Figure skater earns award nomination with costume designed by mother

The Asian Winter Games figure skating champion Kim Chae-yeon has earned an International Skating Union (ISU) award nomination with a costume designed by her mother.

The ISU announced candidates for its annual ISU Figure Skating Awards on Tuesday. Kim is up for the Best Costume award for her short program costume designed by her mother, Lee Jung-a.

In February, Kim won gold medals at both the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, and at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul in her mother’s black costume.

Kim has said how proud she was to be able to skate in costumes her mother has designed and said she will continue to wear her mother’s designs in the upcoming season.

Lee, who majored in fashion design in college, began making costumes for her daughter while Kim was in elementary school in order to save costs.

Among other South Korean skaters, Cha Jun-hwan, the Asiad champion in the men’s singles, was also nominated in the Best Costume category with his free skate costume and in the Most Entertaining Program category with his free skate.

Fans and media will vote on these two categories, plus the Best Choreographer and the Best Coach categories, until next Monday to whittle down the list of candidates before a jury made up of six former figure skating champions selects the winners.

The panel will determine the winner of the Most Valuable Skater category without public or media voting.

All winners will be announced March 30.