I was watching SC with some friends who aren't huge skating fans, and we ended up talking a lot about costumes. Here are some of the questions that were raised - if anyone can answer or has opinions, thanks in advance!
1. Do costumes need to be dry cleaned after each event? what happens with back to back events in this case? and how do skaters pack costumes for travel (and then get them un-wrinkled) for comps?
2. what happens when bags do not arrive in time for comps re: costumes? do coaches carry a back-up?
3. If costumes - as opposed to, say, team uniforms as in gymnastics or snow boarding - are part of the whole presentation, why is there not a costume mark? should their be one - or is there one I am unaware of? (there are costume deductions in dance, right? is that true in the other disciplines? what is the basis for deductions?). Or, should their be team uniforms?
4. do costumes look very different live? do they look different at eye/judge level versus in the "nose bleed" sections.
5. why do some skaters seem to have the same dress in both LP and SP with different colors (Kwan did this in her later years with the Vera Wang almost the same dress in different colors; but she's the Kween! But, RAchel appears to have basically the same dress in two colors this year - and we weren't loving the illusion fabric as full length arms, but that is just an example, not a snark against her).
6. about how long does it take to make a costume and what is a "normal" price range for this elite level? what happens when costumes rip during the season or if the skater has significant weight change....are new ones commissioned or is it relatively easy to adjust them?
1. Do costumes need to be dry cleaned after each event? what happens with back to back events in this case? and how do skaters pack costumes for travel (and then get them un-wrinkled) for comps?
2. what happens when bags do not arrive in time for comps re: costumes? do coaches carry a back-up?
3. If costumes - as opposed to, say, team uniforms as in gymnastics or snow boarding - are part of the whole presentation, why is there not a costume mark? should their be one - or is there one I am unaware of? (there are costume deductions in dance, right? is that true in the other disciplines? what is the basis for deductions?). Or, should their be team uniforms?
4. do costumes look very different live? do they look different at eye/judge level versus in the "nose bleed" sections.
5. why do some skaters seem to have the same dress in both LP and SP with different colors (Kwan did this in her later years with the Vera Wang almost the same dress in different colors; but she's the Kween! But, RAchel appears to have basically the same dress in two colors this year - and we weren't loving the illusion fabric as full length arms, but that is just an example, not a snark against her).
6. about how long does it take to make a costume and what is a "normal" price range for this elite level? what happens when costumes rip during the season or if the skater has significant weight change....are new ones commissioned or is it relatively easy to adjust them?