World’s most expensive skating dress? | Golden Skate

World’s most expensive skating dress?

Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Is this the most expensive skating costume of all time? Does anyone know how much it cost? I believe Michelle never competed in it because it was too heavy, but she wore it at the grand opening of the East-West Ice Palace.

http://www.thepsychfiles.com/images/MichelleKwan.jpg

Here is Nancy Kerrigan’s famous entry in the costliest dress contest.

http://www.in-color.net/images/uploads/nancy-kerrigan-wearing_Vera_Wang_Costume.jpg

Here is an article, pre-2010 Olympics, where Vera Wang discusses skating dresses. (She designed Lysacek’s Olympic costumes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/fdshops/stories/012510dngdverawang.aca24cc2.html
 

ManyCairns

Medalist
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Country
United-States
VERA WANG was responsible for Evan's ruffled shoulders and feathered cuffs? That really surprises me actually.

PS I always loved Nancy's costumes, pretty much all of them! And many of Michelle's. But I also loved some of the '80's and early 90's dresses with all the sequins and patterns, as long as the colors worked together and for the skater. E.g., loved Kristi's Oly LP dress, the black with the gold, Tonya's '94 Oly LP dress, and I loved Debi's '88 red and white pattern on black -- really liked that one then and now! Also loved Debi in the bodysuits -- and Mishkutenok's as well, although Natalia had the added skirt (and random rags, lol). I guess my taste runs the gamut a bit since I found Michelle's Lyra Angelica dress stunning but I also liked the flashy '80's stuff!
 
Last edited:

Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ptichka, you've posted a different Cohen dress than the one she's wearing in the articles. I like the second one, and I mostly liked the first one. I just thought the neckline of the first one did not suit Cohen's figure.

Interesting article, but when discussing dresses, they really should show all of the ones being discussed.
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
Is this the most expensive skating costume of all time? Does anyone know how much it cost? I believe Michelle never competed in it because it was too heavy, but she wore it at the grand opening of the East-West Ice Palace.

http://www.thepsychfiles.com/images/MichelleKwan.jpg
whats was made of and it was so heavy?
Do you remember one dress of Cohen that I had said I want this one! and it looked like a rainbow, it was from the last couple of years shows, i cant find it!
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I love Wang's outfits for the most part, especially that sophisticated white dress that Nancy wore and Michelle's beautiful blue one. But I disagree with Vera about Shizuka's 2006 dress. I thought it was beautiful, dramatic but rather severe, with that great collar and the way the blues met. It was one of my favorite dresses of the Turin Olympics, but of course there was also the wonderful couture dress Carolina Kostner wore and a few knockouts by the Finnish ladies. Was it Kiira Korpi who had the dress with the starry effects on it? Anyway, stunning.
 

MKFSfan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Here's another shot of the Sasha dress talked about in the Vera article, from Carmen (the dress Ptichka posted was from West Side Story):
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9619/21424sashacohenclassicp.jpg

I believe Fields of Gold was the crystal laden dress Michelle couldn't wear for a LP due to being too heavy for jumping:
http://www.scratchspin.com/2003/worlds03/fs-0302031.jpg

Michelle will tell you this was one of her faves:
http://actresses.pick2web.com/pics/380436/michellekwan.jpg

I also loved this:
http://www.goldsea.com/Personalities/Kwanm/michelle2.jpg

I prefer simple elegance, I find that style classy which is why there are very few dresses Vera designed for Michelle that I don't like! I think my least favorite was the gold Bolero dress. Other than that, cannot think of another!
 
Last edited:

Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
My guess is Jenny Kirk's beautiful Chicago dress was also quite expensive and heavy. Can't seem to find a photo of it.
 

MKFSfan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 15, 2006
Michelle has worn that silver dress w/flag on it at other exhibitions. I think I read a Vera Wang skating dress could cost on the upwards of $10,000+.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Sheesh, when I think of how Peggy Fleming's mother made her dress for the 1968 Olympics...

I think things are getting a bit exceeding these days. Not that I mind having someone like Vera Wang grace the skating scene, but it just puts skating that much further out of the reach of ordinary families as a sport.
 

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Sheesh, when I think of how Peggy Fleming's mother made her dress for the 1968 Olympics...

I think things are getting a bit exceeding these days. Not that I mind having someone like Vera Wang grace the skating scene, but it just puts skating that much further out of the reach of ordinary families as a sport.


For me there is no skating dress worn by Michelle or Sasha or any of the others that will ever outshine the dress Peggy wore in Gregnoble. :love:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8063/index.htm
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
For me there is no skating dress worn by Michelle or Sasha or any of the others that will ever outshine the dress Peggy wore in Grenoble. :love:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8063/index.htm

:thumbsup: (I see this famous photo is by John Zimmerman. :))

Peggy's dress looks a little warmer than a lot of later costumes, with the long sleeves and all. I think this picture was taken at the outdoor practice rink at Grenoble.

If I remember correctly Peggy's mom chose that color particularly for Grenoble, where the color originated (if colors can "originate." :cool: ) The monks of the Chartreuse Monastery made and sold a distinctive green liqueur, beginning in the 1700s, and the color chartreuse was named after it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...treuse-bottle.jpg/180px-Chartreuse-bottle.jpg
 
Last edited:

janetfan

Match Penalty
Joined
May 15, 2009
Speaking of Peggy - here is a look into figures, skating outdoors in the cold and the never ending trickery of Fassi. :)
Some are "streetsmart," and Fassi was that as well as being "icesmart." :yes:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1078268/1/index.htm

"At Davos, Carlo Fassi made sure that Peggy was prepared for the high cold by engaging the West German team trainer, Curt Schumacher, to rub her legs with liniment each time she went out on the ice. After each turn Fassi would take her back to Schumacher to have the liniment rubbed off with alcohol lest it overheat her legs."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/7971/index.htm
 
Last edited:

jian10

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
I wonder how much Yu Na paid for her 007 SP dress. I heard that all the bead works were done by hand.
 

princess9

On the Ice
Joined
May 1, 2010
Is this the most expensive skating costume of all time? Does anyone know how much it cost? I believe Michelle never competed in it because it was too heavy, but she wore it at the grand opening of the East-West Ice Palace.

http://www.thepsychfiles.com/images/MichelleKwan.jpg

Here is Nancy Kerrigan’s famous entry in the costliest dress contest.

http://www.in-color.net/images/uploads/nancy-kerrigan-wearing_Vera_Wang_Costume.jpg

Here is an article, pre-2010 Olympics, where Vera Wang discusses skating dresses. (She designed Lysacek’s Olympic costumes).

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/fdshops/stories/012510dngdverawang.aca24cc2.html

I think Vera's dress for Nancy's LP was perfect. The best dress on the best skater. Nancy was so stunning that night. Like Michelle, she rarely made a costume mistake. How much was that dress? Or was it a freebie?
 
Top