ICE STYLE.....Skate Canada 2013 Costumes Recap Part Two: The Men and Ice Dance!

Oh Canada: Gold Medal Winner Patrick Chan--2013 Skate Canada International 

 Top Three Men: (left to right) Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan (Silver), Patrick Chan of Canada (Gold) and Nobunaru Oda of Japan (Bronze)--2013 Skate Canada

Continuing with this edition of my Skate Canada 2013 Costumes Recap, in my last post I talked about the Ladies and Pairs of 2013 Skate Canada and now, it is time to discuss The Men and Ice Dance...The boys featured some creative costumes and well, Ice Dance had a "Groundhog Day" of sorts, when it came to one of the teams.  Shall we get down to Costume business and discuss? Yes, let's do it:





The Men:

Patrick Chan Canada, Short Program: Patrick wore this costume above for his Short Program to "Elegie in E-flat minor" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Patrick is not know for wearing costumes with lots of 'bells & whistles" (i.e sequined appliques, multicolored crystals, etc.) so I don't expect much when I see Patrick. But this look semi-impressed me; it was a beautifully made "tuxedo"-style shirt with ombre-shaded coloring and (wait for it!) tiny crystals throughout. 

Free Skate: For his Free Skate to "Concerto Grosso" by Arcangelo Corelli, I really liked this look. As you can tell, he never really changes his pants--almost always black--but where he and his costume designer get creative is with the tops. This was an interesting shawl-collared lilac-grey shirt with beaded flower applique. It had hints of the Baroque-style present in his music.

Jeremy Abbott USA, Short Program: Jeremy skated his Short Program to "Lilies of the Valley" from the Pina sountrack by Jun Miyake in this brown costume consisting of pants, textured "leather" vest, and v-neck stretch long-sleeve top. This is soooo very Jeremy...

 No matter what music Jeremy skates to, his costumes always look as if he is one Robin Hood's Merry Men (above)

Free Skate: For his Free Skate to "Exogenesis Symphony Part III (Redemption)" by Muse, again he didn't disappoint with his typical Jeremy Abbott Color Scheme (brown, gray). I liked the "leather" with grommets armhole shoulder detail in the gray heathered top he wore. And yes, this here also could work as one of Robin Hood's Merry Men.



Both his Short and Free Skate costumes were designed by Elise Fife. Now, in case you were wondering, Jeremy skated to this same music back in Season 2011-2012. He liked it so much, he brought it back. What kind of costume did he wear back then for that?

 Jeremy Abbott, Free Skate to "Exogenesis Symphony Part III"--Season 2011-2012

Nobunari Oda Japan, Short Program: For his Short program to "Cotton Club" by John Barry, Nobunari wore this fun look consisting of a beaded open dress shirt and bedazzled blue untied bow-tie, with black "tuxedo" pants. I liked the pop of color in his tie and the ode to the look of the days of the infamous nightclub during America's Prohibition Era.

Free Skate: Speaking of Robin Hood...Nobunari skated his Free Skate to the iconic "William Tell Overture" by Giacochino Rossini. I am never a fan of beige and brown in a costume, but his look was perfect for the music and theme. The brown stretch velvet pants were cut in line of the period costumes of the time,  and although the jagged hem of the shirt was a bit cheesy, it did look nice when he did his jumps and turns. I appreciated the gold sequined belt giving a bit of interest to the costume and I also loved that some of that gold trim was added as a "peek-a-boo" accent at the neck/shoulder.

Yuzuru Hanyu Japan, Free Skate: Yuzuru is one of those male skaters who does not shy away from donning "frilly, crystal-filled" costumes and I, for one, get excited to see what he will wear since it doesn't fall under the "same old/same old" Male Figure Skating Costume look. For his Free Skate to Music from Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota, Yuzuru wore this costume which featured a "one shoulder" flounce, a nude illusion and solid white/gray ombre dyed fabrication, and yes, lots of multicolored sequins (I'm not too sure I am a fan of these). I did like the juxtaposition of male and female qualities to this costume--it's as if he was BOTH Romeo and Juliet! When I first saw him on the ice in this I thought "This is soooo Johnny Weir! He would have totally worn something like this". Well, guess who designed this? Yep, Johnny Weir.

Ice Dance:

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri Italy, Free Dance: This Italian Ice Dance team skated their Free Skate to "Un giorno per noi" from Romeo and Juliet performed by Josh Groban and "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev. The costumes were elaborate, traditional and could never be mistaken for anything but Romeo and Juliet. Charlene's almost-see through sequined sleeves were gorgeous and I liked the Empire-waisted gold rope and the fact that her gold scroll trim also ended up in his costume to tie it all in.

Nelli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi Germany, Short Program: For their Short Dance to "Le Jazz Hot" performed by the cast of Glee, Zhiganshina and Gazsi wore these costumes. Hers was an emerald green dress horizontally gathered in the front with back cascade ruffles in the back and his consisted of a patterned sweater vest, dress shirt with elbow patched, bow tie and black pants. I didn't quite get the connection between the two costumes. I understood the concept of him playing a geek, I just wish it connected to her costume more. Now, what did they wear for their Free Dance?

THE SAME THING!!!! Yes, kids for their Free Dance to "Carrigan & Dibs" from the Casper soundtrack by James Horner, "Mr. E's Dance Card" from the Batman Forever soundtrack by Elliot Goldenthal and "Clint Eastwood" by Gorillaz, they decided to wear the SAME COSTUMES. I may be wrong about this (I'm sure Figure Skating aficionados will let me know!), but this might be the first time in a long time, this has ever been done. Did their actual Free Dance costumes get lost? Did one of their suitcases not make it to Canada? Nope, according to them, their Free Dance is supposed to be a "continuation" or a "Part Two" of their Short Dance. And therefore, the same costumes. Well, that's a good story but I'm not sure I'm buying it. I will say, they are being very "Costume Recessionista" about it all.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir Canada, Short Dance: Canada's Virtue and Moir wore these costumes for their Short Dance to Selections by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, including "Dream a
Little Dream," "Muskrat Ramble" and "Dancing Cheek to Cheek". I thought these were fun, appropriate for the music and went well together. Her feathered and sequined dress had a 20's flapper style quality with a little bit of 30's chic. And I liked that it was all tied in with his black bow tie, suspenders and high-waisted black pants.

Free Dance: For their Gold Medal-winning Free Dance to Seasons by Alexander Glazunov and "Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor" by Alexander Scriabin, they decided to go the almost "non-costume" route and wear these above. When they first came onto the ice, I was a bit disappointed (coming from my fashion designer perspective) but then, as their beautiful Free Dance progressed--lightly but assuredly--I got it. The music is very classical yet their looks are more on the contemporary side. If this was a modern dance/ballet, the dancers would have probably worn this as well in the performance. I guess, I just miss the very Modern and directional looks they wore in last season's "Carmen" Free Dance:

Flawless.

ICE STYLE.....Skate Canada 2013 Costumes Recap Part One: Ladies and Pairs!

This weekend was the second of the I.S.U. Grand Prix of Figure Skating senior-level invitational competition: the 2013 Skate Canada International. Skate Canada 2013 took place at the Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick Canada.

Canadians are big fans of figure skating and Canada has lots of top skaters in all the disciplines poised for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Now, let's get to the Costumes! Last week, I wrote about the Skate America 2013 Costumes so now it's time for my Skate Canada 2013 Costumes Recap. First up the Ladies and Pairs.

The Ladies:

Akiko Suzuki Japan, Short Program: I loved Akiko's last season costumes, especially the feathered costume she wore to her 2012-2013 Short program to Music from "O" by Cirque du Soleil. With that in mind, I was hoping she would still "bring it" when it came to this season's costumes. For her Short Program to "Hymne à l'amour" she wore this blue-purple costume featuring heavily jeweled neck detail, side crystal "straps" and a busy flower applique side-waist accent. it was quite a lot. I didn't like the entire costume "package" but did like some of its details, especially the neck/shoulder jeweled accents.

Free Skate: I liked this costume that Akiko wore for her Free Skate to Music from the soundtrack of The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It had an ombre shaded skirt section and beautiful sequined bodice. I also loved the crystal web-like neckline.

Christina Gao USA, Short Program: I thought this costume Christina wore for her Short Program to "Close Without Touching" by David Arkenstone was quite nice. The deep wine colored side beaded costume had elongated sleeves and side-slit skirt section. It worked well with the music and program and made her look more mature--and in a good way. The costume was designed by Yumi Barnett-Nakamura.

Gracie Gold USA, Short Program: When I first saw Gracie step onto the ice, I would have bet money that she was skating to "Chicago" but nope, I was wrong; she skated her Short Program to "Three Preludes" by George Gershwin. While I actually wished she would have skated to "Chicago" since I really wasn't a fan of this choppy jittery music, I still liked her costume. It had lots of razzle-dazzle, stage impact and I especially like the asymmetrical lines that curved and hugged toward her back in all the right ways. Also note that she had nude GLOVES created for the costume. Lots of this season's ladies wore gloves as part of their costume and this was an ingenious way to wear them but look as if she wasn't.

Free Skate: Gracie skated her Free Skate to Music from Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky. I loved this ombre lilac costume featuring intricate crystal "necklaces" in a web-like effect throughout the top section. I also liked the drop-shoulder sleeves. Both her Short and Free Skate costumes were designed by Gale Johnson and Denise Gold.

Julia Lipnitskaia Russia, Short Program: Fifteen year-old skating dynamo, Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, skated her Short Program to "You Don't Give Up on Love" by Mark Minkov. The costume was sweet, girly and right for her age. I liked the heavily beaded detail of the top section, but I thought the costume itself could have had more flare and sweep at the bottom. And notice the gloves, THE Season 2013-2014 trend for Ladies Costumes. I also want to note that this sweet blue costume above was such a departure from what she wore last season and this infamous "cray-cray" bodysuit:

 Julia wore this in her last season's SP to "Sabre Dance" (modern arrangement) by Khachaturian--I thought it looked like a costume from an old "King Kong" movie. Seriously.

Free Skate: For her Gold Medal-winning Free Skate to Schindler's List by John Williams, Julia donned a red "jacket" costume mimicking the red coat the little girl in the film wore; a red coat is used to distinguish a little girl in the scene depicting
the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto. Later in the film, Schindler sees
her dead body, recognizable only by the red coat she is still wearing. I thought this was a proper "homage" of sorts. Julia's red "jacket" also featured black sequined trim--also mirroring the black trim in the movie's red coat. Notice Julia wore gloves, of course.

Kaetlyn Osmond Canada, Short Program: Speaking of gloves, Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada wore long white ones for her Short Program to "Big Spender" and "Rich Man's Frug". The black costume with side slits was well, "just there" for me; nothing spectacular, but not bad either.

Natalia Popova Ukraine, Short Program: Natalia skated her Short Program to "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo performed by Edvin Marton--yes the same music Michelle Kwan skated to years ago (lots of skaters skate to this but, it will always be--for me--Michelle Kwan's music!). I thought this was an original way to give España and not in such an overt way. The almost zebra-print like stretch devore velvet fabric, sprinkled with crystals, looked chic, very high fashion and still retained a slight nod to the lace mantillas of Spain.

Amelie Lacoste Canada, Short Program: Amelie skated her Short Program to "The Feeling Begins" by Peter Gabriel from Music for "The Last Temptation of Christ" and in case you're thinking it was "Groundhog's Day" all over again, you are right: she wore the same costume and skated to the same music last season for her Short Program as well...

Amelie Lacoste at Cup of China 2012--I liked the costume then and still like it now. It's exotic, sexy and goes perfectly with the haunting Near East-like music.

Free Program: This pink costume above is what she wore to her Free Skate to Music from the Amelie Poulain soundtrack by Yann Tiersen. It had a beaded bodice and sequined applique neckline and strap. I thought this was "Figure Skating Betty 101"--in other words, the Figure Skating version of a typical Beauty Pageant gown bought from a Prom-and-Pageant store; it was sweet but oh-so-typical.



Pairs:

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford Canada, Free Skate: For their Bronze Medal-winning Free Skate to Music from the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack by Danny Elfman and "Everlasting" by Two Steps from Hell, Duhamel and Radford wore these purple costumes influenced by Alice and the Mad Hatter, I assume. To be honest, I thought these costumes looked cheap. Her bodice "boned" detail seemed as if it was glued on (I'm sure it was) and didn't evoke an expensive corset quality. But I had more issues with Eric's ill-fitting jacket; it was too tight and not tailored correctly.

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong China, Free Skate: For their Free Skate to "Kalinka" (Russian Folk Music), this Chinese Pair wore these great costumes. These were my favorites! First off, let's just make a note that it might not be coincidental that they chose a RUSSIAN FOLK SONG for their Free Skate, leading up to the SOCHI RUSSIA Winter Olympics. Besides this, these were very colorful, festive costumes that only enhanced their great skate. Everything about it wanted you to join them in, on all the Russian Folk Dance fun. Outstanding.

Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers Canada, Free Skate: For their Free Skate to Music from the soundtrack of Oz - The Great and Powerful, they wore these costumes. I liked the bright color of her costume as well as the neckline beading. However, I thought they could have done so much more, knowing the film and the costumes.

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier USA, Free Skate: These costumes, which the US Pairs team of Denney and Frazier wore to their Free Skate to Music from Notre-Dame de Paris by Riccardo Cocciante were perfect! I loved that they were completely complimentary to each other.  The sequin work looked exquisite and expensive. Very good Costume work!

Stefania Berton and Ondrej Hotarek Italy, Free Skate: Red and Black for a Free Skate to Music from the Dracula soundtrack by Philip Glass, naturally. There could have been a little more creativity in regards to the designs of these costumes but I forgive them, especially, since they got the Gold. Vampire. Blood. Figure Skating...Done and Done.



**Up Next: Skate Canada 2013 Costume Recap Part Two: The Men and Ice Dance!