Johnny Weir’s Fabulous Olympics Looks, Inspired by "The Hunger Games"

Vanity Fair

Julie Miller



Johnny Weir has made such a sartorial splash in Sochi this week, during his first stint as an NBC commentator, that VF.com's Michelle Collins opened up a recent Olympic recap by discussing his spot-on fashion choices rather than the actual sporting events. "[H]as there ever been a more fabulous NBC commentator?" Collins wrote. "His outfits are to die for and his skin is made of the whispered secrets of ghosts. This is the best Johnny decision NBC has made since Carson." Weir's own decisions have been so well received that he has given multiple interviews about his style influences in Sochi, even citing the Hunger Games character who most inspired him.

Speaking to Philadelphia magazine last week, Weir revealed that NBC did not try to give him any wardrobe restrictions going into the Winter Games. "They've understood that I'm clever," Weir said of the network. "I'm very flamboyant, I have a crazy dress sense."

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With this in mind, Weir says that he culled a very precise style for his time in Russia. "I decided to go more of Stanley Tucci's character from The Hunger Games," he revealed. "I'm trying to stay between the lines of Johnny on Skating with the Stars and the rest of the NBC men's family in Brooks Brothers." He has also explained to USA Today how his Olympic style differs from his everyday look. "I usually don't wear button-down shirts because they drive me insane with the wrinkles and the [dis]comfort of them. But I decided to bring it since it's the Olympics. [If you see me] at my coffee store, you get big Tom Ford sunglasses, you get a big fur coat, you get the purse, you get it all."

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While we have yet to see Weir on-air with a purse, we have seen him in a variety of looks of which Caesar Flickerman would definitely approve. (Most of which are chronicled on his Instagram feed.)The truest homage may have come earlier this week, when the athlete-turned-commentator paired a vintage hot-pink Chanel blazer with leather leggings and a plaited, Caesar-style pompadour ponytail. Other statement pieces in Sochi have included an Erickson Beamon gold knotted necklace, Rick Owens wedges, ruffled tuxedo shirts, a cream-colored lace shirt, a very Carrie Bradshaw-esque Chanel broach, and lipstick. As for how Weir is keeping warm and stylish in those wintery conditions? "When I tell people I'm going to Russia, they say, 'Oh my God, you're going to freeze to death,' he tells Philadelphia. "First of all, I have furs. But second of all, Sochi enjoys a really temperate climate."

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