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".

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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).