My Design For Sasha Cohen, America's New National Champion

Congratulations Sasha!!

OK. So here is just a not-so-quick explanation on why I was so excited about the 'Sasha Challenge' and queened out in front of all of America on Wednesday night! In my household Figure Skating has been on the required viewing list for the past 14 years. In fact, David just returned from spending a week (yes, you heard me, a week) in St. Louis, MO where he and his friends spent each and every waking day watching the practices, attending every event no matter how important or unimportant they were. To put it mildly, they are obsessed with the sport and I have been mocking them for the last 14 years.

Cut to the show and this challenge. Along with the other designers I show up to an Ice Skating rink and realize what is about to occur: That I am to design a Figure Skating costume for one of the sports biggest icons. This is what I call Karma. My excitement and giddyness was more about projecting what David and his friends were going to say the minute they saw this episode on air, and that I, someone who has been mocking their obsession with Figure Skating, ended up having to design a costume for the sport.

Ironically, their obsession with the sport turned out to be a plus for me. I realized that I did have some knowledge of Figure Skating since I had been an unwilling viewer for so long. I knew that Sasha Cohen was a classic skater who had a European aesthetic to her style. Following this European aesthetic I also thought of her skating to famous Ballet's such as Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake' and Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

I was thrilled with how my costume turned out and thought it reflected the look of a Ballerina on the Ice. In fact, when I watched her win the Championship on Saturday I was happy to see that she chose colors and draping that were so similar to my design.

Congrats again Sasha, and thanks for the autographs for my boys!