the.com/leotard
one piece of fabric that decides whether you're an athlete or under arrest
means A close-fitting, one-piece garment that covers the torso and leaves the legs bare, worn by dancers, gymnasts, and acrobats.
from Named for Jules Léotard, a 19th-century French acrobat who popularized the flying trapeze and performed in a skin-tight knitted garment of his own design. He called it the maillot; the English-speaking world later honored him by naming the outfit itself a 'leotard,' a word that didn't appear in print until after his death.
- named after
- trapeze artist Jules Léotard, 1860s
- original name
- he called it a maillot, not leotard
- same man
- inspired 'The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze'
- no closures
- engineered to never ride up mid-flip
- unitard cousin
- add legs and you've gone full superhero
mikhail baryshnikov — soviet-american ballet dancer who revolutionized the leotard's use in modern dance during the 1970s-80s
simone biles — american gymnast who wears custom leotards at olympics, including her iconic ones at tokyo 2020
misty copeland — first black female principal dancer at american ballet theatre, prominent in leotard-based performances since 2015