"It's still all nude pumps and suntan pantyhose."

Why do figure skaters dress the way they do? It's not cool and it has no correlation to fashion in general. Why don't they require all the Olympic contenders to wear a solid black unitard? Wouldn't it be nice not to purify the competition and remove the distractions? Or is the absurdity of bugle beads and pirate shirts what we really love about the skating?