For Mariia Ignateva, costume design has by no means been separate from skating — it has all the time been a part of the efficiency. Lengthy earlier than representing Hungary internationally, Ignateva was sketching attire as a baby, impressed by the costumes she wore on the ice and inspired by her household’s creativity and a spotlight to element. Over time, that keenness grew into one thing greater than a passion. On this interview, Ignateva discusses balancing coaching (with companion Danijil Szemko), college research, and costume design whereas providing an inside have a look at her artistic course of.
I first grew to become fascinated by costume design via skating itself. Once I was a child, my mother all the time drew costume designs for me and fairly often we did it collectively. Generally, my mother and father have been all the time so passionate into the creation of my costumes. For them, my look on the ice was a very necessary factor. As I keep in mind, I used to be drawing all my life and I additionally went to a drawing college once I was 4 years outdated. Unusually sufficient, my drawings have all the time been related to vogue and delightful attire. Let’s say that ever since childhood, I’ve all the time drawn plenty of sketches for myself, and I by no means imagined that sooner or later I might flip it into one thing so significant and thrilling.
Did you may have any formal coaching?
I’m principally self-taught. Loads of what I’ve realized got here from experimenting, finding out vogue and efficiency costumes, and understanding what works virtually for skaters. Naturally, plenty of it comes from my very own expertise and visible inspiration. Throughout costume fittings, I all the time paid shut consideration to the small print and methods behind creating a dressing up. We additionally used to work with a designer who sketched our costumes, and that impressed me so much. Within the final yr of working with a designer, I began making many changes on my own and drawing the small print and shapes that I needed to have. Finally, I made a decision to begin designing by myself.
Loads of issues didn’t work at first, and naturally, there are nonetheless issues I’m studying. I’ve taken totally different on-line vogue design programs and watched plenty of YouTube movies, as a result of proper now I don’t actually have time to attend offline programs or research at a vogue college. Nevertheless it’s undoubtedly one thing I need to pursue professionally sooner or later, after I end college.(In the mean time, I’m finding out journalism on the college.)
How would you describe your design fashion?
I’d describe my fashion as elegant, detailed, and performance-focused. I like creating costumes that really feel distinctive however nonetheless improve the motion and music. I actually love daring seems, assertion particulars and weird varieties and cuts. I’m obsessive about shiny colours, contrasts, and weird materials — for instance, my purple latex costume for this season’s rhythm dance. I additionally love equipment like bracelets and chokers. I need a costume to instantly seize consideration the second a skater steps onto the ice.
As for my private fashion, I can’t give a particular reply but as a result of I’m nonetheless exploring and creating it. Even when I design one thing that feels very “me,” it doesn’t essentially imply the skater will prefer it, so I all the time attempt to comply with the athlete’s imaginative and prescient and desires. However once I create costumes for our workforce, I actually attempt to make them distinctive, daring, and something however strange. I like how a dressing up can utterly rework a efficiency and assist inform a narrative on the ice.
What does your course of appear to be while you’re juggling coaching, competitions, and design deadlines?
Throughout the season, I often don’t take many orders, so I draw principally once I really feel impressed or just need to chill out. I can sketch between coaching periods, on a airplane, or in a café — I virtually all the time have my iPad with me.
For instance, I labored on the free dance costumes for our workforce for subsequent season from October till February. (Though, probably, you received’t truly see these costumes subsequent season.) I labored on them little by little at totally different instances as a result of I used to be very emotionally invested within the course of and needed each element to really feel proper.
After all, after coaching I nonetheless have free time, however I primarily dedicate it to my college research and drawing. Proper now, with college exams developing, costume orders, and the method of making costumes for our workforce, I typically really feel like there isn’t sufficient time within the day. I attempt to plan my schedule as productively as doable and I additionally research between practices so I can go away extra time for drawing and design work.
What evokes your costumes—music, motion, vogue developments, storytelling?
A mixture of all the things. The story for me might be the most important inspirations, but in addition music and vogue developments additionally affect colours, textures, and shapes. If there’s a selected design concept that I actually need to create, I can adapt it to match the music and the story of this system. An important a part of the method is making one thing that actually fits the athlete first — contemplating their look and general picture — after which adapting the design to suit this system itself.
When designing for your self, do you method it in a different way than when designing for others?
Once I design for myself, I already know precisely how I need to really feel on the ice. I do know precisely which shapes and colours swimsuit me and what’s higher to keep away from. I additionally know very effectively what works for my companion. However general, I’m not afraid to strive utterly totally different concepts for us and experiment with colours. Once I create costumes for us, I principally construct it from my very own concepts and my companion’s concepts.
When designing for different athletes, I all the time begin with their needs concerning form, shade, and general design, as a result of I can’t know all of the specifics and proportions of the opposite folks’s physique, as they do themselves. But when I really feel {that a} sure element — for instance, the form of a skirt — will or won’t work, I all the time share my opinion. The design for another person is far more collaborative — we focus on plenty of issues collectively, and I create the costume based mostly on each the athlete’s imaginative and prescient and my very own artistic perspective. Typically the athlete might say to me “do what you need” and I do what I need with full freedom and after we right and alter one thing collectively.
I can use our costumes for example of the design course of. First, I create sketches and all the time focus on them with my coach and companion. The sketching and approval stage often takes fairly a very long time as a result of after our discussions I continuously change, modify, and redesign totally different parts. For one program, I often create round 10–15 sketches, generally much more.
Then I ship the ultimate sketches to our dressmaker, and we start selecting materials. Deciding on materials and particulars additionally takes plenty of time. Final yr, I even personally ordered particular {hardware} and ornamental parts that I needed to incorporate within the costumes.
After that, we start the stitching course of. Proper now, we work with our dressmaker on-line, which makes all the things far more sophisticated as a result of we are able to’t do in-person fittings. It’s all the time very demanding and thrilling. Throughout the course of, I take an enormous variety of further measurements for each myself and Daniil. I additionally draw straight over photographs of the costume on mannequins to point out what I’d like to alter, add, or take away.
For instance, with our 2024/25 rhythm dance costumes (the Elvis program, pictured proper), I redesigned the appliqué on Daniil’s leather-based jacket whereas the costume was already being made as a result of I felt it wanted extra element.
I all the time present the work-in-progress outcomes to my coach and companion. You may say that I utterly take accountability for all the course of of making our costumes. And even after the day after we lastly might put on and take a look at costumes we are able to change many issues. For instance, this season (2025/26), I needed to make a very new bodysuit simply two weeks earlier than the qualifying competitors in China as a result of we realized that the latex material — although it was supposedly tailored for sports activities costumes — would tear after only some instances on the ice.
What are some technical challenges folks won’t notice go into designing skating costumes?
Stretch, sturdiness, and motion are large challenges. The costume has to look stunning but in addition survive jumps, spins, lifts, and lots of entries on the ice throughout all of the season.
A fancy dress ought to by no means make the athlete look visually heavier. A profitable costume is, to start with, a dressing up that feels comfy.
However that half relies upon not solely on me — it relies upon extra on the dressmaker, whose job is to make the costume comfy and select stretchy materials that enable full freedom of motion.
Are there particulars solely a skater would consider when creating a dressing up?
Undoubtedly. As I already talked about very first thing that skaters suppose is the consolation and about issues like the place material may limit motion or how a dressing up feels throughout troublesome parts. That is the technical facet, however in fact the skaters take into consideration to make stunning and fascinating costume, which shall be observed by the general public.
What’s it like collaborating together with your companion, coaches, or different skaters on costume concepts?
Connection, collaboration, and the power to take heed to and perceive different folks’s opinions are an necessary a part of any type of work — not simply design. With the ability to hear needs, concepts, and recommendations actually issues.
Once I create a design sketch, I’m truly glad when the athlete, coach, my companion has their very own artistic concepts and enter. It makes the method simpler and helps us discover the precise model that feels proper a lot quicker.
I actually take pleasure in collaboration. Everybody brings totally different concepts, and it’s necessary that the ultimate costume displays this system and the athlete’s persona.
Is there a dressing up you’ve designed that you just’r particularly pleased with?
The costumes I’m particularly pleased with is undoubtedly Daniil’s free dance costume for (Joker program) within the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons — it turned out extremely effectively. I truly sketched that costume on the primary strive, though initially it was in a distinct shade. Later, I modified the colour palette and added totally different particulars.
I’m additionally very pleased with our rhythm dance costumes from the 2024/25 season (Elvis program). At the moment, I used to be nonetheless working along with a designer. We spent a very long time occupied with what sort of gown to create for the Elvis program till I prompt taking inspiration from the enduring Flame Costume designed by Bob Mackie. Cher famously wore it first, and later comparable seems have been recreated by many celebrities, together with Beyoncé and others. It’s one among my favourite attire ever. For Daniil’s costume, I instantly pictured a leather-based jacket and trousers. I added and designed the appliqué particulars later through the course of.
I’m additionally very pleased with our rhythm dance costumes this season (2025/26) for Be My Lover / Mr. Boombastic. I created an enormous variety of sketches. At first, I needed to make a gown, however then Barbara prompt the thought of a purple latex bodysuit, and for me that grew to become the proper resolution.
I spent a very long time occupied with the design and drew numerous variations. Finally, my mother and I sat down collectively and she or he helped me discover the proper closing search for me. For these costumes, I used to be impressed by 90s Versace Couture seems. We additionally created a tremendous necklace and bracelets produced from gold chains for me, however I by no means truly wore them in competitors as a result of they turned out to be too heavy and uncomfortable.
For Daniil, the method was simpler — as soon as once more, I made only one sketch and later solely adjusted the shirt colours and added further particulars. We have been additionally very fortunate that my dressmaker and I managed to seek out silk material with a sequence sample precisely just like the one I imagined, and we added rose appliqués produced from one other sort of silk.
I’m additionally very pleased with the costumes I designed for Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko (pairs, competing for Hungary). The designs turned out pretty easy — Maria particularly needed one thing mild, minimalist fashion, however with a daring accent shade — but they nonetheless appeared very trendy and chic. I feel the costumes suited them completely.
Stroll us via a number of the costumes you designed final season.
Final season, I designed the brief program (Michael Jackson, Earth music) costumes for Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko, the rhythm dance costumes for our workforce, and each the brief program (Leon) and free program (Joker) costumes for Vladimir Litvintsev (man single skating, Azerbaijan).
I feel this season I’ll tackle extra skaters and initiatives. I’m actually glad that persons are in a position to uncover one other aspect of me, not simply as an athlete on the ice. And I really take pleasure in serving to athletes improve their packages via stunning costumes.
Do you see costume design changing into an even bigger a part of your profession sooner or later?
Proper now, I can undoubtedly say that some a part of my future life shall be related to design area. There are such a lot of areas the place I can apply my drawing expertise and sense of favor.
Design is one thing I genuinely really feel keen about.
It might make me very glad to see extra skaters performing in costumes that I created. For me, these designs are like part of myself — a mirrored image of who I’m creatively. I need to create issues that really feel really distinctive. I actually take pleasure in rising and creating on this area.
Are there designers or manufacturers you’d like to collaborate with sooner or later?
Sure, completely. I feel that’s the dream of just about anybody related to vogue and design generally.
I’d actually like to collaborate with Hungarian vogue manufacturers like Nanushka and AERON. I’m not speaking about determine skating costumes proper now, however about garments generally. I really feel very related to their philosophy and aesthetic code. Talking about determine skating particularly, creating a dressing up along with Schiaparelli and Mugler would actually be one thing distinctive and particular.
What recommendation would you give to different skaters fascinated by exploring artistic retailers alongside competitors?
Don’t be afraid to discover pursuits outdoors of skating. Inventive retailers can truly assist your efficiency as a result of they permit you to specific your self in several methods.
Is there a skater that you just haven’t collaborated with that you just want to sooner or later?
After all, it could be wonderful to create one thing really fascinating and particular for skaters who’re at present on the high of the World rating or Olympic champions. Generally, it doesn’t actually matter to me whether or not it’s an Olympic champions or junior skaters who’re simply in the beginning of their careers. I merely take pleasure in doing this and discover the entire course of genuinely fascinating.
What’s the easiest way for a skater to contact you in the event that they’re fascinated by working with you?
The easiest way is often via social media (Instagram) or e mail. I’m all the time glad to debate concepts and future collaborations.
Idea Appears to be like & Sketches
