Should ISU introduce mandatory costumes?

[LiamForeman]

Also, part of costuming is to accentuate your positives and eliminate the negatives. We all have "problem" areas that we would rather hide/camouflage and a "one costume for all" might favor someone else's appearance/body and just devastate someone else's. I'd be a self-conscious wreck if the official costume made me look like crapola. It would hinder me getting into character to the music, knowing I am not looking my best, like why bother, I look awful in this ugly POS. And the audience probably wouldn't enjoy seeing everyone dressed the same. Costuming helps create a mood to the program and what genre of music they are trying to interpret. A Scott Hamilton Special would detract from someone doing tango or Nutcracker or well most everything. We want to attract a more widespread audience, right? This would be disastrous for that.

 

[mrrice]

Also, part of costuming is to accentuate your positives and eliminate the negatives. We all have "problem" areas that we would rather hide/camouflage and a "one costume for all" might favor someone else's appearance/body and just devastate someone else's. I'd be a self-conscious wreck if the official costume made me look like crapola. It would hinder me getting into character to the music, knowing I am not looking my best, like why bother, I look awful in this ugly POS. And the audience probably wouldn't enjoy seeing everyone dressed the same. We want to attract a more widespread audience, right? This would be disastrous for that.

I agree 100%. Look, as a dancer, I have worn some hideous costumes. I remember an Adam and Eve show we did. I wore a flesh colored Unitard that they had to dye to match my skin. Then they wrapped vines around all of us. It was embarrassing but, the Judges loved it. I remember my friends not liking Johnny Weir's Ice Cycles Unitard. Personally, it was one of my favorites. As long as no rules are broken, I say, let the skaters be as creative as they can be in this "Artistic Sport"

 

[surimi]

I detest the emphasis on fashion, hair and makeup in figure skating competitions.

People wonder why figure skating isn't taken seriously as a sport, and then in the next breath they're prattling on about rhinestones and eye shadow.

Save that garbage for the Gala exhibitions. I don't watch those, so it won't bother me.

Strong words there. I don't think this is quite correct, though. Figure skating has the same problem as all the other sports where athletes perform to music. Dancing, rhythmic gymnastics, even synchronized swimming (to an extent, as synchro swimsuits can't be too elaborate for obvious reasons). As long as there's music and something resembling performing or dancing, there are bound to be costumes and make-up, and there's bound to be scorn among certain parts of the population. But the athletes themselves likely feel the performance is enhanced by thematic costumes and make-up, and so does, I wager, the majority of the audience. Modern expression dance (or whatever it's called - apologies to fans, I don't follow it closely) doesn't have sparkly fancy costumes but simple outfits, from what I've seen. Yet I don't see it widely recognized by those certain parts of the population that should be jubilant the athletes got rid of the egregious bling.
Bottom line, IMO costumes aren't the cause but the consequence. It's the performing to music part that causes certain people to dismiss skating and similar sports.
As for those abstract 'people prattling'... maybe the general ignorant public does that? I'd sure do that for sports I don't understand or follow, too, if the competitors had costumes. I sure don't see much of that kind of talk on GS or Twitter, where most focus on the skaters and their programs.

 

[TontoK]

As for those abstract 'people prattling'... maybe the general ignorant public does that? I'd sure do that for sports I don't understand or follow, too, if the competitors had costumes. I sure don't see much of that kind of talk on GS or Twitter, where most focus on the skaters and their programs.

Fair points. But this can't go without response.

There is plenty of talk about these sorts of things. You mention synchro swimming, a sport I don't know a lot about. Do fans of the sport know famous competition swimsuit designers? Because I bet GS fans know costume designers, because that gets brought up a lot.

Were you around for the Nathan Chen costume discussions? Because, if people truly didn't care about costuming other than how they made the skater feel comfortable and confident, they certainly had a lot to say that Nathan's costumes drifted towards athletic-looking basic black without a lot of blingy adornment.

 

[LiamForeman]

I agree 100%. Look, as a dancer, I have worn some hideous costumes. I remember an Adam and Eve show we did. I wore a flesh colored Unitard that they had to dye to match my skin. Then they wrapped vines around all of us. It was embarrassing but, the Judges loved it. I remember my friends not liking Johnny Weir's Ice Cycles Unitard. Personally, it was one of my favorites. As long as no rules are broken, I say, let the skaters be as creative as they can be in this "Artistic Sport"

I'd be mortified! LOL. Well, maybe everyone should only wear a full-body black unitard? And while we're at it, a plastic head cap that makes everyone look bald, so no one has a "hair advantage". And no makeup too. hehe. But actually that might be cool.... It screams modern dance! (which I like). I could get behind that. OMG

 

[mrrice]

I'd be mortified! LOL. Well, maybe everyone should only wear a full-body black unitard? And while we're at it, a plastic head cap that makes everyone look bald, so no one has a "hair advantage". And no makeup too. hehe. But actually that might be cool.... It screams modern dance! (which I like). I could get behind that. OMG

My Unitard was actually called "Coffee" Here's a very blurry Video of our show. Like usual, you can only see my back when we lift Eve at 1:39.... It's not difficult to follow me around because, again, I'm the biggest boy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm1IGUy2vvQ&t=329s

 

[Mathman]

. Why not also give everyone one piece of music that everyone has to skate to, a piece from the not so long ago year of 1512.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5p4x_tOEZM&t=1m10s

Figure skating could bring back the lute all by itself!

 

[RobinA]

That will be the day I cease, completely and forever, being a figure skating fan. CoP has ruined it somewhat for me and I'm not the fan I used to be, but uniforms would be the end of it once and for all.

 

[Minz]

Actually, wasn’t Shmuratko almost docked a point for skating in training gear last worlds? Which was what the rules said, but common sense/decency prevailed?

One judge gave him a costume violation in the SP, but it didn't matter because, AFAIK, you have to have more than half the panel to call it in order for there to actually be a deduction.

I don't think that the training gear, per se, was the issue. From what I understand, it was because his shirt was loose and wouldn't fully cover his torso when he was spinning.

And obviously, Ivan skating in training gear is perfectly understandable, given the situation he was in.

 

[lariko]

One judge gave him a costume violation in the SP, but it didn't matter because, AFAIK, you have to have more than half the panel to call it in order for there to actually be a deduction.

I don't think that the training gear, per se, was the issue. From what I understand, it was because his shirt was loose and wouldn't fully cover his torso when he was spinning.

And obviously, Ivan skating in training gear is perfectly understandable, given the situation he was in.

And it didn’t take away from his performance at all.

As I said, I live for the day when it would be acceptable in less extreme circumstances and for women, not just men.

 

[FaustinaF]

Figure skating is basically "art on the ice" and with this I mean not just the right "art" to land difficult jumps but essentially "art" as a artistic living performance, needing some typical details like skating costumes. For example, I've never seen any classical ballet girl or man performing beautiful programs without their typical stage costumes! It is an indissoluble part of what you're representing! For me, ice rink is always like a show stage, whatever program you skate on.
So, I'm for figure skating costumes, because the discipline requires it naturally!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Fair points. But this can't go without response.

There is plenty of talk about these sorts of things. You mention synchro swimming, a sport I don't know a lot about. Do fans of the sport know famous competition swimsuit designers? Because I bet GS fans know costume designers, because that gets brought up a lot.

Were you around for the Nathan Chen costume discussions? Because, if people truly didn't care about costuming other than how they made the skater feel comfortable and confident, they certainly had a lot to say that Nathan's costumes drifted towards athletic-looking basic black without a lot of blingy adornment.

A lot of people cared about Nathan's costumes because he was the frontrunner. I think Nathan definitely straddled the line between drab/boring and simple/understated, but I did like how that allowed his skating to speak for itself. It was no-frills skating - literally.

Logically speaking it doesn't make sense for any character piece or non-classical. Imagine if it was say a simple monochrome dress with sleeves was required... you would never see a program like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24S0ofpezU.

 

[TontoK]

A lot of people cared about Nathan's costumes because he was the frontrunner. I think Nathan definitely straddled the line between drab/boring and simple/understated, but I did like how that allowed his skating to speak for itself. It was no-frills skating - literally.

Logically speaking it doesn't make sense for any character piece or non-classical. Imagine if it was say a simple monochrome dress with sleeves was required... you would never see a program like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24S0ofpezU.

Why wouldn't we see a program like that one?

What made it a great program? I'd say it was the innovative and interesting choreography and her interpretation of the music.

If you think it was the dress, then you could put that dress on anyone for any program and be equally pleased.

 

[FaustinaF]

Well we can say her costume had a role to icrease both the choreography and the performance meaning, but yeah, it is not the costume itself to play the main role!

 

[yume]

About knowing the designers and talking about them, i think they should be praised for their work.

They help skaters to interpret their music and present themselves in the best possible way.

And sometimes the costumes helps to create visually pleasing jumps and spins. I'm especially thinking about Niina Petrokina black and green dress.

Props to Satomi Ito, Lisa Mckinnon, Olga Ryabenko, Karen Chen's mom, the outstanding Korean designers who do nothing else than slay each time and many others.

 

[Mauvedreamer]

Variety is the spice of life that's my motto. So whatever a skater wants to wear and feels is right for them ,is fine by me.

 

[streams4dreams]

I am also one of those who watch figure skating because it is a package deal and combines artistry and athleticism. In fact, in Croatian, the sport is called "artistic skating". Watching with my mom and grandma, I often heard stories of their favorite TV commentator who, back in the days of black-and-white television, commented not just on the performance, but also reported on the colors of the costumes and the amount of bling, which is why she was the favorite

And I don't really see uniforms as a way of making the sport more affordable. There doesn't seem to be evidence that simpler costumes are scored negatively, and I'd expect any money saved on costumes to be simply used to book a practice or two more at the rink or get whatever else is needed. And if I recall correctly, at least some of Nathan Chen's no-frill costumes were done by Vera Wang, so not exactly a cost-saving measure. There are always ways to spend money, even if it's not on sequins and rhinestones!

 

[surimi]

Fair points. But this can't go without response.

There is plenty of talk about these sorts of things. You mention synchro swimming, a sport I don't know a lot about. Do fans of the sport know famous competition swimsuit designers? Because I bet GS fans know costume designers, because that gets brought up a lot.

Were you around for the Nathan Chen costume discussions? Because, if people truly didn't care about costuming other than how they made the skater feel comfortable and confident, they certainly had a lot to say that Nathan's costumes drifted towards athletic-looking basic black without a lot of blingy adornment.

I guess it depends on what one means by 'plenty'. IMO there's far more talk of jumps and other elements, coaching switches, result/CoP fairness and other things, compared to costume talk. There's a thread for best costumes of the year or something like that, at the end of each season, but I don't consider that excessive talk. If other sports like car racing or vault were performed in costumes, I bet there would be discussion about those as well, simply because humans are visual beings, and when they see something interesting and worth commenting on (like Shmuratko's shirts with images on them), they will. It's more fun than repeatedly arguing about jump techniques and bans, so why not lighten the mood? It's not like FS results are determined by costumes, and neither is the public liking a skater or not.

Try as I might, I don't see why knowing a few names of costume designers should be a sign that FS is less of a sport, or that it's degraded into something resembling beauty pageants (the latter of which you didn't say, but I get a distinct impression from your posts that something like this is what fancy costumes evoke for you). I myself know just two, and they're Japanese, Ito and Orihara, because they get mentioned sometimes by fans of two of my biggest favorites. It might have something to do with the popularity of fashion/clothes making/decoration in Japan in general, I don't know.

I don't know if Nathan is a good example here, because there's no telling whether those who criticized him for his simple costumes really minded the costumes so much, or if it was a substitute reason & they just wanted to criticize something. Other guys who tend to prefer simple unadorned costumes aren't mentioned much, if at all, in this respect, like Sadovsky for instance. My own favorite is wearing a plain black shirt from a store for the SP this season, and doesn't get discussed for that either. So I guess I don't see the big deal in having skaters wear whatever they feel suits their skating/expresses the programs the best.
Also, if you're trying to tell a story to global general public, it's often a good idea to make your costume fit that music to make sure the ignorant majority gets an idea of what you're skating about. 'Geisha' soundtrack and some Japanese-style gestures may not do the same trick a kimono style costume does when it's your average Joe in front of the screen.

 

[Lurker11]

I think more elaborate costumes is the way to go. Like what Loena or Tuktik wears for the women and the men ironically camp. It will bring in a bigger audience.

 

[lariko]

Right, costuming for men is pretty forgiving and they have a lot of wiggle room to be comfortable and express themselves. I only wish that women were the same way. But imagine a woman coming to skate in GP in a comfortable black shirt and pants. I think the argument that figure skating naturally suits women wearing swimsuits with bling is akin to the argument that waitressing naturally suits wearing stiletto heels.

Rational Dress Society, I miss ya.