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).

ICE STYLE.....2015 World Figure Skating Championships Shanghai Costumes Recap Part 1: Ladies Costumes!

Ladies Costumes--2015 World Figure Skating Championships, Shanghai China

This past week--and weekend--the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships, were held in Shanghai China. In terms of importance in international figure skating competitions, this is the most important event of the year (second only to the Olympics during those years). The Championships were held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center and involved events in Ladies, Men, Pairs and Ice Dance.

Opening Ceremony--2015 World Figure Skating Championships Shanghai China

Here in my blog , I love to discuss the COSTUMES so...it's time to break down the highlights (and some not-so-mucheey!) as well as some costume changes of this past week's 2015 World Figure Skating Championships. Let's begin with the LADIES:

Ashley Wagner of the USA: I've discussed Ashley's costumes for her Short Program to "Spartacus" by Aram Katchaturian (top photo) and her Free Skate to "Moulin Rouge (soundtrack)". I LOVED them both! I think they are impacting, seem to be made very well and feature distinctive features and details unique to the music she skated for each of the programs. I also love that one was more drape-influenced (her Short) and the red one, went a more fitted/corset route.

Gracie Gold of the USA: Gracie skated her Free Skate to "The Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber at the 2015 World Figure Skating Championships wearing the costume above. This was a new costume, in contrast to what she had worn previously at the 2015 Prudential Figure Skating Championships as well as the 2015 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. She kept basically the same deep violet color but this new costume was more "mature", more elegant and definitely more directional in terms of style and fashion. I especially liked the "plunging" back with extra long gathered straps. Overall, a much more chic costume than these:

2015 US Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships/U.S. Nationals: plunging neckline, violet, sequined applique.

2015 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships: Same style of costumes but notice the different neckline--the one above is more scooped as opposed to plunging.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia: Even though Elizaveta's costumes for both her Short Program and Free Skate were very similar in terms of silhouette (caftan madness!!), I still thought they were two of my FAVORITES of the entire season. For her Short Program to "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel (top photo), she wore this black dolman sleeved costume with side tie and delicate bead work. While for her Free Skate to "Batwannis Beek" by The REG Project and "Sandstorm" by La Bionda (lower photo), she basically wore the same costume (with slight neckline variations) but in a different color and with much more jeweled sequined work . I loved the color, the asymmetrical neckline, the chiffon dolman sleeves and gold jeweled details. FAB-ulous! If I had any critique, it would be her UNKEMPT hair; it always seemed as if she had just gotten up and was about to head to the gym--or shop for groceries. I would have loved a much more stylized bun, perhaps. 

Anna Pogorilaya of Russia: These two costumes above were worn by Anna throughout the season for her Short Program to "Adagio" by Il Divo (top photo) and Free Skate to "The Firebird Ballet Suite" by Igor Stravinski (lower photo), I thought both were very "Fashion Diva" in terms of design and execution and while I do LOVE bright, bold colors, I might have to choose the light blue one (Short Program) as my favorite of the two, especially because of the asymmetrical torso lines in the costumes which seemed to "swirl" around her body. On another note, Anna also was suffering from EMHS--the "Elizaveta Messy Hair Syndrome", especially in her Short Program; she had lots of annoying flyaways and needed more hair gel or hairspray. 

Elena Radionova of Russia: Little Elena wore this red costume for her Short Program to "De Mi Vera te Fuistes" by Pepe Romero and "Ain't It Funny" by Jennifer Lopez. It's tacky-licious and frankly, looks amateur hour. I get that because of the fiery sexy music, the costumers tried to interject some "fiery-ness" into the costume but still have it be age-appropriate. Unfortunately, it still ended up lacking in a certain taste level. And oh, that big ol' rosette on her fingerless glove was DEFINITELY too mucheeey!

Li Zijun of China: Li Zijun wore this very pretty costume to her Short Program to Waltz of the Flowers (from "Nutcracker") by Peter I. Tchaikovski. The pink costume featured many silver crystals and a jigsaw puzzle-like gathered bust section. I also loved the built-in necklace. The entire costume looked well made and expensive. This is a perfect example on how to be young, age-appropriate pretty (for a young skater--she's 18 years-old) yet still be chic. Maybe her costumers need to talk to Elena Radionova's people. ASAP!

Kiira Korpi of Finland: Kiira Korpi did not advance at the 2015 Worlds to the Free Skate but I wanted to talk about her short program costume which she wore skating to "A Day In the Life" by The Beatles. I loved this--it was modern, very fashion-savvy, in fact it reminded me of one of my NIKOLAKI red carpet dresses, especially the asymmetrical lines and tone-on-tone beading. Very well done!

Mae Berenice Meite of France: Mae Berenice is a bit of a Fashionista and it's always interesting to see what she'll have on--costume-wise. I liked both her Short program costume to "Hosanna" by Soweto Gospel Choir, "The Groove You Liked (Mala Dub)" by Savanj Rooms and "Freedom" (top photo) as well as what she wore for her Free Skate to "Conquest of Spaces", "Shadows" and  

"Run Boy Run" by Woodkid. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the ivory and gold sequined number. That bead work is EXQUISITE and very, very expensive! That's a $5,000 costume right there (if not more!) and looks like it! And I give her costume designer points for MATCHING her skin with the illusion. Yeayyy for that! Part of me, though, does miss this little ensemble from Mae Berenice's (recent) costume past:

Jumpsuit Diva: Mae Berenice Meite of France at 2014 Skate America. She also wore it for the Sochi Olympics

Nicole Rajicova of Slovakia: Nicole wore this costume for her Short Program to Love Theme from "Romeo and Juliet" by Nino Rota. I thought this was quite good in terms of a costume perfectly relating to the theme/music. There's no denying that one instantly get's "Juliet!". everything--from head to toe--is well done!

Polina Edmunds of the USA: Above are Polina's costumes for both her Short Program to "Flamenco Medley" of "Buleria" and "Tango Serenata" from the Flamenco Fantasy and Free Skate to "Tinker Bell" from "Peter Pan Soundtrack" by James Newton Howard. To be perfectly honest, I am a bit conflicted with these costumes on Polina. When I first saw them at the beginning of the season, I liked the Short Program one better than the Free Skate outfit. The Free Skate dress seemed almost too juvenile (even for "Peter Pan"/Tinkerbell). I also think that Polina's body is changing and she's really looking more and more 'adult" and therefore may need more adult-like costumes that really fit her long lithe figure better; these seem made more for a junior skater as opposed to someone on Polina's level.

Joshi Helgesson of Sweden: Joshi wore this for her Free Skate to "Snow White and the Huntsmen" (soundtrack). While I kind of get the reference, I think it fell quite short of achieving it. It looks a bit like a "Hollywood Costume Shop"  costume one gets in a bag. I wish the costumers might have gone darker and slightly more sinister...like this:

Two of my LEAST FAVORITE costumes were...

Kanako Murakami of Japan: I do not like this yellow costume worn by Kanako for her Short program to Think of Me (from "The Phantom of the Opera") by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It's two seconds from tacky-licious and more importantly, the combination of the lemon yellow with the applique roses--plus a really unnecessary bow in her back--all scream "Quinceañera".

Satoko Miyahara of Japan: Satoko wore this for her Short Program to "The Magic Flute" by Mozart. It is so "Toddlers & Tiaras"! I have issues with the colors, the silhouette...those Leg o' Mutton sleeves, the stretch velvet...How do you say "Oh dear!" in Japanese??



**UP NEXT: The MEN!