ICE STYLE.....2018 Costumes Recap: Figure Skating COSTUMES 2018--ICE DANCE!

Dancing Queens...and Kings--Ice Dance Teams of the 2018-2019 Grand Prix Season: USA's Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier

In my previous "ICE STYLE" posts, I have discussed some of the Figure Skating Costumes seen during this 2018-2019 Grand Prix Season from the top LADIES (Click HERE!), MEN (Click HERE!) as well as PAIRS (Click HERE!) skaters. Now, it's time to  talk about the ICE DANCE!

Ice Dance Style--USA's Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, Russia's Tiffani Zagorsky and Johnathan Guerreiro, USA's Madison Hubbell and Zacahary Donohue

Since it is the ICE DANCE discipline, it's almost a foregone conclusion that there will be costumes to be talked about, and this season was no exception...Here are some of them from the top Ice Dance teams, divided by their respective nations. Let's start with...

ITALY:

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri Short (Rhythm) Dance to a Tango Medley of Miedo a la Libertad by Tanghetto, La Chanson des vieux amants performed by Kantango, Tanos by Lino Cannavacciuvolo--This season's theme of Tango meant we would see lots of black and red colored costumes for the Short Dance (which has been renamed the "Rhythm Dance" by the ISU) So with that in mind, here were Italy's Guignard and Fabbri in their best Argentine Tango looks. They involved a sleek wine-red shirt, tight black pants and suspenders look for Marco and for Charlene, she wore a sexy black jersey dress featuring an asymmetrical fishtail hem and silver crystal sequin accents. They looked strong and sensual in these costumes and did evoke a Tango Love Couple. 

Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri Free Dance to The Audition (from "La La Land" soundtrack) by Justin Hurwitz, Lovely Night (from "La La Land" soundtrack) by Justin Hurwitz, Planetarium (from "La La Land" soundtrack) by Justin Hurwitz--For their Free Dance to "La La Land", they were on-point with their costumes. I loved her teal-green dress with paillette waistband and his white shirt/gray vest and pants ensemble. These were nice interpretations of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling's looks and characters from the film.

CANADA:

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier Short (Rhythm) Dance to Angelica's Tango by Piernicola Di Muro--Now this is a way to get my Figure Skating Fashionista attention! Piper and Paul--always looking for new ways to show their style sense, stood out this season in these looks for their Rhythm Dance program. She wore a canary yellow-and-white halter neck dress with a bold red rose print accented by a fan-pleated skirt and sequin embellished accents. Paul looked the part of the most darkly sexy Tango partner in his double breasted suit, wine-red shirt and the prefect accessory: A mustache. Muy Bien!

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier Free Dance to Vincent (Starry Starry Night) by Don MacLean, Govardo--For their Free Dance, they wore these looks above, which I was a bit "mixed" in terms of my love/not-love thoughts. I liked her electric blue dress (the blue signifying the "Starry Night" music, I presume) and especially the very intricate sequined applique on the torso, but the hair and styling made her look a bit "Paris Hilton at a Mykonos Party". I was also not a fan of Paul's gray blousy shirt and black pants. He looked un-kept and in addition, I'm just not a fan of seeing sweat stains as the skaters are raising their arms for their choreography; I know they are working their you-know-what's-off, I just don't want to actually see the sweat on their costumes. 

USA:

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker Short (Rhythm) Dance to Vuelvo al Sur by Juan Carlos Caceres, A los Amigo by Forever Tango--This dress on Kaitlin was by far one of the best "Tango" costume/dresses this season: I loved it! The black dress was sensuously stylish featuring a plunging neckline, asymmetrical hem and GORGEOUS sequined applique trim. In addition, her chignon hairstyle and red lipstick makeup was PERFECTO! Jean-Luc was looking very debonair in a gray dress shirt, tight black pants and red neck scarf. 

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker Free Dance to Trampoline Theme by The Irrespressibles
In This Shirt by The Irrespressibles--For their Free Dance, Kaitlin and Jean-Luc wore these costumes above. I liked both their looks. They were ethereal, pretty and modern. I especially liked the ombre dying effect on her chiffon dress/skirt and his side draped top was oh-so-pretty.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue Short (Rhythm) Dance to Alevare by Astor Piazzolla, Tangata del Alba by Astor Piazzolla--Hubbell and Donohue skated their Rhythm Dance to these "Tango"-inspired looks above. Madison wore a second-skin black-and-nude stretch lace dress with long sleeves, leg-revealing slit and open back silhouette. She looked as CALIENTE as one could get! But if you thought she was hot, look at sexy Zachary: With his v-neck skin-tight white top, high-waisted tight pants, red suspenders and slicked hair, he looked like the sexiest waiter in a Buenos Aires wine bar! Both of them did their "Costume" job in delivering the intense sensual nature of the Argentine Tango.

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue Free Dance to Introduction to Romeo (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) by Craig Armstrong, Kissing You Instrumental (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) by Craig Armstrong, Kissing You (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack) performed by Desree--For their Free Dance costumes, they went romantic, delicate and old-school. And I loved them! Madison was the modern and chic Juliet in this silver dress with a slight fishtail hem at the back, triple-tiered hip-band detail and GORGEOUS sequins splattered on the torso and cap sleeves. Zachary was the dark romantic in his all-black costume of pants and button-front top with shoulder accents. There were hints of Shakespearean romance, Period costume and 21st century fashion style. 

RUSSIA:

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalopov Short (Rhythm) Dance to Verano Porteno by Astor Piazzolla, performed by Raul Garello--This "Tango" theme brought out a whole lot of sexy looks from the Ice Dance teams this season, as seen here with Russia's Sinitsina and Katsalopov. Victoria barely-there black dress provided some serious costume competition (in the "Caliente" department) to Madison Hubbell's lace look: Not only was it also backless, it had a fluttery "car wash"-like skirt, sheer sleeves and a plunging front torso panel. This was like the "Versace MTV Awards J Lo Dress" version for Pairs Figure Skating. Nikita looked like a Catholic priest compared to her--in his black jacket, dress shirt and pants look. She was ready for a party...he was on his way to a funeral. 

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalopov Free Dance to Suite in D "Air" by Johann Sebastian Bach, Praeludium and Allegro (In the Style of Pugnani) by Fritz Kreisler--First off: Did Nikita wear the same costume as his Rhythm Dance one, but with a black t-shirt instead? It kind of looks like it....so because of this, I'll just discuss Victoria: Her Free Dance costume was a gray-silver dress with delicate bust draping and silver sequin embellishments. It was pretty but verging on a bit drab.

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin Short (Rhythm) Dance to Malaguena performed by Blast, Tango Suite Part III by Al Di Meola, Carmen's Story performed by Edith Piaf--Stepnanova and Bukin donned Versace-inspired looks (especially her) for their Rhythm Dance costumes for their Malaguena/Tango Medley. Alexandra's black straps-and-crystals costume was very 90's Gianni Versace for sure and while I like the reference, I'm not a fan of such an overt knock off. Ivan's look was sexy with the solid vs/ sheer juxtaposition on the top. I also liked the very wide batteau neck.

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin Free Dance to Am I The One by Beth Hart--These Free Dance costumes were gorgeous! I loved both Alexandra's and Ivan's. Her silver-gray and black costume featured a mock-neck, long sleeves and "shredded" skirt with metallic silver accents. She looked sexy, chic, fashion fierce and very Rodarte-like! Ivan--with his black Toreador jacket, sheer tank and skin-tight black pants could be a great look to save if they ever skate to Bizet's "Carmen".

Tiffani Zagorsky and Johnathan Guerreiro Short (Rhythm) Dance to Besame Mucho, Selection by Astor Piazzolla--Tie-dye Tango anyone?? Tiffani Zagorsky answered "Si!". For their Rhythm Dance, the Russian Ice Dance team of Zagorsky and Guerreiro (she's English-Russian and he's Australian-Russian in case you are wondering), wore these costumes above. While Johnathan looked like a waiter at a Vegas hotel club, she was funky and hippy-dippy in her green-and-red colored knit jersey cut-out one-sleeve dress. I kind of liked her costume, only because it was a fresh change from all the other oh-so-obvious Argentine Tango Sexy-licious Divas.

Tiffani Zagorsky and Johnathan Guerreiro Free Dance to Blues for Klook by Eddie Louis--For their Free Dance looks, they went with all-black colored looks that evoked a Blues-y/Rock & Roll inspiration. Tiffani wore a shiny Lycra leotard-sleeved dress with side back sequin applique that looked great with that fiery red hair of hers. On the other hand, Johnathan, with his shiny black shirt and pants looked more like late-70's/early 80's Disco King Deney Terrio! 

FRANCE:

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron Short (Rhythm) Dance to Oblivion by Astor Piazzolla performed by Gidon Kremer, Primavera Porteno by Astor Piazzolla performed by Gideon Kremer--Let's just start with the obvious: They are SIMPLY AMAZING, SUBLIME and SEAMLESS with their skating. And their costumes mirror their skating! I loved both of these looks on Gabriella and Guillaume. Her one shoulder/one sleeve asymmetrical dress was sleek, chic and fab. And Guillaume's sheer lace shirt and black pants was the perfect sexy costume partner. His plunging neckline was EVERYTHING!

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron Free Dance to Duet by Rachael Yamagata
Sunday Afternoon by Rachael Yamagata--Sporty & Pretty. I liked how clean, classic and void-of-fuss these looks were on Papadakis and Cizeron for their Free Dance. Gabriella looked liked a modern dance choreographer wearing a blush pink crop turtleneck top with long sleeves, side knot and silver side-front slit skirt and Guillaume's gray silver skin-tight shirt (with sheer back panel!) and black pants was the sexiest dance partner she could ever want to dance with. Just like their Ice Dance, there is no need for unnecessary stuff in their costumes: Just perfectly edited.