ICE STYLE.....2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships--LADIES!

Gold Medal Winner Yu-Na Kim of Korea skating her Free Skate at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, London, Ontario, Canada

Continuing with my Costume Recap of the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships which occurred a couple of weeks back...it's now time to discuss the Costume Highlights of the LADIES---

Mae Berenice Meite of France--For her Free Skate to Selections from "Zarafa" and "Dead Can Dance" and Soundtrack to "Belphegor", Mae Berenice wore one of my favorite Ladies Costumes from the season. It was kitschy, reminded me of Whitney Houston's "Queen of the Night" from "The Bodyguard", it was Cleopatra Fab...all of it. Oh, and it reminded me of the iconic 60's Paco Rabanne couture, as well. Très bien Mae Berenice!

Alena Leonova of Russia--Alena skated her Season 2013-2013 Short Program to "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Indian Hip Hop" and I absolutely LOVED her apple green costume. It had great jigsaw-puzzle-like detail in the torso with strewn sequins and gold metal trim. The design had draping, a flirty chiffon "skirt", arm and body straps...that great back! She looked very chic Bollywood dancer.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia--Elizaveta loves a jumpsuit/unitard/skirt costume combo. She wore two versions of this silhouette for both. For her Short Program to Music from the Love Story soundtrack by Francis Lai, Elizaveta wore this black skating dress and semi sheer sparkly leggings. I like the black with silver sequins and plunging neckline detail of the skating dress but...I'm just not sure how necessary it was for her to then also wear the sparkly tights.

Then for her Free Skate to "Dark Eyes", she once again chose to not stop with the skating dress but also added the tights. Now, she's either A) Cold, and/or B) she wants this skating dress-and-tights costume look to be her "thing". I, for one, would advice her NOT to have it be her "thing". The black with red accents and crystals skating dress is fine on its own--I would only say she should have "punched  it up" a bit more in terms of more sequins or more upper torso/sleeve detail but to add black tights/leggings to it? Not so mucheey.

Viktoria Helgesson of Sweden--I loved BOTH costumes worn by Viktoria Helgesson. For her Short Program to "Poinciana"--an album from jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal--she wore a teal costume (top photo) featuring a beaded torso top section with a fringed (very popular this past season)"skirt". The double straps were great and I liked the distribution of the diamante crystals. For her Free Skate to "Spellbound Concerto" by Miklos Rozsa, she wore a baby blue costume that looked like something from Versace. The asymmetrical neckline was great but I especially loved the sequins and how expensive and well-placed they were. She "debuted" this costume when she skated at the NRW Trophy at Eissportzentrum on December 9, 2012 in Dortmund, Germany.

This costume above is what she had been wearing the rest of the 2012-2013 Season for that Free Skate. I like them both.

Gracie Gold of USA-- For her Free Skate to Life is Beautiful soundtrack by Nicola Piovan, Gracie wore this bright blue and sequin costume designed to look strapless--with nude illusion at the upper chest and neck. It was very pretty. Nothing costume "earth shattering", but yes, very pretty. Now, for her Short Program to "Hernando's Hideaway" by Various Artists...

Gracie wore this red with sequins costume which I liked very much. Both her costumes were designed by Brad Griffies and he did a fabulous job. Interesting to note that she just began wearing this costume earlier this year--first, at the 2013 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships at CenturyLink Center on January 24, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska and in February at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium on February 9, 2013 in Osaka, Japan. This costume...

...above (which I also LOVED!) was what she had wearing the entire 2012-2013 Season prior to those two competitions. I said it was ONE OF THE BEST of the 2012 Year.
 

Ashley Wagner of USA--Speaking of great costumes, this canary yellow one on Ashley Wagner was, hands down, one of my favorite Figure Skating Costumes of this past year/season. She wore this for her Free Skate to "Samson and Delilah". From the moment she stepped on the ice, I thought this was Figure Skating Costume Perfection. The bright sunburst yellow with ombré dyeing; the expertly applied sequins, the torso and neckline detail...It was very "Samson and Delilah" for sure and at the same time suggested the works of some of the better-known Lebanese Couturiers like Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad. Therefore, she was Red Carpet Fab and Figure Skating Perfection!

Carolina Kostner of Italy--Carolina skated her Free Skate to "Bolero" by Maurice Ravel, performed by Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra wearing this open back black costume. I thought it was elegant, modern and refreshingly void of too many "bells and whistles". It was a great departure from that Swarovski-crystal jumpsuit she wore last season.

Mao Asada of Japan--Mao wore this costume to her Free Skate to Music from Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. She debuted this costume at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium on February 10, 2013 in Osaka, Japan. I thought this was a nice interpretation of the "Swan Lake" ballerina theme. The only complaint is that there were one too many feathers. It almost looked like she had been rolling in a feather pillow that semi-exploded.

This above (which was one of my TOP FAVORITES of last year in terms of Ladies Figure Skating Costumes) is what she wore for most of the 2012-2013 Season. I wish she would have just kept wearing this "old" costume above.

Yu-Na Kim of Korea--For her Short Program, she skated to "The Kiss of the Vampire" and her costume was SPECTACULAR! It was an icy blue color with very expensive-looking crystals in silver, blue and "Vampire Blood" red. It also had a perfectly matching nude illusion shoulder/sleeve section. If you cannot tell yet...I absolutely LOVED it!

For her Free Skate to "Les Misérables", Yu-Na did not disappoint--costume-wise. She wore a gunmetal gray chiffon costume with "Period" sleeves, sweetheart neckline and delicately sequined bodice. This is how I like to see my Les Misérables costumes interpreted, not sad and dreary. She won the GOLD at the Worlds and for me, she took home the gold in the Costume Category too. GO QUEEN YU-NA!

Top Three Ladies: (left to right) Silver Medalist Carolina Kostner of Italy, Gold Medal winner Yu-Na Kim, and Bronze Medalist Mao Asada of Japan, 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships at Budweiser Gardens on March 16, 2013 in London, Ontario, Canada. 

**Up Next: The Ice Dance and Pairs Costumes Highlights of the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships