Tara Lipinski on Her Custom Kentucky Derby Wardrobe: ‘This Year I’m Stepping Things Up’
Tara Lipinski and her fashionable sidekick Johnny Weir have already hit the Kentucky Derby (the stylish duo is covering this weekend’s festivities down in Louisville for NBC), and we have all the scoop on the Olympic figure skater’s debut outfit, plus her Saturday dress, both of which she had custom made by Project Runway designer Kate Pankoke!
“This is my second time to the Derby, and this year I wanted to step things up and take some chances with my looks,” Lipinski told PEOPLE. “I have always been a Project Runway fan and when the idea came up to collaborate with all-star Kate Pankoke in designing both my Friday and Saturday dresses I was beyond ecstatic.”
Surprisingly, the fashionable TV commentator has never had a dress designed for her, so she loved collaborating with the designer. “It was such a fun process. It took me back to my ice skating days — don’t worry, there are no sequins.”
Lipinski and Pankoke worked closely on every aspect of the two dresses, from inspiration boards to sketches.
“We wanted two completely different looks for each day,” Lipinski shared. “One of my favorite first steps was browsing the color chart to find colors that would work. For Friday, I wanted a ’60s inspired look, and we both felt yellow would be an on-trend color to use.”
As for her Saturday outfit, it’s inspired by a design Audrey Hepburn wore in Sabrina.
“I wanted the rest of the dress to remain simple and clean where the focus was all on the fit,” she explained. “We found a beautiful water color fabric and the moment we saw it we knew it was the one.”
Once the designs and fabrics were finalized, Lipinski met with Pankoke for measurements.
“I was traveling for the next couple weeks so it definitely took some planning to get these cross-country dresses done and ready to fit,” she said. “I could see the designs coming to life.”
And since no Derby look would be complete without some eye-catching, jaw-dropping head gear, Lipinski also designed a fascinator with Pankoke for the event! “I got the idea from a runway look,” she shared of the pink-and-yellow creation.
So how did Day one turn out? We’d say Lipinski is off to a very fashionable start. Her low-cut yellow mini played up her blonde waves and she coordinated her pink pout perfectly with her fascinator. See the colorful look below.
For her part, Pankoke said she was “fan-girling so hard,” at the opportunity to design for the the Olympian.
“Tara is so sweet and supportive,” she added. “She really let me have creative freedom with both of the looks, which means so much to me as an artist. On a personal level, I have had so much fun getting to know her and working with her.”
So what should you be on the lookout for Saturday? Lipinkski plans to experiment with hair chalk so let’s home for some colorful tresses. (Also be Johnny Weir’s hat game is bound to be epic (we wonder how he’ll top last years!).
What do you think of Lipinski’s Kentucky Derby outfits? Sound off below.
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–Brittany Talarico
