ICE STYLE.....Best Costumes of the ISU of Figure Skating Grand Prix Season 2013-2014 Part II: The Men and Ice Dance

Classic Figure Skating Couture: Ice Dance Team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA...

Winged Fab: Ice Dance Team of Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia, and...

Firebird Perfect: Tatsuki Machida of Japan

FIGURE SKATING FANS: I discussed my favorite costumes from this season's ISU Grand Prix Figure Skating Costumes from the LADIES and PAIRS HERE so...it's time to talk about my Top Picks for "Best Costumes" of the MEN and ICE DANCE...



Let's start with my favorites of the Men:

Sergei Voronov of Russia, Short Program: Voronov skated his Short Program to "Two Guitars".
I thought this was a good look for Sergei; clean, vibrant with the
black and white and I really appreciated the designs/print in the
jacket--are those peacocks? fish? abstract paisleys? Whatever it is, it
is kind of a cool jacket--something I would see at Men's Paris Fashion
Week.

Tatsuki Machida of Japan, Free Skate: Machida skated his Free Program to Music from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky.
He wore this FABULOUS costume that was all things GREAT at Hilton HHonors Skate America 2013. I loved all
the color, detail, sequin work, multidimensional feathers. All in all,
it was pretty outstanding and perfect for the music and skate. You knew
IMMEDIATELY that he was skating to The Firebird the minute he
stepped onto the ice. If you think you have seen this before on
Machida, you were right: last season (2012-2013), he also skated his
Free program to this music and wore THE SAME COSTUME. And for some reason, he changed this costume when he skated later on in the season at the 2013 Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia to a variation of it which I didn't like as much. You can see that one HERE.

Alexander Majorov of Sweden, Short Program: Majorov skated his SP to Khorobushka by Bond.
I liked the intricacy of his jacket and all the detail. He looked like a
Toreador combined with a Russian soldier. It was an impressive powerful costume.

Max Aaron of the US, Free Skate: First of all, I LOVE his haircut! So
80s and so NOW! And perfect for his beautiful curls. OK, enough gushing
on about his hair--now back to the costume. 2013 US Champion Max Aaron
skated his Free Skate to Music from Carmen performed by Rodion Shchedrin and the Boston Pops Orchestra...and
what a surprise and shocker: NO Toreador Costume! No red! No bejeweled
bolero in sight! Kudos to Max and his costume designer for coming up
with such a directional and modern look for his been there-done that
music. If you don't know by now, I really liked this: I liked how
perfectly it fit him and I loved the juxtaposition of the semi-nude
stretch chiffon with the solid stretch velvet. Good job!

Joshua Farris of the US, Free Skate: Farris skated his Free Skate to Music from Schindler's List by John Williams in this Pat Pearsall-designed costume. I loved the drape of the top, the asymmetrical hemline and cowl neckline. I also appreciated the feminine vs. masculine lines of the fluid top and fitted pants.

Daisuke Takahashi Japan, Free Skate: For his Free Skate to Medley of Music by The Beatles,
he wore this draped jersey cowl-neck top with black stretch velvet
pants, similar in silhouette and style to Joshua Farris' costume. It's nice to see male figure skaters take on a more "softer"/feminine approach to their costumes. If this is a Male Figure Skating Costume Trend, I'm all for it!



 Ice Dance:

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia, Short Dance:
Bobrova and Soloviev wore some of my favorite Ice Dance costumes so far
this season for both their Short and Free Dance. For their SD to "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" by Jule Styne, "I Will Wait For You" by Michel Legrand and "Swing, Swing, Swing My Baby",
they stuck to the theme of the music--she was very Marilyn Monroe and
he looked like a 50s Hollywood actor. I loved the bright strawberry red
color of her dress and its feathered and sequin detail.

Free Dance:  For their FD to Music from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi and "Lacrimosa" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
they wore these spectacular bird-like costumes. If you can't tell by
now, I LOVED THEM! They looked like Paris Runway Ravens ready to take
off into an amazing ornithological pas des deux. They thought
about everything--from her chic runway-like hairstyle to the unusual
"feathered wings" that were attached through her arms and back (and how
it continued onto his costume). These were simply outstanding! Unfortunately, they changed these costumes later in the season to something that was less spectacular.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the US, Short Dance: US dance team of Chock and Bates skated their Short Dance this season to "Hollywood" by Puppini Sisters, "There's No Business Like Show Business" by Irving Berlin. The beautiful Madison wore
long white gloves with her shimmering and fringed costume. Fantastic!

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier Canada, Free Dance: For their Free Dance to Music from the Hitchcock soundtrack by Danny Elfman and "The Rainstorm" by Bernard Hermann,
they wore these costumes. First of all: I really liked this Free Dance:
it was original, creative and taking Ice Dance to a more adventuresome
and directional level, I was intrigued and wanted to see what more they could do. In terms of their costumes: I liked! They were dark yet glitzy;
interesting and went with the Hitchcock music.

Elena KIlinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, Free Dance: Well I wonder what these two very good-looking Ice Dancers from Russia skated to for their Free Dance? If you answered "Swan Lake",
yep, you are correct! (it's not so difficult). I thought these costumes
were marvelous! She was "Classic Swan Lake" and he was "Punk Roller
Disco Swan Lake". And they went together beautifully: modern, retro,
classic, a little Fashion Runway. Oh and yes, it does kind of help that
both of them are GORGEOUS!

Meryl Davis and Charlie White USA, Short Dance: Meryl and Charlie skated their 2013-2014 Season Short Dance to My Fair Lady by
Frederic Loewe. I thought these costumes were beautiful, elegant and
just right for the music. Charlie looked dapper and very old-school luxe
in his tails, vest and cravat. I would have liked his floppy surfer-boy
hair to be (at the very least) slicked back, but I know I am barking up the
wrong tree trying to get Charlie to put any product in that hair of his!
Meryl's pink dress was so pretty. I loved the simplicity of it but it
still packed a strong elegant punch with  those correctly placed silver
stones in the neckline and waist.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the US, Free Dance: For the Free Dance to "Scheherazade" by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov, Davis and White wore these costumes above. We all know the story of Scheherazade of course and besides the fact that their FD illustrated it
masterfully, their costumes were also complimentary to it. I admired Meryl's teal
costume which featured a draped front section, halter wrap top and
bejeweled waist; she looked very Near East Princess.



Finally, my other Top Favorite Ice Dance Costumes were worn by the US brother-and-sister team of...

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the US, Free Dance: For their Free Dance to a Michael Jackson medley, the
Shibutani's wore these costumes above. Love. love, and Love! It would
have been so predictable for their costume designer to go for the
typical Michael Jackson look, whether it be a red leather motorcycle
jacket or a Billie Jean suspenders, hi-water pants and penny loafers
look, but these were anything but. I liked the modernity of Maia's sleek
dress featuring black illusion and solid fabric with crystals
throughout. And Alex's jacket was cool and very complimentary with
Maia's dress and a fun little pop of color when he opens it up to reveal a bit of red!

ICE STYLE.....Grand Prix 2013 Figure Skating Costume Trend Alert: Gloves!

Glove Happy: Russian figure skater Elena Radionova Hilton HHonors Skate America 2013 and Peter Liebers of Germany at Cup of China 2013

This past season of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2013-2014 was an exciting one, especially in regards to the costumes. If you've been keeping up with my blog here, you know I LOVE Figure Skating and yes, more importantly, discussing the Figure Skating Costumes. I've talked about all the Grand Prix--Hilton HHonors Skate America, Skate Canada, NHK Trophy, Lexus Cup of China, Trophée Eric Bompard and the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia and the Finals are coming up this week/weekend in Fukuaka Japan.



In advance of the Grand Prix Finals, I wanted to discuss a certain costume trend I noticed this season: It was all about gloves as THE accessory DE RIGUEUR for Figure Skating Costumes, more so than ever it seemed. Whether it was just to keep your hands warm or as some skaters have mentioned, to keep them from cutting their hands on their blades, gloves were "featured" as part of the costumes in all the disciplines but primarily in the Ladies, Men, and Ice Dance. So, with that in mind, I wanted to do a Trend Alert for GLOVES in the Grand Prix 2013-2014. I am sure that I missed some skaters that also wore gloves (besides the ones below) but I could only fit so many in one posting so my apologies if I didn't include any that you--the faithful NICKVERREOS.COM reader--might have also remembered...



Let's begin with The Ladies:

Viktoria Helgesson of Sweden, Short Program: Viktoria skated her Short Program Mystery Waltz by D. Shostakovich--seen in photo above at the Hilton HHonors Skate America 2013--wearing this pink and black applique costume and black gloves with a bit of bling bling added for fun.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia, Short Program: Elizabeta skated her Short Program to a Latin Medley this season in this "one-shoulder" black and silver crystal costume (seen in photo above from the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013) with...black gloves. To me, this "glove addition", didn't work so well. It cuts the line of her arms and makes her look a bit cartoony.

Kanako Murakami of Japan, Short Program: In the photo above--from her Short Program skate at the Rostelecom Cup 2013 to "Catgroove," "Libella Swing" and "Swing Bop", she wore this black and white costume with diamante crystals as well as black and crystal-encrusted gloves. These work a bit better than Tuktamysheva because they seem to go better with the "theme" of the costume.

Anna Pogorilaya of Russia, Free Skate: For her Free Skate to "Mermaids" from the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (in the photo above from the Lexus Cup of China 2013), she wore this sea-inspired blue costume which featured one glove. I actually like this!

Anna Pogorilaya of Russia, Short Program: Anna skated her Short Program to "El Choclo" (Kiss of Fire) performed by Ikuko Kawai in this neon coral colored costumes with matching long gloves. Wow! That is a LOT of glove! I do appreciate how it gives her a complete look.

Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada, Short Program: Kaetlyn wore long white ones for her Short Program to "Big Spender" and "Rich Man's Frug" as seen above at Skate Canada 2013. In contrast to Pogorilaya, this takes away from her look and is distracting. I feel the costume is too basic for such formal gloves.

Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, Free Skate: For her Free Skate to Schindler's List by John Williams, Julia, wore this red costume "hinting" at the famous red coat in the film. And yes, she also donned black gloves.





Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, Short Program: For Julia's Short Program to "You Don't Give Up on Love" by Mark Minkov this season, at Skate Canada 2013, Julia wore this blue costume above with matching gloves. This look didn't last long, however, since she changed her costume for the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 later. And there were no gloves in that costume look, which I think works much better.

Alena Leonova of Russia, Short Program: Alena skated her Short Program to Music from the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt in this costume above (at NHK Trophy 2013), which she had worn in a previous season to the same music. And naturally, you can't "give" a Pirates of the Caribbean look without gloves, so the gloves are there! Funny how these gloves are a mix of dish-cleaning gloves and ones that would come with a "Pirates" costumes from a Hollywood Costume Shop!

Natalia Popova of Ukraine, Short Program: Natalia skated her Short Program to "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo performed by Edvin Marton (seen at Skate Canada 2013 in photo above) in this black and silver crystals with nude illusion costume above. The look also featured sheer black gloves. I like the costume and the gloves. Very Chic!

Elena Radionova of Russia, Free Skate: Elena skated to Music from the Frida soundtrack in this red, white costume above that had long red gloves. She wore this at Hilton HHonors Skate Amercia 2013 but at the NHK Trophy 2013 we see that she was able to make them fingerless for the medal presentation:

The Men:

Misha Ge of Uzbekistan, Short Program: Misha skated his Short Program at the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013 to I Still Got Blues, Still Got Rock by Gary Moore in this "Blades of Glory"-looking costume above that featured finger-less, and studded, black gloves.

Misha Ge of Uzbekistan, Free Skate: For his Free Skate to World Dance Collection including Neo Tango; Rhumba; Electro; Jive; Rock'n'Roll (seen in the photo above from the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia 2013), Misha wore another eye-catching costume that included black gloves. The looks are both Cray-Cray, but the gloves certainly add to the entire ensemble.

Konstantin Menshov of Russia, Short Program: Skating his Short Program to "Coultergeist" by Phil Coulter, Konstantin wore this Michelangelo-inspired printed top and black pants costume with white/sheer gloves. Just a note: the gloves are a bit "clinical" looking.

Sergei Voronov of Russia, Short Program: Voronov skated his Short Program to "Two Guitars"--at NHK Trophy 2013 above--in this white and black costume, with black gloves. These gloves actually work quite well and are quite stylish.

Max Aaron of the USA, Free Skate: Max skated his Free Skate to Music from Carmen performed by Rodion Shchedrin and the Boston Pops Orchestra (photo above from Hilton HHonors Skate America 2013) in this plunging neckline black costume with...black gloves. These make him look a bit like a Cat Burglar to me.

Florent Amodio of France, Short Program: Florent skated his Season 2013-2014 Short Program to "La Cumparsita," arranged by Sebastien Damiani and Faf Larage in the black costume above (from Lexus Cup of China 2013). He also donned black gloves.


 

Peter Liebers of Germany, Short Program: For his Short program to "Clocks" by Coldpay, performed by 2Cellos featuring Lang Lang, Peter wore this costume above (from his skate at the Lexus Cup of China 2013) with gloves (one of which was color-blocked to blend harmoniously with the rest of the costume).

Maxim Kovtun of Russia, Short Program: Maxim Kovtun wore this costume for his Short Program to Flamenco by Pepe Romero (photo from the Lexus Cup of China 2013) that featured fingerless sleeve-gloves that went with the rest of the España-inspired costume. I like this unique take on the glove/sleeve.



Ice Dance:



Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA, Short Dance: US dance team of Chock and Bates skated their Short Dance this season to "Hollywood" by Puppini Sisters, "There's No Business Like Show Business" by Irving Berlin (photo above from the Lexus Cup of China 2013). The beautiful Madison wore long white gloves with her shimmering and fringed costume. Fantastic!

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia: Elena and Nikita skated their Free Dance to Music from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. For their skate at NHK Trophy Japan she wore the black gloves but those were gone, however, at their next skate--at Trophée Eric Bompard 2013. I'm still undecided whether I like the costume with or without gloves? What do you think...

Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khavalian of Russia, Short Dance: For their Short Dance this season to Quickstep by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, "L-O-V-E-" by Nat King Cole, Monko and Khavalian skated to these costumes above. Ksenia wore royal blue gloves that perfectly color-matched her costume.



Happy Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2013-2014 and...If you can find other Costumes from this Season's Grand Prix of Figure Skating where GLOVES were featured, let me know here!