The Vortex C1 Alpine suit will be turning heads at the Winter Olympics, which start Feb. 8.

"The suits were tested in wind tunnels last summer at the National Research Council in Ottawa, the same tunnels used to test Formula One cars and airplanes," she says.

Catriona LeMay Doan thinks the suits are going to wow at the Olympics. "I feel that we are going to be intimidating to the rest of the countries. They are very different and pretty daring. Eiko wanted to bring out the beauty of our bodies and our muscles -- emphasizing what we've spent 20 years working on."

Sun Olympic sports writer Steve Buffery says the suit will not make or break Doan's performance, "You could put Catriona in a pair of shorts and a sweat shirt and she's still going to beat everybody."

Canadian designer Brian Bailey thinks the suits look amazing: "They have a shock value. These suits are totally intimidating. They make me think of Spiderman or a sci-fi movie."

Bailey says when it comes right down to it, "It's all about theatrics. The uniforms are going to create a whole new level of excitement around speed skating."

Bailey likens their inevitable popularity to what Katarina Witt's costumes did for competitive figure skating. "They'll be turning speed skating into a fashion event just like figure skating, which means more people will watch it."

Bailey questions why the sportswear technicians have not yet streamlined hockey uniforms to enhance player performance, "Just imagine Team Canada in second-skin aerodynamic suits with built-in airbags that inflate on impact."