SAN FRANCISCO -- The flashy red-white-and-blue leotard worn by the women gymnasts from the U.S. Olympic team were hand-made by a Japanese company just for the Games, but the outfit may be available soon to the public.
The one-piece suit, made by the Asics Tiger Corp. of Kobe, Japan, features a patriotic flag motif. White stars on ablue background run down one side of the garment with red and white lines extending across the body and along one arm.
The striking suit caught the eyes of millions of Americans who watched television coverage of U.S. gymnastics stars like Mary Lou Retton and Julianne McNamara in gold medal-winning performances.
'The hottest thing out is that leotard,' said Rich Kenney, marketing director for the U.S. Gymnastics Federation which holds the rights to the suit through 1985.
'Just the fact of the amount of exposure it got is fantastic. The TV ratings are astronomical,' Kenney said. 'Mary Lou wore it on Johnny Carson last night (Wednesday) and she's been in Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. That's more exposure than any leotard has anywhere.'
Now there is a clamor for the 'USA Forever' suits from aspiring gymnasts across the country, according to Kenney.
'We're working as quickly as possible to get this thing out on the market,' he said. 'It's a matter of getting the (production) lines set up.'
The suit was the brainchild of Virginia Garvin, a textile designer and artist in Carmel, Calif. The flag design was picked from 11 sketches she submitted nearly two years ago.
'When I watched the Games and noticed they were wearing those in competition, I was really excited. I love the way they look,' the designer said. 'I was glued to the TV, watching how it moved on the gymnasts.'
David Kuff, an Asics spokesman in Los Angeles, said the firm was eager to get into commercial production of the gymnastic outfits.
'They (the gymnastics federation) are discussing with Tiger to find out if they could sell the uniform to girls across the country,' Kuff said. 'Asics should have an answer within two weeks.'
The suits used in the competition were made by Manabu Yamada, Asics Tiger's apparel design specialist.
'They're the only ones in the world. They were hand-made here,' Kuff said.
Asics, one of the largest sporting shoe and athletic apparel manufacturers in Japan, has been around since 1949. In addition to footwear and bodywear for the U.S. gymnastics team, Asics Tiger helped outfit the wrestling team and some members of the track and field squad.
The company also supplied sports shoes to members of the Japanese Olympic contingent.
