The 2026 Winter Olympics are full of eye-catching moments of athletic excellence – ski jumpers in the air like flying squirrels, Breezy Johnson’s gold-medal downhill finish, and Ilia Malinin at the apex of a backflip on ice.But they’re also an opportunity to admire athletes’ individual expression, and there’s no better event for it than figure skating.Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu’s fashion and accessories are shaking up typical skater looks – and they’re integral to her presence at the Games.The 20-year-old made history as the youngest women’s national champion in history at age 13, but three years later, she announced her retirement. Now, at age 20, not long after coming out of retirement, Liu is skating on her own terms, having rediscovered her love of skating. Accompanying her new era is a wardrobe that feels more like herself.”Someone called my style alternative, and I’d agree with that,” she told NBC.Liu stands out with her smiley piercing, which goes through the frenulum behind the upper lip and is only revealed when she smiles. Her hair is also breaking the mold among skaters, with thick stripes bleached blond. She’s been adding one halo, as she calls them, per year since 2023, saying the stripes are like rings on a tree.On the ice, Liu now chooses her training outfits and has more of a say in the designs she sports. She’s been photographed training in spiral-adorned tights, and her skating dress at a recent championship featured a jagged hemline and elements drawn from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video.Part of what motivated her decision to retire at 16, she has said, was how little control she had over her own life.”All my memories from back then are gone. I have no idea how I felt in the moment. I have watched it, and I was crying, and I seemed super happy, so I guess I was very happy,” she told Elle, reflecting on her wins at ages 12 and 13. “I didn’t enjoy skating back then because I didn’t make my own programs, I didn’t design my own dresses — I was just following orders.”As a teenager, she said she “grew to hate figure skating” and the demands of her training schedule. “All I wanted was to be with my family and friends at home, and live like a normal teenage girl.” Now, she told the AP, “I have ideas and concepts that I want to share with the world, so I’m happy to be here, versus last time I was kind of like, ‘Let’s get this over with.’ Now I want be here, and I don’t want this to end.”As for nerves at this year’s Games, she’s calm, cool and collected.”I don’t know what’s up with me,” she said. “They’re going to actually have to dissect my brain when I’m dead and figure me out.”PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
The 2026 Winter Olympics are full of eye-catching moments of athletic excellence – ski jumpers in the air like flying squirrels, Breezy Johnson’s gold-medal downhill finish, and Ilia Malinin at the apex of a backflip on ice.
But they’re also an opportunity to admire athletes’ individual expression, and there’s no better event for it than figure skating.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu’s fashion and accessories are shaking up typical skater looks – and they’re integral to her presence at the Games.
The 20-year-old made history as the youngest women’s national champion in history at age 13, but three years later, she announced her retirement.
Now, at age 20, not long after coming out of retirement, Liu is skating on her own terms, having rediscovered her love of skating. Accompanying her new era is a wardrobe that feels more like herself.
“Someone called my style alternative, and I’d agree with that,” she told NBC.
Jamie Squire
Gold medalist Alyssa Liu of Team United States poses with the medal after the medal ceremony for the Team Event on day two of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 8, 2026, in Milan, Italy.
Liu stands out with her smiley piercing, which goes through the frenulum behind the upper lip and is only revealed when she smiles.
Her hair is also breaking the mold among skaters, with thick stripes bleached blond. She’s been adding one halo, as she calls them, per year since 2023, saying the stripes are like rings on a tree.
On the ice, Liu now chooses her training outfits and has more of a say in the designs she sports. She’s been photographed training in spiral-adorned tights, and her skating dress at a recent championship featured a jagged hemline and elements drawn from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” music video.
Jamie Squire
Alysa Liu competes in the Women’s Free Skating during the 2026 United States Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center on Jan. 9, 2026, in St Louis, Missouri.
Part of what motivated her decision to retire at 16, she has said, was how little control she had over her own life.
“All my memories from back then are gone. I have no idea how I felt in the moment. I have watched it, and I was crying, and I seemed super happy, so I guess I was very happy,” she told Elle, reflecting on her wins at ages 12 and 13. “I didn’t enjoy skating back then because I didn’t make my own programs, I didn’t design my own dresses — I was just following orders.”
As a teenager, she said she “grew to hate figure skating” and the demands of her training schedule. “All I wanted was to be with my family and friends at home, and live like a normal teenage girl.”
Now, she told the AP, “I have ideas and concepts that I want to share with the world, so I’m happy to be here, versus last time I was kind of like, ‘Let’s get this over with.’ Now I want be here, and I don’t want this to end.”
As for nerves at this year’s Games, she’s calm, cool and collected.
“I don’t know what’s up with me,” she said. “They’re going to actually have to dissect my brain when I’m dead and figure me out.”
