took place in 2001 when Alina Kabaeva came out to perform in leotard with a skirt. The rules of the new Olympic cycle allowed to perform in short dresses, and this quickly became popular. Also around the same time, rhinestones began to be used to decorate the leotards.
The fab of the original designs fell on the 2013-2016 Olympic cycle. The skirts were
multi-layered, made out of fringes. Margarita Mamun first appeared in a sleeveless leotard in 2013, and she was the one to bring back the popularity of a skirtless leotard.
Today, generally, the leotard is made from supplex, and feathers, lace, and various unexpected fabrics (for example, velvet), and thousands of rhinestones serve as decoration. A performance leotard can weigh up to 2 kilograms. They can have different sleeve length, have just one sleeve or none at all. The skirts can be of various forms. And there are such things as transformation leotards.
Recently, athletes have been allowed to use leotards with thin straps. The Averin sisters, Lala Kramarenko, and many other Russian and foreign gymnasts perform in them.