Grand Prix Figure Skating Costumes: Nick Fashion Police

Grand Prix Figure Skating "red carpet"...Another Project Runway Figure Skating Costume Challenge? The Medal Portrait from Cup of Russia, ISU Grand Prix

Over the weekend, the ISU Grand Prix Finals were held in Tokyo, Japan. As a fan of figure skating of course, I was watching all weekend! Besides the amazing athleticism and beautiful artistry, naturally, I was looking at the costumes. Here are my Highlights from the Grand Prix Finals--it's like a mini version of my "red carpet" review--figure skating style!

Best Cleopatra Diva:At this weekend's ISU Grand Prix Finals, Japan's Miki Ando, finished the competition in 2nd place. But for me, she came in FIRST, when it came to style. She skated to Highlights from "Marco Polo" Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, "Rome" by Jeff Beal, and "Mission Cleopatra from Asterix and Obelix" Soundtrack by Philippe Chany. As a result, her costume was very Nubian Princess if John Galliano had been commissioned to design it. Turquoise blue, bejeweled neckline, gold and crystals galore. She even wore a headpiece worthy of Tutankhamun! It was definitely my favorite.

The Classic Costume Award Goes To:
Kim Yu-Na (also goes by Yu-Na Kim), from South Korea. She is the reigning Ice Princess and after winning the Gold at the GP Finals and the 2009 World Championships she is the one to beat at the 2010 Olympics . After seeing Miki Ando's costume, everything else was a yawn for me, but I must give "pretty points" to Kim Yu-Na for wearing something that was classic and elegant. Again, it was in the turquoise/royal blue color and featured a high jeweled neckline and back detail mimicking crystal back-straps. Pretty as pretty can be.

I Was On The Fence about...American Ashley Wagner's costume for her Grand Prix Free Skate. The color was muted and not as exciting as Miki or Kim's and it featured a lot of re-embroidered lace with crystals. It looked almost as if she had extra of that embroidered lace and then made a headpiece out of it. It wasn't so much the lace and the over-use of it but more the color. It lacked a "wow" factor, especially when placed next to the above girls.

And Now The MenWith male figure skaters , you either get the ones who "Queen Out" when it comes to their costumes or the ones who want to just look as if they are meeting their girlfriend's parents for the first time. Safe and oh-so boring. On the safe route, Japanese Figure Skater Nobunari Oda did a "Charlie Chaplin" rendition for his Free Skate and therefore his costume reflected this: Shrunken jacket, pleated pants and bow tie. No frills, no nothing. Then again, that WAS Charlie Chaplin's "look". But as a designer and knowing that for "stage and performance" you need to turn it up a notch, I felt his costume was lacking something. It just needed a Swarovski crystal studded lapel on his jacket or a sequined tie. Or just a small red rose lapel boutonniere. Nobunari has "queened out" before (with his costumes) so maybe his people just felt that this time, he would keep it simple.

On the Other Hand...We can always count on Japanese Figure Skater Daiksuke Takahashi for some glam. And he delivered. He's like the Adam Lambert of Male Figure Skaters when it comes to his costumes and I, for one, love it. For the Grand Prix Finals, he wore a fitted cropped jacket, black and white checkered neckscarf and sleeve accents, and a crystal-studded "vest". Sometimes his fabric and color combinations make you scratch your head in wonderment, but at least it gets your attention. I'm all for it, keep doing it Daiksuke!

Then there's cutie Evan...Vera Wang and Evan Lysacek

Evan Lysacek is one of those male figure skating "hearthrobs". He is a Poster Boy in the skating world and he is the perfect blend between athleticism and artistry and this is definitely reflected in his costumes. For this Grand Prix round, he collaborated with designer Vera Wang. Wang, better known for her $20,000 wedding gowns, is also famous for designing Michelle Kwan's iconic figure skating costumes (as well as Nancy Kerrigan). She's at it again with Evan. For his early Grand Prix Free Skate performances, he wore a stunning Wang-designed black costume which focused on a very unusual top: It had sequined shoulder details with feathers and (wait for it), a see-through black mesh torso inset which showed every ripple of his six-pack abs and defined chest. Crazy I know. But it was hot! Go Vera and go Evan.
Which One Do You Like: Shoulder Feathers and Torso Mesh or Snake Neck-Charm?

Unfortunately, someone must have thought it was too risque because, over the weekend, he changed his costume--or at least the top. The mesh was gone and so were the shoulder feathers. The crystals stayed but in place of the see-through ab-defining mesh was a sequined snake swirling around his neck. I liked the first top better, I have to say. Maybe it will make another appearance in the future, who knows?
Until Next Time Kiddies. Nick Verreos Figure Skating Costume Watcher, signing off.

Click Below for Miki Ando's "Cleopatra Meets Rome" Free Skate at ISU Grand Prix Finals:

Nick Verreos Attends the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles

How I became a Superfan of Figure Skating: Golden Girl: Republic of Korea's Yu-Na Kim wins the 2009 Ladies Figure Skating Championship (photo courtesy of Johnny Nicoloro)

Last week, the all-important "Academy Awards" of Figure Skating Competitions--the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2009--came to the Los Angeles STAPLES Center. The US and South African Pairs Team Is: Nick Verreos and Kara Janx, Season 2 Project Runway

Now, as many of you Project Runway fans may know (there are some of you still out there?) that back in Season 2, we were asked to design a costume for Olympic Figure Skater Sasha Cohen for the 7Th week of the show. The episode was aptly titled "On Thin Ice". Well kiddies, I was the ONLY one who even knew who Sasha Cohen was and acted like a thirteen year old girl meeting the Jonas Brothers when she was introduced to us (as well as what the challenge would be) . Not For Sasha Cohen: Nick Verreos' design for "On Thin Ice" episode, Project Runway Season 2

In short, I "came out of the closet" as being a fan of Figure Skating on Cable TV. To be honest, I was exposed to the sport by my partner and NIKOLAKI co-designer, David Paul, who is the REAL fan. So much so, that when David and his friend found out that the Championships were coming to LA, they each bought an entire WEEK'S PASS--to ALL the events! Needless to say, I didn't do that. He's SUPERFAN, I'm just a fan and a respectful TV watcher of the sport--oh and I REALLY love seeing those sometimes-wacky costumes!Superfan: NIKOLAKI co-designer David Paul, watching the practice sessions (photo courtesy of Johnny Nicoloro)

The entire week passed by and David was gone from 9 AM until 11 PM, almost living at the STAPLES Center, while I tended to NIKOLAKI and various other events and duties I had during the week. Saturday came and I had enough: After 6 days of listening to him in the evening go on and on about how AMAZING the Championships were, I caught the bug!Stand Out In A Crowd: Nick Verreos at the Staples Center

I went ahead and spent $200 and put my jacket and scarf on and got myself to the STAPLES Center to see the all-important Ladies Final Figure Skating Championship. My seat was fabulous (it should be for that price!) and it was near David and his skating buddies but I was by myself. A Fan With Taste: Renee Klish, the Army Art Curator for the US Army Center of Military History in Washington DC, poses with Nick Verreos at the STAPLES Center, World Figure Skating Championships

I was sandwiched between two lovely ladies who promptly schooled me with the "who, what and how" of the Ladies Final Championship skaters. Little did they know that I was already "up to speed" with fifteen years of watching figure skating on TV--heck I was even sent to Italy back in 2006 for the Torino Olympics to comment for NBC on the Ladies Figure Skating Costumes!
Miss Universe Parade of Nations: The top three skaters display their pride in front of the World's press

The Championships were AMAZING! I cannot lie. It was such a treat after years and years of seeing it on TV to be there, LIVE, watching it all happen . The Ladies Final Championship lasted about 6 hours (yep, all you see is about 2 hours of it on TV, when they get to the top 6 skaters at the end). The top Gold Medal Prize went to South Korea's Yu-Na Kim for her gorgeous and athletic performance. She did so many triples (triple jumps), she almost made me dizzy. The sold-out STAPLES crowd went CRAZY when she won. You'd think that half of South Korea was in attendance from the roar of the crowd and the flags that were being waved. Oh Canada, Oh Canada: Canada's Joannie Rochette at the World Figure Skating Championships ( photo courtesy of Johnny Nicoloro)

The First Runner Up, or Silver medal, went to one of my favorites, Canada's Joannie Rochette. I just love her. Don't know why, I just do. She reminds me of the "old school" Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen skaters. Lots of grace, beauty and artistry, which tends to be missing from the sport because it is now so heavily concentrated on athleticism and those all-important jumps. By the way, half of Canada WAS at the Staples cheering her on, as she won the Silver. Japan's Miki Ando "turns it out!" at the World's Figure Sakting Championships (photo courtesy of Johnny Nicoloro)

Finally Japan's Miki Ando received the Bronze, or Third Prize. Our American contenders didn't fare so well, but my favorite and the top US skater, Rachael Flatt, was incredible and in fact received a standing ovation for her performance. Rachael ended in fifth place, which was amazing for her considering she's only 16 years old and this was her first World Championship (more on Rachael at the end of this posting--wait for it!).Lyrical Ingenue: Sixteen Year Old Rachael Flatt: Fifth at the World Figure Skating Championships (photo courtesy of Johnny Nicoloro)

I was curiously drawn to her asymmetrical bodice red beaded Guipure Lace costume because the top portion silhouette reminded me so much of the design I did for Sasha Cohen on Season 2 Project Runway.
The Medal Ceremony: Kristi Yamaguchi is on the far left of the photo

A Medal Ceremony (which they don't show on TV unfortunately) soon followed, in which figure skating icon, Kristi Yamaguchi was on hand to present . Kristi, by the way, looked FABULOUS; her Dancing With The Stars body was in tip-top shape. After the Championships ended, I made my way to the lobby to find David and his friends, and before you could say "Michelle Kwan", I was surrounded with what seemed like 50 thirteen year old girls and their doting Mom's! They were all asking to take a photo and have me sign their booklets. I wondered if they were confused and thought that somehow I was a Figure Skater.
"I'm Not a Figure Skater from Greece!": Nick Verreos signs autographs and poses for photos at the Staples Center

In fact, I told the first photo-and-autograph seekers "Ummm, you know I'm not some famous figure skater right?" in embarrassment. They quickly responded with "Oh no, we know, you're Nick from Project Runway!!!!!" Well, I had no idea that Figure Skating Fans=Project Runway Fans. But now I do.
Now here's that "wait for it" moment: As I finally made it out the STAPLES Center, a woman with a couple of beautiful young girls came running up to me holding a phone: "Nick Nick!! Rachael Flatt (the 16 year old US skater) is on the phone and she LOVES you and wants to say 'Hi' !!". Then shortly after, her father introduces himself, telling me that they were big fans of the show and would love it if someday I would design Rachael's competition costume. Wow, I could not believe it! (neither could David). So we'll see. Maybe Rachael Flatt might be wearing a "Nick Verreos Original" when you see her at the Olympics next year.
Oh and you know that part about me not really being a "SUPERFAN". I am now.

Click Below for a video of the Medal Ceremony and the National Anthem of the Republic of Korea: