is a Japanese

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

and

costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

er known for her works in the sports of

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

as well as

artistic Art is a diverse range of culture, cultural activity centered around works of art, ''works'' utilizing Creativity, creative or imagination, imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an express ...

and

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ...

equestrian vaulting Equestrian vaulting, or simply vaulting, is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or non-competitively. Vaulting has a history as an equestrian act at circuses, but its origins stre ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...

. Inspired by the dresses and skating performances of three-time

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

champion

Mao Asada is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. She is the Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics - Ladies' singles, 2010 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Figure Skating Championships, World champion (2008, 2010, 2014), a three-t ...

, Ito has designed costumes for multiple renowned figure skaters from Japan and overseas, including a series of more than 30 costumes for two-time Olympic champion

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater and ice show producer. Universally regarded as one of the greatest figure skaters in history for his well-rounded skills, achievements, innovations, longevity, popularity, and impact on the sport, he started skat ...

, which has been featured in multiple exhibitions and publications in Japan. Two of her works for Hanyu were nominated at the 2020 and 2023 ISU Skating Awards in the category ''Best Costume'', respectively.

Early life and education

Satomi Ito was born on May 31, 1988, in

Chiba City is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In March 2025, its population was 983,045, with a population density of 3,617 people ...

east of Tokyo to a Japanese father and a Thai mother. In her childhood, she aimed to become a comic artist, author or screenwriter. Influenced by her mother who was working as a tailor, Ito found a new interest in fashion design and attended a high school with a clothing department. In 2007, she entered the Faculty for Fashion and Creativity at Esmod Japon in Tokyo. At that time, she was following

events as a hobby, but her focus was on fashion design, naming

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

and

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...

as her role models. In 2008, Ito won her first major prize at the Kobe Fashion Contest. After graduating from Esmod, she moved to England to study at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

School of Art and Design. While in Japan the focus was more on the technical aspects of design, in England she learned the "importance of concept-making and presentation skills", with more emphasis on the creation process. These experiences have shaped Ito's approach towards fashion and costume design.

Designer career

Beginnings and success at the 2018 Winter Olympics

After her graduation from Nottingham Trent University, Ito aimed for an internship in England or Paris. However, due to visa issues, she was forced to return to Japan. It was then that a figure skating video of three-time

champion

encouraged Ito to pursue a career in costume design. It was Asada's red dress for her free skate program ''The Bell'' at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

that impressed and inspired Ito as a designer. However, skating costumes were a very specific sector with few experienced designers and rather little revenue, which made it difficult for Ito to focus solely on figure skating. She joined the Japanese manufacturer company in Tokyo with a specialization in costume design for

and other performing arts. In 2013, Ito got her first request in figure skating from Japanese single skater

Haruka Imai is a Japanese former figure skater. She has won nine senior international medals and competed at three Four Continents Championships, placing as high as fourth. She is the 2008 Japanese Junior national champion. Career Imai began skating a ...

. The costumes were well received by the skating community and led to more collaborations, including her first client from overseas, Russian single skater Elena Radionova. In 2015, Ito became independent and has since designed a variety of costumes for figure skating,

and

, ballet, and

. The same year, she received her first request from Japanese skater and two-time Olympic champion

. It was the longest collaboration of Ito's career in the following decade, creating more than 30 different costumes for him by August 2023. In an interview with figure skating journalist Jack Gallagher in 2022, she explained how her skills have notably "improved through the experience of working with Hanyu." The culmination of her career followed at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

, with Hanyu winning the gold and fellow Japanese skater

Shoma Uno is a retired Japanese figure skater. He is a three-time Olympic medalist ( 2018 silver, 2022 bronze, 2022 team silver), a two-time World champion (2022, 2023), and a two-time World silver medalist (2018, 2017). He was also the 2019 Four Conti ...

the silver medal in the men's singles discipline. Both skaters performed in costumes created by Ito, which proved very gratifying to her: "When I was watching the live performance, I wasn’t able to stay calm and relaxed because I was worried about the costumes. The only thing running through my head was, 'Congratulations and thank you for wearing my costumes.'"

Exhibitions and award nominations after 2018

Over the following years, the number of requests steadily increased to 40–50 orders per season, making Ito one of the most sought-after costume designers in figure skating. Among her clients were two-time world champion

Evgenia Medvedeva Evgenia Armanovna Medvedeva (alt. spelling: Yevgenia Medvedeva; rus, Евгения Армановна Медведева, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪjə mʲɪˈdvʲedʲɪvə; born 19 November 1999), is a retired competitive Russian figure skater. She ...

Four Continents Europeans in the 16th century divided the world into four continents: Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Each of the four continents was seen to represent its quadrant of the world—Africa in the south, America in the west, Asia in the east, a ...

champions

Jin Boyang Jin Boyang ( zh, c=, p=Jīn Bóyáng; ; born 3 October 1997) is a Chinese figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the ...

Satoko Miyahara is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2015 World silver medalist, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2014, 2015), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medali ...

Mai Mihara is a Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2022–23 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, 2022 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents champion (2017 Four Continents Figure Skat ...

, and

Rika Kihira Rika Kihira (; born 21 July 2002) is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents champion (2019, 2020), the 2018 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Grand Prix Final champion, ...

as well as World Junior champions

Marin Honda is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2016 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, 2016 World Junior champion, the 2017 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, 2017 World Junior silver medalist, the 2015–16 Grand Prix of Figure ...

Vincent Zhou Vincent Zhou (born October 25, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is a 2022 Olympic gold medalist in the team event, a two-time World bronze medalist (2019 and 2022), the 2019 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2021 Skate America champ ...

, and

Tomoki Hiwatashi Tomoki Richard Hiwatashi (born January 20, 2000) is an American figure skater. He is the 2018 CS Inge Solar Memorial – Alpen Trophy, 2018 Alpen Trophy bronze medalist and a two-time 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, U.S. national medalist ...

. However, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

negatively impacted Ito's career in 2020, as she did not receive any requests from March to May as usual. In March 2020, the first compilation book of Ito's works, titled ''Figure Skating Art Costumes'', was published by the Japanese company

Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

. At the 2020 ISU Skating Awards, her costume for Hanyu's free skate program ''Origin'' from the 2019–20 season was nominated in the category ''Best Costume''. It was the second version of the costume, with a change in design and color scheme of the top from black to purple. The same year, Ito created multiple costumes for athletes who participated in the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, including artistic gymnast

Aiko Sugihara is a Japanese female artistic gymnast. She was the 2015 Asian team and all-around champion and uneven bars and floor exercise silver medalist. She was also the 2019 Summer Universiade champion with the team and silver medalist on the floor exe ...

and rhythmic gymnast

Sumire Kita Sumire Kita (; born 11 January 2001) is a retired Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Asian Junior all-around champion, the 2022 Asian Senior all-around silver medalist, two-time Japanese National Junior champion, and four-tim ...

from Japan. For the 2021–22 season, the number of costume requests reached a new peak with 60–70 orders from Japan and overseas, including the Olympic costumes for

Yuma Kagiyama is a Japanese figure skater. He is the 2022 Winter Olympics, 2022 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World silver medalist (2021 World Figure Skating Championships, 2021, 2022 World Figure Skating Championships, 2022, 2024 World Figure Skatin ...

Wakaba Higuchi is a Japanese figure skater. She is a Figure skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics – Team event, 2022 Olympic team event silver medalist, the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, 2018 World silver medalist, the 2024 Skate America champion, ...

, and

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

team

Kana Muramoto is a retired Japanese figure skater ( women's singles and ice dance). With her skating partner, Daisuke Takahashi, she is the 2022 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2022–23 Japanese national champion and the 2022 Denis Ten Memorial Chal ...

and

Daisuke Takahashi is a retired Japanese figure skater ( men's singles and ice dance) and ice show producer. As a singles skater, he is the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2010 World champion, the 2012–13 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time (2008, 2011) ...

. Ito's costume for Hanyu's Olympic short program ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' was nominated for ''Best Costume'' at the 2023 ISU Skating Awards. On July 15, 2022, as the result of a fan vote, a replica of Hanyu's purple ''Origin'' costume was put on display on his wax figure at the

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in London in 1835 by the French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. One of the early main attractions was the Chamber of Horrors, which appeared in advertising in 1843. In 1883, the restricted space of ...

museum in Tokyo. The same year, Ito eventually got the opportunity for a collaboration with Mao Asada and created four costumes for her touring

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. The major ice shows were founded between 1936 and 1943, when professional figure skaters began to appear in shows, in hotels, at fairs, and "at any place a ...

''Beyond''. For Hanyu, who turned

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

in July 2022, Ito contributed five new costumes to his solo shows ''

Prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

'' and ''

Gift A gift or present is an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many cou ...

'' with the latter featuring 11 of Ito's works in total, presented in front of a record audience of 35,000 spectators at

Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...

. On the 10th anniversary of Ito's designer career in 2023, a figure skating costume exhibition was held in Tokyo from July24 to August6 and in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

from August11 to 27, with a special postcard book of Hanyu's costumes being sold in advance at the Tokyo venue.

List of collaborations

Figure skating

Male skaters *

Tim Koleto is a retired American-born ice dancer. Competing for Japan with his ice dance partner and wife, Misato Komatsubara, they are the 2020 NHK Trophy gold medalists and five-time Japanese national champions (2018–21, 2023). Together, they also e ...

Ilia Malinin Ilia Malinin (born December 2, 2004) is an American competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World champion (2024 World Figure Skating Championships, 2024 & 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, 2025), two-time Grand Prix of Figure Skating ...

* Daichi Miyata * Shun Sato *

Ean Weiler Ean Weiler (born September 12, 2007) is a Swiss figure skater. He is the 2025 Swiss junior national champion, the 2024 Swiss junior national silver medalist, and a two-time national novice champion (2022–23). Personal life Ean Weiler was bo ...

Female skaters *

Shae-Lynn Bourne Shae-Lynn Bourne (born January 24, 1976) is a Canadian ice dancer and choreographer. In 2003, she and partner Victor Kraatz became the first North American ice dancers to win a World Championship. They competed at three Winter Olympic Games, pl ...

Chen Hongyi Chen Hongyi (; born September 19, 2002) is a Chinese figure skater. She is the 2020 Cup of China champion, a three-time Chinese national medalist (2018–20), and has skated in the final segment at five ISU Championships. Career Early yea ...

Mone Chiba is a Japanese figure skating, figure skater. She is the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships, 2025 World bronze medalist, the 2024 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2024 Four Continents champion, the 2023 Four Continents Figure S ...

Miyu Honda is a Japanese actress, tarento and figure skater from Kyoto Prefecture. She is represented by Oscar Promotion, having previously been represented by Theatre Academy. Career Miyu Honda made her debut in the entertainment world in 2010, when s ...

* * *

* Mariko Kihara *

Misato Komatsubara is a retired Japanese ice dancer. She represented her home country in partnership with her husband Tim Koleto, with whom she is the 2020 NHK Trophy champion and a five-time Japanese national champion (2018-21, 2023). Together, they also ear ...

Yura Matsuda is a retired Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2015 Triglav Trophy silver medalist and 2016 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy champion. Personal life Matsuda was born on July 22, 1998, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Career ...

* Yuka Nagai * Elena Radionova *

Ryo Shibata is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He currently competes in pair skating with Narumi Takahashi. Personal life Shibata was born on February 24, 1987, in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. The Japanese media called Shibata "the Japanese ...

Mao Shimada is a Japanese figure skating, figure skater. She is the Figure skating at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics – Women's singles, 2024 Youth Olympic champion, a three-time World Junior Figure Skating Championships, World Junior champion (2023 World ...

Yuna Shiraiwa is a former Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, 2018 CS Asian Open silver medalist, the 2017 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, Asian Trophy silver medalist, and the 2018 Coupe du Printemps bronze medal ...

Rion Sumiyoshi is a Japanese figure skating, figure skater. She is a four-time ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, ISU Grand Prix bronze medalist (2022 Grand Prix de France, 2022, 2023 Grand Prix de France, 2023, 2024 Grand Prix de France; 2022 NHK Trophy), the ...

* *

Yuhana Yokoi Yuhana Yokoi (; born May 19, 2000) is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2019 CS Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist and the 2020 Challenge Cup silver medalist. At the junior level, she is the 2018 JGP Armenia bronze medalist, and two-tim ...

Hana Yoshida is a Japanese figure skating, figure skater. She is the 2023–24 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, 2023 Cup of China champion, 2024 Finlandia Trophy champion, 2024 Skate Canada International bron ...

* Zhu Yi

Other collaborations

(rhythmic gymnastics) *Mona Pavetic (equestrian vaulting) *

(artistic gymnastics)

Publications

* * *

References

Citations

Books and magazines cited

* *

External links

Official website
(English and Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Satomi 1988 births Living people People from Chiba (city) Japanese costume designers Figure skating people Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Japanese people of Thai descent