Figure Skating Fashion Minute: Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia--The Ladies

Babushka NOT!!!

Last weekend was the Rostelecom Cup/Cup of Russia and yes, naturally I've already discussed The Pairs as well as The Men, so even though I'm a week late, I still feel it was necessary to talk about The Ladies--and more importantly, the costumes I haven't given my "Nick Two Cents" on...So...here we go--The Ladies of the Cup of Russia 2011:

Sofia Biryukova of Russia: Let's begin with the Russian ladies (since it is, after all, The Cup of Russia)--Somehow, Sofia Biryukova, this lovely skater, has "escaped" my "Nick Costume Review". Who knows why? But better late than never. For her Free Skate at the Rostelecom Cup 2011-2012, Sofia skated to Puccini's "Turandot"--an opera about a cold-hearted princess in China and her suitor who falls in love with her. I absolutely LOVE her "Royal Blue" Chinoiserie-inspired costume featuring gold flower-and-leaf applique. The asymmetrical/twisting torso-neckline with its gold binding was superb. This girl ended up Fourth in the overall standings in Moscow, but to me, this was a First-Rate costume.

For her "Seven Years in Tibet" Short Program, Sofia's costume consisted of a very elegant and restrained black illusion, chiffon and stretch satin ensemble. For this music and theme, she could have gone a whole other route with the costume (maybe another version of her Free Skate costume), but she didn't. And I'm glad. This showed stylistic restraint, remained somewhat true to the music and still, got my "High Fashion Nick Points"!

Alena Leonova of Russia: I've discussed Alena's "Pirates of the Caribbean" costume to her Short Program at this season's Grand Prix already but I haven't talked about her Free Skate to "Adagio For Strings" and "Requiem for a Tower" costume. It was quite a number--all black, with caviar-beading detail, applique and sculpted embroidery, as well as an asymmetrical nude illusion front torso neck and back.

It was like "Black Swan: The DIVA Chapter". I also liked this costume. The way the applique "crawls" up her neck is fab and yes, all that different embellishment could have gone a "Wackety-wack" route of too-much trim but it didn't. I think it was smart to keep all of that in the same black color tones.

Haruka Imai of Japan: I've talked about Haruka before during this Grand Prix season, however, I have not talked about her Free Skate costume in particular. She skated to a modern arrangement of "My Fair Lady" in the costume seen above. Now, everyone (and her mother) knows those iconic costumes from that film:

Audrey Hepburn looked REGAL in this ivory and crystal detailed "Going to the Ball" gown as well as...

The black-and-white ensemble above. Haruka Imai's costume of fuchsia with black heavy lace overlay had NOTHING of either of the two iconic Hepburn looks. Maybe that was the point but I just didn't "get it". I would have rather she had worn something that had "hints" of one of those two iconic ensembles from the movie. Otherwise, really, what's the point? What do you guys think?

Amelie Lacoste of Canada: Amelie Lacoste is one skater that somehow also has missed my "Nick Skating Costumes Two Cents". So, let's get to it: for her Free Skate to "The Sea and Sinbad's Ship", "The Story of the Kalender Prince", "The Young Prince and the Princess Festival at Baghdad" --all from "Scheherazade"--she wore a carmine red costume with golden embroidery neckline trim that gave hints of that Mid-Eastern/Orient Queen. Where I had a problem was her haphazard 80's work-out hair. Her costume: Nice. Her hair: Mess.

For her Short Program to "Ojos Negros", she wore a black costume ("Ojos Negros" means Black Eyes, in case you didn't know). In addition to the black color costume base, it also had crystals strewn throughout the neckline, straps and bodice. On a scale of 1-10 for Costume, I would give her a FIVE. This was "I can get this at a Bear Mountain Ski Shop OFF SEASON ON SALE!". We've seen the center front diamante straps before in many many skating costumes, in many many prom dresses, in many tacky beauty pageants...can we get a little more original?

Agnes Zawadszki of the USA: Agnes...how you and your costumes have escaped me? This American skater skated to "Harlem Nocturne" and "Whatever Lola Wants" for the Cup of Russia 2011-2012. Her costume was a lilac and nude illusion look with mini crystals and featuring a five-layer diamante choker. She looked like a Princess in this; kind of like a Lilac Swarovski Crystal Bird. In other words: me LIKEY!

Rachael Flatt of the USA: Finally, I will conclude with another American skater, Rachael Flatt. She skated her Free Skate to Stravinski's "The Firebird" wearing a dynamic and rather show-stopping costume. The lipstick red, gold, and silver ensemble SCREAMED "Firebird" and I especially loved the wrist "Flames/Feather" detail. This is an example of a costume that went perfectly with the music and added to the overall theatricality and presentation of her skate. Too bad she didn't make it higher in terms of overall scores (she was 9th out of ten skaters at Rostelecom Cup).

Figure Skating Costume Question: White Skates vs. Beige Skates?

The Great (Figure Skating) Debate: White, Beige or Skin Tone Tights Over The Boots?

La Perfect Michelle: Michelle Kwan skating in...White Skates

Just in time for the final Grand Prix of Figure Skating Competition, which is occurring as I type in Beijing China, I began an email discussion with one of my Figure Skating "gals", the beautiful Courtney Prince, who skated professionally for a while but now owns the Jewelry Design company, Doloris Petunia. She emailed me asking "White Skates or Beige Skates?" She wanted my Fashion Designer (and Figure Skating fan) opinion. Her argument was that wearing beige skates made the skater look, well, a bit less professional.

So naturally, I said "I need to post a BLOG about this" and see what other people think. And I also decided to take it another step further and add: "Well, what about beige tights over the skating boots?". Why would Figure Skaters decide one versus the other.

Is wearing beige skates more of a statement of "I'm not traditional"? And finally, covering the entire leg--and boot--in skin-tone tights, would that be more to elongate the figure, especially for some skaters who well, might not be so height-inclined? White Skates seem to be the de-rigueur and more traditional choice for Ladies Figure Skaters throughout the years.
This changed in the late 80's when more and more professional figure skaters began to buck the "White Skate" rule and go for the beige ones. And then toward the late 90's, and early 2000's, we began to see the all-over skin-tone/beige tights over the skates look as well.

I went back in time and looked at iconic--and very fabulous Ladies Figure Skaters and what they wore:

White Skating Boot Queens:

In 1968 , Peggy Fleming won the Olympic Gold, wearing White Skates. She looked elegant and very "Mad Men" Figure Skater!!

Dorothy Hamill became the 1976 Olympic Champion...in White Skates. I see a pattern here: If you go to the Olympics, and want to win the Gold, ,maybe White Skates is your secret "boot" ticket. On Hamill, they were the perfect accessory since her costume had white-ish sequin trim on the neckline and sleeve of her red costume. Looking at these two icons of Figure Skating and thinking about costumes in 2010/2011, wearing White Boots might seem a bit "Retro", n'est pas?

In the 1992 Albertville Olympics, France's Surya Bonaly, caused a major ESCANDALO, when she refused to wear tights(!). My Figure Skating "Research Assistant" tells me that Danskin only makes tights in "never seen the sun" ballerina cream or "toast"(tan-a-rama!), so I can see why Bonaly just never wore tights when she competed (she just couldn't find a pair to match her skin tone). She still opted for the traditional White Skates--to go with her non-traditional glitzy over-the-top costumes.

Two years later, at the 1994 Winter Olympics, there was Miss Tonya Harding and her infamous broken boot lace incident. Yep, she wore White Skates and they coordinated well with her costume. They were the "Stars" of this Olympic boot lace incident, as well as the fact that her skates had GOLD blades. This was considered a bit on the tacky side and trust me kiddies, it was a topic of discussion amongst many a figure skating competition-watching party!

Beige Queens:

In the same year, Olympic Gold-medal Winner Oksana Baiul, who represented the Ukraine defeated USA's Nancy Kerrigan in (Oh No She Didn't!): Beige Skating Boots (I know, shut the front door!). I remember then thinking "Boy them beige skates are odd!". If I am not mistaken, I think she was the only figure skater to compete in the Olympics wearing BEIGE SKATES! (I'm sure I could be wrong and my dear readers will be sure to tell me so!)

In the early 2000's, we began to see the beige-tights-over-skates trend more. Exhibit A: Sarah Hughes, 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist. Hughes wore the beige tights over the skates look with her sequined lilac costume.

Exhibit B: In 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino (of which I actually went to!), Sasha Cohen skated in skin-tone tights over her boots, as well. Sasha, of course is known for her LONG lines and UNBELIEVABLE leg extensions. So in her case, it does make sense to cover the entire leg in skin-tone, in order to exaggerate even more the length of her lines. So what is the trend now, in 2010/2011?

What's The Trend Now: The 2010 Grand Prix Ladies

Italy's Carolina Kostner--and Roberto Cavalli-costumed muse--wore White Ice Skates in her winning Grand Prix performance. I loved the costume and had no problem with them. Kostner is a tall skater (compared to the others) and therefore doesn't need an elongation to her already lengthy legs. They also go just right with her asymmetrical costume. I just have a problem with her too-dark tights! (Are those "toast" by Danskin???)

Japan's Akiko Suzuki, on the other hand, wears the beige-tights-over-ice-skates, for her Grand Prix series look. Akiko is only 5 feet 2 inches and so it is understandable that she doesn't want to add anything to break the length of her leg-lines. For some reason, though, it looks very "bulky" down by the ankle. It would almost be better with just the white boots...

The stunning Barbie Doll-like Kiira Korpi from Finland, opts for the White Skates. Korpi looks like a figure skater from the 1960's, and from head to toe, she exudes a Retro vibe. So it makes perfect sense for her to go for the White Skates as opposed to the all-beige-leg look.

And finally, there's Rachael Flatt, from the USA, who chooses beige tights over the skates, as opposed to the White Skates. So, it seems that the great debate over "Which one is better?" or "Which is more Professional Looking?" will continue. I think, it all depends on the skater, the costume, and also the height of the skater. Shorter competitors should probably opt for the beige tight/skate look, while if you want to be more on the "Peggy Fleming/Dorothy Hamill" end--and be more "traditional"--then go for the White Skates.

Although for me there is one deal breaker and that is the Olympics. I am siding with a White Skate only policy. To me it is almost like not wearing a White Tennis Outfit to Wimbledon! For the Gran-daddy of all Sports and for photos that will appear for an eternity, classic white is always the answer!

What do you think?

Figure Skating Love: Nick Verreos Interview for ICEnetwork.com on "The Inside Edge With Sarah and Drew"

Talking Figure Skating...

Sitting Pretty: Nick Verreos and US Figure Skater Rachael Flatt

As many of you know by now, I have a personal love for Figure Skating which yes, was spurred on by my NIKOLAKI partner David Paul (who REALLY REALLY Loves Figure Skating). He and his "Skating Buddies" would watch the sport and I would just be the "Skating Wife" in the background. Well, of course, that all changed once I was on Season 2 Project Runway and I had to design a costume for Sasha Cohen. I was subsequently "infected" with the Figure Skating virus! Now, naturally I respect the athleticism and power of the sport but of course, I watch it for the COSTUMES!!!!

Drew Meekins with former pairs partner Jessica Rose Paetsch in 2008

Recently, I got a fun email from Writer/Illustrator and IceNetwork.com Contributor Sarah S. Brannen and American Pairs Figure Skater--and 2006 World Junior Champion-- Drew Meekins requesting an interview from me for "The Inside Edge with Sarah and Drew".

Besides being a great Children's Book Author and Illustrator, she is an avid fan of Figure Skating and has photographed the sport for years. Here are some samples of her work:

Johnny Weir at 2006 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen, 2006 Marshall's Challenge

Well, of course, I said YES YES and YES! I had a blast doing the interview and we talked about my love of Figure Skating, and my thoughts of various skater's costumes of course.
Click HERE to read the entire interview.