ICE STYLE.....Trophee de France 2016: ICE DANCE, PAIRS, LADIES & MENS

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada Short Dance at the Trophee de France 2016 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

This past weekend were the 2016 Trophee de France or Grand Prix de France de Patinage (formally known as Trophee Eric Bompard), the fourth of six events of the 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions. They were held in Paris France...

In case you've missed it, I've discussed the costumes from 2016 Skate America HERE and HERE, 2016 Skate Canada HERE and HERE. So, it's time to discuss some of the costumes seen as this past weekend's 2016 Trophee de France/Grand Prix de France de Patinage...
Let's begin with some ICE DANCE costumes!

Ice Dance-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France Short Dance: The French Ice Dance team of Papadakis and Cizeron skated their Short Dance to Blues: Bittersweet by Lene Riebau, Maxim Illion perf. by Club des Belugas and Swing: Diga Diga Doo by Dorthy Fields, Jimmy McHugh perf. by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I have been looking forward to this amazing team because well, they are AMAZING! I LOVE their skating, their choreography, how they look...EVERYTHING! For their 2016-2017 Season Short Program they wore these costumes above. 

The music is a Blues and Swing vibe but their costumes remind me more of a high school performance of "Romeo & Juliet". Not sure why both look slightly Renaissance-y, but they do... Gabriella is wearing a white and gold applique dress with a golden headband/crown of sorts. The top part is too big and fits awkwardly and the entire design doesn't do anything for her fabulous figure. While I'm happy Guillaume's costume fit tight and fine and utilized his inner sexy, he still looks as if he's about to play "Romeo" at a Fire Island Dinner Theater (Maybe that's a good thing??!!).

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France, Free Dance: For their Free Dance to Stillness by Nest, Oddudua by Aldo Lopez Gavilan and Happiness Does Not Wait by Olafur Arnalds, Papadakis and Cizeron made up for whatever costume deficiency occurred in their Short Dance; these were STUPENDOUS! I loved the blue-to-white ombre shading of Grabriella and Guillaume's outfits and I especially admired her costume's asymmetrical draping and gathering. It was as lyrical and beautiful as their Free Dance! And Thank You Guillaume for still keeping it SEXY-LICIOUS with the muscle-tank top. He has got arms for DAYS and uses them beautifully while skating. And therefore, I think it was wise for the costume designer to utilize and highlight this with this style of top. Tres Bien!

Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin of Russia Short Dance to Blues: Big Bad Love performed by Ray Charles, Diana Ross and Swing: Sing Sing Sing by Louis Prima--I loved these costumes worn by Russia's Ilinykh and Zhiganshin for their Short Dance. They were the perfect combination of chic, modern yet 1920's "Great Gatsby". I liked her navy blue costume which featured a "plunging" neckline with illusion front and the beautiful crystals down the front which looked like a starry sky. I also loved her delicate headband. And Ruslan looked very dapper in his tuxedo.

Isabella Tobias and Ilia Tkachenko of Israel Short Dance to Blues: Real Life by The Weekend and Hip Hop: Can't Feel My Face by The Weekend--Israel's Tobias and Tkachenko wore these looks above for their Short Dance. I'm still a little "on the fence" when I see a jumpsuit/bodysuit during a figure skating competition. Half the time it works and the other half, not so mucheey. Here, it worked on Isabella. I loved her midnight blue jumpsuit with a plunging neckline and gorgeous crystals. She looked like a cross between a Disco ball and a gorgeous midnight sky. Ilia's look of a black sequined cardigan, black pants and leather gloves was a bit cheesy. While I wished his jacket/cardigan was fitted and buttoned, I did appreciate how his shoulder sequin detail matched hers. 

Viktoria Kavaliova and Yurii Bieliaiev of Belarus Short Dance to Blues: Hello by Adele--It's obvious these two have .00003% fat free bodies and these "costumes" show that off. Because their music is contemporary I am assuming that's where they were going with these looks. I liked the mix of blues and how they complimented each other and I also liked her "Hot Shorts" with the crystal pocket yokes. But...these still looked slightly as if they were backup dancers for some tacky Eurovision performance. 

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada Short Dance to Blues: Oh What a Night for Dancing by Barry White, Vance Wilson and Disco: Disco Inferno by Leroy Green and Ron Kersey--Two words: LOVE THEM! If you want to know what else I thought of these, click HERE!

Pairs-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miriam Ziegler and Severin Kiefer of Austria Short Program to Turn To Stone performed by Ingrid Michaelson--I really liked these costumes from Austria's Ziegler and Kiefer. They wore these black and gray looks featuring gold sequin detail and ombre shading. I loved the asymmetrical neckline in her costume as well as the one shoulder side draping of his top. 

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany Short Program to That Man by Caro Emerald--Germany's Savchenko and Massot wore these "Great Gatsby"-esque costumes for their Short program. I think they looked fresh, and fun. I liked her crystal headband (a trend??) and dusty rose colored dress. I wish that Bruno had some of that same dusty rose pink in his ensemble since he looked a bit bland. Maybe they should create a vest or very fitted jacket for him with a dusty rose colored pocket hankie?

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany Free Skate to Lighthouse by Patrick Watson--The stars of the Free Skate were not only Savchenko and Massot's performance, but also their costumes. Truly one of the best costumes she has ever worn and a far cry from the Pink Panther ensemble from a past season! It was elegant and subdued with a dash of sparkle with the beautiful over-sized crystals and the silhouette du jour of the season...

THE OPEN BACK!  I swear if you aren't a ladies figure skater without an costume that has an open back, you aren't in the "fashion arena" this season!!

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France Short Program to Earned It (from "Fifty Shades of Grey") by The Weekend and Maxime Rodriguez--Do you guys think I liked or not liked these costumes? If you want to know exactly what I thought, click HERE!

Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran of the USA Short Program to Fallin' by Alicia Keys--Elegant, sexy and stylish. I liked these costumes from by USA's Castelli and Tran for their Short program. I thought Marissa's sequined blue-and-nude illusion costume was very Zuhair Muard-like in its silhouette and design and I LOVED Mervin's asymmetrical jersey and stretch chiffon sequin embellished top. 

Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia Short Program to Snowstorm by Georgi Sviridov--I have to say that my favorite element of these costumes here were HIS! I liked Alexander's "19th Century Russian General" ensemble look. The bold white and black colors, and gold details, were all I needed to say "YES!!!" to their costumes.

Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia Free Program to Cry Me A River by Michael Buble--Natalia's black and white leaf-like costume was just GORGEOUS. The design featured an open back (Like I said...TREND ALERT!) illusion front neckline and that aforementioned black and white leaf-like motif. The design is one of my favorites of the season and I also loved the silver/gray ombre shaded skirt. Oh, and yeah, she's also just MODEL BEAUTIFUL. That probably helps. 

Men--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nathan Chen of USA Short Program to Le Corsaire by Adolphe Adam: OK, can we just give a big "Oh No He Didn't!" bow to Nathan who did, like TEN quads in one program (OK, maybe five-ish in the long and two in the short, but still!). Now, in terms of his costume, I liked this look inspired by the iconic ballet "Le Corsaire". The colors were exotic and nice for the music. And I did like the look of a bolero and cummerbund. The only thing that was an "Uh Oh" was the underarm stains on his shirt. I know that he is sweating up a storm while doing all those TWENTY quad jumps but maybe his peeps should have, like FIVE of these tops made., just for this problem. 

And by the way...just for a little bit of "Le Corsaire" ballet costume reference...

Here's Rudolf Nureyev in "Le Corsaire" costume

And the Engligh National Ballet's version

Javier Fernandez of Spain Free Program to Trouble, Fever and Jailhouse Rock performed by Elvis Presley--I love me some Javier and while I think this Elvis music was good for him, well...he just needed a little more sensual rhythm to pull it off (he was a bit robotic and non-Elvis smooth for my taste!). Now, in terms of his costume, it was good. It evoked the "Elvis" look, it was 50's Lite and the bold black-and-white color blocking was effective. 

Ladies------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia Free Skate to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Piano Lesson with Grandma by Alexandre Desplat--If you want to know what I thought of Evgenia's costume, click HERE. Here's a hint: I liked it!

 2016 Trophee de France or Grand Prix de France de Patinage -- CONGRATS TO ALL!!