Saturday, February 18, 2006
But what would it be without the glitz?
Here's a great AP story about the costuming mayhem that seems to get more and more out of control every year in the world of ice figure skating. I can barely stand to watch ice dancing (sorry, fans) because it reminds me SO much of watching ballroom dancing, which is akin to watching extremely overbred dogs trotting around in the Westminster Kennel show. Now, some of those dogs are beautiful, and boy, do they have LINE, but, I mean, really, are they dogs, or are they some kind of narrowly specialized mutant breed?
Now, ice dancing can be fun if you can manage to keep your eyes only on the skaters' feet. The intricate steps they do are exhilarating in close-up, and when you pay attention to the feet, you can easily see the disparity in edge and proximity between the favorites and the challengers. But from the feet up, they all look the same: basically, like Las Vegas showgirls--both the women and the men, and both in affect and aspect. As far as anything artistic goes, the sport tapered off and finally died after Torvill and Dean left the stage, and the costumes followed the choreography taste level straight down the tubes. Even the costumes for the Gold Skate Classic, a roller skating showmanship competition that used to be held in Bakersfield,CA, were better than the repulsively tasteless concoctions one is forced to see in the ice dancing competition these days.
I didn't watch the compulsory dance last night, but here's my favorite line from the article I've already linked to: "...there are no words to adequately describe how hideous Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio's black, gold and neon orange costumes were." They've always been the biggest fashion offenders, along with my poster boy for the day, Stephane Lambiel, and it looks like this year, they'll take those palettes, rhinestones and fluttering tatters straight over the top. I'm bound to watch the rest of the competition because I love the sport, but you can bet I'll be gnashing my teeth over some of the outfits--and trying to keep my eyes on their feet.
Categories: Torino, Olympics, skating, fashion
Now, ice dancing can be fun if you can manage to keep your eyes only on the skaters' feet. The intricate steps they do are exhilarating in close-up, and when you pay attention to the feet, you can easily see the disparity in edge and proximity between the favorites and the challengers. But from the feet up, they all look the same: basically, like Las Vegas showgirls--both the women and the men, and both in affect and aspect. As far as anything artistic goes, the sport tapered off and finally died after Torvill and Dean left the stage, and the costumes followed the choreography taste level straight down the tubes. Even the costumes for the Gold Skate Classic, a roller skating showmanship competition that used to be held in Bakersfield,CA, were better than the repulsively tasteless concoctions one is forced to see in the ice dancing competition these days.
I didn't watch the compulsory dance last night, but here's my favorite line from the article I've already linked to: "...there are no words to adequately describe how hideous Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio's black, gold and neon orange costumes were." They've always been the biggest fashion offenders, along with my poster boy for the day, Stephane Lambiel, and it looks like this year, they'll take those palettes, rhinestones and fluttering tatters straight over the top. I'm bound to watch the rest of the competition because I love the sport, but you can bet I'll be gnashing my teeth over some of the outfits--and trying to keep my eyes on their feet.
Categories: Torino, Olympics, skating, fashion
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Fusar-Poli & Margaglio's costumes were bad, but not as bad as Denkova & Staviski's. They were breathtaking in their hideousness!
On Olympic Ice the following day, Dick Button mentioned rule #512 for the ice dancers which requires costuming not using too much of the nude material. Well all of the costumes pretty much make the women look trampy. I for one would like to see rule #512 enforced so it will be much easier to pay attention to the dance and not be overwhelmed by bizarre costumes.
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On Olympic Ice the following day, Dick Button mentioned rule #512 for the ice dancers which requires costuming not using too much of the nude material. Well all of the costumes pretty much make the women look trampy. I for one would like to see rule #512 enforced so it will be much easier to pay attention to the dance and not be overwhelmed by bizarre costumes.
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