Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Ice Dance

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Ice Dance

Ice Dance Lovelies:



Finishing my Costume Recap of "Trophee Eric Bompard 2012" ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating--it's now time for the Ice Dance Costumes:

Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia:  I have not discussed this cute little couple from Russia in any of my 2012-2013 Grand Prix of Figure Skating costume blog posts, and after seeing their Short "Waltz/Polka" Dance costumes to Cirque du Soleil's Quidam "Marelle" and "Zydeko", I just don't know how they escaped my "Costume Recap's"! These costumes are certainly attention-grabbing and most definitely fill the "Cirque du Soleil"-influenced requirement as dictated by their music. I loved the colors, the printed details. They were above all, fun. And for some reason, their Short Program costumes TOTALLY reminded me of..

The gloriously bedazzled swimsuits worn by the Gold Medal-winning Russian Synchronized Swimming Duet of Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina seen above--I wonder if they were A) influenced by them, and/or B) created by the same Costume Designer...

Julia Zlobina and Alexei Sitnikov of Azerbadjian: These two compete in the Free Dance program to the following music: "Mahalageasca" (a polka-like Roma Gypsy-influenced song) and "Ausencia" (a tango-esque tune sung by Cape Verde Diva Cesaria Evora), all by Goran Bregović. Bregović is one of the most  internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans and lives in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

 Bosnian Folk Costumes

 Romanian Folk Costumes

Zlobina and Sitnikov's costumes reflected a bit of Gypsy/Romani, Balkan
and Eastern European Folk-wear to them. I liked the folk-costume nod
which included Alexei's vest, Julia's fuller skirt, the red, black and blue color
contrasts. I also admired the delicate "looped" colored trim. I just
dislike THAT "Ross Dress 4 Less" belt of his. Why oh why did he not wear a beautiful wide sash similar to the traditional costumes?!?

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada: Gilles and Poirier competed in their Free Dance program to music from The Gulag Orchestra, Hungry Ghosts. Piper wears a very sexy and revealing cheetah print tunic/dress with high side-slits, a fishtail hem, plunging back and cowl-draped neckline. He wears a folk-sy costume in black, mustard colors with a vest trimmed in gold.

They make an unusually costumed ice dance pair in that she looks like she should be a character from "The Flintstones" and he looks like a dancer for the Gipsy Kings. Go figure.

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France: The French Ice Dance team got the Gold in France at last weekend's "Trophee Eric Bompard"! I've discussed both their Short and Free Dance costumes HERE in my "Cup of China" Ice Dance posting. Above, we see the costumes for their Short Dance to "Gaite Parisienne" by Jacques Offenbach and "Sous le ciel de Paris" performed by Yves Montand, a very French, very can-can musical number--and their costumes reflected this wonderfully. I loved them!



So, for now, let's bid Adieu to Trophee Eric Bompard 2012 and France

And look forward to Sendai Japan, for NHK Trohpy 2012 this weekend:

There's more figure skating and yes, more of my "Figure Skating Costume Recaps" to come... But, for now: Happy Thanksgiving to EVERYONE!!!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Pairs Costume Recap!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Pairs Costume Recap!

Les Pairs...

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France: James and Cipres skated their Free Program to "Pearl Harbor" by Hans Zimmer. Even though these costumes had little to do with the music or theme (maybe the ocean-blue color of the costumes were hints of the Pacific Ocean?), they were actually quite lovely, lyric, fluid and beautifully executed. Her blue ombre-dyed "skirt" over illusion and solid torso, which then was detailed with many, many sequins looked exquisitely luxe. I also loved how Morgan's costume perfectly mirrored hers. And let me just say this: any guy who wears an asymmetrical side draped chiffon and v-neck top attached with very tight pants and a waistband encrusted with what looked like THOUSANDS of very expensive Swarovski crystals--and still look somewhat BUTCH...well, kids, he has my "Nick Vote" of Figure Skating FABULOUSNESS!

Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao of China: The only Chinese Paris team to compete at Trophee Eric Bompard 2012, Cheng and Hao skated their Free Program to "Poeta" by Vincente Amigo wearing these red and black costumes above. The music is Spanish Flamenco and well, so are their costumes. I think that whoever designed these could have been a little more creative. And there it is again: THE Costume Detail Figure Skating Trend of 2012--the criss-cross straps.

Daria Popova and Bruno Massot of France: This Pairs couple from France skated their Short Program to "La Belle Histoire" Sountrack, from an early 90's French film. Their costumes were contemporary and worked well together. Daria's wearing a one-shoulder beaded applique costume and Bruno has a raised v-neck featuring embroidered sequin detail. He looked HUNKY in that outfit. Like Morgan Cipres above, he was able to look hunky, while wearing sequined applique...

For their Free program to "Chocca" and "Far Away" by Apocalyptica (a 90's Finnish metal band from Helsinki--I know, Go Figure!) Popova and Masot wore these looks above. They seem a little disjointed with each other. Bruno wears a tight black crew neck t-shirt with side chest beading and Daria wears a violet-colored costume with a side cut out and silver sequins surrounding it. Just because there's beading in both does not make them harmonious together. Come on France and the French Figure Skating Federation, make the petite main of Haute Couture proud and give these kids better Free Program costumes...or at least ones that work as a pair. On a good note: once again Bruno looks HUNKY McHunky in his very tight short sleeve tee.

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia: Russian Pairs team Stolbova and Klimov did their Free Skate to "The Addams Family" by Marc Shaiman in the red, black and white costumes above. I can see the correlation between Fedor's striped jacket and Gomez' striped jacket and Pugsley's striped crewneck tee. I do love the colorful costumes and their "theatricality" even if they look almost better suited for an Ice Dance routine. With that being said, they still look more appropriate if they were skating to...

 "Meet Me in St. Louis"

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia: Kavaguti and Smirnov skate their Short Program to "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss and their Free Skate to "February" by Leonid Levashevich. In my "Cup of China 2012" blog posting, I discussed these costumes HERE. I liked them!

I thought they looked delicate and well-made and I especially enjoyed the subtle yet impressive details in hers, such as the sequined trim at her high-hips in the Short Program costume and the back sequin embroidery of her Free Skate costume (seen in the above photos). I also think Alexander looked much more "cleaned up" without the goatee. It also looks like he got a slight haircut (good idea!). Oh and yes, Congrats to them for getting the Gold for the Pairs at Trophee Eric Bompard 2012!



***Up Next: The final Trophee Eric Bompard 2012 Costume Posting...Ice Dance!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--The Ladies!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--The Ladies!

Les Femmes:

Colorful Top Three: (left to right) Silver Medalist Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, Ashley Wagner of USA with the Gold, and Bronze Medalist Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Trophee Eric Bompard, Omnisports Bercy, Paris, France

This past weekend was Trophée Eric Bompard 2012, the French-hosted arm of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating invitational international competition. I discussed the Men and their costumes HERE in my last post, but now it's time for the LADIES. As usual, the Ladies Figure Skaters looked like little Princesses in their bedazzled and colorful costumes.

Figure Skating Princesses: Princess Caroline of Hanover Hereditary Princess of Monaco and her youngest daughter Princess Alexandra, seen above at the World Figure Skating Championships in Nice in March of this year

But, speaking of Princesses, there were a couple of REAL ones in the Omnisports audience: Princess Caroline of Hanover, Hereditary Princess of Monaco and her youngest daughter Princess Alexandra--it was very cute when the cameras would pan to them and little Alexandra would be holding up signs for USA's Ashley Wagner as well as some of the French figure skaters of course.



Now let's get to the LADIES and their COSTUMES. First up (Drum Roll Please!)...A COSTUME CHANGE!

Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia: Fourteen-year old Julia (she was born in 1998!!! Ouch that really hurts!) skated her Free Skate to the iconic "Pas de Deux" from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky wearing the above deep lilac costume at this past weekend's Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris. The costume had crystals and stretch lace with criss-cross details (a popular trend in current figure skating costumes) throughout the arms and neckline. It looks a little "Jr. Figure Skater" in the picture above but it came off prettier on TV. This was a Change of Costume from what she wore at the Cup of China 2012 earlier this month:

Julia Lipnitskaia at "Cup of China 2012" during her Free Skate to the "Pas de Deux" by Tchaikovsky. I didn't like this plain lace white costume. Back in my "Cup of China" post, I said that it looked like a cheap lace lingerie and I was alarmed by the sheerness of the lace on a 14-year old. Either someone read my blog or her "people" were thinking the same thing I was and well, voila: Costume Change! It's a good change, but part of me would still like her to look more like this:

  Sugar Plum Fairy Ballerina Costumes, "The Nutcracker"

Julia Lipnitskaia in her Short Program Costume to "Sabre Dance" (modern arrangement) by Khachaturian. Yes, it's a BODYSUIT, kiddies--which we don't see often in figure skating, especially in international competitive figure skating. I wasn't a fan of this either but I do like the fact that it's different, unexpected and stands out.

Léna Marrocco of France: I have never discussed Lena in any of my "Figure Skating Costume Minute's" so this is a first and I was excited to do so. When I saw photos of her and this costume, I prayed that she WAS NOT skating to "Les Misérables", and yes, I was right--she wore this for her Short Program to "No Hay Problema" by Pink Martini. Her bright orange and lemon-yellow fringed costume also features THE "figure skating costume" detail of the YEAR--The criss-cross laced-up detail. It's an attention-grabbing costume but somehow looks as if it belongs to one of the 1,000 samba-dancing extras at a Rio de Janeiro Carnival celebration. I also think that if she's going to "Go There", she needs to take it ALL the way; her makeup and hair need to be more finished.



 Speaking of Attention Grabbing...and someone who Takes It All The Way:

Joshi Helgesson of Sweden:  I've talked about the beautiful Joshi and this costume above which she wears for her Short Program to  "Mystere" and "Taiko" from Cirque du Soleil --you can read that HERE. In essence, this I LOVED. This is a perfect example of taking a look to the 110% level, down to her fabulous eye makeup and hair details. There's an element of "Oh No She Didn't!" but in such a good way. Léna Marrocco of France should take note.



Speaking of Oh No She Didn't:

Maé Bérénice Méité of France: Maé Bérénice, I have something to say to you: You are my new Figure Skating Costume DIVA! (someone else can translate that into francais!).  This above is the costume she wears for her Free Skate to (wait for it!) "Jessica's Theme" from the Who Framed Roger Rabbit soundtrack by Alan Silvestri and "Hey Pachuco" from the soundtrack of The Mask.  I have no idea what either "Jessica Rabbit" or "The Mask" have to do with Maé Bérénice's gold sequined "Cleopatra/SciFi"--looking costume. Maybe someone reading this can enlighten me (PLEASE!) because...

One look at Maé's Short Program costume and I couldn't help but think that she should have probably skated to an instrumental version of  Whitney Houston's "Queen of the Night" from "The Bodyguard".

UPDATE:

Well, thanks to one of my FABULOUS blog readers...I learned that in fact I did get 

Méite's music wrong. She skated to "1001 Nights". To me, either way, she still looks like a Figure Skating Costume Diva, but this now makes much more sense with the music theme! 

Here is Maé Bérénice and the bubblegum pink costume she wears to her Short Program to "Derniere lettre du Prince" by Henri Torgue. It is a WHOLE PLANET away from her Free Skate costume. A planet called "1986 Figure Skating". This is cute for an 8-year old skating at her local rink in Colorado, but not for one of the top French Ladies Figure Skaters.



Finally, I must end with what is--so far--Hands DOWN--my favorite Ladies Costume for this 2012-2013 Grand Prix of Figure Skating series...

Ashley Wagner of USA: Ashley wears this for her Free Skate to "Samson and Delilah". I talked about my utter LOVE for this costume back in my Skate America 2012 blog post HERE. This is perfection. The color, the cut, the silhouette, the intricate bead work...all of it reminds me of a Haute Couture gown from a top Lebanese or Parisian fashion designer. This, kids, is A COSTUME and one that costs a lot of money. And it is worth it! She looks like an International Gold Medalist. Oh, yes, I forgot, she is! She won the Gold at Trophee Eric Bompard this past weekend. Congrats Ashley!



***Up Next...The Pairs Costume Recap of "Trophee Eric Bompard 2012"!

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Costume Recap of the MEN

Figure Skating Costume Minute--Trophee Eric Bompard 2012--Costume Recap of the MEN

Bonjour Paris!

Jeremy Abbott of USA skating his Free Skate at Trophee Eric Bompard 2012 at the Omnisports Bercy, Paris, France

This weekend was the next in a series of international figure skating competitions, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Elite skaters from all over the world are entered in the individual events either by being seeded or
by invitation. The seeding of top skaters at Grand Prix events basically
takes into account their placement from the previous World
Championships, as well as their ISU international ranking. Skaters who
are not seeded can be invited by the hosting country and each country
can invite up to three of their own skaters for each discipline. This is
to give a balanced field throughout the series, as well as allowing the
hosting country a chance to showcase their top competitors.

We started with Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup (Russia) and now, it's France for the Trophee Eric Bompard 2012. The French installment of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating is held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, an indoor sports arena and concert hall on boulevard de Bercy located
in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. But enough of the where, how and when...it's time for my Costume Recap. Let's begin with the MEN:

Jeremy Abbott of USA: Last month for my "Skate America" blog, I discussed this hot little costume that Jeremy Abbott wears for his Short Program to "Spy" by Nathan Lanier.  Here's what I said back then: I really LIKED this costume. The asymmetrical holster--very Hipster Fashionista, the slick back hair, the (almost) fingerless gloves...

For his Free Skate to "Bring Him Home" performed by Steven Jamail --the song "Bring Him Home" is from "Les Misérables" and as some theater-aficionados know, is probably Valjean's best known solo, where he is begging for God to save Marius and send Marius home to him and Cosette. Abbott's costume does give a nod to the clothing worn during 19th Century France with the puffed-sleeve shirt and waist wrap/cummerbund. The colors are rather drab but it's understandable knowing what the song is about and the theme. And also, as a skater and when it comes to his costumes, Jeremy tends to stick to a very safe and masculine style.  I'm not sure we'll be seeing frills, ruffles, Swarovski crystals and feathers a la Weir or Lysacek any time soon from him. With that being said...it doesn't mean I, for one, can't wish he would. At least once! But for this program he stays true to the theme and it works. On another note: CONGRATULATIONS for getting the Silver at Trophee Eric Bompard 2012! Good job Jeremy!



And speaking of frills and Swarovski Crystals...

Brian Joubert of France: Little French Hottie McHottie Joubert skated to Music from the Inception soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.The costume features a unique lace-mesh top and a very impressive sequined "exploding heart" right on the chest. I'm not sure what it all means and how it pertains to the film but I am sure someone who's an "Inception"-buff would quickly school me here if they want to.

 Ken Watanabe and Marion Cotillard in "Inception"

This is the style of costume that is becoming more and more popular with European and Japanese skaters. And I, for one, am all for it! I think it works especially well for Joubert who is known as an athletic-style skater. It helps to bring a visually artistic and more delicate side to his rather masculine approach to skating. I'm sure this isn't an accident amongst his "team" in creating his entire look for the season.

Nan Song of China: He skated his Free Skate to "Symphony No. 4" and "Romeo and Juliet Overture" by Tchaikovsky in this red and black satin and velvet costume with crystals, insets, and criss-cross and pointed details. I appreciate the color and Barry Manilow "At The Copa...Copacabana" aspect of this costume, but it all looks so 1984. It's like they went to the "Figure Skating Costume Archives" and dragged this out from the back of a now-retired male figure skaters suitcase. It's just so polyester-y and two seconds away from a "Carnival Cruise Ship" Dinner Theater Show.

 Pass the Paella: Japanese figure skater Takahito Mura skating his Short program to

"Malaguena" by Ernesto Lecuona

Takahito Mura of Japan: I've already discussed the costumes that Japanese figure skater Takahito Mura has worn during this 2012-2-13 Grand Prix Season for both his Short Program and Free Skate. You can read my reviews HERE. But since he did win the Gold at Trophee Eric Bompard 2012 this weekend, I felt that he--and his costumes--should be included.

Above is his Spanish Bullfighter-themed costume he wore to his Short Program to "Malaguena" by Ernesto Lecuona. I liked it overall-the beading and jeweled trim on the shoulders, neck and side pant panels were fantastic and the shot of blood red in his waist sash was just right for the music and fiery skate.

For his Free Skate to Music from the TV series Shogun, he wore this above. I also reviewed this already HERE and I also liked it. And from looking at the metallic grommeted details throughout the top of the costume in the top right photo, I am now an even bigger fan!

Top Three Men: (left to right) Silver Medalist  Jeremy Abbott of USA, Gold Medalist Takahito Mura of Japan and Bronze Medalist Florent Amodio of France, ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Trophee Eric Bompard 2012 at
Omnisports Bercy, Paris, France

***Up Next--The Ladies Costume Recap of Trophee Eric Bompard 2012