Figure Skating Trophée Eric Bompard

Canadian Male Figure Skater--and Gold medalist--Patrick Chan--Trophée Eric Bompard 2013

 Top Three: (left to right) Silver medalist Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, gold medalist Patrick Chan of Canada, and bronze medalist Jason Brown of the US--Trophée Eric Bompard 2013

In my last post HERE, I recap'ed the "Costume Highlights" of this past weekend's Trophée Eric Bompard 2013 Paris France of the Ladies and Pairs, so it's now time to talk about the MEN and ICE DANCE. I have discussed most--or at least--a lot of the men (and their costumes) here in my blog for this season's Grand Prix and you can see those reviews HERE (Skate America), HERE (Skate Canada), HERE (Cup of China) and HERE (NHK Trophy)...so for this one, I want to just talk about one guy and his Short Program costume I have not discussed and that's Yuzuru Hanyu:

Yuzuru Hanyu Japan, Short Program: I've discussed Yuzuru's Free Skate costume HERE so now I can talk about his Short Program look skated to "Parisian Walkways" by Gary Moore. I'd rather not "beat around the bush" and just come out and say it: I don't like it. He's wearing a tie-dye-like blue shirt, black pants and a "Ross For Less/Men's Warehouse" belt. Let me tell you: if any man wore this in Paris, he would be SCOFFED at. I'm not sure about any circumstances where this look is appropriate but I reiterate, NOT skating to music titled "Parisian Walkways". I don't expect Yuzuru to be wearing a Can-Can or Eiffel Tower costume but...even that would be better!



Ice Dance:

Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland Great Britain, Short Dance: For their Short Dance to "I Won't Dance" by Fred Astaire and "Swing Set" by Jurassic Five, these British Ice Dance pair went the bold and sparkly textured route. Penny's silver sequined lace costume was pretty and intricate. I also LOVED the silver hair accent. Nicholas was fun, graphic and "Fred Astaire" fab with his tuxedo shirt, sequined bow tie and white "braces"/suspenders. I liked these!

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron France, Free Dance: For their Free Dance to "Money" and "Hey You" by Pink Floyd, this French Ice Dance pair went all-out Versace in their costumes. I'm pretty sure Donatella did not design (I didn't see any PR releases stating so) these but the styling, silhouette, details...of these outfits are full-on Gianni Versace and Co. I really liked Gabriella's sexy red bustier-and-straps costume but Guillaume's seemed a bit 90's tacky-licious; I just wished his jacket didn't have nude colored panels. This is a rare moment here on my blog but...I wished that his jacket was all black (as you may know, I DETEST a male skater--Pairs and Ice Dance partner--wearing just a black top-and-pants look).

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov Russia, Short Dance: For their Short Dance to "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" by Sholom Secunda, Ilinykh and Katsalapov wore these fun 1920's-inspired costumes; they were very "Gatsby" fabulous! I really liked her pink dress with silver lace overlay and side slit. I'm not usually a fan of a big rose flower detail like this but...I think it worked for this program, music, costume and overall theme. Nikita's tuxedo look with mini bow tie was also pretty good.

Free Dance: I've discussed how much I love these costumes for Ilinykh and Katsalapov's Free Dance to Music from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky HERE when they skated at NHK Trophy Japan (right photo), but I noticed that for Trophée Eric Bompard Grand Prix 2013 (left photo), Elena did not wear the silver crown or the black gloves. It's not a  COSTUME CHANGE but...a Costume Edit...and I approve.



Speaking of Costume Change...

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir Canada, Free Dance: Canada's "Golden Kids" Virtue and Moir changed their costumes for the Free Dance to Seasons by Alexander Glazunov and "Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor" by Alexander Scriabin at Trophée Eric Bompard 2013. Tessa wore an emerald green dress with semi-circle skirt and sequined lace torso. Scott wore a white tuxedo shirt and black pants. This was different from what they had worn for their Free Dance this season so far:

Virtue and Moir Free Dance Costumes at Skate Canada 2013--I am not so much a fan of the new costumes and I admit, also the previous ones. It seems as if the Costume Designer took a nap. They're both mediocre. However (and big however), their skating and ice dance performance are just MAGICAL!