ICE STYLE.....Costumes Recap/Highlights of 2014 ISU European Championships of Figure Skating: LADIES & MEN

 Top Three Ladies: (left to right) Adelina Sotnikova of Russia (Silver), Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia (Gold) and Carolina Kostner of Italy (Bronze)--2014 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, Syma Sports and Events Centre Budapest Hungary

This past week and weekend (January 13-19th) were the 2014 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, held at the Syma Sports and Events Centre in Budapest Hungary. NBC/NBC Sports televised the LADIES and MEN'S Free Skate today (Sunday) in the afternoon. I was happy to get some Figure Skating-watching in this weekend naturally and I, especially, was interested in the COSTUMES.

Budapest Hungary--site of the 2014 ISU European Championships of Figure Skating

 Let's begin with a couple of the MEN:

 Top Three Men: (left to right) Silver medalist Sergei Voronov of Russia, gold medalist Javier Fernandez of Spain and bronze medalist Konstantin Menshov of Russia--2014 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, Syma Sports and Events Centre Budapest Hungary

Konstantin Menshov of Russia, Free Skate: For his Free Skate to "Allegro," "Rose" and "Night Run" by Rene Aubry, I liked his black, silver gray and white costume consisting of a stretch top with super tight long sleeves in white with a front flap, silver-gray inset and silver sequins. His pants were black. It was modern and good-looking for his skate. It also featured his very athletic build.

Sergei Voronov of Russia, Free Skate: Russian figure skater Sergei Voronov wore this above for his Free Skate to "A Los Amigos" by Armando Pontier, "Por Una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel and "Tanguera" by Mariano Mores. The music was very Tango-esque and therefore it went with the black and red...and applique lace. The costume was TACKY-LICIOUS. Although it looked expensive and well-made, it seemed two seconds away from a Cirque du Soleil show; it was rather distracting from his skate, in my eyes. Not a fan of this costume.



Ladies:

Carolina Kostner of Italy, Short Program: Carolina skated a new SP to Ave Maria by Franz Schubert. This was also a NEW COSTUME. The sky blue colored costume featured a "plunging" neckline with gorgeously strewn sequins throughout. It was beautiful, classic and "Ice Princess" perfect. The costume above was different from the last Short Program costume we had seen from her...

Carolina Kostner at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013--This red costume was what she wore to her SP to Humoresque by Antonin Dvorak. I was not a fan. It was too "Figure Skating Amateur Hour" and those butterfly appliques were...obnoxious. Glad she changed her costume and music. Grazie Carolina!

Carolina Kostner of Italy, Free Skate: For her Free Skate, she also changed her music and costume. Carolina skated to "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel, performed by Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra. This was the same music she used in last season's (2012-2013) program. Her costume consisted of a black design using solid vs. illusion fabrication and beautiful silver and black icicle-like sequin accents.

The sleeves were see-thru/solid as well as the front torso. The back was designed to be "backless"-looking but there was an annoying white elastic strap that broke the line of the silhouette (right photo). That needs to be changed. ASAP. Other than this, I thought the costume was modern, chic and a nice departure from what she had worn before for her Free Skate to...

Carolina Kostner at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013, Free Skate to "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This was a very FASHIONISTA costume in its design, sequin accents and bold style. While I liked the sequin detail, I understand how people can see this as a bit, well, TOO MUCHEY.

 Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, Free Skate: Silver medalist Adelina Sotnikova wore this costume above for her Free Skate to "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28" by Camille Saint-Saëns. The costume featured an ombre lilac/gray colored design with copper/gold sequined trim. I liked this. I also realized that "wait, it looks kinda familiar..."

Adelina Sotnikova, Free Skate Costume at the 2013 ISU Grand Prix Final Championships, Japan--Adelina wore a similar costume at the 2013 ISU Grand Prix Finals for her Free Skate (above photo). The gold/copper sequins were similar but the color of her costume was a darker chocolate brown color. I like the lighter one she wore at the 2014 European Championships of Figure Skating MUCH BETTER!

Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, Short Program: Gold medalist Julia wore this blue sequined number for her SP to "You Don't Give Up on Love" by Mark Minkov. I loved the light-to-dark blue coloring but my favorite part were the three straps in the back. And yes, this girl CAN JUMP! I would bet money (if I was a betting type) that Julia will be an Olympic Medalist in Sochi!

Valentina Marchei of Italy, Free Skate: Four time Italian champion Valentina Marchei skated her Free Skate to "Nyah" from the Mission Impossible soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. I really liked this black and silver sequined costume. It had a blouson top section in "striped" solid/sheer fabrication with raw edges and paillettes throughout.

Crystal Boots: The costume had an open back save for straps (above photo). BTW, my favorite part were the Swarovski crystal-encrusted figure skating boots. These are FAB!

ICE STYLE.....Lexus Cup of China 2013 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Costumes Recap Part One: The Ladies and Pairs!

Carolina Kostner of Italy--Skating her Free Skate at Lexus Cup of China 2013, Beijing China

This weekend was the third (of six) event in the 2013-2014 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating international competition: the Lexus Cup of China 2013. It was held at the Beijing Capital Gymnasium in Beijing China. I have already discussed the Season 2013-2014 Figure Skating Costumes of Skate America HERE and HERE, and Skate Canada HERE and HERE...so now, it's time for the Cup of China 2013. First up, it's the Ladies and Pairs...





The Ladies:

Hanako and a Watermelon: Japanese figure skater mugs to the photographers with a stuffed watermelon--not sure why someone even threw her a stuffed watermelon and why would she then pick it up and take pics with it but oh well...let's discuss the Costumes:

Kanako Murakami Japan, Short Program: Kanako skated her Short Program to "Catgroove," "Libella Swing" and "Swing Bop" and I really liked her costume. It was a lilac colored costume with bubblegum pink front, back and neckline panels, skin-colored illusion neck and sleeves, crystals throughout (naturally!) and a fringed "overskirt". I thought it was fun, colorful , yet still very well done. The fringe, especially, was very effective when it came time for her turns and jumps.

Free Skate:  For her FS to "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" from Yentl by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, Kanako wore a silver gray costume with blue and black sequined detail. The costume had nothing to do with the "Yentl" film, of course, but really, would you rather have Kanako come out as a Yeshiva Orthodox Jewish boy??? I didn't think so...so this was good enough!

Haruka Imai Japan, Short Program: Haruka skated her Short Program at Cup of China 2013 to "Song Without Words" by Felix Mendelssohn. This ombre dyed lilac costume had heavily appliqued silver crystal neckline and a handkerchief-hemmed skirt. I thought it was quite beautiful. Good job.

Free Skate: For her FS to Piano concerto by Saint-Preux, she wore this costume above. It was a one-shoulder-like costume consisting of nude illusion top, sequined applique torso detail and a "petal"-like multi-layered skirt. The top section was fine (although I'd like the illusion sleeves to be tighter), but it was the skirt that bothered me the most. It looked more "Wilma Flintstone" and less a Figure Skating Diva.

Anna Pogorilaya Russia, Free Skate: For her Free Skate to "Mermaids" from the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, this was THE MOST PERFECT Costume! I loved all the water/oceanic references--from the various shades of blue to the seashell bust detail; it was gorgeous and very right for the program.

Carolina Kostner Italy, Short Program: Carolina skated her SP to Humoresque by Antonin Dvorak in the red costume above. It had a skin-colored illusion neckline and sleeves, a red top and skirt section, sequined waistband and butterfly appliques on the shoulder/upper sleeve. I would have to say that I was 50/50 in terms of liking this. While I liked the butterfly appliques,  the gathered/blouson silhouette of the top section was odd and more odd was...

The clear strap across her back. Sometimes, you just gotta say YES! to nude illusion...because this looked cheap and "Costume-unfinished".

Free Skate: For Carolina's FS to "Scheherazade" by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov, she wore this costume above. Supposedly, Carolina "designs" all her costumes. I'm thinking she might want to actually seek professional advice for this Olympic season. This costume--at first--made me think of something one wears for a Russian Folk Dance, and then when I realized it was Scheherazade, I was like "Oh Dear!"; it was a bit of a mess to be honest. The fuchsia stretch velvet top with gold and crystal detail was semi-OK, but the multilayered jaggedy skirt looked like something a belly dancer had chopped off after realizing she had to perform at a cheesy Vegas Show.



Pairs:

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim USA, Short Program: This above is what this American pair wore for their SP to "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" by Michel Legrand (yes, another "Yentl" skate!). I liked these gray/black with silver crystal looks and especially his. While she was classic and pretty, his was directional and modern.

Free Skate: For their FS to Music from the Ever After soundtrack by George Fenton, they wore these costumes. She wore a wine-colored costume with a "corset" like gold and silver applique detailed midriff, chiffon shoulder panels, and double-layered chiffon skirt. His costume consisted of a white shirt, wine-colored "vest" and black pants. These costumes were good especially when you remember that "Ever After" is about Cinderella; these two belonged together. Both their Short and Free Skate costumes were designed by Elena Pollack.

Qing Pang and Jian Tong China, Short Program: Chinese pairs team Pang and Tong skated their Short Program to Music from the soundtrack of The Lady Caliph by Ennio Morricone. They both wore black with silver sequined and crystal detail costumes. These were very nice, elegant and quite classic.Nothing wrong with these.

Free Skate: For their FS, they skated to "I Dreamed a Dream" from the Les Misérables soundtrack by Claude-Michel Schönberg, which was very popular music choice with lots of the skaters this season (both Pairs and Ice Dance). I wonder if only after the film came out, did all these skaters become aware of this iconic music? Who knows. But back to the costumes...I thought hers, especially, was sublime! I loved the heavily jeweled silver crystal detail of her top section; it looked very expensive and well made.

Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay USA, Free Skate: Speaking of Les Miserables...Zhang and Bartholomay of the US also skated their Free Skate to Music from Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schonberg. I liked the French flag colors that were incorporated into their costumes and his peasant shirt, waist scarf and pant look, I thought hers could have been a lot better and more creative.

Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang China, Short Program: This Chinese Pair of Peng and Zhang teamed up last year--Zhang is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist with former partner Dan Zhang. For their Short Program to Music from the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack by Tan Dun, these colorful costumes were quite fabulous. I especially love--how (in this photo), the line of the blue color of the costumes--just continues, from him to her. The crystal/sequin work was exquisite as well.

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy Germany, Short Program: For their Short Program to "When Winter Comes" by Chris de Burgh, arranged by André Rieu, this German Pair wore these costumes above. I liked the degrade color and sequin effect of the blue and white of the costumes. I liked hers but actually had a bit of a problem with his--in particular, his pants: the fit was odd--all that pulling and "whiskers" radiating from the center front crotch means the pants are too tight at the crotch/rise--and at the same time, they seemed to be too loose.

Free Skate: For their Free Skate, they skated to Music from The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky. I have to tell you that after watching their performance/skate, all I kept thinking was that if--and when--they get this skate PERFECT, it will be SPECTACULAR Olympic Gold! Now, in terms of their costumes, they would qualify as "Bronze" for me. I liked hers; she was very "Sugar Plum Fairy" but once again, I had a problem with his; it just looked cheesy and cheap. He was a low-rent "Nutcracker Prince". With all this being said, I do miss the CRAY CRAY costumes of last season from this German Pairs team:

 Tye Dye Jumpsuit Mess: Season 2012-2013 Short Program to "Kismet by Bond", Savchenko and Szolkowy

Miro Couture: Season 2012-2013 Free Program to "Flamenco Bolero"--Savchenko and Szolkowy

**UP NEXT: The Men and ICE DANCE Costumes Recap of Lexus Cup of China 2013