Designer Vera Wang knows the ins and outs of competitive figure skating outfits because at one time, she wore them. Here she holds her engraved silver bowl, on Jan. 23, 2009, after being inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

In discussing ice skating outfits she says that the outfit has to sparkle like evening wear but function like workout gear; it has to stand up to the considerable wind generated by skaters' speed; and it must be show-stopping from every angle, unlike a Hollywood-starlet gown that is usually photographed straight from the front or back. In addition to this, the costume also has to complement the music. "I have to have the music for a skating costume," she says, "and that's not the way I normally work."

See some Olympic skating outfits from the past, as Wang shares her thoughts and style opinion.

Two-time American Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan wore a neon yellow dress with a pale-pink beaded bust line at the 1994 games in Lillehammer, Norway. It was one of Wang's favorites because it took Kerrigan out of her usual comfort zone as a sophisticate. "Neon is extremely active. You think of it for a cyclist or football or a swimmer. It has a feel of modernity and techno."

Also in '94, Kerrigan wore a white outfit with black illusion sleeves, a trick Wang also uses on the Hollywood red carpet to create a sexy, suggestive silhouette without baring much skin. The clean lines and geometric vibe were also purposeful. "I thought it made her look tougher," Wang explains.

Michelle Kwan, the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, made a "gutsy" move in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, by wearing a periwinkle stretch-velvet dress, says designer Vera Wang. It was a look reminiscent of Dorothy Hamill. (While Wang often collaborated with Kwan, this was by another designer.)

"It's a bit retro to go that simple," Wang says. "It was a statement of confidence. Dresses had gotten so ornate."

Russian skater Irina Slutskaya might have been trying to channel Hamill in her glittery, red dress in Turin, Italy, but Wang says only the dark, short hair captured the former Olympic medalist's spirit. Slutskaya's jewels are more traditional for a later generation than Hamill, who favored outfits that were sleeker and understated.

In 1976 at Innsbruck, Austria, Dorothy Hamill let her moves, not her sparse pink outfit, make the statement, Vera Wang says. The lower neckline, however, did show off her hair, which Wang describes as "the wedge haircut that inspired the country."

The midnight-sky blue combo that Japanese figure skater Shizuka Arakawa wore in Turin in 2006 "isn't my taste," says Vera Wang. It's a little too showy, but it did make Arakawa look like a risk-taker, which might have been the primary intention all along.

Italian skater Carolina Kostner wore a snowflake-covered outfit in 2006 that employed the sheer-illusion look that Wang likes for the ice. "She has a more womanly, mature style but this outfit brings her youth and whimsy," Wang says.

American Sasha Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, is a chameleon when it comes to her costumes, designer Vera Wang says. "You never know what Sasha is up to. One minute she's Carmen, the next minute she's Gisele."

Wang says Cohen was probably intimately involved in the creation of the ombre-blue dress covered with sequins worn in Salt Lake City in 2002; she is for all her outfits.

There was a bit of a jumpsuit craze in Turin and Russian Elena Sokolova's Tina Turner-style, black-and-champagne outfit fit right in. Vera Wang says she's not a huge fan, that this particular look was very severe and without even a hint of whimsy. Still, she says, there's no denying the dramatic effect of a Turner lookalike - complete with spiky blond hair - catching air on a turn.

Ukrainian skater Oksana Baiul liked "a lot of everything" on her dresses, and a frilly pink outfit from 1994 was no exception, Vera Wang says. The fringe, the fur trim, the beads were all very much part of a trend of the Eastern Europeans of that time.

The metallic trench coat and umbrella prop that Japan's Midori Ito wore in Albertville, France, in 1992 might make more sense if you heard the accompanying music, Wang says. "Was it 'Singing in the Rain'? It must have been."

Yes, the outfit is unusual for the Olympic ice, she acknowledges, but skaters are also under pressure to try new things.