Best and Worst (Apparel) of 2014/2015 - Part 5, The Power of a Metaphor
Scott Moir was once asked what the atmosphere was like in the men's locker rooms. He replied that there is a camaraderie between the boys most of the time which springs from them making fun of each other's costumes. Even though Scott could only speak for the ice dancers, it's not hard to imagine that single skaters are also having a laugh at their opponents' (and their own) outfits.
Most men, as a rule, don't give as much importance to fashion as women do. So you can imagine that with no partner fussing about what they are going to wear, most male skaters don't stress too much over their costumes. A lot of them settle for a plain jumpsuit or a black tie attire - something comfortable that makes them look decent. There are certain themes though for which 'decent' doesn't do it. That's when things get interesting. Can't you just picture some of them cringe at themselves in the mirror?
Soundtracks, musicals and operas are usually the genres that require skaters to dress up. It used to be that skaters wore bright colours, flowers and ruffles, three things that most men would rather not wear under any circumstances. But as fashion evolved, male figure skating costumes began to be cooler without losing their theatricality. And there was no cooler costume in the short programme this season than this one:
I used to have a problem with Takahito Mura's Carmen costume mainly because I wasn't used to seeing a man perform to Bizet's opera on his own. Usually, Carmen is a story told on ice by ladies or couples. When they do skate to it, most men wear something simple and black or a flamenco type of costume. Mura's was neither.
His costume was really a two-piece ensemble that couldn't have been farther from the typical flamenco attire. It wasn't the costume of a soldier either because Takahito was not playing Jose (the army officer), nor Escamillo (the toreador). He couldn't have been Carmen either of course, so he chose to simply interpret the music rather than play a role while doing it. As such, the costume looked befitting for the music but remained abstract.
The main eye-catchers of the costume were the 'diamond' buttons spread all over the place. There were large-sized buttons on the torso and around the pants' waistband, but also smaller ones that gave the illusion of pockets. They resembled and might have even stood for the buttons of military uniforms even though the costume resembled nothing military. Dark red was the predominant colour not only because whenever we see Carmen (on stage or on the ice) she's always wearing red, but also because red stands for passion, love and blood, three things you can find plenty of in Bizet's opera.
Even though theatricality is a requirement for most figure skating costumes, some skaters overdo it sometimes and wear extravagant costumes that look heavy or over-embellished.
Misha Ge could never be blamed for wearing boring, plain costumes. He is one of the most creative skaters I've ever seen and a favourite of the public wherever he goes because of it. His short programme costume this season though looked a little too artistic for the music he was skating to.
Ave Maria is a sublime piece of music whose intensity comes from the apparent fragility of its tone. However, compared to the song, Misha's costume looked as fragile as a boulder in the middle of a flower field.
I'm not quite sure why he was dressed like a character from an ancient period drama - perhaps he was trying to resonate with the stories of the Bible given that Ave Maria is a prayer to the Virgin Mary - but that was the costume's smallest issue. What hurt my eyes the most about it was the colour - why, oh, why would he wear those pale shades of brown? The colours made the costume look dirty especially because of the degrade, which would have been fabulous if it had had any relevance to the song. And what about the thorns seeming to crawl from his heart (hence the blood effect), down his torso and around his arm? The only explanation I can come up with is that he was playing the role of Jesus, which again doesn't really go with the theme given that the prayer is not directed at Jesus. Or maybe he was playing one of the warriors for whom the Lady of the Lake was praying to the Virgin Mary in the original composition, but that seems less likely.
What is obvious, at least from where I stand, is that although Misha's costumes are usually extraordinary because of their metaphoric features, this costume had one metaphor too much.
So these are the best and worst costumes of the men's short programme in my opinion. Tell me what your favourite costumes were and come back next week for the final look at the men's choices of outfits.
Most men, as a rule, don't give as much importance to fashion as women do. So you can imagine that with no partner fussing about what they are going to wear, most male skaters don't stress too much over their costumes. A lot of them settle for a plain jumpsuit or a black tie attire - something comfortable that makes them look decent. There are certain themes though for which 'decent' doesn't do it. That's when things get interesting. Can't you just picture some of them cringe at themselves in the mirror?
Soundtracks, musicals and operas are usually the genres that require skaters to dress up. It used to be that skaters wore bright colours, flowers and ruffles, three things that most men would rather not wear under any circumstances. But as fashion evolved, male figure skating costumes began to be cooler without losing their theatricality. And there was no cooler costume in the short programme this season than this one:
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| Takahito managed to defeat Javier Fernandez at Skate Canada this season Photograph: David Ramos / Getty Images Europe |
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| His short was initially set to a violin composition by Felix Mendelssohn Photograph: Atushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia |
His costume was really a two-piece ensemble that couldn't have been farther from the typical flamenco attire. It wasn't the costume of a soldier either because Takahito was not playing Jose (the army officer), nor Escamillo (the toreador). He couldn't have been Carmen either of course, so he chose to simply interpret the music rather than play a role while doing it. As such, the costume looked befitting for the music but remained abstract.
The main eye-catchers of the costume were the 'diamond' buttons spread all over the place. There were large-sized buttons on the torso and around the pants' waistband, but also smaller ones that gave the illusion of pockets. They resembled and might have even stood for the buttons of military uniforms even though the costume resembled nothing military. Dark red was the predominant colour not only because whenever we see Carmen (on stage or on the ice) she's always wearing red, but also because red stands for passion, love and blood, three things you can find plenty of in Bizet's opera.
Even though theatricality is a requirement for most figure skating costumes, some skaters overdo it sometimes and wear extravagant costumes that look heavy or over-embellished.
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| Misha finished sixth at the World Championships - a huge leap from last season's 27th place Photograph: Xiaolu Chu / Getty Images Asia |
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| His version of Ave Maria was sung by Hayley Westenra Photograph: Xiaolu Chu / Getty Images Asia |
Ave Maria is a sublime piece of music whose intensity comes from the apparent fragility of its tone. However, compared to the song, Misha's costume looked as fragile as a boulder in the middle of a flower field.
I'm not quite sure why he was dressed like a character from an ancient period drama - perhaps he was trying to resonate with the stories of the Bible given that Ave Maria is a prayer to the Virgin Mary - but that was the costume's smallest issue. What hurt my eyes the most about it was the colour - why, oh, why would he wear those pale shades of brown? The colours made the costume look dirty especially because of the degrade, which would have been fabulous if it had had any relevance to the song. And what about the thorns seeming to crawl from his heart (hence the blood effect), down his torso and around his arm? The only explanation I can come up with is that he was playing the role of Jesus, which again doesn't really go with the theme given that the prayer is not directed at Jesus. Or maybe he was playing one of the warriors for whom the Lady of the Lake was praying to the Virgin Mary in the original composition, but that seems less likely.
What is obvious, at least from where I stand, is that although Misha's costumes are usually extraordinary because of their metaphoric features, this costume had one metaphor too much.
So these are the best and worst costumes of the men's short programme in my opinion. Tell me what your favourite costumes were and come back next week for the final look at the men's choices of outfits.
I am not sure I agree with you on Mura's costume, but I sure do agree about Misha Ge's. Though I love his skating, both of his costumes this competitive season did not appeal to me at all. But hey, as long as it is not boring, I can't be too negative.
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