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).

Figure Skating Costume Minute--2012 Skate Canada International--Pairs and Ice Dance Costumes!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--2012 Skate Canada International--Pairs and Ice Dance Costumes!

Unitard KRAZEEE, and Carmen SUBLIME...and much more: Pairs and Ice Dance Costumes!

Top Three Pairs: (left to right) Silver
medalist from Canada Megan Duhamel and Eric Radford, Gold medalist from
Germany Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, Bronze medalist from Italy
Stefania Berton and Ondrej Hotarek, 2012 Skate Canada International, ISU Grand Prix of
Figure Skating at WFCU Centre Windsor, Canada

Alright kids, we're now wrapping up my Skate Canada 2012 Costume Reviews--you can read about the LADIES here and the MEN here , in case you missed it--so now it is time for the PAIRS and Ice Dance. And buckle your Costume Seat Belts...it's going to be a bumpy prints-and-sequins ride.



Let's being with the Unitard Costumed "Elephant in the Room"--yes, the German Gold Medal-winning Pairs team of Savchenko and Szolkowy: These two UBER fit Figure Skating Pairs couple are famous (or is it infamous?) for their "Pink Panther" get-ups of two years ago, which they wore for their 2010-2011 Season Long Program to, (you guessed it), "The Pink Panther":

 No one thought they could top these costumes above. Well, kiddies. They did this year. Read on...

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany: For their Short Dance to "Kismet" by Bond (the Australian/British string quartet specializing in classical/pop crossover music), they went very Cirque du Soleil splatter-paint/tie-dye with crystals--for their costumes. When they appeared on the ice at Skate Canada, I admit I GASPED. It was one of those "What the HE** ???". She wore a predominantly red multicolored unitard with a swirly illusion torso and choker/mock-neck detail. He wore a darker unitard with the Gay Rainbow Flag splattered on half his torso and legs. It made NO SENSE. And I swear that in the close-up images you could see PUFFY PAINT! Yes, PUFFY PAINT. But, surprise: I still liked it. Only because it was so wack-a-do. But (yeah there's a "but"), I know this was not music from "Kismet" the Musical or Film...and yet, part of me wishes that they would have dressed closer to this:

And if you think what they wore for their Short Program was Koo-Koo, this is what they wore for their Long Program--Koo-Koo Part Zwei:

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy debuted these costumes for their Long Program to "Flamenco Bolero". Robin wore another unitard so it's a good guess that he probably LOVES untitards--or showing off his perfect physique via a unitard. These costumes were like a Costume Tribute to Spanish Catalan artist Joan Miró-meets-Cirque du Soleil (once again!).  

The Miró part took care of the Spanish part in "Flamenco Bolero", but the unitard-splattered-paint costume madness...well, I'm still confused. With that being said, I am a big fan of being surprised, shocked and thrown off my couch when it comes to Figure Skating Costumes. And these two did that. As Koo-Koo as they were, they get my "Nick Costume Vote" for MAJORLY stepping outside the costume box. Although I must say it does become quite distracting...at least to me as a designer. The whole time I'm watching thinking "What is going on here?!?" and not really concentrating on the skating.

Megan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada--They got the Silver for Pairs during this past weekend's 2012 Skate Canada International so Congrats to them. They skated to "La Bohème" for their Short Program. So, therefore, their costumes were supposed to reflect 1840's Paris bohemians. Well...not so mucheey. Between the two, they looked like a Sequined Pageant Girl Collides with a Gay Boy Scout.  I like his ascot. That's about it. By the way: was that ascot supposed to qualify as the "Paris" part of "Parisian Bohemians"? Just wondering...

For their Free Skate to "Soundtrack of the 2007 British Film 'Angel' ", he wore an outfit that made him look like a waiter at a local Olive Garden or the Head Concierge at the Four Seasons: a pin-stripe vest, gray shirt, black pants and tie. On a good note, if this was inspired by the music of a 2007 film, his outfit WAS VERY 2007. Her costume was "just there". She could have ordered it from a catalog. Nothing costume fashion-savvy earth shaking.

Stefania Berton and Ondřej Hotárek of Italy--As is obvious from their Free Skate, these two skate to "Flamenco". They got the Bronze at Skate Canada 2012. She looks like a Spanish Flamenco dancer and he looks like a cute Czech boy (he is!) in a red and black sequined trim vest and black pants outfit. Positives: I like the asymmetry of her costume and the embroidered-and-sequined lace detail (which was carried onto to his look). Negatives: Oh gee, it's a red-and-black costume couple doing a Spanish Theme. How original. Not.



The Ice Dance Costume Highlights: 

Ice Dance Top Three: (L-R) Silver medalists Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy, Gold
medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada and Bronze medalists
Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko of Russia, 2012 Skate Canada International,
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating at WFCU Centre Windsor, Canada

Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill of Canada--For her "Yankee Polka" (that's the Dance Theme of this season) Short Dance to "My Fair Lady", these two donned colorful orange and peach-colored costumes that worked well for their number. As you know, I am not a fan of the whole men's vest/dress shirt/pants look but on Asher, it worked. These two always step outside the box with their costumes and this year they do it again. I can't say it is the height of sophistication, but it does get everyone to take notice.

Julia Zlobina and Alexei Sitnikov of Azerbaijan--For their "Waltz/Polka" Short Dance, these two went very colorful--using flame-like apple green and blue designs, against a black backdrop. I think it worked. He is very matchy-matchy to her costume and it's OK. Maybe I am just excited he wasn't wearing a vest that looked as if it came from "Ross Dress For Less" (like some of the other skaters).

Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko of Russia--For their Free Dance to "The Godfather", they decided to go "Jersey Wedding Guests" in terms of their costumes. Ekaterina wore an ivory knee-length dress with godets to add movement--and Ilia wore a suit that was straight out of 1982. Do you guys think this worked? I'm leaving it up to you to decide.

The only thing that I noticed is that you have to be very careful in wearing light colors and especially ivory--because the heavy makeup can get  on your dress (as seen above). And yes, the knee bandage is VERY CHIC!

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada--They skated their Long Program to "Carmen" by Rodion Shchedrin. Their costumes were FLAWLESS; chic, directional, modern and Fashion Week-fab. I. LOVED. THEM. Not only was I moved by their exciting and fiery program--the modern costumes enhanced it --and really said to a fashion-savvy audience (me!) that we are THE FUTURE of Ice Dancing. And kids, I was listening!

I loved everything about these looks. Tessa's plunging neckline and open-back dress looked like a Balenciaga Paris cocktail dress one could find at Barney's. And I loved that she looked like Kristen Stewart with her darker hair and ponytail extensions. I also liked Scott's solid and sheer top. This was  Figure Skating Male Costume Fashion Chic at its best. But my favorite part was that they made the choice--and risk--to skate to "Carmen" and NOT wear RED! Modern and Chic! They really moved me...with their Free Dance Program and these very 2012 costumes. GO CANADA. And GO Virtue and Moir.

Figure Skating Costume Minute: 2012 Skate Canada International--LADIES Costume Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute: 2012 Skate Canada International--LADIES Costume Recap!

Ladies Costume Review:

Silver, Gold and Bronze: The winners of the 2012 Skate Canada International Ladies competition--(left to right) Silver
medalist Akiko Suzuki from Japan, Gold medalist Kaetlyn Osmond from
Canada and Bronze medalist Kanako Murakami from Japan--2012 Skate Canada International, ISU Grand
Prix of Figure Skating at WFCU Centre Windsor,
Canada

If you're a Figure Skating Watcher--and fan--you know that Figure Skating is BACK--and that we are now in the midst of the ISU Grand Prix Series of International Figure Skating Competitions. Last weekend was the first installment--Skate America 2012 and you can read/see my Costume Reviews of the Ladies, Men's & Pairs and Ice Dancers. And now, we've traveled a little bit up North and we are onto Skate Canada International 2012.

Let's begin my Costume Recap of the LADIES:

Ksenia Makarova of Russia: For her Free Skate, this Russian beauty skated to "Megapolis". She wore a sea-foam green costume that was modern and very contemporary. The entire costume was solid stretch fabric except for one sleeve that was in an embroidered sequined lace that looked very expensive. Her costume had asymmetrical details and a "cut-out" at the side.

I thought it was unique and definitely stood out among all the other semi-typical figure skating ladies costumes.  I almost wanted the cut out to be wider, and would have liked a teeny bit more fluttering/flare on the "skirt" portion.

The silhouette of Ksenia's costume reminded me A LOT of the bright neon costume Meryl Davis of the US Ice Dance team of David and White wore during the latter part of the last 2011-2012 Season during their Short Dance. Also, in case you forgot...

This above is what Ksenia wore last season to her "Diamond's Are a Girls Best Friend" Medley Free Skate Program. So, her contemporary sea-foam green costume is, indeed, quite a departure.

Akiko Suzuki of Japan: Akiko won the Silver Medal at this weekend's 2012 Skate Canada International. For her Short Program to the "Kill Bill Soundtrack", she wore this black and diamante costume above.

At least she didn't wear Uma Thurman's NY Taxi Cab-yellow jumpsuit!

I thought this was edgy and semi-punk-y for Akiko. I'm usually NOT a fan of those cheap-looking diamantes but in this costume, they kind-of worked (that's a lukewarm endorsement!). I liked the fingerless gloves and open back. It's not every day that you see Akiko looking well, so "out there". Therefore, I give her "Nick Figure Skating Costume Points" for going there!

For her Free Skate, Akiko skated to "O" from Cirque du Soleil. Her costume was pretty fabulous. It had a one-shoulder neckline silhouette, was blue and green and had overt Peacock influences--notice the sequin applique and feathers.I also liked the side draped "skirt" section. This was a very well done costume.

Kanako Murakami of Japan: Murakami wore this ivory and green costume for her Short Program to "Prayer for Taylor". The one-shoulder design was romantic, sweet and expected. She looked like an underwater Nymph rising from the Mediterranean. In other words: I liked. Was it "Fashion-Forward"? or Couture-looking or Directional? Nope, not so mucheey.But, it was very pretty.

For the Free Skate to the Tango-inspired "Oblivion, A Fuego Lento, Adios Nonino", she donned a red-and-black costume with red chiffon cascade ruffles and underskirt. I'm sure she was trying to "vibe" in her Latina side and reflect the Argentinian tango soundtrack of her Free Skate. But maybe, she should have gone to Buenos Aires to actually know what these women wear to dance the Tango. On a good note: the beading looked very intricate and expensive.



Oh Canada:

Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada: Kaetlyn won the Gold at the 2012 Skate Canada International this past weekend. This was a nice achievement, especially since she is considered a "newcomer" and was only assigned one event; therefore not really eligible for the Grand Prix Finals in Russia. But, I can still discuss her costumes of course! For her Short Program, she skated to Perez Prado's "Mambo No. 8" and "Gwendoline".

She was shimming and shaking in her black and crystal-filled costume. I really liked this mock-neck/long sleeve number. The fringed "car-wash" skirt section was a bit too "low-rent" for me...but I get that skaters and their designers want to come up with different ways of expressing movement in the "skirt" sections of the costumes. I liked the light-to-heavy beading in the torso portion of her costume seen above.

For her Free Skate to "Carmen Ballet Suite by Georges Bizet", she chose to wear red and black. Oh what a surprise. It's CARMEN. Hello. I wish once, someone would skate to "Carmen" in NEON GREEN! Seriously. Moving on...

 Her costume was predictable and almost "Pageant Betty" from the front...

But I liked the back--which featured four straps and and was very open (yes, it was covered in illusion of course). As a whole, however, the costume seemed dyslexic; the front didn't match the back and it looked like two costumes combined into one. The front says "I am the Third Runner Up at Miss World"--and the back says "I'm going to VEGAS!". My suggestion is to make the front design a little bit more original and directional. But still, keep within the fact that A) she's SIXTEEN, and B) that she's skating to Carmen. Not an easy task! And again: CONGRATULATIONS for getting the Gold for Canada!!



*** Next Up: The 2012 Skate Canada International Ice Dancers, Men's and Those GERMAN Pairs multi-colored unitards!!!!