Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia The Men and Ice Dance

 Oh My! Costumed Boys...Misha Ge of Uzbekistan (left) and Taksuki Machida of Japan and their very colorful costumes at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013

FIGURE SKATING Costume Fans: As you know, this past weekend was the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013--the last Grand Prix competition before the Grand Prix Finals of this 2013-2014 Season. I talked about the LADIES and PAIRS of the Rostelecom Cup HERE in my last post. And now, it's time for the MEN and ICE DANCE. Let's get started:

The Men:

Konstantin Menshov Russia, Short Program: Skating his SP to "Coultergeist" by Phil Coulter, Konstantin wore this above: a white loose top with images of Michelangelo's' Sistine Chapel hands, black pants and white gloves. The song is from Phil Coulter's "Highland Cathedral" album and so I surmise that there's religious imagery in the theme. Even then, I kind of don't get it. It's a cool long sleeve t-shirt but other than that, I'm a bit costume-confused.

Tatsuki Machida Japan, Short Program: Japanese male skater skated his SP to East of Eden (TV Miniseries Soundtrack) by Lee Holdridge in this white and black costume. I liked the costume but still have no idea what this has to do with "East of Eden" and the TV Miniseries; the costume looks more like something one would wear to Beethoven or Mozart music.

Free Skate Costume Change: For his FS to Music from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky, Japanese Figure Skater Taksuki Machida wore this above. It was a black long sleeved jumpsuit that had fire-like references in black, red and yellow upon a not-matching skin-colored illusion background. I didn't like it. This is what he wore in his previous ISU Grand Prix appearance which I REALLY LOVED:

 At Hilton HHonors Skate America 2013 and the costume he wore last season (to the same music)--One of the BEST! Note to Taksuki: Please go back to this!

Misha Ge Uzbekistan, Short Program: For his SP to I Still Got Blues, Still Got Rock by Gary Moore, Misha Ge wore this colorful costume. It is VERY "Blades of Glory" and I have to admit, I kinda like it! Yes, it's rather tacky but boy, did it make me sit up and come alive with joy when I saw it. He definitely should get a "Oh No He Didn't" trophy for his very "Hollywood Costume Designer"-designs-a-costume-for-an-actor-playing-a-Figure Skater.

Free Skate: For his FS to World Dance Collection including Neo Tango; Rhumba; Electro; Jive; Rock'n'Roll, Misha did not disappoint. This was a red, black, white, laced-up costume of CRAY-CRAY. I love that Misha--and whoever is designing his costumes, are still stuck in the 1990's era of figure skating. This makes me smile. Yes, it is so tacky and so not chic but it's kind of nice of have some retro...even tacky-licious retro.



Ice Dance:

Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khavalian Russia, Short Dance: For their SD to Quickstep by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, "L-O-V-E-" by Nat King Cole, Russian Ice Dance team Monko and Khavalian wore these costumes above. I thought her costume was so intricate, so well done. Loved the color and Art Deco-like sequin work. And he looked like a very fab waiter with his double-breasted shawl collared jacket and pants look. I just wished he had some royal blue in his costume--to tie her costume to his.

Free Dance: For their FD to Selection by Rene Aubry and selection by Gaetano Donizetti, this Russian Ice Dance pair gave "Venice Gondola" in their costumes. Overall, I liked these costumes, I just wish his pants were more fitted; there's too much thigh-leg excess. Make them stretch woven and thin out the leg. Please! At least, it's an improvement from her wearing "Olivia Newton-John/Let's Get Physical" leg warmers in their last appearance at 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard:

 Leg Warmers at At 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev Russia, Free Dance: For their FD to Music from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi and "Lacrimosa" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013, the Russian Ice Dance team of Bobrova and Soloviev changed their costumes! And...I wasn't a fan. These new costumes featured ombre-dyed white-to-blue-to-dark gray...BORING and un-Olympic level material...

Bird Fab: I would LOVE for them to go back to these costume above that they wore for their last Grand Prix appearance Short Program

Rostelecom Cup / Cup of Russia

 Carolina Kostner Debuts Her New Short Program Costume--Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 Moscow Russia

This weekend was the Rostelecom Cup (or Cup of Russia) 2013--the final of six international competitions of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating for Season 2013-2014 all leading up to the Grand Prix Final. Rostelecom Cup was held at the Small Sports Arena of Luzhniki in Moscow Russia. I've discussed a lot of the costumes for the previous Grand Prix of this season and you can find those under the "Categories" section on the right side of this blog entitled "Ice Style". So, for now, it's time to discuss the Costumes Recap of the Rostelecom Cup 2013 and the Ladies and Pairs...



Ladies:

Haruka Imai Japan, Short Program: Haruka skated her SP to "Song Without Words" by Felix Mendelssohn. It was an ombre dyed lilac costume with a nude illusion top section and silver/multi-colored jeweled neckline and bust/torso. It was pretty on her and I especially liked the delicate sleeve hem details and hair accessory as well.

Free Skate: For her FS to Piano Concerto by Saint-Preux, I thought this was an impressive costume. It had a teal and light blue multi-layered handkerchief-hemmed skirt, nude illusion top and one-shoulder sequined applique. Loved the colors and I really liked the jeweled/sequin detail. Two for two, as they say, for Haruka Imai and her 2013/2014 Season costumes.

Kanako Murakami Japan Short Program: Kanako wore this black and white costume for her SP to "Catgroove," "Libella Swing" and "Swing Bop". The costume looked a bit too "Jr. Skater" for me. The diamante vertical detail on the torso seemed cheap and the style uncreative. But, she is on trend with the gloves; LOTS of the Ladies Figure Skaters are donning gloves this season.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva Russia, Short Program: Speaking of gloves...Russian Ladies Figure Skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva skated her SP to a Latin Medley wearing this glove-accessorized look: it was a one-shoulder black costume with silver sparkle crystals and nude illusion neck and sleeve section. Once again, I felt this could have been more; it just did not scream "Olympic Costume" but more (yet again!), "Jr. Figure Skater". And, need I add, the messy hair didn't help. It looked as if she just got up and pulled a pony-tail as she was getting ready to head to her nearest Starbucks! Try again darling.

Julia Lipnitskaia Russia, Short Program Costume Change: Little Julia Lipnitskaia skated her SP to "You Don't Give Up on Love" by Mark Minkov at Rostelecom Cup 2013 and she wore a different costume than what she had worn previously at Skate Canada 2013...and I loved it! This was a great costume change! This costume--which was a navy and light blue costume with midnight blue stretch illusion and sequins--was so much more refined and elegant than her "young and cute" look here:

The costume she wore at her last Grand Prix appearance at Skate Canada 2013

Mirai Nagasu USA, Short Program Costume Change--Another skater who had a costume change was USA's Mirai Nagasu. On the left is what she wore to this past weekend's Rostelcom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 and on the right, is what she last wore at NHK Trophy 2013 during her SP to "The Man I Love" by George Gershwin. There were subtle changes but, generally, it was a nice improvement. I still feel her costume needs to have a little more interesting style; sorry to be so blunt but both look slightly "store bought".

Carolina Kostner Italy, Free Skate Costume Change: There was a rumour (someone on my Twitter told me) that Italian Ladies Figure Skater Carolina Kostner's Free Skate costume that she wore at Cup of China 2013 to "Scheherazade" by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov (seen above on the right) wasn't her "real" one. Cut to this past weekend's Rostelecom Cup 2013 and she "debuted" a new look (left photo).  I like this new one much better; it didn't look like a "Russian Folk Song" costume (the one on the right did) and reflected much more the music and theme.I appreciated the intricacy of the beadwork in the upper torso and how it stood out against a skin-colored illusion background. With that being said....IT WAS A LOT OF LOOK! It all could be toned down just a bit and I am definitely not so sure about the beaded crotch section!!!



Carolina Kostner, Short Program Costume Addition:

Carolina Kostner also added two beaded straps to the back of her Short Program costume (seen above) which she didn't have at her last Grand Prix appearance here:

Without the straps: Carolina Kostner at Cup of China 2013

Pairs:

Julia Antipova and Nodari Maisuradze Russia, Short Program: Russian Figure Skating Pair Antipova and Maisuradze skated their Short Program to "Beethoven's 5 Secrets" by The Piano Guys in these costumes above. I liked these costumes for several reasons: the contrast between the male and the female, in colors. Also, I appreciated that the male's costume details almost mirrored hers, but with additional details. Many times, in Pairs, you're dealing with the guy in a black basic costume and the female in a super-sequined, colored look that has NOTHING to do with his black top and pants. So, I am happy that, at least, these two look as if they belong together!

Free Skate: For their FS to "Money" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd, I loved that they went "Period Rocker". She looked delicate, feminine and pretty in her pink cowl neck costume but "toughened" it up with a black diamante studded "harness" vest. And Nodari looked like a 80's Euro Rock Star (in a FAB way!) in his black Lycra with silver studs and sequined look.

Lindsay Davis and Rockne Brubaker USA, Short Program: These costumes above are what US Pairs skaters Davis and Brubaker wore for their SP to "Le Petite Fleur" and "Skokia" by Louis Armstrong. Frankly, I was bored. Lindsay looked like a saloon waitress in the old Wild West. And Rockne, well...it's a black dress shirt, black pants with a "pop" of deep lavender. Not so much to discuss. On a positive note: at least they matched--color-wise. Other than this, these were not creative.

Kristen Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch Canada, Short Program: When I saw this Pairs team's costumes, I thought "Oh, these look familiar!". And I was right. The Canadian Pairs team of Moore-Towers and Moscovitch repeated their Season 2012-2013 Short Program to "A Motley Crew" from the Mic Macs soundtrack by Raphael Beau and Max Steiner for this season. They also did a repeat for their costumes. Here is what I said then about these costumes.

Narumi Takahashi and Ryuichi Kihara Japan, Short Program: Takahashi and Kihara skated their SP to Music from Samson and Delilah by Camille Saint-Saens in these costumes above and I really liked them. I loved the red and black contrast and the fact that they didn't go the predictable Near East costume route. I also loved the "car wash"-like skirt which really looked great as Narumi was tossed and did her jumps/turns.

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov Russia, Free Skate: Stolbova and Klimov wore these bright, graphic costumes for their FS to Music from The Addams Family soundtrack by Marc Shaiman. While I appreciated the bold choices, I thought this was a confusing Pairs Costume look. Fedor looked very Gomez Adams "kooky" in his costume yet Ksenia looked as if she was skating to "Carmen". Her costume was so sleek and simple, as compared to his. For once, the MAN stood out more than the female and yet, it didn't work. And to add: there is NOTHING of Morticia Adams in her look.

Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov Russia, Free Skate: For their FS costumes at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 skating to "Polovetsian Dances" from Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, which I have discussed previously HERE --which I liked!), Vera added something that wasn't present at their previous appearance: the headband with red accent. Here's how she looked without it at 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard:

 Do you guys like her better with--or without? Let me know--I'm thinking without.

***NEXT UP: Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 Costumes Recap: The MEN and ICE DANCE!!