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
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".