2018 Olympic Figure Skating: Fashion Review

Now that I've posted my histories of both male and female figure skating costumes, it's time for my analysis of this year's costumes! Below is my analysis of the looks worn by the top five scorers for ladies', men's, ice dancing, and pairs skaters.

Ladies Individual

Russian gold medalist Alina Zagitova wore a striking black-and-white ballerina style tutu dress for her short program, with long sleeves ending in gauntlets worn over gray gloves, and a jagged, asymmetrical neckline. She also wore convertible hose pulled down to partly cover her skates. The combination of the gloves and the covered skates emphasized her graceful extensions and long lines, and the balletic skirt also emphasized her grace and elegance. Her long program outfit also included a tulle tutu skirt, this time in vivid scarlet with gold beading. The dress itself was sleeveless and had invisible straps so as to appear strapless, and she paired it with elbow-length red gloves, also with gold beading. Although still elegant, it was a much sassier and sexier look, and served her well. 

Zagitova's win was considered an upset over her teammate, Evgenia Medvedeva, who was expected to win gold but came home with silver. In her short program, Medvedeva wore blue and white ombre dress with a flared chiffon skirt, long sleeves ending in gauntlets, and white spangles all over. Lovely, feminine, and the ruffle of the skirt as she moved across the ice showed her impressive power and speed. For her long program she opted for another chiffon dress, this one with a slimmer fit, in chocolate brown with burgundy and white flowers and matching wrist-length gloves. Like Zagitova, the two costumes provided a nice contrast of elegance and sass, mirroring the contrast of each skater's grace and power. 

Canadian bronze medalist Kaetlyn Osmond also opted for a fuller, flowier outfit for her short program and a sleeker, sexier, more-skin look for her long program. Osmond's short program dress was midnight blue chiffon with a beaded mock corset bodice and a skirt pulled shorter on one side, paired with a saucy neck scarf and short gloves. Her long program was a shoulder-baring black dress with silver trim reminiscent of ballet costumes, and a short, straight chiffon skirt, shorter in the front than the back, with slits on the sides. Two really great looks, both with lots of personality. 

Not quite making the podium, Japan's Satoko Miyahara took fourth place. Miyahara's short program dress was a very youthful pink dress with an asymmetrical skirt deepening to a bright bubble gum pink and long sheer sleeves, with plenty of silver spangles on the bodice. I found it a bit boring. Not so her dramatic silver to cobalt blue wrapped dress for the long program, with its asymmetrical bodice with a keyhole in front. It moved beautifully and looked striking on the ice. 

Italian Olympic veteran Carolina Costner placed a respectable fifth, sporting a sleeveless burgundy chiffon dress with flared skirt and ruffled v-neck for the short program and a sleek deep purple fitted dress with curved geometric cutouts across the front for her long program. Both striking looks, and both lovely with her skating style. 

Men's Individual

Fan favorite (especially with teenage girls) Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan made the most of his good looks in two outfits with sleek, fitted black pants and loose, light, long tops that made the most of his long lines. His short program look was a baggy ombre shirt that faded from white to deep blue, with gold detailing at the collar and matching gold-spangled belt, and his long program was a dramatic Asian military inspired tunic with gold detailing, a gold sash, black shoulder insets, and dramatic black gloves. This talented young man clearly knows how to work a wardrobe as well as he does a pair of skates and an audience. 

Hanyu's teammate, Shoma Uno, took silver, but his outfits were gold medal-worthy in my book. For his short skate, he wore a short silver jacket with jagged front and raised collar over a black unitard with a faux open chest - a real rockstar look. And for his long program, he opted for an elegant deep blue top, again with open chest, with sleeves that fit tightly over the shoulders and then belled out with chiffon to the wrist, with gold detailing, a kind of sexy pirate look. Another young man who uses good costuming and good looks to his advantage. 

Spain's Javier Fernandez moved up from his fourth-place finish in Sochi in 2014 to take home the bronze medal. His looks were reminiscent of earlier skaters, with his tailored velvet jacket over a white shirt and slim charcoal gray pants in the short program, and a loose muslin shirt with laced neck paired with plain black pants for his long program. Both looks were elegant, and while his long program outfit looked a bit dull at first glance, it suited his "Man of La Mancha" program perfectly and put the focus on his gorgeous skating, where it belongs. 

China's Jin Boyang came in fourth place, another skater who opted for less flashy costumes placing the focus on his skating rather than his clothes. For his short program, he wore an all-black costume with silver studding creating a subtle faux jacket, and for his long program he paired black pants with a loose black-to-gray ombre top with just a hint of spangles. Classic, if a bit bland. 

Nathan Chen of the US rounded out the top five in a somewhat disappointing finish, after struggling with repeated falls. Chen opted for sleek black-and-white looks for both his short and long programs, wearing black pants with a charcoal-gray top with one white sleeve for his short program and a solid black unitard with a white collar strip for the long program. The white sleeve didn't do his lines any favors, although the solid black unitard was elegant and showed off his impressive physique. 

Ice Dancing

Ice dancing has always included more dramatic costumes, very reminiscent of ballroom dancing, and gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada were no exception. Their short program look was black with silver scales, with Moir in a chest-baring top with scales across the shoulders, and Virtue in a long-sleeved dress with dramatically angled skirt, with black panels forming a bra on the bodice and a black panel in the skirt, and silver scales everywhere else. For their long-program, Virtue wore a daringly back-and-side-baring burgundy dress with thigh-high slit and sheer sleeves, which was somewhere mirrored by Moir's black shirt with sheer sleeves and sheer side panels. Daring and dramatic.

The most memorable thing about the French silver medalists, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, was her horrifying "wardrobe malfunction" during their short program, as the collar of her dress came unhooked during their performance. It was especially a shame, because her fringed nude and emerald green dress moved beautifully and had great lines for the Latin style, and was not overshadowed by his all-black outfit with plunging v-neck shirt. She must have been relieved at the relative modesty of her sheer blue chiffon dress for the free skate, its fluttery texture emphasizing both the skaters' grace and their speed. Her partner wore a similar style outfit to his short program, with deep blue pants matching her dress and a white wrap jersey with open chest and 3/4 sleeves. Subdued, but effective.

Siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani of the United States took home the bronze. For their short program, Maia wore a stunning pink and orange flame-inspired dress with a gold-starburst bodice and full short skirt, which I loved, and Alex wore black pants with a metallic simple gold collarless button-down shirt, which I liked. But the two together didn't work at all for me - there was no connection of color, silhouette, or style. However, their long program looks were terrific individually and together, with her in a deep red plunging halter dress with flowing skirt and just a hint of black accents, and him in black pants and a red-and-black jersey. A much more successful look for them. 

Just missing the podium were the Shibutanis' teammates, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. both of their outfits were impeccable. For their short program, Hubbell wore a single-sleeved, back-and-side-baring lavender and purple dress with a skirt that angled from hip to calf, and Donohue a solid black outfit with bare chest and just a hint of silver spangles. For their long program, Donohue wore a short formal black jacket (complete with white pocket square) with black tuxedo pants and a plain white dress shirt open at the neck, and Hubbell wore a plunging black dress with lots of silver art deco detailing and a short, scalloped skirt that was a hair longer in back. Terrific looks all around. 

Russian skaters Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev placed fifth. Their short program outfits were eye-catching, with her in a fringed cobalt blue thigh-length dress with metallic detailing and him in solid black with an open shirt. Their long program looks were less successful for me, with him in an open-necked white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves under a gray double-breasted vest paired with black pants, and her in a pretty but not terribly memorable burgundy and white chiffon dress. Not a bad look, but lacking pizzazz.

Pairs

Compare Bobrova and Soloviev's long program outfits to pairs gold medalists Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany's short program outfits. Massot is also wearing a white dress shirt with rolled sleeves paired with black pants and a gray dress vest, but the little pop of red in his bow tie provides so much more personality, and despite the lack of any bright color in Savchenko's fringed silver dress, it has so much more life and movement to it than Bobrova's dress - yet it would still be perfectly appropriate for an ice dancing routine. Savchenko and Massot also looked fabulous in tehir long program, with his dark to pale purple ombre shirt mirroring her purple to white ombre dress, with its narrow white belt, front bodice slit, and short straight chiffon skirt. Clean, simple lines, but enough details for some visual interest. Well done. 

Silver medalists Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China proved that your outfits don't need to be matchy-matchy to work together. For their short program, Cong wore all black with an elaborate silver studded pattern (perhaps an eagle or phoenix?) on his shirt, which tied in just enough to Wenjing's plunging, deep burgundy dress with short skirt and lots of silver embellishments. Their long program outfits were a nod to their homeland, with Cong again in black, this time with a large silver dragon on the back of his shirt, and Wenjing in true red with a wrap-style dress with silver embellishments and a full, flared skirt. Just flashy enough without being too much. 

Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford took home the bronze medal for their skating, but my personal gold medal for fashion. They made the matchy-matchy look work in their short program by both wearing midnight blue, with just a hint of sliver studding on Radford's shirt to pull it together with Duhamel's partly-sheer bodice with silver studding and short fluttery skirt. For their long program, Duhamel wore an absolutely stunning loose chiffon halter with turquoise and white embellishments along the top of the bodice, and Radford wore a chiffon shirt with sheer sleeves in an identical fabric. Just terrific looks. 

Fourth-place finishers Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia wore two completely different yet totally striking looks for their two programs. For their short program, they wore black bases wrapped with blood-red ribbons, creating gorgeous lines for their spins and lifts. For their long program, Morozov wore all black except for a yellow and black polka-dotted necktie to match Tarasova's strapless polka dot dress with a few accents in reverse yellow-on-black polka dots. The look hovered on the edge of being obnoxious, but stopped just short. 

And finally, rounding out both this category and this blog entry, we have France's Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, who would look fierce skating in matching paper bags. For their short program, Cipres wore a long belted black jacket over a sheer black tank with a single cobalt-blue strap across the chest, and James wore a belted cobalt blue dress with lacing down the front and revealing side panels with spangled criss-cross straps. But it was their daring look for the free skate that earned them about a billion bonus points from me, as they broke with tradition with James wearing a black halter unitard with plunging front and criss-cross straps along the v-neck, and Cipres in a similar silhouette of black and charcoal gray. It showed off how incredibly muscular both male and female skaters are, and I absolutely loved it. Leave it to the French to bring haute couture to the ice rink!

Winter Olympics Theme Songs

For some reason, the summer Olympics often have spectacular theme songs. John Williams penned one of the most glorious - and most well-recognized - Olympic themes in his "Olympic Fanfare and Theme," written for the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

In the pop music realm, Gloria Estefan's beautiful "Reach" was a memorable theme for the 1996 Atlanta Games, sung at the closing ceremony.

And who could forget Whitney Houston's moving "One Moment in Time" at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul?

But for some reason, the Winter Games seem to be devoid of such memorable music. They do still have music, but for some reason the Winter Olympics have never produced the enduring hits that the Summer Games have. Let's look back over some of the Winter Olympics themes that just, for whatever reason, never became well known.

2018 PyeongChang, Torch Relay Theme Song, "Let Everyone Shine"
Written by Sookyung Kim and Kyungjin Ahn
Performed by Insooni

This year's theme song, which was sung in both Korean and English during the final legs of the Olympic torch relay, was lovely and meaningful. The lyrics evoked not only the symbolism of the Olympic torch, but spoke of the Olympics' greater purpose of uniting the world (with a clear implication of hope for peace between the Koreas), stating in part:

All of us gathered here, share one dream
It is the moment to rise again, and follow the flame
With a shining dream deep inside of you
Together we can move forward one step at a time
When all our dreams come together
And shine as one bright flame
Let everyone shine
Let everyone shine and shine
Lighting up every corner of the world

Time will tell if this song sticks around, but at least here in the US, I don't expect it to become popular.


2014 Sochi Official Theme Song, "Reach for the Top"
Performed by Dima Bilan and Julia Savicheva

This song has a very dated feel to it, with its pulsing beat and rapping. Peppy rather than dramatic, as most pop singers seem to aim for when chosen to write music for the Olympics, it probably created a great feeling in the arena when performed live, but the recording lost something when the energy of the moment was gone.


2010 Vancouver Opening Ceremony, "Bang the Drum"
Written by Bryan Adams
Performed by Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado

The song had a good beat but not a particularly memorable melody, and the lyrics were pretty insipid:

You and I
Together we reach for the sky
It's not about winning
It's all about playing the game
From the east
From the west
Each of us trying our best
Chasing a dream
Burning to follow the flame

Like the Sochi theme, it was probably great when performed live but didn't have the same oomph in a recording.


2006 Torino Closing Theme, "Because We Believe"
Written by Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, and Amy Foster
Performed by Andrea Bocelli

Performed in both Italian and English at the Games, Bocelli also recorded an Italian-only version, entitled "Ama Credi E Vai". He also later recorded several duet versions, including a version in Dutch, English, and Italian with Dutch pop singer Marco Borsato, and an all-Italian version with Italian rocker Gianna Nannini. The song spent only 1 week on the pop charts in the US (at #39), although the Dutch and Italian versions spent time on their respective country's pop charts, topping out at #1 and #9, respectively.


2002 Salt Lake City Opening Theme, "Call of the Champions"
Written by John Williams
Performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony Orchestra

Sweeping and majestic as are most Williams themes, for some reason this piece was less successful than his other Olympic music. (Incidentally, it is the only piece he wrote for a Winter Olympics. Coincidence? I think not.) Its lyrics are the Latin Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius," which translates as, "Faster, Higher, Stronger." Despite a melodic brass fanfare after the opening vocals, it sounds more like background music than something meant to be listened to for its own value. It would be great as a soundtrack for a documentary on the Olympics (preferably narrated by Morgan Freeman, who should always have the Mormon Tabernacle choir singing "ahs" in the background when he speaks), but it's kind of boring on its own.

1998 Nagano Games, "Ode to Joy"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by the Winter Olympic Orchestra with six choral ensembles

Although obviously not a piece written specifically for the Olympics, this rendition of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" was groundbreaking in that it involved not only an orchestra (composed of musicians from 27 orchestras all over the world), a chorus, and 8 soloists under the baton of Seiji Ozawa inside the stadium, but five additional choruses throughout the world (Australia, China, Germany, South Africa, and the United States) joining in via satellite link. Musically and technologically stunning.


1994 Lillehammer Olympic Hymn, "Hymne Olympique"
Written by Spyridon Samaras, original Greek lyrics by Kostis Palamas
Performed by Sissel Kyrkjebo and Children's Chorus

Like Nagano, Lillehammer didn't seem to have much for original music or a specific theme. But this lovely rendition of the Olympic Hymn, translated into Norwegian and performed by Norwegian opera and pop crossover artist Sissel Kyrkjebo with a children's choir, was a memorable part of very memorable Opening and Closing Ceremonies.


1988 Calgary Winter Games Official Theme, "Winter Games/Can't You Feel It"
Written by David Foster
Performed by David Foster

Foster actually wrote two pieces for the Olympics: the above instrumental, entitled "Winter Games," which Foster performed himself, and a vocal counterpoint entitled, "Can't You Feel It" which was sung at the Games by multiple vocalists including Gordon Lightfoot and Ian Tyson. I bet you recognized this music from the very first chords!


1984 Sarajevo Opening Ceremony, "Just a Dream Away"
Written by Michael Miller and Monica Riordan
Performed by John Denver

The lyrical ballad is not typical John Denver style, but his simple delivery and clear voice bring out all the poignancy of the lyrics. Had it been written a few years later, it would likely have turned into a power ballad with some pop star belting out glory notes all over the place, but Denver lets the song be the star. It's a shame this one didn't make it.


1980 Lake Placid Olympics, ABC's Official Olympic Theme Song, "Give It All You Got"
Written and Performed by Chuck Mangione

ABC used Mangione's music for their broadcast of the 1976 summer games and asked him to write a song specifically for the 1980 Winter Games. Mangione performed the song live at the Closing Ceremony. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1981, but lost out to John Williams' score to "The Empire Strikes Back." I would say this song qualifies as one of the few lasting hits on this list.


It's quite difficult to find records of music used for the Winter Olympics prior to 1980, but I did find this song from the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games, along with some other interesting information on why the 1960 Games marked a real turning point in how the ceremonies were designed from that time forward.

1960 Squaw Valley Opening Ceremony, "The Parade of the Olympians"
Performed by the United States Marine Band

The story of how the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1960 Squaw Valley Games were designed and executed is a fascinating one, which you can read about here. The short version is that Walt Disney served as the "Pageantry Chairman" for the Games - in fact, this was the beginning of the modern pageantry of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Snow sculptures, the release of live doves (or at least live homing pigeons, who served as stunt doubles for the more delicate doves, lest the doves freeze to death before finding their way to warmer climes), the involvement of child performers, and an enormous upping of the entertainment value of both the opening and closing ceremonies all kicked off a new era for the level of pageantry at the Olympics.

Easy (But Not Quick) French Onion Soup

My husband and I both love French onion soup. We order it often at restaurants (well, unless lobster bisque is on the menu). And I love to make soup. So it's a little surprising that I've never tried making French onion soup at home.

Until today.

Much like risotto, French onion soup is not a difficult recipe, but it is a time-consuming one. It doesn't require any fancy techniques, but there's a lot of stirring for a long time. The results are definitely worth it, though! Here is a step-by-step walk through, but you can scroll down for a brief recipe. I cut the original recipe in half, so it makes 4 servings, but you can double it if you have a large family or if you're cooking for company. I happen to have made beef stock for the first time yesterday, so I used homemade stock, but you can certainly use canned beef stock or reconstituted bouillon.

First, thinly slice 2-3 large yellow (or red) onions, enough to make about 5 cups.

 

In a good-sized stockpot, heat about 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. I happened to have beef fat saved from making my stock, so I used that instead, just for some additional "beefiness."

 

Toss in the onions and stir to coat in the oil and break them up. Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Be sure to scoop up the ones on the bottom so all the onions land on the bottom of the pot at some point. This will soften them and decrease their volume, but you should only see a tiny bit of browning at this point. Don't worry if some of the onions are still in a ring shape; they'll fall apart during the next stage.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add another tablespoon of olive oil plus a tablespoon of butter. Cook for another 15 minutes, still stirring frequently, until the onions really start to brown.

  

(At the beginning of this step and at the end - you'll see lots of browned bits but
not a uniform golden brown yet)

Sprinkle the onions with half a teaspoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt and continue to cook for 10-15 more minutes, until nicely browned. It's a good idea to stir a bit more frequently at this step, to make sure everything is browning evenly. Plus, that pot smells heavenly!

 

Once all the onions are uniformly golden, mince a clove of garlic and add it to the pot, stirring and cooking for another minute or so.

Add 1/4 cup dry vermouth and deglaze the pan, scraping the sides and the bottom to remove all the browned bits. You can also use dry white wine, but I think the vermouth adds a nice depth of flavor.

Stir in 4 cups of beef stock and add a bay leaf and 2 teaspoons of dried thyme (or a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme). Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the upper third of the oven.

Slice a loaf of French bread into 1-inch thick slices and lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. (I found that using my fingers was easier than using a pastry brush.) Toast in oven until lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. (7 minutes was just perfect for me.) The recipe calls for 4 slices, but I had large shallow bowls instead of deep crocks, so I made 6 slices and used some extra Gruyere.

While it's browning, shred 3/4 cups Gruyere. I used not quite half of a 7-ounce block and got more like a full cup, so 3 ounces should be just about right.

Remove the toasted bread from the oven, turn over, and sprinkle with the Gruyere and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmesan. Press down the Gruyere to keep it in place. Set aside (leaving the oven on) until soup is nearly ready for serving.

When the soup has finished simmering, season to taste with salt and pepper and discard the bay leaf. I added about 3/4 teaspoon of salt, but my broth was unsalted, so be careful to taste as you add. Add a tablespoon of brandy if you want to get fancy. I didn't bother this time, but I think with store bought broth or bouillon that hint of richness from the brandy would be nice.

Return the cheese-covered bread to the oven and bake until bubbly and lightly browned. I realized after the fact that I had forgotten to add the Parmesan, so I just sprinkled it on top of the melted Gruyere as soon as it came out of the oven and it melted by the time I served the soup.

Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and top each with a slice (or two, or three) of the bread.

Bon appetit!


COMPLETE RECIPE:

2-3 large yellow or red onions, sliced thinly (about 2 pounds, or 5 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups beef stock (or beef bouillon)
1/4 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried thyme (or a few springs of fresh thyme)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon brandy (optional)
4 1-inch thick slices of French bread or baguette
3/4 cup shredded Gruyere
grated (or shredded) Parmesan

In a large stockpot, heat about 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium, then add the sliced onions and stir to break apart and coat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Increase heat to medium-high and add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring often, until onions start to brown. Sprinkle with the sugar and 1 teaspoon salt and continue to cook until uniformly well-browned, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute. Add the vermouth and deglaze the pan, scraping up and browned bits. Add the beef stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, preheat oven to 450 degrees with an oven rack in the top third of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil and lay the bread slices in a single layer. Brush with olive oil on both sides. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with shredded Gruyere, pressing down slightly to keep the cheese in place. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Leave oven on.

When the soup is finished simmering, remove the bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste, and brandy, if desired. Ladle into individual serving bowls. Return the cheesy bread to the oven for 3-4 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden. Float slices on bowls and serve.