ICE STYLE.....Figure Skating Costumes Recap of Cup of China 2015 Grand Prix: Ice Dance, Pairs, Men and Ladies Costumes Highlights

ICE STYLE.....Figure Skating Costumes Recap of Cup of China 2015 Grand Prix: Ice Dance, Pairs, Men and Ladies Costumes Highlights

Cup of China Costumes--Ladies, Men, Ice Dance...Costume Highlights of the Cup of China 2015 Grand Prix of Figure Skating

Catching up on my Figure Skating Costumes Recaps, now, it time to discuss some of the costumes seen at last week's Cup of China 2015 Grand Prix of Figure Skating. In case you want to read my Costumes Thoughts on Skate Canada International, you can click HERE.

Cup of China is the third of six international events in the 2015-2015 Grand Prix, a senior-level invitational competition series. This weekend was the 4th Grand Prix event taking place in Bordeaux France--Trophee Eric Bompard, but unfortunately, it was cancelled halfway through the competition after the horrifying Paris attacks.

So, here are some Costumes Highlights from last week's Cup of China 2015 including Ice Dance, Men, Pairs and Ladies costumes:



ICE DANCE:

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte Italy: Cappellini and Lanotte skated their Free Dance to La Dolce Vita (soundtrack) by Nino Rota in the costumes above. I loved Anna's black dress with silver crystal detailing. The heavy-to-light ombre-like effect of the crystals was short of magical and I also liked the "strapless cocktail dress" design effect. And in regards to Luca, I'm not usually a fan of the unfinished tuxedo look--unless it is done to make the skater look UBER SEXY HOT--but I still liked Luca's undone tuxedo shirt and pants ensemble. And the look of the blouson sleeve gives the basic shirt a bit of drama.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates USA: American's Chock and Bates skated their Short Dance to Foxtrot: More by Andrea Bocelli and Waltz: Unchained Melody by Il Divo in these looks above. I thought that Madison--as always--looked beautiful and so feminine in this ultramarine blue dress. I liked the intricate gathering and draping at the torso and how the multicolored sequins were used in strategic locations. I also liked the contrast color of the underskirt. Evan's tuxedo with tails was sharp and I appreciated how his pocket hankie was the same color as Madison's dress. And I REALLY appreciated him slicking his hair back and at least giving the impression of being a little more "formal" and fancy.



PAIRS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yu Xiaoju and Jin Yang China: Yu and Jin skated their Free Skate to Humility and Love (from "Creation" soundtrack). I LOVED these costumes. They are one of my Top Faves from this season. I love the varying shades of blue--on her and him. Her neckline beading is exquisite but here, I think the Costume Star is Jin Hang. His draped jersey cowl neck top is sublimely fluid, and I love the shoulder sequins details. Very well done for both!



MEN-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Javier Fernandez Spain: Super Cutie Javier Fernandez skated his Short Program to Malaguena performed by Paco de Lucia and Placido Domingo...and I liked it! I though he looked sexy (Hola!!), sharp and very much like a Fab Toreador! The almost blood-red color of his satin blouse was strong and impacting and his velvet and sequin satin shawl collared vest was MUY BUENO!

For Javier's Free Skate to Guys and Dolls performed by
Frank Sinatra--I thought this was another good costume for Javier. It was
perfect for his music, went well with the theme and it looked great on him. We
know he LOVES wearing this retro pleated high-waisted pants (remember his
Charlie Chaplin look from several seasons ago?) so I'm sure he was
happy to embrace this look again for his current free skate.

Jin Boyang China: Cup of China 2015 silver medalist Jin Boyang skated his Free Skate to Dragon Racing by John Powell in this costume above. In case you're wondering where the music is from, it's from "How To Train Your Dragon 2" computer animated film. I don't know why but I wasn't a fan of his costume. I think I just wished it looked more like the main character in the movie, as opposed to a sci-fi Samurai (which is what he looked like!).

Michael Christian Martinez Philippines: Michael Christian skated his Free Skate Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev. I LOVED the intricate details of the costume, especially the top. It's smart--design-wise to keep a lot of interest at the top and with all that gold and sequin applique in the velvet tunic-top, he sure did...

Now, in case you're wondering, he also skated to the same music for his SHORT program at last year's 2014 Sochi Olympics. And he wore the costume in photo above for this skate. It's a variation on his current one and it was donated to him by Tania Bass, a well-known figure skating costume designer, who saw his Facebook plea for proper Olympic attire. I wonder if this season's "Romeo and Juliet" costume was also a Tania Bass donation?



LADIES---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ji Zijun China: Ji Zijun skated her Short program to Clair de Lune and La Polka de Paris by Patrick Doyle. I've always been a fan of her costumes. They are always refined, expensive-looking and very Couture. This was no exception. I loved the heavy-to-light sequin details, the asymmetrical neckline and blue color variations. This was GORGEOUS!

Rika Hongo Japan: Rika skated her Short program to Incantation from Cirque du Soleil. She certainly got the Cirque du Soleil aspect of this
costume nailed. It was colorful and interesting and she looked like she could
have stepped off the stage of a Las Vegas Show and gone directly on to the ice.





Finally...

Mao Asada Japan: Cup
of China 2015 gold medalist Mao Asada wore this mini kimono/geisha costume for
her Free Skate to Madame Butterfly
by Giacomo Puccini. I liked this for the most part. The ombre-like
shading of the delicate lilac color, the obi-like cummerbund at the
waist...there were details I appreciated. It just seemed to lacking
Costume DRAMA, which I expect especially with such a dramatic musical backdrop. And
the proportion of the sleeves are a bit overwhelming. I would at the very
least, shorten the sleeves by a few inches. But overall, she looked beautiful.

ICE STYLE.....ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Skate Canada International 2015--Figure Skating Costumes Highlights: Men and Ladies

ICE STYLE.....ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Skate Canada International 2015--Figure Skating Costumes Highlights: Men and Ladies

I know I am a couple of weeks late on this but I've been in Europe for work (and play) and now I'm back...and I've missed some FIGURE SKATING! So...better late than never: I want to talk about one of my favorite topics here on my blog: Figure Skating Costumes. The Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2015-2016 season is well under way and I want to start with the costumes at Skate Canada International 2015 which occurred a couple of weekends ago...

Let's get started...



The Men:

Patrick Chan: For his Free Skate, Canadian Patrick Chan skated to Revolutionary Étude, Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4, Scherzo No. 1 by Frédéric
Chopin in the costume above. It included a silver-gray lace printed and lightly sequined stretch top and black "tuxedo" pants. I liked this ensemble for Chan. It was elegant, appropriate for the beautiful music and looked great on him. I especially liked the small details including the stand-up neck and faux leather outseam band and back yoke. And congrats to Patrick for his gold medal-winning skate. He was PERFECTION!

Yuzuru Hanyu: 2014 Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu skated his Free Skate to Seimei (from Onmyoji) by Shigeru Umebayashi in this costume. He is known for somewhat cray-cray costumes--or at least a little on the eccentric side. This wasn't as koo-koo as we are used to from him, but it was still lacking a bit of taste. I love Yuzuru as a skater but there's always something a little tacky and rather cheap-looking from his costumes. This top, for example could look expensive, luxe but it's just the opposite; he should look like the main actor of a Japanese period film but instead he looks like a background player.

Daisuke Murakami: Japanese skater Daisuke Murakami skated his Free Skate to Anniversary by Yoshiki in this costume. It featured a stretch velvet cropped jacket, copper colored sequined vest and black velvet pants. I liked the details--cuffs, notched collar, draped white top, the different colored sequins. This was a nice mix of traditional and enough "bling" to stand out on a Grand Prix stage.

Adam Rippon: I LOVE me some Adam Rippon. Not only is he just SOOOO cute, but THAT wavy curly hair...and now it's Kelly Osbourne purple-silver! He skated his Free Skate to The Beatles Medley. I was a bit distracted with both the color of his hair (which I love!) and the almost too garish colors of his costume top. At first--knowing that he was skating to a Beatles Medley, I didn't really get what his costume had to do with the iconic British band...until his music got to the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" part. Even with that, it still was a bit distracting and a little too much like an employee at a Super Gay McDonald's.

Nam Nguyen: Canadian Nam Nguyen skated his Free Skate to Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor by Johann Sebastian
Bach. I liked this costume, especially his shirt. It was a very pretty shirt, featuring sequined lace applique and crystal detailed collar. It reminded me of those gorgeous Filipino Barong formal dress shirts.

Timothy Dolensky: American skater Timothy Dolensky skated his Free Skate to Orchestral Variations on Themes of Chopin by Anže Rozman in this beautiful black costume. I thought this was a hot "Tuxedo" look for Timothy; the plunging neckline, snug pants and very fitted sequined shirt. He looked like a fab orchestra conductor-meets-sexy-licious Prom Date!

Michal Brezina: Oh Michal! I do expect a little over-the-top (in terms of costumes) from you...and you truly delivered this season! The Czech skater did his Free Skate to Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam. While I appreciate the bright colors and vibrancy of the costume, instead of a Principal Ballet Dancer doing Le Corsaire, he reminded me of a waiter at at a Disneyland Italian restaurant!

Keegan Messing: Canadian Keegan Messing skated his Free Skate to Theme form Pink Panther by Henry Mancini in this costume, which included a plum/purple shirt, bubblegum pink trimmed sequined vest, pink tie and black pants. I appreciated the "Pink Panther" homage in the color of the tie and vest piping, the whole look was a bit dated and too "A Chorus Line".

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The Ladies:

Ashley Wagner: American skater--and Skate Canada International 2015 gold medalist Ashley Wagner skated her Free Skate to Diamonds (from "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack), One Day I'll Fly Away (from "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack), The Show Must Go On (from "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack--the same music and program from her last season's Free Skate. She didn't change her music but did change her costume. I really liked this white with gold sequin applique design. I especially adore the "necklace". The costume was more "Bollywood" Diva and less "Nicole Kidman Moulin Rouge" and I loved that.

Yuka Nagai: Japanese Yuka Nagai skated her Free Skate to August's Rhapsody (from August Rush) by Mark
Mancina in this costume. The dress featured an ombre dyed ocean blue-to-indigo blue mock turtleneck, long sleeved sequined costume. This was pretty and safe. Nothing too-fashion-y. If I were to Costume-Score this, I'd give her a very safe 7.5 (out of 10).

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: Russian Tuktamysheva skated her Free Skate to Dance of the Sabres by Volker Barber, Peer Gynt: Solveig's
Song, In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg. This red and black costume is just OK. It's not as a good as what she wore last season (I really miss those chiffon blouson sleeves) but oh well. This one is slightly more "Elvira" and less FAB and the skirt is too long for my taste.

Polina Edmunds: American figure skater Polina Edmunds skated her Free Skate to Gone With The Wind by Max Steiner. First off, I'm glad her costume designer didn't go all "Scarlett O'Hara/Bob Macke/Carol Burnett" with this. I don't think there was any way one could (how do you translate a big ol' 19th Century gown for figure skating??!!). The costume silhouette was VERY Polina Edmunds; reminding me of all her other costumes. But I did like the subtle hunter green "Gone With The Wind"/Scarlett O'Hara color in the bow detail in her front neckline. Overall, however, it was a 1/3 cheesy, 1/3 too sweet and 1/3 too safe.

Kaetlyn Osmond: Canadian Kaetluyn Osmond skated her Free Skate to Ástor Piazzolla Tango Medley: Danzarin, Oblivion, Tanguera. This black lace with silver crystals costume was very Tango-licious. I did like the asymmetry of the one sleeve/glove detail. The red lips and red hair rose detail was nice, even if it was predictable.

Joshi Helgesson: Sweden's Joshi Helgesson went the Latina route with her Free Skate to Once Upon a Time in Mexico by Robert Rodriguez and
Las Bandidas by Éric Serra. I am usually a fan of her costumes (most of the time), but this one seemed a bit cheap and straight-out-of-a-figure-skating-costume-bag for me. Please step it up Joshi! I want to see Latina Couture Diva not This-Costs-$39.99!

Alena Leonova: I love me some Alena, she always "brings it" when it comes to costumes. This above is what she wore for her Free Skate to Summertime performed by Carmen McRae, Jailhouse Rock by Elvis
Presley, In Other Words performed by April Stevens Sing, Sing, Sing (With
a Swing) by Benny Goodman performed by The Andrews Sisters. Combing all those different songs --and especially different singers, is a lot. And trying to come up with a costume that marries it all, can be also difficult. I liked the plaid of the costume, I just didn't like the rest. The bust section was way too wide. The overall costume looked cheap and it was a little too "amateur hour" when it came to the design.

Congrats to the Top Three Ladies at Skate Canada International 2015 (L to R): Russia's Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (Silver), U.S.A.'s Ashley Wagner (Gold) and Japan's Yuka Nagai (Bronze).

Figure Skating Costume Minute: Yu-Na Kim Returns!

Figure Skating Costume Minute: Yu-Na Kim Returns!

  

Queen Yu-Na:

Yu-Na Kim in her Short Program to "The Kiss of the Vampire" at the NRW trophy at Eissportzentrum on December 9, 2012 in Dortmund,
Germany.

Queen Yuna is BACK. In case you follow Figure Skating and are a fan (I'm both!), this weekend was the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finals in Sochi Russia (Yawn...and so sad the stadium was more than half empty from the looks of it). But there was something more exciting happening thousands and thousands of miles away, in Germany: The Return of Yu-Na Kim. Reigning Olympic champion (and one of Korea's BIGGEST Stars!) Yu-Na Kim (or Kim Yu-Na), launched her competitive comeback at the NRW Trophy in Dortmund Germany.I had never heard of this competition and most --no, ALL--of my figure skating aficionados--hadn't either! They all jokingly said to me "Is this a contest created JUST for Yu-Na?".

After a little web research, I found out that no, in fact, this wasn't a figure skating competition created just for her but the NWR Trophy is an annual event organized by the skating union of North Rhine-Westphalia and has been sanctioned by the ISU since 2007. With more than 50 representatives of the media in attendance at the
previously rather obscure competition, Kim fielded many questions,
including some about why she chose NRW for her return. According to icenetwork.com, she said "I came to Dortmund and not to any other competition mainly because of
the date of the competition," (and) "When I started hard training
again this year, it took some time to build up my stamina again.
December is the best time to be in good shape again for a competition,
so we looked into the ISU calendar and decided to come here."

Yu-Na Kim getting congratulated by Sweden's Viktoria Helgesson, the Bronze Medalist of the 2012 NRW Trophy Dortmund Germany

Yu-Na Kim did very well. In fact she won. She received a score of 72.27 for her Short Program and 129.34 for her Free Skate which would have bested Mao Asada and won her the Gold at the Grand Prix Finals if she were competing.  Now, let's discuss what I'm really interested in: Her Costumes!

For her Short Program, she skated to "The Kiss of the Vampire" and her costume was SPECTACULAR! It was an icy blue color with very expensive-looking crystals in silver, blue and "Vampire Blood" red. It also had a perfectly matching nude illusion shoulder/sleeve section.

The neckline had a "necklace" of sorts--highlighting all those colors in very well placed sequins. The entire costume was fabulous. If I was rating her on costume alone: a 10!

For her Free Skate to Les Misérables, Yu-Na did not disappoint--costume-wise. She wore a gunmetal gray chiffon costume with "Period" sleeves, sweetheart neckline and delicately sequined bodice. This is how I like to see my Les Misérables costumes interpreted. Jeremy Abbott take note!

The back was great: It was all open and had a lower section of straps highlighting it. It was very "Elie Saab Couture"-meets-Figure Skating. Whoever is designing her costumes: Kudos to you! I, for one, am happy Yu-Na is BACK--including her very LUXE costumes!



Click Below to Watch her Short Program to "The Kiss of the Vampire" at the 2012 NRW Trophy this past weekend:





Click Below to Watch her Free Skate to Les Miserables at the 2012 NRW Trophy this past weekend:

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!!