ICE STYLE.....Skate Canada International 2019 COSTUMES RECAP: ICE DANCE and PAIRS!

 Glittering Dance--Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles of Canada, during their Free Dance--Skate Canada International 2019, Kelowna British Columbia Canada 

Wrapping up my 2019 Skate Canada International COSTUMES RECAP, it's time to discuss some of the fun ICE DANCE and PAIRS COSTUMES! If you missed my RECAP for the LADIES and MEN, click HERE!

Let's start with one of my NEW FAVORITE Ice Dancing Pairs, Great Britain's Fear and Gibson:

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson Great Britain Rhythm Dance--For their Rhythm Dance to Swing: Shake Your Tail Feather (from "The Blues Brothers"); Quickstep: Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (from "The Blues Brothers"); Swing/Jive: Soul Man (from "The Blues Brothers"), this fun UK Ice Dance couple paid proper homage to the music with this black-and-white looks. They featured skin-tight tuxedo looks with white tops and sequined ties; they were the Ice Dance Fabulous version of those iconic "Blues Brothers" suits. 

Free Dance to Vogue by Madonna, Shep Pettibone and Like A Prayer by Madonna, Patrick Leonard--OK, when they came out and the music started....well, they had me at "Hello!!!", or should I say "Vogue!". Their Free Dance to Madonna was AMAZING, fun...and fresh! I also thought their costumes were great! They wore black costumes featuring decadent and Rococo Dolce & Gabbana-like gold embroidery. The sequined applique was all over her bustier (of course a bustier!) and entire costume...and on Lewis, it was prominently displayed on the back of his skin-tight shirt. They both looked like dancers in a Madonna concert which means THEY NAILED IT!

I'm thinking the costumes might have been inspired by a combination of...

 Madonna at the Met Gala 2018

 and

"Madame X" Madonna performing at Eurovision 2019

Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin Spain Rhythm Dance--Spain's Hurtado and Khaliavin skated their Rhythm Dance to Foxtrot: Hello Dolly performed by Barbra Streisand; Quickstep: Hello Dolly performed by Frank Sinatra. Kirill wore a beautiful black mini-pleated tuxedo shirt with black cummerbund and pants; elegant and spiffy. Sara wore a gold sequined lame costume with an open back and black ties. I liked the modern draped style and slight homage to the iconic gold sequined gown wore by Barbra Streisand in "Hello Dolly". Part of me, though, wished there was a bit more costume razzle-dazzle. 

Free Dance to Orobroy by David Pena Dorantes and Puerta del Sol by Manolo Carrasco, Ara Malikian--I wish I could have found clearer photos of Hurtado's very directional High Fashion Flamenco design that she wore here for her Free Dance...but this was it, kids. So you have to just trust me that her black dress was MUY BIEN! It featured hints of the flamenco Sevillana volants (ruffles) and asymmetrical details that could have looked super-fab on a Madrid Fashion Week runway. Oh, and Kirill looked hot too!

Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha Canada Free Dance--For their Free Dance to Bohemian Rhapsody by Freddie Mercury performed by Queen, they wore these great costumes above. Notice the slight but definite tribute to Mercury's "Bohemian Rhapsody" look from the concert photo above in the striped trim down the sides/outseam of the pants. In addition, notice the Moto-Jacket inspiration in Zachary's costume and the costume from the film in the above photo (from the FIDM Museum Exhibition earlier this year). I also liked her strawberry-red dress as a nice bookend to his. Well done overall.

Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles Canada Rhythm Dance--For their Rhythm Dance, Gilles and Poirier of Canada paid tribute to the early years of Hollywood, skating to March: Movies Were Movies (from "Mack and Mabel") by Jerry Herman; Foxtrot: Look What Happened to Mabel (from "Mack and Mabel") by Jerry Herman; Quickstep: Entr'acte, Tap Your Troubles Away (from "Mack and Mabel") by Jerry Herman. I loved the very impacting costumes, ready for the stage (or ice!); the old-school costume-y tuxedos were so Radio City Rockettes, they were perfect. I loved the silver, bubblegum pink, her sequined sleeves and especially the fringe.

Free Dance to Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell--The music was somber, delicate, thoughtful...so glad the costumes were anything but. These were gorgeous golden-toned designs that stood out, showed exquisite mirror-sequin work, looked expensive and somehow, they complemented the un-sparkling music. These are high on my list of favorites already, for the season. 

PAIRS COSTUMES:

Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii Russia Short Program--Skating their Short program to My Way performed by Frank Sinatra, Boikova and Kozlovskii of Russia wore these costumes. They featured a pink dress and top for Aleksandra and Dmitrii, with multicolored sequin detail with black pants for him. They were nice but not extraordinary. 

Free Skate to The Writing On The Wall (James Bond) performed by Sofia Karlberg--Vibing a sleek James Bond look, Boikova and Koslovskii wore these looks above. She wore a gray-blue sequined dress with nude illusion back. It was pretty and very Cocktail Dress 101. His, to me, was far more interesting: I liked the costume interpretation of a bedazzled tuxedo--sans the jacket--exposing a studded gun holster. He was giving you Sequined "James Bond" for sure

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov Russia Free Skate--For their Free Skate to Te Amo (cover) by Umberto Tozzi, Russians Tarasova and Morozov wore these costumes above. He wore the requisite (and boring) black pants with a very pretty blue top featuring layered raw-edge front neck panels. It was unique and fashion-forward. Evgenia wore a costume with a baby blue chiffon tunic and sequined under-dress, finished off with diamante belt. It was Elie Saab Lite and rather pedestrian to be honest. Give me more huney. 

Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro Canada Short Program--Canada's Moore-Towers and Marinaro skated their Short Program to Love On the Brain (Los Feliz Blvd) feat. Bishop Briggs. I liked these pretty costumes worn by Kirsten and Michael. The striped sequin detail on her dress was nice and I also liked his sheer/solid panels down his back. 

Free Skate to Carry You by Ruelle (feat. Fleurie)--I really liked Kirsten's nude/peach one-shoulder draped dress that she wore for her Free Skate with Michael. It was fashionable, the sequin applique looked expensive and I also appreciated the hair accents. While I was OK with his all-black look; it was sleek and second-skin sexy, I just thought the addition of the nude/peach pocket hanky was a bit costume-cheesy.

That's it for Skate Canada International 2019...Stay tuned for more ICE STYLE here!