ICE STYLE.....2018 Winter Olympics Figure Skating Costumes RECAP: ICE DANCE COSTUMES!

Giving Me Back Couture!--Canada's 2018 Olympic gold medal winners Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, during their Free Dance at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics

Continuing with my ICE STYLE 2018 Winter Olympics COSTUMES BLOG, I have discussed the PAIRS COSTUMES HERE, as well as the MEN'S COSTUMES HERE, so now, it is time to talk about one of my favorite figure skating disciplines, Ice Dance and in particular, the ICE DANCE COSTUMES!

Olympic Medal Podium--(L to R) Silver medalists from France Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron; gold medalists Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir; bronze medalists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of U.S.A.--Gangneung Ice Arena, Gangneung South Korea

Normally, the Ice Dance discipline does not involve the drama of skaters falling from the jumps (as in the Singles Ladies and Men's) and instead it may be a missed synchronization of twizzle turns, etc. but no one could have expected what occurred several days ago at the Short Dance portion to France's Gabriella Papadakis. So...

Let's just discuss the "Wardrobe Malfunction":

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France Short Dance to Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran and Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, remastered by Karl Hugo--the French Ice Dance couple of Papadakis and Cizeron wore these costumes above for their Latin-inspired Short Dance. Gabriella has worn (a variation) of this costume the entire season (Guillaume has not--keep reading for more of that). In terms of Gabriella's costume, I've talked about it here on my Ice Style Blog in previous competitions which she attended this past season: I loved this design and thought she looked like someone at the top of a Brazilian Carnival Float. Her two-piece sequined and fringed look and the gold and green colors were great but...yes, there was a WARDROBE MISHAP at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Somehow, the top of her jeweled neckline came off... 

Olympics Oops--Gabriella Papadakis and her "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, during the Short Program. Before she even started, someone on her coaching team was trying to re-snap/hook her neckline, so you knew there was "trouble" (I remember thinking "Oh, this is NOT GOOD!") and then, seconds into their program, her neckline snapped off and well...the now infamous wardrobe malfunction. At the time watching it all go down, I was surprised that her whole top wasn't flipping down.

But....I was wrong (or at least, partially wrong): In fact (as the Twitterworld unfortunately enlightened me) her breast was exposed and shown on TV, as well as the monitors at the Gangneung Ice Arena. I feel HORRIBLE for Gabriella and what happened to her, and personally, that is "EXHIBIT A" on why I would probably never design/create a figure skating costume, as much as my "Ice Style" fans would like me to.  I would love to know the real story of how this happened. I could be wrong, but I could swear that this top is different than the one she has worn the entire season. It is very similar, but their are slight difference, most importantly the fact that it sits lower on her torso and therefore seemed to drag her neckline down. Inquiring minds want to know!

In terms of a COSTUME CHANGE...

Sleeved Guillaume--Guillaume Cizeron wore a black see-through top for the Short Program at the 2018 Winter Olympics (top photo), which was a change from the SUPER SEXY SLEEVELESS tank top he had been featuring before (lower photo). Which one do YOU guys like best on him? I say SLEEVELESS TANK. Only because...he's SO HOT!

Free Skate to Piano Sonata N. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No 2. "Moonlight Sonata", Adagio Sostenuto, by Ludwig van Beethoven performed by Steve Anderson "Moonlight Sonata", Presto Agitato by Ludwig van Beethoven--For their Free Skate costumes, I have only two words: JUST GORGEOUS. These costumes were subtle, beautiful, elegant, and PERFECT. Her softly flowing chiffon dress with Lycra bodysuit was sublime and fluttered with the dance like a gorgeous bird flying through the wind. And Guillaume: That side cowl drape top was FIGURE SKATING COUTURE Fab! Sexy, elegant, draped. I love that for the Free Dance, HIS costume was actually THE STAR. 

Let's say Adieu to the Wardrobe Malfunction and move on to some of the other Ice Dancers:

Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy Short Dance to Cha Cha: Kaboom performed by Ursula 1000; Samba: Skip to the Bip performed by Club des Belugas; and Samba: 1008 Samba. While most of the Ice Dance men are utilizing this Samba/Rhumba/Cha-Cha Short Dance to be Muy Caliente Sexy Hot with their costumes (sheer, plunging and tighter!), Luca is all covered up...and in all-black! At least he added some "spice" with his cheetah-printed cut-velvet shirt. Her costume, on the other hand, is one of my favorites of the season: It is spectacular with the sequined bodice and fuchsia ruffled skirt that is just the right length for her teeny tiny frame. 

Free Dance to Biongiorno Principessa (from "La Vita e Bella" soundtrack), Life Is Beautiful (from "La Vita e Bella" soundtrack) by Nicola Piovani, arranged & performed by Mi Loco Tango, and La Vita e Bella (from "La Vita e Bella" soundtrack) by Nicola Piovani arranged by Claudio Mandonico--Cappellini and Lanotte are known for their very Italy-centric Ice Dances and this Olympic Season was no exception for their Free Dance. Her costume was a red dress featuring a gathered torso, satin underbust band, 3/4-length sleeves and a gored skirt. Her red dress was a much better choice than what she wore during the Team Competition...

White dress with embroidered top section. This dress just didn't stand out or make an impact. Luca, as you can see, stayed the same in brown high-waisted pants, cream shirt and suspenders. 

Alisa Agafonova and Alper Ucar of Turkey Free Dance to Marco Polo by Loreena McKennitt, Cleopatra by Maxime Rodriguez and Iron (Mystery Jets Remix) by Woodkid--I am only adding this Ice Dance pair from Turkey because of their Pharaoh-inspired costumes! Naturally, as a Costume-watcher, the minute I saw them--and these costumes!--I was like "Oh Dear! Looks like someone is really putting a capital "C" in COSTUMES! As kooky as these may seem, I thought they were effective and they certainly got my attention. Let's just be happy they didn't skate to "Walk Like an Egyptian"! But then again, I probably would have still liked these costumes.

Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin of South Korea Free Dance to Arirang (Korean Folk Song)--Many of the Ice Dance skaters skated their Free Dance honoring the culture of the country they were representing. This team from South Korea did just that AND IN SOUTH KOREA! They skated to a Korean folk song dressed in these traditional Korean costumes. I liked the color story between the two--Yura was in pink (she's the female of course) and Alexander in blue (the boy!). I also appreciated the obvious homage to the Korean Hanbok with her dress which features fuchsia and violet-blue layers of flowy chiffon and flower details. Alexander's blue wrap Hanbok vest/jacket was pretty fab as well!

Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed of Japan Free Skate to The Last Emperor (soundtrack) and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence by Ruyichi Sakamoto--These Free Dance costumes were pretty, elegant and right for that beautiful Ruyichi Sakamoto music. There were hints of Geisha Fab in her pink flower applique costume and I also liked his gray chiffon draped top. Kana's dress had a "Costume Change" midway through the skate as she went from the green-and-pink look on the left photo above to un-snapping her shoulders, releasing that over-layer to display the pink cherry blossom dress hiding underneath! #Love

Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain Free Dance to Don Quijote by Leon Minkus--Spain's Ice Dance pair of Hurtado and Khaliavin (he's from Russia), wore these sexy "Viva España" costumes for their "Don Quijote" Free Dance. I thought that these designs certainly evoked the Spanish spirit; Hurtado looking like a Sevillana Diva and Khaliavin giving me Hot Toreador. 

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Olympic Athletes from Russia Short Dance to Rhumba: Latin Lover by Joao Bosco; Samba: Dance by DJ Maksy and Samba: Quand je vois tes yeux by Dany Brilliant--Russians Bobrova and Soloviev looked Muy Caliente in these costumes above! She wore a very "Dancing With The Stars" asymmetrical dress in royal blue/deep purple featuring gold sequined detail and lots of fringe. And if that wasn't enough, she added a bicep bracelet and fringed earrings! Ekaterina was straight out of a Russian Ballroom Competition and looking fabulosa! Dmitri also looked sexy and hot with his black costume featuring a plunging neckline. I love the irony of the fact that even though they both OOZED the definition S.E.X. in these costumes, they still felt the need to wear those crosses on their neck: Ummm, OK. 

**NEW COSTUMES ALERT**Madison Chock and Evan Bates of USA Short Dance to Salsa: Aguanile by Mark Anthony; Rhumba: Que lio by Mark Anthony; Samba: Vivir mi vida by Mark Anthony--Americans Chock and Bates wore these costumes above for their fiery Short Dance. These were NEW COSTUMES for these two and I thought they were GREAT! Madison was giving South American Parrot Fabulous with her colorful and very flora & fauna-like look (I hear Madison designs all their costumes) and Evan did his best to feature SEXY with his plunging neckline red sequined  trimmed top. I thought the mini-beading on her costume, in particular, was OUTSTANDING! In case you were wondering what they had worn before to this same Short Dance...

Different Costumes...Different Bird Inspirations--Madison Chock and Evan bates Short Dance Costumes: (L) 2018 Winter Olympics, and (R) 2018  U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Free Dance to Imagine by John Lennon: Chock and Bates wore these blue costumes for their Free Skate. I liked these costumes as well. The blue colors were pretty and they worked beautifully with the music and program. I loved the star sequin detail on Madison's dress and Evan's "NYC"-like skyline (done with dip dying and crystals) was beautiful.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of U.S.A. Short Dance to Samba: Le Serpent by Guem et Zaka; Rhumba: Cuando Calienta El Sol by Tayla Ferro; and Samba: Sambando by Los Ritmos Calientas--For their Latin-inspired Short Program, Madison and Zachary wore these purple/deep violet-based costumes. I loved these looks on them for many reasons: They were stage impacting, very Cha-Cha Fab, and UBER SEXY! Her open side-and-back asymmetrical one-sleeved dress was HOT, especially with the sequin detail and paillettes at the hem. Oh and not leaving Zach too far behind, he looked great as well; his v-neck top was sexy and included color and sequin elements taken from her costume. In case you want to know (Part One), Madison's mom, Susan Hubbell makes all the costumes. I met her in San Jose at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and gave her a big approving "Nick Hug"! And...in case you want to know (Part Two), these were a costume change (for Zach) from what we last saw him in...

Zach Shirt Costume Change--Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue in their Short Dance costumes at the (L) 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and, (R) during the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships--Which one do YOU guys like best? I like the 2018 Olympics one best! 

Free Dance to Across the Sky - Instrumental by Rag N'Bone Man and Caught Out in the Rain by Beth Hart--For their very sensuous Free Dance, Madison wore a deep gray sequined dress that was beautiful, fluid and fashionable. Zach donned a black "Dinner Jacket", white unbuttoned dress shirt and pants. I'm thinking his look was of a guy who began the night in a tuxedo but after some hours with Madison, he let it all loose! Speaking of loose,his dress shirt is actually a "faux" dress shirt:

No Sleeves Zach--Zach Donohue (L) and Madison Hubbell (R) during the "Kiss & Cry" at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

**NEW COSTUMES ALERT**Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada Short Dance to Bolero: Tango by Diane Reeves; and Mambo: Do You Only Wanna Dance performed by Julia Daivel Big Band--Canada's Weaver and Poje debuted this new costumes at the 2018 Winter Olympics for their Latin-inspired Short Dance. The color theme was red and black...and Muy Caliente! Kaitlyn wore a sequined mesh crop top with sequined scroll-like applique as well as a sexy side-slit red skirt. She looked great. Andrew wore a bright red tuxedo shirt with black pants. I think both of them were perfectly costumed-matched. In case you wanted to know what they wore previously, for this same Short Dance....

Carmen Miranda Dance--Kaitlyn wore this flower appliqued navy off-the-shoulder dress and Andrew wore a midnight blue tuxedo-inspired look. I liked BOTH of their costumes--the new ones as well as these; they are both so different in terms of styles and inspirations that you really cannot compare. The one thing that stands out is COLOR. The red in the new costumes is definitely a much bolder costume choice.

**NEW COSTUME ALERT**Free Dance to Je suis malade performed by Lara Fabian: For their Free Dance, they wore these looks above. She wore a scarlet red satin dress with sequined applique netting panels. This dress on her was a new costume and I loved it! I really liked the flowy volants (ruffles) in the dress and I think it was a wise choice to have her wear this. Andrew's costume of slate-gray shirt and dark gray pants didn't change. And in case you were wondering what she had worn previously...

Cowl neck Slip Dress Kaitlyn--Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada Short Dance to Bossa Nova: Bossa Cubana and Mambo: Gopher Mambo--Piper wore an aquamarine and black Devore velvet-like dress with an open back and GORGEOUS gold jeweled sequins on her upper torso. And Paul...well, he started with black pants and sequined black top but then...halfway through their skate, she ripped his sleeves, revealing Cha-Cha ruffles of a similar fabrication to her dress. While it was gimmicky, I liked it! He definitely needed a style element of fun and the ruffles did it. 

**NEW COSTUMES ALERT**Free Dance to The Chase Bond Theme (Octopussy soundtrack), The Palace Fight (Octopussy soundtrack),Thunderball (Thunderball soundtrack) and Yo Yo Fight and Death of Vijay (Octopussy soundtrack) by John Barry--For their Free Dance, the Canadian Ice Dance couple changed their program music from what they had been skating to all season long (music to "Perry Mason") to a James Bond one.  I actually loved these costumes and hers especially was one of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COSTUMES I saw for Ice Dance at the 2018 Winter Olympics! Piper wore a chartreuse-colored satin draped dress with gorgeous sequined applique; she looked like a Hollywood Glamour Diva from the 1940's. And Paul looked very dapper and elegant in a wonderfully-fitting shawl collar tuxedo. These were a SUPER WONDERFUL costume change from the not-so-cute designs they had worn before (to the "Perry Mason" music Free Dance this past 2017-2018 Season):

Maia and Alex Shibutani of USA Short Dance to Mambo: Mambo No. 5 by Perez Prado; Cha Cha: Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White by Perez Prado and Samba: Mambo Jumbo/Mambo No. 8 by Perez Prado--I LOVED these costumes worn by Maia and Alex Shibutani--the "Shib Sibs". These were BRAVO, BRAVO, BRAVO! I thought her bubblegum pink with gold and silver crystals dress designed and created by Lisa McKinnon was A STUNNER. And Alex was no Costume Chopped Liver: I thought his nude bedazzled shirt with black pants look was sexy and a perfect costume partner to her colorful eye candy costume. 

Free Dance to Paradise by Coldplay: For their Free Dance, they went much more subdued--keeping in mind their emotional and modern music. I liked the red and black colors and I especially liked her softly draped chiffon dress featuring subtle hints of ombre dying. I also appreciated how his shirt perfectly matched her dress coloring. This might not have been as impressive as their Short Dance costumes but they were quietly beautiful and appropriate for this Free Dance.  

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada Short Dance to Samba: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones; Rhumba: Hotel California by The Eagles; and Cha Cha: Oye Como Va by Santana--I have one word to say for these costumes: WOW. Tessa's design involved a see-through cheetah print look with fringe and GORGEOUS gold jeweled sequined embellishment. It also featured a very sexy scooped open back. I loved it all! And then, there was Scott: Oh Huney, that sequined black-and-nude top was EVERYTHING! They both looked Samba and Rhumba Fabuloso! In case you were paying attention, the costumes above were different from what they had worn for their Short Dance of the 2018 Winter Olympics Team competition:

Which one do you guys liked best? Tessa's Team Short Dance Costume (Left) or the one in the main Ice Dance competition (Right)? It's a toss-up for me. While I definitely LOVED the newer one worn for the Team competition which gave me "Balmain"-like fashion vibes, I was always a fan of the cheetah-printed one. 

Free Skate to Roxanne and Come What May (from "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack): For their Free Skate, they wore these looks above...and won the gold! For Tessa, it was a Cabernet red fishtail hem costume with pointed edge neckline featuring delicate beading. Scott's look involved a see-though and solid black top and pants. I especially loved the top with the crystal embellishment. He looked sexy hot! Her costume, by the way, was a change from what we had seen her wear before:

(L to R) Stretch Velvet Tessa (2018 Canadian Nationals); Red Flowered Tessa (2018 Olympics Team); and Pointed Neckline Tessa (2018 Winter Olympics Ice Dance Finals)...Which look on Tessa did you guys liked most?

And in case you were paying attention--Scott's costume--his top, specifically, got a beading upgrade for his 2018 Olympics look as you can see from the 2018 Canadian Nationals look (Left) compared to above his top at the 2018 PyeingChang Winter Olympics Ice Dance Finals (Right)

GOLDEN COUPLE--CONGRATULATIONS CANADA and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir!!!