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.....2015 World Figure Skating Championships Costumes Recap Part 4: ICE DANCE

Ice Dance Fab: Costumes from Ice Dance skaters at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, Shanghai China

Finally...it's time for my last Costume Blog Post of this past week's 2015 World Figure Skating Championships. I guess I saved the best for last--arguably, I am sure,...but here are my Costumes Highlights of what the Ice Dance skaters wore:

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada: Canada's Weaver and Poje wore these costumes for their Short Dance to La Virgen de la Macarena and Free Dance to Spring, Summer 1, Summer 3, Winter from "Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi arranged by Max Richter. I loved them both! In fact, I thought that they were some of THE BEST Ice Dance costumes of the season! In the Short Dance, Andrew's very intricate and detailed Toreador costume was BEYOND! And for the Free Dance, Kaitlyn's ombre yellow and red costume with sequined applique detail was SUBLIME! Costume Kudos! #IBowDown

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA: American Ice Dance skaters Chock and Bates skated their Short Dance "Don Quixote" by Leon Minkus and Free Dance to "An American in Paris". These costumes were--and still are--some of my favorites from the entire 2014-2015 season. The combination of modern lines, coordinating looks (male AND female PLUNGING necklines for the Short dance!), unique neckline details...they're both fashion-forward as well as figure skating costume impacting. These costumes get an "A++"!

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France: Gold medal winning Ice Dance skaters Papadakis and Cizeron of France (OMG--their Free Dance at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships was BEYOND a MOMENT!!!) wore these costumes above for their Short Dance to "Escobilla" by Christina Hoyos, "Farruca" by Christina Hoyos and Free Dance to Adagio from Concerto No. 23 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Both the Short and Free Dance costumes are SEXY as heck...without being vulgar or tacky. I love Cizeron's Short Dance white and black "Flamenco Sexy God" look with super tight plunging neckline white shirt and that cummerbund is EVERYTHING! And for the Free Dance, the liquid soft, ethereal, delicate costumes reflected perfectly their program. Between their skating, performance and costumes, it was a TRIPLE WIN!

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada: these are the costumes Canada's Gilles and Poirier wear for their Short Dance to "El Gato Montes" and "Capriccio Espagnol" by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov. One word: AMAZING! Oh, and how about Fantastico! These are so dramatic, creative and impacting--all at the same time. I especially love Piper's overskirt/toreador cape; that is DEFINITELY the Star of the costumes. Whoever came up with that needs a Figure Skating Costume raise!!

Cathy Reed and Chris Reed of Japan: These are the costumes worn by Japan's Reed and Reed for their Short Dance to "El Cid - Farruca" by Thomas Hickstein, Elva La Guardia and 

"Gato Montes" by Hugo Montenegro. Notice anything different between the top photo and the lower one? The lower photo were the costumes they wore for the All Japan Figure Skating Championships (Japan Nationals) back in December 2014. So, for the most recent competition (top photo), it looks like Cathy reed decided to do a "Color-Way" Costume Change and switch from red and white, to black and white. Also notice the addition of a red applique in Chris' cummerbund.

Alexandra Nazarova and Maxim Nikitin of Ukraine: Nazarova and Nikitin wore these for their Free Dance to "Escalier" by Hugues Le Bars, "Air" by Johann Sebastian Bach and "Tango Tchack" by Hugues Le Bars. I wanted to highlight these for her unique asymmetrical hemline mesh over red slip dress which I liked, as well as the apple green colored shirt worn by Maxim which added a nice pop of color. I also like the color tie-in with his red neck scarf.

Allison Reed and Vasili Rogov of Israel: First off, in case you recognize the "Reed" last name, yes, you are right if you guess that she is related to the Japan Ice Dance brother-and-sister pair of Reed and Reed (whose Short Dance costumes I discussed earlier); Allison is their younger sister! Anyhow, back to the costumes--these above are Reed and Rogov's Free Dance costumes to Romeo and Juliet (soundtrack). I like Allison's romantic Juliet dress and do appreciate the sequin criss-cross straps seen on her sleeves as well as his. But I find his look--especially that shirt and light blue neck/torso scarf, a bit costume-cheesy.

Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu of China: I really like these costumes worn by Wang and Liu for their Short Dance to "A Bad Kitty", "Farewell to San Ricardo" by Henry Jackman and "Diablo Rojo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela. These costumes are exquisitely made, the sequin work on her costume is Couture-impressive (notice how the same sequin detail is on his cropped jacket shoulder sections). I would also be remiss if I didn't mention his Toreador costume: it is MUY fabuloso.

Federica Testa and Lucas Csolley of Slovakia: Finally I just wanted to talk about these rather kooky costumes worn by Testa and Csolley for their Free dance to "Enter the Circus" by Christina Aguilera, "Terrorklowns" by Verse 13 (Jamod L. Dodson), "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera and "Song Of Spirit" by Karl Jenkins. At first glance, yes, I thought they were a little "out there" and two minutes from a Cirque du Soleil show but...then I realized that their skate was based on the Circus and Clowns. Thank Goodness! So...yep, these costumes TOTALLY work for me! 

Also, do you notice something different from the top photo and the lower photo? Her strapless bustier top is black on the top yet all of a sudden, a harlequin print on the lower photo. Explanation: during their Free Dance, he pulls the black fabric covering her top down, to reveal the harlequin one underneath. So...just for that "reveal' during their skate, they get a "Nick Costume Grade" of an "A"!