Olympic ice dancer Madison Chock turns the rink into her runway with her designs on display in Milan
Madison Chock makes headlines not only for taking home Olympic gold and silver, but for the costumes she designed for her duo and competitors.
Team USA ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who have been married since 2018, claimed silver in the figure skating ice dance competition and gold in the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The three-time world champions, who had been aiming for their first individual Olympic gold, fell to a French pair, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who had been together for less than a year.
The podium was surrounded in controversy with many arguing that Chock and Bates had a gold-medal performance that was underscored by a French judge, leading to a French victory.
“It’s out of my control,” Chock said in a post-skate interview. “I executed what I needed to execute, and so did Evan.”
Chock and Bates may not have claimed that second gold medal in Milan, but they walked away proud of their work.
“It’s a subjective sport. It’s a judged sport,” Bates added. “But I think one fact that is indisputable is that we delivered our best.”
However, Chock’s hard work and creativity didn’t just show with her athletic performance. She also turned the rink into her runway and designed the pair’s costumes for the games.
Their free dance skate to Westworld’s orchestral cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black,” costumed Bates as a bull and Chock as a Flamenco-inspired matador, complete with a red muleta cape attached to her one-piece.
Design has long been deeply connected to ice skating — with even Vera Wang having designed some notable costumes — and skaters and choreographers are typically involved in the process. But Chock has uniquely stepped fully into the rolls of skater and designer simultaneously.
“Figure skating has so much room for fashion,” Chock said in an interview with The New York Times at the end of 2024. “I am very passionate about design, and I’m in a sport that’s unique because we have an ability to combine creativity with athleticism.”
Chock has created nearly all of her costumes over the years, and in 2023, she founded Madison Chock Design and has worked alongside designer Mathieu Caron to bring her sketches and vision to life.
Her costumes have been inspired by everything from the Chrysler Building to Salvador Dalí, Billie Eilish, an Egyptian snake, and aliens, and her looks have won multiple awards from the International Skating Union.
It’s especially fitting that Chock’s designs are in the spotlight in Milan, one of the most renowned fashion capitals in the world.
“I’m very excited the Olympics will be in Milan, which is a great city for fashion,” Chock said before the games in an interview with The Athletic. “Going into the Olympics, I’m very inspired by Italian designers.”
Over the years, other skaters have noticed Chock’s work and approached her about designing their competition looks, to which Chock jumped at the opportunity.
Chock told The Athletic that she sees this as a way to bridge the gap in ice skating.
This year alone, in addition to her pair’s looks, she designed 10-12 costumes for other skaters, Bates said in an interview with People.
Competing for Team USA in Milan didn’t stop her from sharing her designs with competitors.
Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck, notably, wore Chock’s designs (in collaboration with Mathieu Caron). The looks, which they wore for other competitions as well, were inspired by “Dune.”
Chock also designed for Holly Harris and Jason Chan of Team Australia and Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Team Georgia.
When asked in a Today Show interview if it’s a conflict of interest and if she would be rooting for the teams from other countries sporting her designs, Chock said, “Absolutely,” and that it’s “an honor to be asked to help with something like that, especially for an Olympic season.”
Bates and Chock have acknowledged that while they are focused on their upcoming skating events over the next few months, they have moments where they think about what their next chapter could be.
“There are so many opportunities,” Chock said in an interview with E! News. “I feel like we have spent the greater part of our lives in the ice rink, and we’re excited to see what else is out there and just be open and try new things.”
In addition to starting a family, Chock has her eyes on the fashion realm.
“I would love a career in design, whether it be skating costumes, fashion design or maybe costumes for movies,” Chock said to E! News. “I feel like that would be really fun.”
Whether Chock continues competitively skating on the world’s stage in the years to come or transitions to a career in design, it’s all but assured we haven’t heard the last from her yet.
Want to see more of Chock’s costumes? Check out our Pinterest board: