Russian FS Costume Designers | Golden Skate

Russian FS Costume Designers

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Since it's offseason and our favs are probably getting their costumes sewn while we chat here, translating a bunch of articles and interviews of russian costume designers =)
If people don't bash me too hard, I'll translate more.


Original: http://tass.ru/sport/4975355


Designers of figure skating costumes talk about the costumes of participants of the 2018 Olympics

The unique characters that skaters create in their programs sometimes remain forever in memory. In many ways, it is not only the merit of the athletes themselves, their coaches and choreographers, but also of the designers. The costume of the athlete, which gives the ideal final look, depends on them. How were created the dresses for the Olympic programs of Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova, how much does it cost to sew a champion's costume, and what do designers think about the costumes of foreign skaters - read about it in the TASS article.

Designer Olga Ryabenko, for many years, had worked with the group of the famous coach Eteri Tutberidze. It was Ryabenko that participated in the process of creating the unforgettable red dress-coat for Julia Lipnitskaya for her character in the program "Schindler's List." The young champions, Olympic hopes of Russia, Evgenia Medvedeva and ALina Zagitova, had performed at Olympic Games 2018, perform in dresses created by her.

Her colleague, costume designer and designer Olga Oskina, in many occasions created costumes for famous Russian figure skaters. The memorable cowboy costume for the exhibition of Irina Slutskaya at Olympic Games 2002 in Salt Lake City is one of the master's creations. Before the Olympics in Sochi, Olga designed the costumes for Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov. The costumes clearly brought luck to the skaters, who won a bronze medal.

According to experts, over the past four years, since the Games in Sochi, the fashion trends in figure skating have undergone significant changes.

Olga Ryabenko: "There are changes in comparison with the Sochi Olympics, and they are significant. Technology has changed, everything is moving forward. Visually, the costumes have become cleaner. "We move farther and farther from tge theatrical look. The emphasis is on simplicity, more and more of daily life is transported to the ice".

"For example, when the dresses for Alina Zagitova were designed, for her ballet programs "Don Quixote" and "Swan Lake," we did not immerse ourselves in the old days, but combined this antiquity with modern. The French Gabriela Papadakis has a very long skirt for the free program, but visually the dress looks very simple. And to make such dresses fit well, the cut is much more complicated".

"Or here is Zhenya Medvedeva's dress for the short program, which depicts the Milky Way. All of it are new technologies, something that was not being done four years ago, but was just starting. For Zhenya's dress, I made a stamp on a scan. When you look at it live, the color is one, and on video is completely different. This dress will look different all the time, because the fabric is printed on a printer. It looks like a sort of a 3D effect. Although the cut looks very simple, but it's seemingly simple".

Olga Oskina: "Four years that passed since the Games in Sochi are a very short time to notice drastic changes, especially because figure skating, in this respect, is very conservative. Despite the incredible beauty and spectacle, it is a very hard, precise and extreme sport, therefore, a costume is viewed in the context of convenience and safety, and all changes occur gradually and with caution. But if, for example, we consider not a four-years period but a ten-years period, then the difference is obvious - there is less theatricality. It still exists, but its manifestations already look old-fashioned and hurt the eyes".

"Four years ago, I said that the skates visually extend the legs, so the goal of the costume is to adjust the proportions of the figure. For this, the skirt is sewn a bit below the waist. But this season, the waist returned to its place, and often is even accented with a belt. This trend came from ballroom dancing and high fashion. I myself made a dress with a belt for the free program of Victoria Sinitsina this season (the figure skater performs in ice dancing with Nikita Katsalapov, the pair did not qualify for the 2018 Olympics - TASS comment). Another trend - the skirts have become a little shorter, even for dancers. And there are more draperies".

Russian figure skaters are one of the favorites of the 2018 Olympics. In the team tournament, the Russians became silver medalists. Ahead, there is still one of the most exciting competitions - the single ladies, where Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova are among the top contenders for Olympic medals.

Olga Ryabenko: "Not everybody knows that Zhenya Medvedeva has three dresses for the free program - black, brown and the very first, burgundy, which was sewed without any fitting. It was an exibition for a Japanese show, specially prepared in the summer in Novogorsk, and we started sewing a completely different dress. Zhenia's team was engaged in choreographing programs in Novogorsk, and all together decided to change the exibition and try "Anna Karenina". They called me at night two days before everything and said that another dress is urgently needed. I'm working with Zhenya for a long time and I know all her measures, so everything turned out all right".

"As for the black dress in which Zhenya is performing the program "Anna Karenina", we chose the color with the four of us together, with Eteri Georgievna, the choreographer Daniel Gleyhengauz and Medvedeva herself. Zhenya later said that she always wanted a black dress. If that gala didnt exist, then, perhaps, the dress for "Anna Karenina" would be burgundy or cherry. There was a discussion about a brown dress. And then they decided not to reinvent the wheel and make a simple black dress with a light transparent skirt - Eteri Georgievna said that she wants this to be a sensual image of Anna Karenina".

"The dress "Milky Way" for Medvedeva's short program, too, has its own story. We thought of making this dress white, but the white color does not look well on the ice. And then everything worked out by itself: at a fashion show, I saw a dress - blurry, incomprehensible, I really liked the effect of this fabric. But the artist could not understand what exactly I want for about two weeks. She would send me mock-ups, and they were terrible. We got to a point where I came there and then we worked together. But, to be honest, we still did not print what I wanted, later I retouched it with airbrush".

"In a store, I think, we wouldnt be able to find something. Later, we had a lot of complaints from the fans, many wrote that they do not like that Zhenya's arm in this dress is half white. However, the issue is that the dress looks quite different on photo and video. Zhenya's grandma says that this combination of colors gives the skater lightness and airiness. When Medvedev raises both arms hands in a jump, the sleeves create a feeling that Zhenya is jumping even higher".

Olga Ryabenko: "Alina Zagitova has ballet programs, tutu skirts look very well on the athlete, highlight her figure. Eteri Georgievna and Daniel Gleyhengauz have long been nurturing the idea of doing a "Swan Lake" program. This was first for Lipnitskaya. When she was given a "Romeo and Juliet" free program, it somehow did not work well for Yulia, but then they decided not to change anything, but ​​Gleichenhaus had the idea back then. Two or three years have passed since, but he could not apply it, he did not see anyone in this character. Still then, there was an idea of the dress that would change colors - changed from white to black, those poses, the sharp lines".

"They began to choreograph this program for Alina back in April. And then I started reading which other skaters this season will have the "Swan", and was in shock. This year, there is some kind of swan abundance. Although, of course, half of the "swans" didn't reach the Olympics".

"The Olympic season is difficult. Everyone wants something unusual, but memorable and understandable. Hence the theme of Spain, understandable to all, the same ballets. The bet is made on something that is a sure win, which will be understandable to any casual viewer. They try to pick the clearest characters. Hence, also, "Anna Karenina" for Medvedeva. After this Olympics, probably half of the world will read this work".

According to the designer Olga Oskina, the simpler the dress, the more modern it looks.

Olga Oskina: "Russia is a literary country, and the same approach is followed in the costumes of Russian figure skaters at Olympic Games-2018. Almost every dress is not a sign, not a word, but a narrative. The more laconic the dress, the more I like it".

"This time I liked the dress of Ekaterina Bobrova (partner of Dmitry Solovyov in ice dancing - TASS comment) for the free program. It has a complex color, creamy gray with burgundy. The dress is also complicated by itsel, but it has logic, each line can be traced from beginning to end, and these lines seem to be involved in the movement".

"Also my favorites are dresses of Natalia Zabiyako (partner of Alexander Enbert in pairs - TASS comment). I liked the idea with a transformation in the free program, and the dress itself before the transformation was very clean and stylish. When I saw it for the first time, I was amazed at such frank simplicity. The dress for the short program is also very high level, I had to look closely to understand how it was done. I liked that there is a small number of stones on both dresses".

Olga Ryabenko: "I really like the works of the Japanese master Satomi Ito, her costumes for the Japanese Shoma Uno, who won silver at this Olympic Games. I'm close to her work, probably because it is the same "detailed" work as my own. I also love pearls, beads, intricate transitions".

"And the Americans, for this Olympics, got costumes sewed by designer Lisa McKinnon. In general, there are a lot of her works on these Games, she also dressed the winners of the pairs competition - representatives of Germany Alena Savchenko and Bruno Masso. Previously, Savchenko had her costumes sewed by her sister, a designer. McKinnon has a lot of interesting works, they are very easily recognizable - the same swimsuit with an open back and rhinestones. Lisa also has interesting coloring, she works with an airbrush".

"Also the French Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron have great costumes. Now, there is a technology that allows you to decorate a costume with fine silk fringe. The only thing that I didn't like is that I would have done less flesh-colored parts. I do not like the way flesh color and gold look on the ice. But on Gabriela, everything looked very good and interesting".

"I used to like the costumes of the Canadian Patrick Chan, he was one of the first to go out to the ice in simple shirts of a simple cut. It seems to me that it was him that started the trend to simplify men's outfits in figure skating. Before that, our men were pompous, covered with rhinestones from top to bottom. And after Chan, everyone began to understand that skating itself is more important than a thousand rhinestones on a costume. We started to look at this tendency, too".

Olga Oskina: "It seems to me that in the approach of foreign skaters to costumes there is more lightness and healthy carelessness. The foreign athletes I see dresses that I really love, but they have a lot of dresses that I do not like at all and that even surprise me with lack of professionalism. I look and I think: really, there was not a single person in the whole country who could beautifully and appropriately glue rhinestones"?

"Some skaters seem to violate unspoken aesthetic rules, however it looks good. For example, one of my favorite dresses is the black dress of Canadian Kaetlyn Osmond, in which she skates at this Olympics to the song of Edith Piaf. Very high collar, completely covering the neck, a flower on the neck. I have never managed to persuade any of our figure skaters to do something like this. I would be told - the neck is gove, the face is "cut off", the accessories on the shoulder are inadmissible, this distorts the shoulder line and the shoulders seem raised higher. And on Kaetlyn, it looks spicy and natural".

"Another example of a successful rule violation is Alena Savchenko's dress, light blue with fringe. I always tell clients that it is undesirable to use the color of ice - blue or gray-blue - in a costume, it's better not to take risks. And here was used not just the color of ice, but also its texture - all these reflections, scratches, flashes, halftones. And Alena looks like a jewel, like an icy Aphrodite, born of ice foam, and this is unexpectedly beautiful. This dress looks especially beautiful in motion. I like how the artist that created this dress thinks".

Another favorite - the simplest dress of Italian Carolina Kostner. It is color of wine and looks like a glass of wine - it lives, pulsates, it constantly changes shades. It seems to me that this effect is achieved due to the fact that the main fabric is worn on a swimsuit of a lighter shade, and this creates the depth and the motion of the color. I like the paneling - here are not only stones, but also other textures. And I noticed that, although the belt is missing, the skirt visually starts from the waist".

The minimum and maximum costs to create a costume for figure skating are very different. According to the designers, this depends on the fabrics and the cost of the rhinestones.

Olga Oskina: "Dresses in which figure skaters perform at the Olympic Games are almost never sewn privately, only in ateliers, so their cost is around 40-60 thousand rubles (USD 650 - 1000). A significant part of this amount is the cost of the rhinestones".

"The optimal time for making a costume is a month and a little more. Usually, two or three fittings are made. Between fittings, the dress is not only in work, it is also hanged to "rest". It is necessary to try skating on the ice at least once and then make the needed adjustments. Of course, there are urgent orders, you can not get away from it. And I really like when the sketches are ordered in advance. Now I have such an order - we plan to sew the costumes in August, and I am already drawing the sketches, and it gives me pleasure".

Olga Ryabenko: "The Olympic costume for figure skating does not differ from the costume for a young figure skater, except that there is more material and rhinestones, so the cost of a costume for the Games is about 60 thousand rubles, and for children it does not reach 30 (USD 500). At some places, we use lace, many different fabrics. There is lace for eight thousand per meter (USD 130). Or skirts with a transition of color on chiffon - the skirt itself seems small, but it uses four meters of fabric. Even a small dress for a kid can require up to three meters of chiffon for a piece of a skirt of 50 centimeters".

During the figure skating competitions at the Olympic Games-2018, several incidents occurred related to costume malfunctions. The top of the South Korean figure skater Yura Ming kept falling down during her performance, and the athlete had to fix it every now and then. Even more dramatic story happened with Garbia Papadakis - the fastener on the Frenchwoman's dress fell off, and the figure skater had her breast exposed.

Olga Oskina: "The most important thing is to make the dress in advance, with extra time, so that it is possible to check the costume in training. The dress should be a second skin and if not help, then at least it should not be felt while performing elements. This means a good fit of the swimsuit and the elastics. During fitting, we always ask the skaters to make a test set of movements to check how the dress behaves - raise their arm, lean back and forward strongly".

"The skirt length should be such that it does not get caught on the blade and does not interfere with the rotation. If this is not single skating, the dress should not be uncomfortable for the partner. For example, when we made skirts for Elena Ilinykh (Olympic champion in 2014 in ice dancing together with Nikita Katsalapov - TASS comment), the lifts they performed became more and more difficult, and at the last Olympic Games, for the free program, we did not a real, but an adapted tutu".

"And in general, everything can be very subtle. There was even a case when the partner was not comfortable with excessively sharp rhinestones on the lady's dress, and we had to replace them with flatter ones".

Olga Ryabenko: "The most basic rule is that, when creating a costume, you should not allow too much exposed body, more than 30-40%. Judges would punish something like that. In principle, there are no particularly strict rules for figure skating in relation to clothing. I did not notice anything that would break the Olympic Games in South Korea, everything is laconic".

"In the process of creation, dresses often suffer changes. We try to "skate out" the costumes at least a bit before the important competitions. All dresses are sewn in a single copy, and if something happens with the costume, then the athlete should be ready to go out in the training clothes and skate so that all the scores are, as they say, 6.0".

"I believe that there should be no definitive prohibitions on creativity. I once read an interview about one of my dresses, sewn for the free program of Elena Radionova "Titanic". Some fashion designer said it is bad taste to use together lace and mesh fabric in clothes. But there is nothing unacceptable if the thing looks good. Who creates these rules? The most important thing is that everything should be of quality - doesnt create inconvenience for the athlete, and does not fall off. We should not forget that the costumes of figure skaters should look good, but still it is a sports outfit, an athlete should be comfortable in the first place".

"In my works I used many times both natural fur and artificial fur. If it looks good, then why not take such a step? Or, for example, they wrote about Evgenia Medvedeva's burgundy dress: why cant you use such expensive material as French lace for our champion? But it is because this lace does not stretch, the skater will be uncomfortable. She is not going to the ball. The main thing is to make a good program. I always say that our girls are beautiful even in training clothes, and we already love them like that. Although the costume is certainly one of the components of success".
 

Shayuki

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Olga Ryabenko is my favorite FS costume designer. She's made many of my favorites including Medvedeva's 17-18 FS dresses, her SP dress, Lipnitskaya's 13-14 FS dress and 16-17 SP dress, Shcherbakova's 16-18 FS dress and 17-18 FS dress, Trusova's 17-18 FS dress, Zagitova's 17-18 SP dress, Akatieva's 17-18 SP dress and many others.
 

mau

3Lz3Lo3Lo3Lo3Lo
On the Ice
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Interesting article. Evgenia’s Anna Katerina burgundy costume was my favorite this season. :love:

And although I don't like the tutus, they really made Alina stood out.
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Olga Ryabenko is my favorite FS costume designer. She's made many of my favorites including Medvedeva's 17-18 FS dresses, her SP dress, Lipnitskaya's 13-14 FS dress and 16-17 SP dress, Shcherbakova's 16-18 FS dress and 17-18 FS dress, Trusova's 17-18 FS dress, Zagitova's 17-18 SP dress, Akatieva's 17-18 SP dress and many others.

Just in case people don't follow, her instagram is full of awesome stuff https://www.instagram.com/ryabenko_olga21/

As for you, I got an interview with her here, which i'll translate tomorrow. A lot of cool blablabla about dresses and stuff.
 

rikaquegira

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 30, 2017
Interesting article. Evgenia’s Anna Katerina burgundy costume was my favorite this season. :love:

And although I don't like the tutus, they really made Alina stood out.

Evgenia's dresses for Anna Karenina were gorgeous!! I loved the black one, but the red was also beautiful, it's so unique. I also loved that one she used in the program that was cancelled. this one! . :love:

And this one from Alena's FS. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2f/77/5c/2f775c2a29dd47b0183a39a8b885f65b.jpg
 

esteticlove

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Thank you for the translation, this was an interesting read. Ryabenko is so talented and I absolutely adore her work! She's made many many beautiful dresses but those for Medvedeva always stand out from the rest.

My top favourites:
1. Medvedeva's Leftovers dress - this is the most elegant and fancy figure skating dress I have ever seen, I love every detail to it and the colour blending is just to die for :love:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/277250d3a141a68706e4277023ddd6aa/tumblr_p3boe4RF7R1qc5l9co1_500.jpg

2. Sherbakova's new SP dress
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DaBBvn6X4AAlaHY.jpg

3. Tsurskaya's SP dress
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/51/a3/cf/51a3cf66c3bc2d25207326de831aa56d.jpg

4. Alina tutus - I was very impressed how successful those dresses turned out to be, Olga should have some great technical skills in terms of design because I have seen some other younger skaters with tutus and those looked horrific :drama:

SP - the tutu itself is awesome, so fluffy and swan-like
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2w0...orus_image/image/58773707/921847546.jpg.0.jpg

FS - the bodice :love:
https://www.earnthenecklace.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Alina-Zagitova.jpg
 

1critic

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Certainly more captivating than any other designer's I've seen, including Vera Wang. The amount of detail in her works are mind-blowing.
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Original: https://www.eg.ru/sport/504910/

Another interview with Olga Ryabenko.
A bit about her workflow, some info about Yulia's red coat, some shade on the costumes of some skaters just to add a tiny bit of offseason drama.


We are trying to set up a meet with the fashion designer Olga RYABENKO - the author of most of the costumes in which our girls shone at the recent Olympic Games and World Figure Skating Championship, and she says: I can't in the next few days, I got an urgent order. It turned out that she is sewing a dress for Evgenia Medvedeva's exibitions in Japan. And Ryabenko has a rule: do not show anyone a half-ready version - otherwise something will necessarily go wrong.

The famous red tutu of Alina Zagitova, her black and white swan. Anna Karenina of Zhenya Medvedeva. The delicate blue outfit of the young star Sasha Trusova, who blew up the world with two quadruple jumps in one program, - we are sitting in a rented "one-room" apartment on the edge of Moscow with the author of all this beauty, Olga Ryabenko. On the walls - sketches, on the shelves - coils of fabrics and accessories, finished costumes are hanging, waiting for the clients who ordered them. Here, both the stars and beginning skaters come for fitting - Ryabenko also sews for the young athletes.

- How many times did I notice: you send the photo to the customer - and the dress won't fit at all, - Olga shares. - Another rule: I get an advance payment for work, but I do not take the rest of the money until the person wears the dress. And I know that the evil eye exists. It happens in the locker rooms: we try a costume on someone, all mommies, in choir - oh, such great color. Done, the work doesn't go. I prefer to sew from a fabric that no one saw, that no one touched.

- What did you feel when two girls in your costumes stood on a pedestal?

- Of course, it was pleasant. Prior to that, Yulia Lipnitskaya, who won the team competition at the Sochi Olympics, and Lena Radionova, the Russian champion, performed in my costumes. But, to be honest, when Alina and Zhenya climbed the pedestal in Pyeongchang, the emotions were of a different type. I do not know how Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze even survived all this. I sat there, crying. I read that many later reproached the coach - they say she should have come to congratulate Alina for her success. Yes, but she also had a crying Zhenya.

Alinochka is a fine fellow, but it would be fair if Zhenya got the gold medal. Alinka grew behind Zhenya's back, repeated everything after her. She fell down at the World Championships because she did not have to reach for anyone, - Olga sighs.

Today, Ryabenko has a queue. And ten years ago, when Olga came from Lugansk without any connections, she was happy with any work. At home, she received the profession "cutter of a light dress". She sew anything - fur coats, hats, embroidered, experimented with leather. After seeing an ad in a newspaper, she got a job at an atelier in Moscow.

The first "sport" order was made by a gymnast's mother.

- In the atelier, I received 500 - 600 rubles a day (USD 20 back then). Then I got 3 thousand for the leotard and was very happy. I used to sew at home on my own equipment, although the landlady persistently wanted to catch me taking orders outside the atelier.

The fame of the skilled tailor reached the skaters - the first in Ryabenko's Ryabenko was a "Pirates of the Caribbean" themed jumpsuit. Through Yulia Lipnitskaya and her mother Daniela, Olga met Eteri Tutberidze. Yulia was then getting a program to the music from the movie "Schindler's List", and she and her mother were looking for someone who would sew the famous red coat. There were only two weeks left for the first competition, but there was no costume.

- A friend gave them my phone number, and I promised to help, - says Olga. - In my work I used a mesh of two colors - the brighter was the bottom layer, and the darker one - on top. The result was an unusual glow effect. For the first time, I used an airbrush, which can create beautiful color transitions directly on fabric.

By the way, Daniela Lipnitskaya herself sews very well. And I was flattered that she contacted me. Between, this program was not well accepted for a long time. They said the topic was too serious for a young girl. It was lucky, probably, that this program was choreographed by Averbukh. Together with the coach, they managed to defend it.

- There is a feeling that the coat is very dense.

- In fact, it is light, simply weightless. Yulia and I had only two fittings. I brought it to the ice, where I first met Eteri Georgievna. Before that, Everybody scared me, told me that she was very demanding, tough. And is different for everybody. We had it all - sometimes I in tears, and she is shouting. Over time, it became easier: the coach realized that I want to do only better. If I sew, and the dress does not go well, we can completely remake it. Last year, for example, for the short program of Zhenya Medvedeva, we chose a costume in tiffany - a fashionable light green shade. They put a piece of fabric on her - everything seemed to be fine, but when the bright, beautiful Zhenechka came out to the ice in the finished dress, she looked like a gray mouse in it. I had to replace it with a pink one. The ice eats a lot of the color.

- How is the idea of ​​a costume born?

- They give me music, express wishes - I offer two or three sketches, add pieces of fabric. And with Eteri Georgievna, we got to know each other so well that we can explain ourselves literally with gestures. Sometimes I get not only music, but also a related story, so that I understand what I'm doing. I watch the movie if it's music from the movie.

True, when I sewed a dress for Polina Tsurskaya, who skated to the tune from the "Game of Thrones", it turned out the other way round. Eteri Georgievna said: "Did you see the movie? Forget". We imagined Polina as an artist. Her blue dress - straight from the runway. Then, dresses from flesh colored mesh embroidered with beads just became fashionable.

- In figure skating, are there some fashiontricks: what to wear, what not to wear?

- Of course. The costumes became more laconic, without theatricality. It's very cool that in recent years in figure skating, fashion has been promoted by our athletes.

Now, after the triumph of Alina Zagitova, everyone, of course, needs tutus. Although before they were very disliked by the coaches - the protruding skirt hinders the jump, creates a parachute effect. In addition, the skater does not see her feet under it. Some, because of this, cannot even stand on ice - they get dizzy. To prepare for the Olympics, Alina spent two months training in a tutu.

When going on a visit to Olga Ryabenko, I learned in secret that Eteri Tutberidze would not mind being a bit of a hooligan. In addition to the excellent technique and artistry that her skaters demonstrate, she knows what other "components" can encourage the jury to give higher scores. Lets agree, a provocative red tutu that emphasizes the shape of Alina Zagitova lets few male judges indifferent. By the way, the coach tells all girls, regardless of age, to come to train with a bit of make-up.

- Eteri Georgievna emphasizes that she must see the faces of her pupils. Sometimes, she is indignant: "Where are the eyebrows? Go and draw eyebrows"! She believes that everyone who skates with her should be able to adequately present themselves, - says Olga.

- How much does it cost to sew a dress for a girl of 14-15 years?

- For the first three members of the team who won the Russian championship, the Federation of figure skating allocates 50-60 thousand rubles for a costume, three more are partially compensated for sewing. But, lets say, Zhenya Medvedeva has, just for Anna Karenina, three dresses: black, brown and burgundy. Plus four costumes for the gala and one for the short program - in total eight costumes in a season. Of course, it is not covered by the budget. So often you have to sew at your own expense.

- For costume issues judges can take points when evaluating the program?

- It is not allowed to show more than 40 percent of the body. There was a story with dancers Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin - bronze medalists of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. On the gala, they performed as Australian Aborigines in flesh-colored suits. And they had to prove that this is not quite a naked body. They take points if something has fallen off your clothes. Therefore, the rhinestones are glued with the most reliable glue, feathers, sequins are stitched several times. The black and white tutu of Alina Zagitova for her "swan", we took a lot of time shooking off the extra sequins: when she first went out on the ice, there was a black-and-white cloud around.

- How did you achieve that the dress, in front of everybody, turned black from white?

- Somewhere on vacation, Eteri Georgievna saw a T-shirt with iridescent sequins and said that she wanted to introduce them somewhere. I resisted for a long time. Sequins can not only come off - they make the girl look fat. But Tutberidze and the choregrapher Daniil Gleyhengauz had been nursing the idea of a black and white swan since the time of Lipnitskaya and they were adamant. I said: then I put the sequins on patches so the costume does not look like a fur coat. Due to such inclusions, the costume began shine.

For the short program "Milky Way" of Zhenya Medvedeva, we printed the fabric on a printer. The result is a 3D effect.

- About costume malfunctions - the Frenchwoman Gabriela Papadakis was caught with it twice - one time her breast showed a bit, the other her panties dropped a little. But this did not stop her from becoming the world champion in ice dancing.

- Several years ago, our figure skater Ekaterina Rubleva also had a bare chest incident, so no one is immune to it. I try to foresee all these moments. But now it is difficult to find quality acessories. We gave up locks - they burst. I use ballet hooks. While studying, I read that in old ballet workshops the hooks were sewn in a "back and forth" way - alternately from both sides. They are reliable.

And about Gabriela Papadakis - she really dresses very sexy, and that's her charm. Not a beauty, but on the ice she is simply a goddess.

- And what do you say about the costumes of the "meritorious" single skater Carolina Kostner? Many of them are from Valentino himself.

- Runway is not always successful for figure skating. I saw Carolina at the Moscow competition of the Grand Prix three years ago. She performed in a turquoise dress in oriental style with a flesh-colored insert on her chest. Colorless panties, too, were embroidered with sequins. It looked, to put it mildly, spicy. Another dress that unpleasantly surprised me - pink with a flower. On TV, it looked interesting, but I saw live that there where threads almost stick out.

- Can you remember other interesting costumes?

- Robin Shelkovy's white trousers made a very strong impression when he was skating with Aljona Savchenko. I was sitting at their performance and, no matter how much Robin passed by me, I saw only his clearly visible thong under the trousers. Aljona was a beauty in a white dress, his top, too, looked cool, but why he put on these white pants, I still do not understand.
 

tha

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 5, 2018
Ugh this is so wrong lol
"Lets agree, a provocative red tutu that emphasizes the shape of Alina Zagitova lets few male judges indifferent."

And I really love Evgenia's dresses this season, Olga is good making them.
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Ugh this is so wrong lol
"Lets agree, a provocative red tutu that emphasizes the shape of Alina Zagitova lets few male judges indifferent."

And I really love Evgenia's dresses this season, Olga is good making them.

Well, tbh I do know a few guys who are waiting for Alina's 16th birthday to start saying she is hot =P
 

Imagine

Medalist
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Eteri Georgievna and Daniel Gleyhengauz have long been nurturing the idea of doing a "Swan Lake" program. This was first for Lipnitskaya.

A moment of silence please for what could have been.
 

Kara

Final Flight
Joined
Jun 13, 2017
Very interesting interview! Thank you for the translations. I love her work and I think she's one of the best designers currently.:) My faves are Evgenia's SP dress and Trusova's FS dress. She's a master at gradients.:love: I've disagreed with some of her design choices before for parts of her costumes, but it's clear she puts an immense amount of work and thought into every section. I'm also amazed at her ability to make them not feel too cluttered despite having a massive amount of details.
 

SmallAminal

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 26, 2016
well, Ryabenko was not the one =)
I`ll see if i can find anything on that subject, we need to know our "heroes"

Seriously, it looked like I could have sewn the costumes myself - get some cheap and tacky polka dot material...and a beginner's pattern from McCall's and away we go with the sewing machine. They should get their money back for that.

Please can Ryabenko make them next time????
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Seriously, it looked like I could have sewn the costumes myself - get some cheap and tacky polka dot material...and a beginner's pattern from McCall's and away we go with the sewing machine. They should get their money back for that.

Please can Ryabenko make them next time????

Well dunno, but since they are working with Trankov now, there is hope.
V/T had some pretty good costumes late in their career.
 

moriel

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Ok, sadly the hero is anonymous for now, cant seem to find who did that. Will let you folks know if i find out.

Meanwhile, another interview in translation ^^
 
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