Top 10 WORST Figure Skating Costumes at Time.com!

Johnny Weir at the 2006 Torino Olympics, skating to THE SWAN, dressed as a swan!

Johnny Weir at the 2006 Torino Olympics, skating to THE SWAN, dressed as a swan!

So many blog topics this week, and so little time! I was all set to blog about one topic, when I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the many costumes that our Minnesota high school dance teams were wearing at our State Tournament this last week. Such decisions!

But the Olympics are on-so many news and entertainment organizations are featuring stories related to these grand global games.

And then my husband exclaimed, a few nights ago, wondering if I had seen the list of 10 worst figure skating costumes.

If you are not aware, my husband is NOT from the world of fashion or costuming, or even from any artistic design media of any sort. He is an electrical ENGINEER. If any of you are familiar with engineers, you know that function far outweighs fashion, with anything they work with. So it is always a treat to get his take on fashions and costumes!

The article, posted Online at time.com is titled Culture Clash-The Top 10 Worst Figure-Skating Costumes.  It was compiled by William Lee Adams and posted on February 15, 2010.  It showcases the most outrageous costumes of the last 20 years. It is hysterical if you have an interest in costuming or even if you are an engineer!

My hubby-engineer was nearly hysterical about how outrageous these designs were. Of course I had to take a look!

You HAVE to take a look!
Each of the ten designs is showcased with a Youtube video, for you to see the costumes in action, in all their glory.

There is a lesson in this article. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Everyone is NOT a designer!

Do you wonder which of these unfortunate costumes were designed by the skaters, the coaches, the choreographers or sponsors?  Which were designed by a professional designer with or without the help of their client? I certainly am pondering.

And I am shaking my head, saying to myself-WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

I highly recommend that you ALWAYS consult with a trained, professional fashion designer to see if your ideas are a good idea. A little professional perspective can go a long way, so your team or solo dance costume does NOT end up in a 10 Worst Costumes list!

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tags Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Modern, Broadway, Ballroom, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Costume Design, Costumes (all tags)


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Time aint always right

Thanks for commenting on this, here is the link I believe you are talking about for anyone interested: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1964288_1964289,00.html

I actually am in total disagreement about Johnny Weir's Swan costume, I think it was a really cool transformation for a man's costume in what is typically a woman's role, and it read incredibly well as to what he's representing. Some made fun of the one red glove, but it worked so well with the choreography in all of the sit spins because it really did look like the head of a swan- GENUIS! I give major props to those who take risks (without getting tacky) rather than those who are totally boring and conservative with pain solid shirt/pant combos. I actually really appreciate Johnny Weir's sense of style, he makes vibrant costumes that read well, and always does interesting things with A-symmetry thats not often done with mens costumes.

Here is another link to some of the best and worst costumes as judged by Full Frontal Fashion, who probably know a little bit more about this than Time http://www.sundancechannel.com/fullfrontalfashion/blog/2010/02/mens-figure-skating-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

I thought Evan Lysacek's short program costume was awful and didnt look like "Fire Bird" at all, I dont care if it was designed by Vera Wang, those feathers sticking out at the wrist seemed unnatural and made him look more like a road kill crow. Plus he wore 2 nearly identical all black onesies  for both programs, they were nearly interchangable and didnt tell any kind of story.

Also this list is missing the biggest disaster of all, Ms Tonya Harding, shown here on the left http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2008/03/26/1206567054_0485.jpg

And some of the great costumes? Try Sasha Cohen as Juliet http://www.sasha-cohen.com/wp-content/gallery/sasha-cohen-pics/sasha-cohen-14.jpg Or Michelle Kwan http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2005/writers/em_swift/10/31/figure.skating/p1_kwan_1031.jpg

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