Worst Skating Outfits

[Dee4707]

Let us not forget Tiffany and Philip's Pink Panther program. In the below picture it's the flying pink panther!!!!!


Pink Panther

Dee

 

[Kasey]

I agree that the "Clowns on Crack" has got to be one of the all time worst....and to add insult to injury, they had another variation of that outfit that was blue, pink and white (and I think even more hideous).

There are a lot I can think of off-hand (Sebestyn from last year, several Joubert and Plushenko, Jahnke's "Maude" top last year before changing his costume), but it seems it always comes down to ice dancers to push things over the edge!

 

[thisthingcalledlove]

Let us not forget Tiffany and Philip's Pink Panther program. In the below picture it's the flying pink panther!!!!!


Pink Panther

Dee

Thanks for posting that one =) I was actually looking for this one hehehe.

As to Yoshie Onda...well, let's just hope she doesn't end up changing her costumes to look like these! LOL

 

[JonnyCoop]

(Sebestyn from last year, several Joubert and Plushenko, Jahnke's "Maude" top last year before changing his costume),

Glad I'm not the only one who saw Jahnke's costume last year and wondered if Beatrice Arthur was missing a blouse......

Kulik's cow print thing just ticked me off for several reasons. First of all, he and Tarasova swore up and down that how this thing fit into the theme was because it was "something from the New York from the time of Gershwin, the 40s and 50s" A- Gershwin died in 1937, so the 40s and 50s was a little past his time, B- that does NOT look like something even from the 30s, C- What would the Russians know about those subjects, anyway? Then they copped attitude with any American journalists who might have suggested that they were like, WAY OFF THE BEAM, like they'd know all about this sort of thing and we wouldn't.

The second reason the thing ticked me off is -- because of the time delay between Nagano and the West Coast, the day of the men's final, I was going out of my way to avoid finding out about the results before the telecast, because I wanted to have some suspense involved, for me, involving the outcome. So about 2 hours before the telecast, what happens, but he'd already won the gold hours earlier and that ugly costume IN FULL COLOR is splashed across the front page of the Portland Oregonian and even though I was trying not to look the thing was so GAUDY AND BILLIOUS that it was impossible for my eye NOT to be drawn to the paper, so naturally I knew right then and there who'd won.

As for my own personal list, well, so many I have blocked out -- but does anyone remember Shishkova & Naumov's lime green numbers from the Albertville short program??? And really, anything ever put on by Ukrainian (except for Liashenko) is usually good for a mortified shriek or two.

 

[CDMM1991]

Glad I'm not the only one who saw Jahnke's costume last year and wondered if Beatrice Arthur was missing a blouse......

Kulik's cow print thing just ticked me off for several reasons. First of all, he and Tarasova swore up and down that how this thing fit into the theme was because it was "something from the New York from the time of Gershwin, the 40s and 50s" A- Gershwin died in 1937, so the 40s and 50s was a little past his time, B- that does NOT look like something even from the 30s, C- What would the Russians know about those subjects, anyway? Then they copped attitude with any American journalists who might have suggested that they were like, WAY OFF THE BEAM, like they'd know all about this sort of thing and we wouldn't.

The second reason the thing ticked me off is -- because of the time delay between Nagano and the West Coast, the day of the men's final, I was going out of my way to avoid finding out about the results before the telecast, because I wanted to have some suspense involved, for me, involving the outcome. So about 2 hours before the telecast, what happens, but he'd already won the gold hours earlier and that ugly costume IN FULL COLOR is splashed across the front page of the Portland Oregonian and even though I was trying not to look the thing was so GAUDY AND BILLIOUS that it was impossible for my eye NOT to be drawn to the paper, so naturally I knew right then and there who'd won.

As for my own personal list, well, so many I have blocked out -- but does anyone remember Shishkova & Naumov's lime green numbers from the Albertville short program??? And really, anything ever put on by Ukrainian (except for Liashenko) is usually good for a mortified shriek or two.

I forget since I was only six years old. Was Ilia winning a surprise/upset? Of who?

 

[Jaana]

Ilia´s "Rhapsody in Blue" costume did not bother me one bit. Well, I have to admit that I was rather surprised as I saw the first photos, LOL. It though felt very different as I saw Ilia wearing that costume on TV. In my opinion Ilia did look handsome in that costume (LOL, I guess that only Urmanov or Joubert could have managed that also...). Besides the Nagano gold medal blended very well with Ilia´s costume colours!!! I wonder if that was how it was meant to be?

I believe that the music title confuses some skating fans? "Rhapsody in Blue" is not about the colour "blue". Keeping that in mind, a coach can use imagination and choose what ever costume colour for that music. Besides, I really like that at least some coaches (or skaters) use imagination...

If I had to choose one of Ilia´s costume that I did not like so much, my choice would be "Revolutions", his Olympic season short programme.

The ugliest costumes in recent years have been those by quite many ice dancers, but I prefer even those to unimaginative costumes.

 

[JonnyCoop]

I forget since I was only six years old. Was Ilia winning a surprise/upset? Of who?

After the SP, Kulik was 1st, Stojko 2nd, Eldredge 3rd and Yagudin 4th. Based on the SP, I thought it was close enough, IMO, for any of them to win. Stojko was actually the favorite in some quarters.

 

[Eeyora]

Her I go

Sasha's yellow Maleguena outfit
Michelle's peach EOE costume from 96
Irina's Long program costume from 96
Kristi's costume with the daisies while skating to Bjork (Guess thats the reason for the bad costume)
Nancy's yellow dress from 92
Julia Sebesten's bow dress and Carmen dress.
Shizuka's drape dress
many of Bestimova's and Bukin's costumes
Illia's Giraffe costume
Maria Butyrskaya's costume with the breast plates
Maria Butyrskaya's gray and red tango costume

Costume's that I just don't like that are not horrible
Michelle's gold bolero
Sasha's red and yellow carmen dress

 

[SusanBeth]

I can't find the the picture, but L & A had a program in which she wore flesh colored bottoms (the "panty" part looked missing!) When her skirt flew up, the shock value was unbelievable! What were they thinking? I have a good idea what everyone else was thinking. I just can't imagine why L & A thought that was good.

 

[SingAlto]

Was it Viacheslav Zagorudniuk who wore a tiara one year? That was very amusing. I think it was Terry Gannon who uttered: "What's with the tiara?" My sentiments exactly.

 

[Bubbles]

We must be fair. It wasn't really a tiara; it was a jeweled headband.

 

[thisthingcalledlove]

Bestemianova and Bukin...

Here are a few of their costumes...

http://www.denze.com/photo/skating/l125.jpg

http://home.snafu.de/eberl/archiv/p...bestemianova-bukin_rus_1991_frankfurt_ex2.jpg

 

[soogar]

Kulik's cow print thing just ticked me off for several reasons. First of all, he and Tarasova swore up and down that how this thing fit into the theme was because it was "something from the New York from the time of Gershwin, the 40s and 50s" A- Gershwin died in 1937, so the 40s and 50s was a little past his time, B- that does NOT look like something even from the 30s, C- What would the Russians know about those subjects, anyway? Then they copped attitude with any American journalists who might have suggested that they were like, WAY OFF THE BEAM, like they'd know all about this sort of thing and we wouldn't.

.

I think the "feel" of Rhapsody in Blue is somewhat like jazz (not quite jazz but has a jazz feel). I personally feel that the costume didn't have to be of the era that Gershwin lived (30's) but had to reflect the feel of the music and what people felt the time period looked like. Kulik's costume looks like it was patterned after a Zoot suit (heavy fabric, big shoulder padding). He didn't go for the entire suit, but the vest kind of denoted a suitlike look.

http://www.badfads.com/pages/fashion/zootsuit.html
http://www.zootsuitstore.com/Shopping/Catalog/zootsuit.asp?ProductType=ZootSuits
(go three suits down to see a Kulik-like creation)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_sfeature/sf_zoot_mx.html

"The oversized suit was both an outrageous style and a statement of defiance. Zoot suiters asserted themselves, at a time when fabric was being rationed for the war effort, and in the face of widespread discrimination."

Perhaps TT and the costume designer were inspired by African American 40's culture in creating the zoot suit look. And on a subtle note hoped that Kulik would be able to "assert himself" out of the pack and on top of the podium.


My exposure to zoot suits was watching old Tom and Jerry episodes and there was one where Tom was serenading this female in a Zoot suit singing , "Is you is, or is you ain't, my baby?"

 

[JonnyCoop]

Interesting take, soogar. I never actually thought of that. Still, it didn't have to be so gaudy. Even that "Kulik-like creation" in that link was a major improvement -- tho it is one of those color schemes that white guys really do need to stay away from.....

 

[Jaana]

LOL, maybe Ilia´s costume was created regarding the Olympic gold medal in Nagano? Look on this photo how well the colours in that gold medal go with his costume:

http://www.kuliks-krew.com/photos/ando/ceremony_8.JPG

 

[JonnyCoop]

Perhaps. But I still feel to this day that anyone with a costume THAT ugly should not have been allowed NEAR a medal podium unless they changed clothes first....

 

[Johar]

This thingcalledlove, those are so funny!! Poor Alexei, I wonder if he ever watches the program now??? I don't know how Mishin could have ever let him do that program.

Dee

Is that Alexei Yagudin?! What year was that from?

 

[Julie O]

I believe it was from the Exhibition when he won his first European title, back in 1997. (Please don't shoot if I'm wrong lol, I don't have time this minute to go back and check). Incredibly, the number, titled "One Banana" lol, made it to US tv. Yeah, really!

Julie

 

[rain]

Okay, I seriously killed myself laughing reading through this thread - and thankyou so much to those who provided visual aids. I have to agree with each and every costume mentioned here - awful - except perhaps Sasha's Malaguena, I didn't think it was so bad - certainly not on the level of some of the others.

The one I always remember has to be Kulik's giraffe shirt. What the hell was he thinking? It was just awful in so many different ways. It distracted me mightily from the beauty of his skating, quite frankly.

The person I think usually has the consistently least flattering costumes has got to be Slutskaya. She has never figured out how to dress herself to flatter her figure - with the exception of the pants she skated in last season. Pants are actually really nice on her. More often than not in her dresses she looks like a tomboy who's just put on a dress for the first time to go to her big sister's wedding and really isn't into it.

 

[Johar]

Alexei Urmanov's costumes were hideous--especially the one with the long cape.

Tonya Harding ranks up there. She wore costumes that didn't flatter or fit properly.