Recent Trend

ICE STYLE.....2014 Trophée Éric Bompard Figure Skating Costumes: PAIRS, ICE DANCE

0
Canadian Fab: (L to R) Canadian Pairs Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro and fellow Canadian Ice Dance couple Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier--2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, Bordeaux France

Continuing with my Costumes Recap of this past weekend's 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, in my last post HERE, I talked about the LADIES and MEN, and now it's time to discuss the PAIRS and ICE DANCE costumes...

Let's begin with the PAIRS:
Top Three: (L to R) Bronze medalists Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang of China, the gold medalists from Russia Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, and the silver medalists from China Sui Wenjing and Han Cong--2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, Bordeaux France

Stolbova and Klimov of Russia: The gold medalists wore these costumes--for their Short program and Free Skates--both of which I LOVED--Read HERE for what I thought.

Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang of China Free Skate: To their Free Skate to "My Fair Lady" by Frederick Loewe, this Pairs couple wore these costumes. I thought they were pretty and just right for each skater. I especially liked how dapper he looked.

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the USA: For their Free Skate to "An American in Paris" by George Gershwin, they wore these costumes above. I loved his costume--it was very Gene Kelly. Seriously, look at the movie's poster: same costume!  I just thought her costume was a tad bit too "Figure Skating 101" and could have been a bit more "Period" to reflect the film.

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France: For their Short program to "La Cumparsita - Tango Selection", this French Pairs couple wore this red and black costumes echoing the theme of the music. I thought hers was a bit "Toddlers & Tiaras" un-refined but his was HOT HOT HOT. That neckline is SERIOUSLY plunging! I wish I knew how to say that en francais!

Free Skate to "Angels and Demons" (soundtrack) by Hans Zimmer, "Heaven and Hell" by Vangelis, and "Requiem for a Dream" (soundtrack) by Clint Mansell which also happened to be the same Free Skate music they skated to for their previous 2013-2014 season. When they skated at 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard, I thought I was having a "Costume Deja Vu" moment but in actuality, it was the music that made me feel that way. Not sure how common it is for skaters to skate to the same music for consecutive seasons but I'm sure one of my BLOG readers could enlighten me on this. Now, back to the costumes--while their music was the same as last season, their costumes, alas, were not. Vanessa stayed in the "Angel" theme with a white sequined with illusion costume and Morgan was the sexy demon with his plunging neckline silver-gray and black costume. By the way...


This above is what they wore last season for their Free Skate to the same music. I kind of liked these costumes a bit better. I also notice that Morgan is consistent with his "plunging neckline" costumes--whether it be for Short Program or Free Skate. And I'm happy for that. It still baffles me how her costume designers cannot get illusion to match her skin color. But I will say that I am always a fan of their costumes and excited to see what they will wear.

Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro of Canada: For their Free Skate to "Chess" (musical) by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA this Canadian Pairs couple wore chess-inspired costumes--with sequins (of course they did!). I really liked these costumes for their bold colors, graphic designs and I was especially fond of Michael's asymmetrical neckline. 

ICE DANCE:

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France: My "Greek sister from another Mister" Gabriella Papadakis and her very sexy Ice Dance partner Guillaume Cizeron are my new FAVE Ice Dance couple. #LoveThem. I've already discussed these Free Dance costumes, so if you want to know what I thought, click HERE. But I haven't commented on their Short Dance ones...

Paso Doble and Flamenco Short Dance to "Escobilla" by Christina Hoyos and "Farruca" by Christina Hoyos, Papadakis and Cizeron wore these costumes above. I thought they were modern, chic and almost "punk" in their severity. Loved her open back and sexy lace and faux leather front torso detail. And I also liked his faux leather cummerbund/belt detail. Très bien!

Charlene Guinard and Marco Fabbri of Italy: For their Free Dance to (Take a big guess!) "Lord of the Dance" by Ronan Hardiman, "Reel Around the Sun" by Bill Whelan, "Nocturne" by Secret Garden and "Warriors" by Ronan Hardiman, this Italian Ice Dance couple went decidedly very "Lord of the Dance". It was kitschy and fun, but I wonder if costume designer could ever challenge themselves to do "Lord of the Dance" and not look well, soooooo Lord of the Dance !!??

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the USA: Hubbell and Donohue skated their Free Dance to selections from "The Great Gatsby" soundtrack including  "Young and Beautiful" by Lana del Rey, "Back to Black" by Beyonce & Andre 3000, "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody" by Fergie, "Gatsby Believed in the Green Light" by Tobey Maguire. I loved that these were modern and sooo UN_Gatsby-esque. They--and their costume designer--took it to another level and that, I appreciated. There were "hints" of 1920s Art Deco details (in her bandeaux top) but everything else was unique and so not referential. 

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada: I want to start with their Free Dance Costumes...For their Free Dance to "A Street Car Named Desire", Overture from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "Si tu voi ma mere" by Sidney Bechet, and "Dans les rues d'Antibes" by Sidney Bechet, Gilles and Poirier wore these costumes above. Both his and hers were on point with the music and theme. I liked his cropped shawl-collar dinner jacket ensemble although he was two minutes from looking like a waiter at a fancy restaurant. Piper's stretch charmeuse deep violet gown was gorgeous; retro, 1930s period costume-esque and still quite red carpet chic. But for me the COSTUME STARS  were the Short Dance costumes:

Paso Doble and Spanish Waltz Short Dance to "El Gato Montes" and "Capriccio Espagnol" by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov-- One word: WOW. Oh, and FABULOSO!!!! So I guess that's two words. First of all, his Toreador was EVERYTHING; gorgeous, sexy, traditional. It was a great mix of Spanish bullfighter and Mexican Mariachi.  But, seriously, Piper's costume--with the raspberry-colored skirt "cape" mimicking the Toreador's/bullfighter's cloak PLUS that eyeliner makeup of hers...I literally was shaking on my sofa when I saw it!

Toreador Diva...and Divo: THE BEST EVER!!!!

0 Response to "ICE STYLE.....2014 Trophée Éric Bompard Figure Skating Costumes: PAIRS, ICE DANCE"