COSTUMES ! COSTUMES ! Here we go.... | Golden Skate

COSTUMES ! COSTUMES ! Here we go....

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Is it time to kick off a costume thread for this season ? I was recently made aware of this very interesting article on icenetwork.com , and it seemed a really good springboard for diving into the costume swamp once again.

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120820&content_id=37018476&vkey=ice_news

Judging from the article , you can see that many skaters do put a lot of thought into their costumes but we know many need to pay more attention .. Sometimes a self designed costume works better than an effort by a well known designer ( Alissa's costumes have often been among the most attractive in a given season ).

I was very impressed with Caro's costumes last year , and wonder why all that money was spent on her previous designer costumes, which , though beautifully artistic if you saw them on a mannequin , were always too short at the back ,and the poor girl often had to suffer the indignity of a wedgie ( not to mention the nipple malfunction of a couple of years ago )..simply not designed ( or executed ?) with athletic activity foremost in mind. It was as if, to the designer , Caro was a vehicle for the costume , instead of the costume being an accessory to her skating ..

http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=1...ner_at_the_2010_Olympics.jpg&docid=Qq9JbkYidP

http://www.celebs101.com/image-19636--1473--Carolina Kostner Picture Gallery.html

Her own efforts? Very simple, yet elegant .. and no malfunctions..

http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=2...i/File:2012_WFSC_05d_427_Carolina_Kostner.JPG

http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=2.../results_gpf/gpf11%20l.htm&docid=emtBX6EJzGZX

Then again, sometimes you want to scream "Please ! Go to a professional !"

Savchenko /Szokolwy :
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/jbP3b_YkFqH/2010+Skate+America/Pwps6y4sQBY/Aliona+Savchenko

Zhiganshina / Gazsi :
http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&.../SD/10Neb-SD-1176-ZG-LC.jpg.php&docid=wIpyq9k
Both repeat offenders,for me..( But S/S's last year's FD costume was lovely )

There are trends that crop up and either hang on seemingly forever ( what's with the gloves ?)..or fade and then get brought back with a vengeance. Some , I hope, will never see the light of day again...such as the "Trapped in Tulle and Tatters" look of the late '90s-early 2000s

Fusar Poli /Margalio :
http://www.google.ca/imgres?hl=en&s...ale.it/?yy=2006&mm=2&p=2&docid=z--a--gDWejl_M

Lobacheva /Averbukh :
http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=1...2003-worlds/thu-od/&docid=4_yvrvBrrBkRIM&imgu

Bourne /Kraatz :
http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&...ce3/&docid=Pj8rXzN8mkO9XM&imgurl=http://www.f

...Or the "Split Personality" ( better known in my family as another half-a**ed effort )

Jeremy Abbott :
http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&...orB6LT8/TOyjUVZZEZI/AAAAAAAAKPg/Jbfm6nZbGBg/s

Kanako Murakami:
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/r83CO3FScmw/2010+Skate+America/Mq0wYOIyMKu/Kanako+Murakami

I suppose at a stretch, Caro's chartreuse / green dress from last year could be said to be in this category, although the neckline and sleeves are the same on both sides.. which goes to show that sometimes it's not the most basic design idea that's bad , necessarily..but that people can't resist going overboard with it. Too much decoration , a too extreme difference between the two halves.

Both Jeremy and Kanako's efforts were extremely distracting..and it doesn't matter if they had some rationale for the designs... If the costume makes it more diffucult to fully appreciate the skating , it's not your friend.

I want to move on to make a start on the costumes we're beginning to see this year, but I'll have to do it in sections, as this is getting mighty long..;)..but I love the Nick Verreos quote at the close of the article about uniforms.. I think it might be wise for skaters to use this word to themselves sometimes ,instead of "costume"... It might help some of them to employ a little restraint , now and then.

Also, I noticed that under the Jeremy Abbot photo was a Nick Verreos article..

http://nickverrreos.blogspot.ca/2010/11/nick-verreos-figure-skating-fashion_23.html

..in which he makes the point ( with some examples) that a costume is often reworked as the season progresses. ( and sometimes we've seen not just a slight reworking of the idea, but something completely different )

I think we should remind ourselves of this as we move into the season..you know, before we :bang: or :cry: at first viewing.

And for me, every costume has to answer these questions..Does it flatter the skater ? Can the skater move freely in it , without fear of malfunction ? Can we clearly see the skaters movements ? Does it relate to the music or theme ?

I'll have to come back with the next bit..but .. jump in guys..( you know you want to..)
 
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FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Am I the only one who liked S/S's Pink Panther's costumes?:laugh: I think the colors were perfect for the music and they were well-designed... And, for me, Caro's dresses last season were close to perfection, her FS's one was simply perfect for her, for the music, for the choreography, it was HER dress! You could see that she loved performing wearing it, it gave her confidence! And, may I share one of the worst costumes from last season? This: http://searchsafer.com/imgdetail.ph....2&imgtype=jpeg&qsearch=mao asada sheherazade! I think those pants were too evident, you were forced to watch them instead of Mao! :disapp: Then there is obviously the Yu-Na/Akiko dress http://searchsafer.com/imgdetail.ph...e=17.8&imgtype=jpeg&qsearch=akiko suzuki 2012... What I would like to see in the costumes next season? Originality, new ideas, something elegant so see but with the courage to try!
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Always. While the ISU has been kind to put up all the JGP's for viewing, I'm still tapping my toes waiting for the GP to begin! A good costume thread can always pass some time.

One thing that always puzzles me is why some costumes often obviously don't fit, and yet are not altered over the season. I'm not talking about hand me down costumes, here, and there are more of those than you'd think. And I'm not talking about something that proved to be not quite right at it's first outing, and it was too late to fix it. From time to time, you'll see a dress that just fits wrong across the back in puckers. Next outing, there it is again. In fact, it will be there all season.

Is it impossible to fix something like thiat? If you paid a professional to make a costume, I would see it as something they should fix for free, since proper fit should be a requirement.

One thing that interested me about the article was the comment that Meryl Davis's mother is quite involved in her costumes during the design phase. I do know that Meryl users the same designers that she has used since she was nine, a pair of Michigan women. And yet Meryl is nearly always is turned out very nicely.

I wonder whether this is a place where all the mothers should be involved. After all a skater can't see that pucker across the back themselves, and clearly some of the profestionals don't care about it.

As to handme downs, I'm not the most noticing person about this, but it used to be that Jerrod Swallow's toreador coat from their paso doble would appear near every time it was appropriate to be worn by a Junior boy in the Detroit area. The girls hand outfits down too. Strangely enough, quite often the altered outfit looks better fitted than some of the new ones ;)

As to this year, one thing that bugs me, but perhaps should not is overly literal costumes.

Here's an example; you take one look at this skater and it is obvious she is skating to Autumn Leaves, because they are attached all over the costume. I'm never sure whether it's nice to know what they are skating to before they begin, or whether the overliteralness is over the top.

http://www.skating.com.ua/forum/download/file.php?id=3637&mode=view

Well she could have been skating to the Four Seasons: Autumn.

Here's another really literal costume, which was so silly, I liked it, Pechalat & Bourzat's costumes for Four Seasons. She was summer & winter and he was Autumn & Spring:

A good shot for seeing Nathalie's costume. I definitely like the snow flakes on the bootcovers!

http://www.skatetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/PECHALAT-BOURZAT.jpg

A better shot for seeing Fabian's outfit
http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/events/200607/skateamerica/backstage/4Seasons.jpg
 
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plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
I usually don't like the costumes of Japanese skaters, in particular the boy's clothes are horrible. On the contrary I really liked Dai's and Hanyu's costumes in last season. I also don't like Caro's costumes, and I agree with those,who say Alissa's costumes are the most beautiful. I really- really don't like Joubert's outfit. In general I like the original costumes, as the french mummy outfit in last season. The Russian costumes sometimes are too flamboyant, they think they are on the stage of Bolshoi Theater. But I like almost all costumes of Plushy ( what a surprise! :biggrin:).
 
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Bluebonnet

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
This is always a big and interesting topic.

Caro's pants last season was daring. As a rule of my, I don't like ladies wearing tight body suit. But she has shown a rare and perfect curve. I agree Caro's dresses were too short.

Alissa Czisny is always perfect.
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
This is always a big and interesting topic.

Caro's pants last season was daring. As a rule of my, I don't like ladies wearing tight body suit. But she has shown a rare and perfect curve. I agree Caro's dresses were too short.

Alissa Czisny is always perfect.
Alissa's dresses are OFTEN beautiful, but I think her last season's FS costume, the second one, was really sad and horrible, it looked like lingerie, for me (http://search.babylon.com/imageres....h=396&w=594&q=alissa+czisny+2012&babsrc=NT_ss), when the first one (http://search.babylon.com/imageres....alissa+czisny+2011+skate+america&babsrc=NT_ss) was simply perfect for her music!
 

Bluebonnet

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 18, 2010

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Aha! doris..you anticipate my next category with the Autumn Leaves costume, above ..Lets face it, there's more than just being too literal that's wrong with that costume..the colours are harsh, as if the designer used a kid's paintbox, and didn't realize you could actually mix colours. I wouldn't mind the leaves so much if they weren't all defined so boldly... and it raises the use of illusion fabric..( "Dare to be Bare" ?) ..which can be either a great asset ( e.g. safely acheiving a strapless look or low cut back ) or a temptation to tackiness ..( and nakedness, which in turn , I guess, brought about the 50% covered torso rule. );)

Here's my favourite "Good" example from back in 2000. Where does the costume end and the person begin ? Beautiful , subtle use of colour, delicate fabric, wonderful cut. ( and the skating's pretty delicious , too ) I never tire of re-watching this.. ( sorry , I couldn't find a still )..Yuka Sato :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws8zT945BYw

Of course the "Bad" examples are legion.. This went through a few changes , and I disliked every one..

http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl...361_Tatiana_Volosozhar_Maxim_Trankov.jpg&doci

These were all hideous... ( Poor Miki ) :eek:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/so20100227a4.html

http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&...docid=CJlgawLDkcz6_M&imgurl=http://www.blogut.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&...docid=cnLhyJmRjr-FlM&imgurl=http://www.japant

and there were even more of them , all equally bad. Too much and too little all at once.

Jana and Sergei from 2010 Euros..( a tiny bit of a skirt was added for the Olympics..)

http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&.../&docid=KwKr_FGIcm2iGM&imgurl=http://wordstob

( I miss Jana , but not her costumes ) :laugh:

And probably the worst repeat offender in the history of skating , Elena Grushina. ( I was amazed this came up , I wasn't really looking for it . I was there..she wore this , at morning practice..when SC had issued free passes to elementary school kids as a treat and introduction to skating. The harem pants were also very sheer... )

http://www.google.ca/imgres?um=1&hl...id=heL6Z0hR_rzIaM&imgurl=http://www242.pair.c

Wasn't she the one that caused the ISU to issue a warning that the women MUST NOT wear only flesh coloured tights with no panty under their skirts ?

And then , there ought to be self administered rule..wear no costume before it's time . I don't mean when tinkering with hemline, or trying out different versions , I mean particularly when dealing with illusion fabric. Ralph / Hill suffered with this last year in their SD . When they first appeared at Thornhill , her costume was consideraby smaller ( less covered , less skirt ) than this , and I think even more beading was added after this....
http://www.google.ca/imgres?start=8...ice-dance.com/2011-12/2011Nebelhorn/SD/11Neb-

Same problem with Alena Leonova in 2010 .. I think when we first saw her dress ,there were fewer appliques than this ..

http://www.google.ca/imgres?num=10&...ces.com/people/Alena_Leonova&docid=iyfNaGxn1_

and more by the time the Olys rolled around..

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Alena+Leonova/Figure+Skating+Day+12/XxBPp8yts29

Wouldn't it have been better to leave the blessed thing with the costumer and let her get on with it ? ...unless you don't mind people wondering if you're trying to see how much ( little) you can get away with .

In regard to puckers, it can always be poor dressmaking , but sometimes, it's just that they chose a fabric with not enough stretch or give to it . In that case, especially if it fits tightly , or has long sleeves, it's either leave extra room here or there and put up with the puckers , or be continually pulling apart at the seams. ( Oh , and try not to breathe.)

I agree about Alissa's blue dress as opposed to the white ...much more becoming.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I preferred Alissa in blue also. Just on principle, I prefer color to white, and stronger colors to pastels. Alissa is so clouds-and-dream to begin with, that anything with cloudy-dreamy aspects makes her image a bit too gentle, almost sugary. She'd look splendid in, say, burgundy or dark plum tones, or dark bronze. She can retain the simple cut and solid colors she seems to prefer. One of my favorite of her costumes was that crisp Sabrina ensemble, the white-edged black dress.

As for Yuka Sato in the floaty "Afternoon of a Faun" outfit...blissfully beautiful. Like Alissa, her smile always adds luster to whatever she's wearing. Has anyone on this board ever been able to remain sad or even faintly blue when she took to the ice? It's always a thrill to see her skate; she's so musical and fluid. Her Worlds win in 1994 was one of the great gifts to fans in modern skating, because it gave her the opportunity to have a more substantial pro career--so we could see her exquisite skills more often. This was a skater I never wanted to lose track of. At that time, Japan wasn't a huge skating power, and with big stars like Oksana taking center stage, Yuka's quieter, more subtle talent could easily have been swept aside...but with that Worlds win, she earned her place at the front of the line.
 
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ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
I liked Jeremy Abbott's Beetlejuice costume. That it was for a flamenco didn't detract too much for me.

I like S/S's Pink Panther costumes. It emphasized Robin's posterior in a manner that convinced me that Aliona would hit her head during the duck-through-the-legs maneuver and that comic frisson was a fine end to that program.

Recently, my favourite costume would be Virtue/Moir's 2010/11 SD costume
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I think Meryl's dress was one of the most beautiful in last years' ice dancing, the colour and the skirt are really perfect for The Bat, I think their costumes really represented that music, the essence of the waltz!


I definitely agree with you! That rich magenta color was almost hypnotically beautiful. And that hemline with the paler underskirt...magnificent! I'm looking back at the U.S. Nationals of that program right now, and I realize I had forgotten how lovely the neckline is: like an opulent nineteenth-century necklace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfr4GAOjRdU

My favorite program of the year on all counts: costume, music, skating, and whatever X-factor makes a program one for the ages.
 
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colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Meryl's costumes are always good and often simply outstanding. Last year's dress was yummy !

Now for the teeniest hint at some Canadian ice dance SD costumes, there's this ... just the briefest impressions ,but we're starved , aren't we ?:laugh:

O/W at0:28 ..R/H at 0:30 .. G/P at 0:41 ..W/P at 0:44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eClwepAWPM

O/W - Saw these at BC/YT summerskate -pretty cute line dancing outfits..Thomas looking equally noticeable.

R/H -Can't tell much from this clip , but the apricot tones look well on both of them and at Thornhill ( where you could see it ), Kharis' dress was very becoming..good length for her , skirt nice and frothy , but not too full ..very promising , I thought.

G/P - this is not promising to me.. looks sort of junior-ish.Too much stuff around her shoulers and neck , don't like the red corselet.

W/P - Dreamy. Beautiful pale blue - silky , floaty , elegant ..love the square neckline and dainty cap sleeves ? for her. ...And they mustn't seat too many young women by the boards , they'll all be fainting as Andrew glides by in his impeccable shirt and vest...;)
 
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ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Now for the teeniest hint at some Canadian ice dance SD costumes, there's this ... just the briefest impressions ,but we're starved , aren't we ?:laugh:

O/W at0:28 ..R/H at 0:30 .. G/P at 0:41 ..W/P at 0:44

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eClwepAWPM

W/P - Dreamy. Beautiful pale blue - silky , floaty , elegant ..love the square neckline and dainty cap sleeves ? for her.

Assume that Weaver's dress is intended to resemble the pale blue cap-sleeved one that Julie Andrews wore in the Sound of Music for her duet with Christopher Plummer of "I must have done something good."
 
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colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
golden411..I don't think so... apart , maybe , from being blue . I confess I've never watched the movie , didn't think I could take the sugar hit. But I've seen the odd scene or clip , and when I read your post , I did a Google search and, nope.. I found nothing like it ( Thankfully.. it would be a waste of Kaitlyn to smother her in that excruciatingly demure stuff. )...:laugh:
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
golden411..Yes I saw that SoM dress..The two are nothing alike , except Kaitlyn's dress is also blue.

Julie's dress is patterned. Kaitlyn's is not...Julie's dress has a collar bone neckline and deep frills or flounces that serve as sleeves , covering the shoulders and much of the upper arm.The upper bodice is gathered and cinched into a wide cumberbund-like waistband and a slightly gathered skirt.( I think there's even smocking at the neck and waist creating the gathers )... It looks like chiffon, over something else.

Kaitlyn's has a medium-low square neckline front and back, either cap sleeves ( because they only cover the shoulder caps ) or a short very slightly puffed sleeve..( hard to tell in 3-4 seconds).It falls in a slim slight A-line from under the bust ( no waist ), and appears to be a fine weight silk ...No froth here , just float and flutter.

Maybe the blue is meant to evoke this scene from the movie ,to a degree... and she may be somewhat demure, but she's a much more sophisticated looking character. (Which is fine by me..I often prefer a not too literal interpretation...just a riff on a theme. )

Of course , this may not be the dress..:laugh:..we'll have to wait and see.

ETA : Fresh fodder tomorrow..I hope something comes out of SLC .. ( I can't do IN) ..I'm dying to see if Madison Chock has altered her SD costume. I thought I noticed in a Champs Camp photo that she'd at least tacked that ruffle down a bit at the back. I know she designed it herself ( nice colours ), but she's a tiny thing ,and I thought she was totally overwhelmed by it in the photos from LPIDC.
 
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