Figure Skating Costume Minute--Illusion or NO Illusion?

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Illusion or NO Illusion?

Illusion or No Illusion?

Backless? Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia and their Short Program costumes to "Love Theme from The Godfather"

Illusion vs. No Illusion. That is the Figure Skating Costume Question. First, let's get some "fabric schooling" out of the way for the folks that may not be on the "up-and-up" on fabrics and what illusion is. Illusion is a mesh/netting-like fabrication very popular in figure skating costumes (as well as with Wedding Gowns, Beauty Pageants, competitive Ballroom Dancing...). It can come in stretch (usually the most popular) and non-stretch. The content is usually nylon, elastene, Spandex,
polyester and/or maybe some silk in the finer, more expensive versions. It
is most often used in nude-or skin-like colors. It is great for mimicking
skin when you want coverage but the effect of being bare. Of course, it
also comes in other different colors (black being the next most popular
color).

 Illusion back of a wedding/evening gown

Illusion back of a Marchesa wedding gown design

The reason it's used--especially in the Figure Skating world is threefold: the fact that it can replicate the look of nude skin but still being "covered"; it can re-create certain style elements such as a "Strapless", One Shoulder or "backless" look and still make the wearer able to do strenuous sport activities; and because of certain "Costume Guide-rules" within the various elements of Figure Skating (Ice Dance, Ladies, Pairs) which require only a "certain amount of skin" to be showing.



Speaking of Rules, here they are:



Rule 500 Definition of Skate Blade and Clothing: At ISU
Championships, the Olympic Winter Games and International Competitions,
the clothing of the Competitors must be modest, dignified and
appropriate for athletic competition – not garish or theatrical in
design. Clothing may, however, reflect the character of the music
chosen.

a) The clothing must not give the effect of excessive
nudity for athletic sport. Men must wear trousers; no tights are
permitted. Accessories and props are not permitted. The decoration on
costumes must be non-detachable.

b) Clothing not meeting the
foregoing requirements must be penalized by a deduction of 1.0 point
(see Rule 353, paragraph 1.m) ii)).



Now, recently, especially while doing my "Costume Recaps" of this season's ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series, I've noticed a lot of "backless" looks from the skaters (the female, of course) as well as lots of illusion.



Here are some Photo Examples:

No Illusion Semi-Backless--Alena Leonova of Russia: This is her apple green sequined Bollywood-inspired costume to her Short Program to "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" by the Pussy Cat Dolls 

Illusion Princess: Above is Gracie Gold of the USA and her red glittering costume to "Hernando's Hideaway" as well as her "strapless" blue sequined costume for her Free Program Costume to Life is Beautiful soundtrack by Nicola Piovan. Both were designed by Brad Griffies and both featured nude illusion that is perfectly dyed to match her skin color.

Too Dark Illusion--Caroline Zhang of the USA and her Short Program Costume to "The Rushing Wings of Dawn" by Tim Janis. Here's another example of a Ladies Skater and her 2012-2013 Grand Prix Series Costume and the use of illusion. Here I think the coloring was too dark for Caroline's skin tone. But, maybe because there are crystals on it, the effect was NOT to make it look as if she was actually strapless or backless and therefore the too-dark illusion was somewhat intentional. What do you guys think?



Now, one particular skater--a Pairs skater--might be bucking the "illusion" unspoken figure skating costume rule: Tatiana Volosozhar of Russia:

Above is Tatiana in her Short Program to "Love Theme From The Godfather" costume for this season--a halter front and plunging back fishtail-hemmed dress with pearl necklace detail. At first glance, I thought "Wait a minute! Is there no illusion back there?" And then, quickly, I thought, "how in the name of the Costume Gods, is she being held up?"



Let's take a closer look:

From these close-ups, it looks as if there's a very strong nude elastic strap holding the front in place. It does not seem as if there is any of that nude-colored stretch-mesh illusion. I thought this was very unusual. Since, most of these figure skaters use illusion.

In this photo above, you can see that elastic across-the-back strap and possibly...only possibly, a hint of maybe...a line of an illusion fabrication---but...I think it's probably just a tan strap line--a remnant from her last Holiday in Ibiza probably.



Another example of the No Illusion is...

Canada's Tessa Virtue of the Gold Medal-winning Ice Dance team of Virtue and Moir--For their "Carmen" by Rodion Shchedrin Free Dance, she wears a plunging front, open back black costume. The front does have illusion fabrication (and a very good one!), while the back...

...Is Bare! (Mon Dieu) If you look closely at the the upper back left side, there is a nude colored elastic strap (being covered by her ponytail) holding the back up, as it were. But the shocking thing is, that yes, there is NO ILLUSION back there. Could this be the Figure Skating Costume Trend?



Could Figure Skating Costumes go the route of Dancing With The Stars?

Emmy Award-winning Costume Designer Randall Christensen creates these fabulous KRAZEE and Ballroom Dancing Perfect costumes for the ABC hit show "Dancing With The Stars" where miraculously there is little illusion used and lots of open backs, open sides and just about open-everything else, held together by double-stick tape, some heavy elastic straps and a Costume Prayer (And I'm sure there is much more inside those costumes that make them stay where they should!)



So, I put these question up to you guys--the Figure Skating Costume Fans? Illusion or No Illusion? What do you think? Let me know!!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2012--Ice Dance Costumes Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2012--Ice Dance Costumes Recap!

Ice Dance Style:

Applique Dance: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada during their Short Dance, Rostelecom Cup 2012, Megasport Sports Center Moscow Russia

Winding down my Costume Reviews for last weekend's ISU Grand Prx of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup (Cup of Russia) 2012...here's my final one, the Ice Dance Costumes. There is lots to discuss including a Kimono-clad Geisha, super-plunging neckline and an odd "headdress" accessory Figure Skating Costume Trend--Let's begin...

Top Three Ice Dance: (left to right) Silver Medalist from Russia Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, Gold Medalist
from Canada Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Bronze Medalist from Russia
Victoria Sinitsina and Ruslan Zhiganshin, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup 2012,
Megasport Sports Center Moscow, Russia

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada: Virtue and Moir won the Gold in Moscow for their STUNNING Free Dance (and a great Short one as well, of course). I reviewed their costumes for their new 2012-2013 season costumes for their Free Dance in my Skate Canada 2012 post HERE. They skated to "Carmen" by Rodion Shchedrin and I thought their costumes were FLAWLESS--their costumes were chic, directional, modern and Fashion Week-fab. I. LOVED. THEM.

Tessa's deep plunging neckline costume looked straight out of the NY/Paris/Milan Runways! And how FRESH to see a "Carmen" performance and not see RED or a single Red Rose--Olé to that!

For their Short Dance Costume--which I hadn't talked about--they skated to "The Waltz Goes On" by Anthony Hopkins. I thought these were pretty, had a nod to Period Costumes and worked for the Waltz/Polka dance. I also think the fact that they weren't so matchy-matchy--partner wise--worked. I liked the delicate placement of the feathers in her sequined chiffon costume/dress. I'm not a fan of the huge creme underskirt, but overall it was a pretty look.

Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland of Great Britain:  Coomes and Buckland skated their Short Polka/Waltz Dance to "Scalliwag" by Gaelic Storm (Celtic Music) and "Rhythms of the Fall" (from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics).

Their costumes combined Country-and-Western elements (his sequined-trimmed Western Shirt) as well as British "Period"-like elements in Penny's dusty rose and blue costume. Her back covered button detail, contrast yoke and bow are especially cute.

Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi of Germany: For their Free Dance titled "Two From the Grave", they skated to three songs "Tore My Heart", "Et Maintenant" and "Rama Lama". They look like these messy/torn-up seemingly-rising-from-the-shipwrecked-"grave"couple. It's such a MESS that I'm actually all for it. I juts feel bad for Alexander, because he really looks as if he got the BAD end of the Costume-and-Makeup Stick.

Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin of Russia: Monko and Khaliavin skated their Short Dance to "Sous le Ciel de Paris" by Yves Montand in these black, white and silver costumes. Can you say "BA-BA-BORING". Ooops, I think I just did. Try harder next time. PLEASE.

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: For their Free Dance Music from the soundtrack of "Ghost (musical soundtrack)", these two Russian Ice Dance skaters did their best to phone in the 90's film and--later--21st Century Musical--with their retro-looking costumes.



Unfortunately, Ilinykh and Katsalapov looked as if they were either skating to the 1983 film "Flashdance" or an "American Apparel" ad. This is just my "Nick Two Cents"...

Alex and Maia Shibutani of USA: This brother-and-sister Ice Dance Team skated their Free Dance to John Williams' "Memoirs of a Geisha":

"Memoirs of a Geisha"

I thought the Shibutani brother-and-sister team costumes were perfect. Alex looked sublimely chic in his grey side draped waist-coat/vest, black pants and white dress short. Maia was a vision of pretty in her rose-pink and steel-gray Kimono-and-Obi costume.



And Now, The Headdress Figure Skating Costume Accessory Trend of 2012:



A trend of sorts--for Figure Skating Costumes--is the Headdress accessory.  Let's take a look at how it has surfaced so far during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012-2013 Season.

"Slumdog Millionaire" Bollywood Princess: Alena Leonova of Russia skates her Free Skate, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2012-2013

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of USA: These cutie Americans skated their Short Dance to "Ojos Azul", "Dolencias", "Sikureada". I think they looked FAB-u-LOUS. Costume-wise, these two cannot do any wrong...at least so far. There was a little bit of Brazil, Latino, Carnival and Indo-Asian influences in these looks...and I loved it. 

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: For their Short Dance to "Andijan Polka", they wore these costumes above---and she wore...yes, a sequined forehead-accessory; I am telling you, it's the LATEST, for Figure Skaters! These two--for their Short Dance--were one of my FAVORITES--in terms of their Costumes! The print, the "Miss Universe Parade-of-Nations Costumes" aspect...all of it, fit perfectly.

Figure Skating Costume Minute: The Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute: The Ice Dance Costume Recap!

Yankee Polka, Swirling Skirts, Men in Black Pants, and Grecian Draping...

Top Three Ice Dance: (left to right) Silver medalists Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitri Soloviev of Russia, gold
medalists Meryl Davis & Charlie White of the USA, and bronze
medalists Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje of Canada show off their
medals in the awards ceremony during the Hilton HHonors Skate America 2012
competition at the ShoWare Center on October 21, 2012 in Kent,
Washington

Rounding out my "Nick Figure Skating Costume Minute" Recap on the costumes of this past weekend's 2012 Hilton HHonors Skate America competition---now, it's time for the Ice Dancers. In case you missed my last two postings on the subject, you can click HERE on my thoughts on the PAIRS and MEN'S and HERE for the LADIES. Now, for a little background (to those not "in the know"), there are two parts to the Ice Dancing Competition--the first being a Short Dance whose theme is chosen by the ISU/International Skating Union--the theme this year is "Yankee Polka" (Umm, OK, I guess!). And the second part of their Ice Dancing Competition is the Free Dance where they are allowed to chose music and theme but still do many required elements.




So, let's discuss the Ice Dancers--and their costumes:

Anastassia Cannuscio and Colin McManus of the USA/ Short Dance--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance to "Polka, Waltz", I LOVED her peach and pink ombre dyed dress. It was very old-school ballroom dancer; long flowy skirt, matching-color arm gloves and nice one shoulder applique. I also liked that she slicked her hair back to diffuse any attention away from the already colorful and intricate costume.

Now Colin, the tuxedo shirt and black pants...I know that this is par-for-the-course in Ice Dancing to have the man throw on a dress shirt and black pants and "call it a day" but seriously...It looks as if she was a guest at a fabulous wedding and she picked up the Best Man...at 2AM! I want to see something more from Colin. Maybe a jacket with a matching peach/pink skinny tie! Something.

Lorenza Alessandrini and Simone Vaturi Italy Short Dance--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance, their costumes were great. They tried. Thank you very much. They definitely brought the Mary Poppins theme to life. See how there are touches of her on him; the matching red neck scarf to start. In addition, Simono looks put together. It looks like a COSTUME. And her little red a-line skirted number--with ruffled blouse and underskirt--when she is done skating she can transform into the perfect "Alitalia Flight Attendant" uniform!

Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giuletti-Schmitt of the USA (try typing on a blog, or saying that three times!)--They ended up Fourth overall after their Short Dance and Free Dance. For their "Ring of Fire" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Chris Isaak Short Dance, they were very "Walking The Line/Johnny and June Carter Cash" in their costumes. I thought she was "Two Step" great but Logan WORKED it!! Here's a warning, if he ever shows up in that at Oil Can's Harry in Studio City, he might get FIVE "lucky" dates!

For their Free Dance to Adele's "Turning Tables" and "Rumor Has It", I liked the plum/violet color used in her costume as well as the multi layered "skirt". He was "just there"--the dress shirt, vest and black pants: yawn--especially after that FAB Short Dance Belt Buckle Western Boy outfit!

Russsia's Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev--For their Free Skate, they skated to Ennio Morriconi's "Man With a Harmonica" from "Once Upon a Time in the West". These were "contemporary" costumes--modern, fresh; non-costume-y. I liked her "plunging" neckline and he looked modern and pretty hot. I am not usually a fan of the black pants on these Ice Dancing men, but here it worked (I think they might be Steel Grey?). I just get annoyed when she's in FULL COSTUME and Ice Dancing COUTURE and he...in a dress shirt and black pants. I call that an #IceDanceCostumeFail. But, like I said, here it worked. So much so, they got the SILVER at Skate America 2012. Hello.

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada--For their Short Dance to "The Sound of Music", they wore lovely, "contemporary" costumes that one could have gotten from a department store. Her pale blue dress is pretty but there was nothing "'extra" special; it's like a cocktail dress from Macy's. He looked like he was part of the catering team at a wedding. It's SOUND OF MUSIC!!! I'd love to see more.

For their Free Dance, I got it. For their "Humanity in Motion" Free Dance costumes, they (well, at least she did) tried a little harder. I LOVE her draped "Grecian  Goddess"costume. It's very now and very sensual and right--for  the music and theme. I liked how polar opposite it was from her Short Dance costume. This one looked custom made. I'm not 100% on board with her continuing the pattern into the leggings, but I liked that she took a risk.

I guess all the costume money was spent on her, so for poor Andrew...he got the white dress shirt and black pants. #IceDancingCostumeFail.

Meryl Davis ans Charlie White of the USA--For their "Yankee Polka" Short Dance to "Giselle", they gave me COSTUMES!! PS: Yeayyy!!! Love her blue-and-white corseted "St. Pauli Girl" costume. Both her and Charlie looked great--and more importantly, appropriate for their Short Dance.

For their Free Dance to "Notre-Dame de Paris", they went a little more subdued--Meryl donned a maroon midriff corseted costume and Charlie...well, he went into his closet and got a black stretch long sleeve shirt and black pants. I would have LOVED to have seen a compatible COSTUME partner to Meryl's corseted damsel. A full-on period-piece three piece suit/vest/shirt ensemble on him might make me smile.