Do they give out gold medals for best costume at the 2022 Winter Olympics? Because if so, Karen Chen and her mother would win. No question.
The figure skater, who just won a silver medal with Team USA, revealed in an Instagram video that her mother, Hsiu-Hui Tseng, created her costume for this year’s free skate. The purple dress is certainly stunning with its flowing bell sleeves and an illusion neckline that’s embellished with rhinestone flowers and butterflies. As the caption for the video reads, “It’s all in the details.”
“I’m wearing my figure skating dress that my mom actually made for me,” Chen says in the video. “She probably does 90% of the work, and I do like 10%, and by 10%, I just tell her like, ‘Oh, that looks good,’ or, ‘That doesn’t look good.’”
Chen then added, “She does all the hard work, and she puts, like, blood, sweat, and tears into it.”
Chen also pointed out her favorite part of costume: a butterfly that was a subtle nod to the figure skater’s routine. (She performed to “Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto” on Monday, February 7.) “I think my favorite part is this butterfly down here,” Chen says as she points at the rhinestone butterfly. “She strategically picked the stones and arranged them in a way so it looks like a butterfly because my free program, I’m skating to a ‘Butterfly Lovers’ Concerto,’ and so I just want to be a pretty butterfly on the ice.”
So sweet! You can watch the whole video—and see the costume up close in detail—here.
