Time for the final 2017 Internationaux de France Grand Prix of France COSTUMES blog! I've discussed the LADIES HERE, the MEN HERE and now it is time for the PAIRS and ICE DANCE!

Let's begin with the PAIRS costumes, which I have not discussed this season:
Liobov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Canada--For their Short program to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch wore these black and silver costumes. I liked hers especially; it looked modern, fresh and Versace-like. I was also happy that Dylan's look had some detail. Some. I should just be happy with that when it comes to him since I'm just more in AWE of his OUT OF CONTROL Kabunkadunk...figure! (he he)

Free Skate to At This Moment performed by Billy Vera & The Beaters: For their Free Skate, the Canadian Pairs team went with black and red. She wore a halter neckline sequined dress costume which was pretty and he just went with an all-black outfit I would wear on a December in NYC. Please Please PLEASE give Dylan something! A subtle red tuxedo pant stripe perhaps? Otherwise, this is just lazy costuming. 

Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran of USA: US Pairs team of Castelli and Tran skated their Short Program to Fallin' by Alicia Keys at the 2017 Grand Prix of France wearing these costumes above. I liked these looks for them especially her lightly sequined halter costume and his rhinestone embellished shirt. This is the PERFECT EXAMPLE of how to do the all-black men's costume but with some details! Now, I remember that I discussed their costumes back in my 2017 Rostelecom Cup of Russia Costumes Blog and they wore something different:

These costumes above is what they wore...If these seem familiar, it is because they are: They are the same costumes from last season (same program music as well).  Anyhow...I thought these were one of THE BEST of last season and they still hold up now. Gorgeous styling, expensive beading...LOVE her one shoulder-like design and especially how draped and beautiful Mervin's costume is. I know that obviously their new costumes weren't ready so they wore these re-hashed ones above at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup of Russia but...I kinda like them BETTER than their new ones. What do you guys think?


ICE DANCE:
Angelique Abachkina and Louis Thauron of France: Short Dance to Samba: Le Serpent by Guem; Rhumba: Abrazame performed by Tamara; Rhumba: Danca Kizomba by Stony--These costumes were fun and fabulous especially dealing with the Latin-inspired Short Dance music and Program. Angelique wore a fringed costume that would make Bob Mackie blush (OK, maybe not, but...). I loved the colors and asymmetrical styling. What I wasn't a fan of was her curled hair style; she looked a little too "Caligula/Roman Gal Being Offered to the Emperor". But, I was a fan of...



Free Dance to Mariage d'amour by Paul de Senneville and Je suis malade by Alice Dona, Serge Lama performed by Lara Fabian--For their Free Dance, Angelique wore this deep lilac colored dress that featured a leotard/bodysuit and a full ombre-dyed skirt. The design also had sequined flower appliques and an asymmetrical front neckline. Louis wore a white shirt and black pants. The white shirt had interesting pleated shoulder details and gray/black dye effect to make it look worn. These were nice but I wished there might have been some of the deep lilac color in his costume. Somewhere.


Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy--For their Short Dance to Salsa: Bajo La Tormenta performed by Sergio George's Salsa Giants; Rhumba: Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan by Gloria Estefan; and Samba: Samba de Rio Pardo by Miguel Preto, this Italian Ice Dance pair wore these costumes. Naturally, she was the COSTUME STAR and he was just in black (Yawn...but  I get it!). Charlene wore a white with purple and pink sequined dress featuring ombre purple/fuchsia-like horsehair trim at the hem making it "ruffle" out. It was VERY "Dancing With The Stars" and I especially liked the rhinestone-studded bustier and nude sequined strapped open back. So sexy. And yes, Marco, well..he was just in black. 


Elliana Pogrebinski and Alex Benoit of USA: This US Ice Dance pair skated their Short Dance to Samba: Simba by Dan Nekonecny; Rhumba: Lo So Che Finira by Anna Tatangelo; and Merengue: Bailar by Elvis Crespo, Erick Orrosquieta, Robert Fernandez. Alex was in black. Of course. I liked his plunging neckline top and sheer shoulder/arm detail. PS: He's soooo sexy hot! But yes,--back to Elliana: Loved the bright neon pink color of her costume and fringed skirt. She looked like a South American Bird of Paradise in this great costume! 



**Stay Tuned for more of the 2017 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and my ICE STYLE Costumes Blog!

And don't forget about my NEW "The Pageant Coloring Book"! Where you can create your very own Evening Gown Competition with 25 of my hand-drawn Pageant Queen illustrations. Click HERE to purchase NOW on amazon.com:

In my last post HERE, I discussed the LADIES COSTUMES from the 2017 Internationaux de France Grand Prix of France. So, naturally, it's time for the MEN to get the "Nick Ice Style" take.

Alexander Samarin of Russia: Alexander was the only male from  Russia to compete at the 2017 Internationaux de France/Grand Prix of France and for his Short Program to Moonlight Sonata performed by E.S. Posthumus and I'm No Angel (cover of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata) by Era, he wore this costume above. I liked this blue and black costume, especially the top. The design featured several gradations of blue --along with a small nude illusion panel and sheer/black panels with "branch"-like details...

I thought those black details were great and wonderfully placed--especially on his upper torso where the cameras would focus during a lot of his skate. Keeping the vibrant blue colors at the top also was a wonderful stage--or shall I say "ICE"-impacting touch!

Free Skate to La Naissance de Yaha by Saint-Preux, The Unforgiven III by Metallica and House of the Rising Sun performed by Dave Evans--This costume was a bit of Rock & Roll, a bit "Punk" and a but OH NO IS THAT A "ROSS DRESS FOR LESS" BELT???!!! I liked the maroon-colored solid/sheer top with the faux leather belt strap details and I got the point of the costume in terms of his music. But...THAT BELT!!!??? Why Oh Why can't Figure Skating Costume designers come up with an alternative? Or at least, be creative enough to design a belt that goes with the costume--maybe one just like the faux leather straps on his top? Seriously...Is it that difficult?

Moris Kvitelashvili of Georgia: For his Short Program to Feeling Good by Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley performed by Michael Buble, Moris donned this gray/silver and black costume. The look featured a fitted open jacket with stand-up band collar, vest and band-collar white shirt--and yes, black pants. I thought the fit and style were nice and complimentary to his lean physique. I also liked the dégradé-like beading details, especially on the front of the jacket as well as vest, collar and pocket flaps...


Free Skate to Radioactive, Dream, and Believer by Imagine Dragons--On the other hand, I wasn't so much a fan of Moris' Free Skate costume. It looked a bit too all over the place/mish-mash'y. There was Ultra Suede-like fabrication, patches of faux leather, zippers, rhinestones and a "Rasta"-like flag on his shoulder. Here's an image I found when I Google'd the music he skated to:


Misha Ge of Uzbekistan: Misha Ge is one of my FAVORITE male figure skaters. I love his skating but I especially LOVE how he BOWS after his skate like a Bolshoi Ballet Dancer! Oh, and yeah, he also embraces fab costumes. For his 2017-2018 Short Program to Ave Maria by Giulio Caccini performed by Ikuko Kawai, Misha wore this look above. It is a bit "Game of Thrones" Medieval-like in its colors, details and macabre red-and-black details. I liked the asymmetry of the draping and ruffles as well as the "Are those birds and blood on his chest" imagery, and I can't help but add my fondness to his low-slung sequined "triple belted" top. It was sexy yet a bit 90's Retro Fab.

Free Skate to Meditation (from "Thais") by Jules Massenet--In my Ice Style post for the 2017 Rostelecom Cup HERE, I talked about Misha's costume for his Free Skate. While I liked it--the golden/violet/silver sequins were nice and ombre shaping on his top was pretty--I just wasn't a fan of the nude illusion panel I saw here:



But...

**UP NEXT: The PAIRS and ICE DANCE COSTUMES HIGHLIGHTS of the 2017 Internationaux de France Grand Prix of France!

And don't forget about my NEW "The Pageant Coloring Book"! Where you can create your very own Evening Gown Competition with 25 of my hand-drawn Pageant Queen illustrations. Click HERE to purchase NOW on amazon.com:

The 2017 Internationaux de France was held this past weekend in Grenoble France. Previously known as Grand Prix International de Paris (1987-1993) , Trophee de France (1994-1995, 2016), Trophee Lalique (1996-2003) and Trophee Eric Bompard (2004-2015) (take your pick of a sponsor!), this was the fifth of six I.S.U. Grand Prix of Figure Skating Competitions in advance of the Grand Prix Finals. As you may know, I have covered all the previous Grand Prix events of the season here--on my ICE STYLE BLOG so just click on "Ice Style" in the header for ALL the reviews.  Now, it's time to discuss this Grand Prix of France Costumes and I'll begin with the LADIES COSTUMES that I have not discussed in the past Grand Prix events/competitions.

Polina Edmunds of USA: This violet colored sequined jumpsuit costume is what Edmunds wore for her Short Program to Palladio by Karl Jenkins performed by Escala. I had never seen this costume before and so, naturally, when she stepped on the ice, I was like "OOOHHH...OK...Polina is giving a ONE PIECE JUMPSUIT!" Polina is a tall skater (compared to other ladies--She's 5'6" and Ashley Wagner for comparison is 5"3") and the jumpsuit can make her look even longer and leaner. This costume featured beautiful rhinestones jutting out like sun-rays--or crowns, take your pick--in a solid/"nude" panel design. This is definitely a "different" look for Polina and...



Elizabet Tursynbayeva of Kazakhstan: Elizabet skated her Free Skate to The Prayer performed by Celine Dion, Andrea Boccelli in this lilac costume. I liked the costume; the ombre-dyed look featured a gathered upper torso with exquisite silver sequin embellishment. The costume looked EXPENSIVE for sure. If there was any critique, I just felt the ruching in the front torso looked heavy--especially for her TEENY TINY frame. I am sure they were trying to give the illusion of a bust when there isn't one (she's 17 and 4'10"!) but maybe they should take away some of that gathering and make it...flatter...but still with a little ruching?! The sequins, however were GORGEOUS!


Maria Sotskova of Russia: Maria wore this pink costume for her 2017-2018 Short Program to Swan Lake by Petr I. Tchaikovski, and IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! I loved this elegant costume featuring a pink chiffon base with 19th Century-like design details reminding me of a Romanov Russian Princess. The rhinestone-studded necklace, bracelets and bodice embellishment were superb! I also loved that back. I was thrilled to see that this was a NEW COSTUME for her.  At the last Grand Prix she competed at--2017 Skate Canada International--she wore this:

And I remembered that she had worn THIS SAME COSTUME for last season's Free Skate to different music (not "Swan Lake"). I also said something to the effect of "either her team is being cheap or I.S.U. isn't giving the Russian skating federation enough funds. In addition, I also wished that she would have worn A NEW COSTUME. As it turns out, I guess her new costume just wasn't ready. 

Time for another Costume Redux...kind of:
Mae Berenice Meite of France: I have discussed Mae Berenice and her costumes for this season before at the 2017 Rostelecom Cup of Russia--click HERE--so when I saw this look at the Grand Prix of France for her Free Skate to Les Nocturnes de Chopin and Happy by C2C, I was like "WAIT! There is something different!". I remember her lady-like Peter Pan collar and rather basic white and black costume (at least for her!) but those rhinestones were NOT THERE! I swear!...



**UP NEXT: THE MEN'S COSTUMES of the 2017 Internationaux de France Grand Prix of France!

And don't forget about my NEW "The Pageant Coloring Book"! Where you can create your very own Evening Gown Competition with 25 of my hand-drawn Pageant Queen illustrations. Click HERE to purchase NOW on amazon.com: