Best and Worst (Exhibition Apparel) of 2014/2015 - Less Is More or Is It?

In figure skating, exhibitions are like that nice glass of red wine one might enjoy at the end of a really pesky day of work. They're the long satisfied breath you let out or the triumphant fist bump in the air that means: 'I've done it!' Concurrently, they are also a way to show off. Sure, it's nice to be able to throw the rules out the window for a change and skate to whatever, in whatever, however you want it. But figure skaters like being in the spotlight, and what better time to shine than when there is nothing restraining you from showing your full potential?

What that means is that some athletes will go to unbelievable lengths to put on a show, like when Adelina Sotnikova did rhythmic gymnastics on ice, or when Javier Fernandez made a mix-tape to get us to get off our butts and join the gym. These programmes were so good, they will never be forgotten. But they wouldn't have been as fantastic had they not benefited from some terrific costume choices.

Unfortunately, jaw-dropping costumes in the exhibition are becoming a rare sight these days (mind you, I'm not talking about ice shows, those are a different piece of cake). Skaters seem to take the relax route when it comes to exhibitions as of late, and that means they often come out wearing awfully normal clothes. Like this next couple, who are unfortunately first on my list of the season's worst-dressed in the exhibition:

Kaitlyn and Andrew skated to 'A Song for You' by Donny Hathaway
Photograph: Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia

Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje were my choice for the best dressed ice dancers both in the short programme and the long programme, so by the natural order of things, which states that no man/woman/couple should have it all, something was bound to go wrong. I wouldn't blame you if you thought that what went wrong was the airport losing her pants. Of course, what really happened was that for some reason I don't understand, she decided she didn't need to wear trousers or a skirt or anything to cover the lower part of her body. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not scandalised, far from it, I just don't get it. Wouldn't a dress have looked prettier? Seriously, she looked like her alarm clock hadn't gone off and so she had to rush to the ice rink in, literally, her night shirt. No worries though, Kaitlyn, you're still one of the most elegant ladies on ice; just wear pants next time.

If Kaitlyn Weaver under-did it with her choice of costume, this next skater was a little too bright for my taste:

By skating to the soundtrack of 'Glee', Gabrielle skated to the covers of two famous songs
Photograph: Kevin Lee / Getty Images Asia

This is solely a personal preference, so feel free to tell me why I'm wrong in saying Gabrielle Daleman had the worst exhibition outfit of all the ladies.

My issue with it is that her dress was too pink. I do understand that it was a showbiz routine, so sparkly and colourful were a must, but I just don't think the costume reflected the feel of the songs she was skating to. She might have looked like a member of 'New Directions,' but a member of 'New Directions' performing what? The first song, 'Pure Imagination,' has a softness to it that was smashed by that intense shade of pink, while the second one, 'Don't Rain on My Parade' is rather sophisticated, which again, the dress was not. What it was though was a reflection of Gabrielle's age, so here's hoping that as she gets older, she'll wear outfits that are more glamorous.

Daisuke skated to 'Say Something' by A Great Big World
Photograph: Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia

From sparkly and bright, we quickly drop to monochromatic and boring:

To be fair, Daisuke Murakami might have been caught off-guard by his victory at the NHK Trophy (like the rest of us), so he might have simply thrown on the first thing that was appropriate for the exhibition. The song is slow and sad, so black and simple is a safe choice. That doesn't take away from how he seemed to blend in with the background though. In my opinion, there are some colours that don't go well with figure skating simply because they get lost in the background. Black is one of them, but only during exhibitions, when the ice rink is dark. I do appreciate that he wore a shirt, but I would have preferred it to be anything but black (maybe white or blue), long-sleeved and something you might consider wearing at a wedding, not at the pub.

From Japan, we cross the East China Sea to land in the homeland of the worst exhibition outfits of the pairs:

The Chinese pair skated to the soundtrack of a video game entitled 'Plants vs. Zombies'
Photograph: Atushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia

I had a bit of a struggle deciding if Wenjing Sui & Cong Han's costumes were as bad as they seemed at first sight because, well, you sort of expect them to be bad. It's not like Plants vs. Zombies inspires great fashion. However, if you're going to skate to the soundtrack of a game like this, you might as well go all the way and wear something ridiculous. Their costumes though looked like they were trying to look serious with just a pinch of silliness thrown in for flavour. At the end of the day, that was what didn't convince me. They should have dumped the whole box of silly in there because theirs was a routine overflowing with it. She could have looked more like a flower, he should have worn torn clothes. They wouldn't have been the first ones to do it either, but more about that some other time.

So, from less is more, to more is better, these are the four exhibition outfits that didn't quite hit the right mark for me this season. If you know of other bad costumes worn by skaters for their exhibition programmes or if you disagree with me, feel free to tell me in the comments. Also, don't forget to come back next week to see the better counterparts of this week's costumes.