Cool couture

If anyone knows how to make a statement, it’s Canadian Olympian Deanna Stellato-Dudek.

Not only did the 42-year-old make history in February as the oldest female figure skater to compete at the Olympic Games in almost a century, Oscar de la Renta dressed her for the occasion — in Milan, Italy, one of the great fashion capitals of the world.

“I think a partnership between haute couture and figure skating is a match made in heaven,” says Stellato-Dudek, who won three Canadian titles and the 2024 world championship with pairs partner Maxime Deschamps.

Her collaboration with the New York fashion house marked the luxury brand’s first foray into figure skating costume design.

Runway designers such as Vera Wang, Roberto Cavalli and Christian Lacroix have dressed singles skaters for the Olympic stage in the past, but Oscar de la Renta crossed a new bridge with its venture into pairs skating.

This week, Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps will make their debut in Winnipeg as sophomore performers on the venerable Stars on Ice tour. The show, directed by legend Kurt Browning, returns to Canada Life Centre on Wednesday after a three-year absence from the city.

Featuring ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Canada’s newly minted Olympic bronze medallists, and the age-defying Elvis Stojko, the Stars tour will make 13 stops across Canada.

Stellato-Dudek’s haute couture quest speaks to her status as a fearless trailblazer with a penchant for innovation.

“Part of the reason I did this was because Max and I, throughout our career, have been trying to innovate and create originality with what we’re doing,” say the tenacious athlete, who became the first to perform an assisted backflip in competition last fall.

Her frozen runway looks from the de la Renta atelier included a shimmery champagne-coloured frock awash in hand-sewn gold bugle beads and crystals for their Carmina Burana program.

For their flamenco-inspired routine, Stellato-Dudek rocked a boldly scarlet, one-shouldered dress with flower appliqué at the neckline and beads cascading down the skirt.

“Hopefully, other designers can take notice and there’ll be more partnerships going forward with all athletes from all different countries, as well as potential sponsorships for (national sports) federations and the International Skating Union.” Stellato-Dudek says ahead of her arrival in Winnipeg.

Deschamps’ complementary looks were created by Montreal-based Elite Xpressions, the pair’s longtime costume designers, who also created their outfits for Stars.

“We were lucky to have both of the design houses’ support in this. It was definitely a team effort between the two,” Stellato-Dudek said.

She hopes that alliance will also open doors for collaborations that marry the experience of figure-skating-savvy ateliers like Elite Xpressions with the avant-garde approach of haute couture designers.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps, who finished 11th at the Milan Games, are performing two new programs on tour: one is a limbo-twist mash-up; the other is set to ’60s R&B hit When a Man Loves a Woman. The plaintive Percy Sledge ballad was the soundtrack for an iconic routine that fellow Canadian world champions Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini performed on Stars in the 1990s.

Gilles and Poirier also have an unexpected treat in store for Stars on Ice fans. The duo reprised their celebrated Olympic programs — Supermodel and Vincent — for their sixth tour, complete with their head-turning costuming conceived by Toronto designers Bobby and Sally Ackbarali.

Skating to Govardo’s cover of the Don McLean classic Vincent, Gilles and Poirier’s costumes bring the swirling sky of Van Gogh’s masterpiece The Starry Night to the ice.

A friend of the Ackbaralis airbrushed his adaptation of the 19th-century artist’s artwork onto the bodice and gossamer skirt of Gilles’ dress. Blue, gold and silver beading animates the painting’s distinctive brush strokes.

“The first time I saw the dress, it took my breath away. Usually, an artist has a vision in their head and you just have to let them do it. That was kind of one of those moments,” said Gilles who, with Poirier, took the Turin audience’s breath away with their heartfelt storytelling woven into a technically flawless Olympic Games performance.

The Ackbaralis, who made their mark costuming competitive ballroom dancers and pageant contestants, have dressed Gilles and Poirier for years. Poirier’s tops are crafted to ensure a cohesive look. His billowy, beaded, sapphire-coloured shirt with Starry Night-embellished cuffs is testament to that.

The ice dancers’ versatility and that of their designers is on full display with the duo’s delightfully kitschy romp to RuPaul’s Supermodel and I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred. The routine screams “camp,” with Gillis attired in a sassily short-skirted, crystal-laden dress, while Poirier struts unapologetically in a black-mesh tank top dripping with sparkly stones.

“I saw video (of Supermodel) from last night’s Stars on Ice and I look like I’m a glowing Christmas tree, a disco ball,” exclaims Gilles, a former fashion and interior design student now channelling her talents into keynote speaking and acting.

“Every ounce of me looks like it’s alive. It’s wild.”

arts@freepress.mb.ca