There is a lot of Mathieu Caron’s work on the ice at the Beijing Olympics. The Quebec designer signs the creation of the costumes of 22 figure skating athletes from 6 countries.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
“I already have medals! he throws. There is the bronze medal of the Japanese Shoma Uno and those of the team event, a silver medal for the United States and bronze for Japan! »
Mathieu Caron dresses many skaters. There are the Japanese Shoma Uno, Tim Koleto, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the Americans Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Vincent Zhou (who had to withdraw due to COVID-19) and Alysa Liu, the Canadians Keegan Messing, Kirsten Moore-Towers, Michael Marinaro, Vanessa James, Eric Radford, Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, as well as the French Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. Not to mention skaters from Spain and Armenia.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Mathieu Caron in his studio in Longueuil
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
There are different steps that lead to the creation of costumes. Here are some sketches of skater dresses.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Mathieu Caron creates costumes for many athletes who are at the Beijing Olympics. “Some athletes like more flamboyant costumes with crystals, others prefer the understated,” he says.
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“Since July, we have been working on costume design. There were the meetings, the discussions, the drawings, the choice of fabrics, the tests to arrive at this final moment, on the ice in Beijing. Even if I’m at a distance, it’s intense! What makes me happy is that we contribute to their Olympic dream, it’s magic! »
In front of his television, he is always very nervous. “During their performance, I skate in my living room, it’s a lot of emotion! “says the creator and president of Feeling Mathieu Caron, in an interview.
A medal that gives wings
The Olympic dream, Mathieu Caron lived it in 2018 with the gold medal of Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at the PyeongChang Games, a performance that marked Olympic history. It was he who was behind the creation of their costumes, including the magnificent red dress.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics where they won gold in the ice dance.
“This medal gave us wings, their performance was incredible,” he said. She opened many doors for him; he took care of the artistic direction of the costumes of the television show Battle of the Blades on CBC for two years, he worked with Mattel on the design of the Barbie Tessa Virtue and his work was noticed by international athletes and choreographers who entrusted him with the creation of their costumes.
After 2018, my company grew from 7 to 13 employees. We moved, and I launched a virtual platform where it is now possible to create your figure skating outfit, which allows us to export the know-how all over the world.
Matthew Caron
Her love for designing clothes comes from her grandmothers. “When I was a child, I was passionate about seeing them in their sewing room. When he was younger, Mathieu Caron became a professional dancer and then studied fashion design at LaSalle College. He starts designing his dance costumes, then those of his friends, and later he has requests for figure skating costumes.
Close collaboration
The designer now dresses the greatest skaters in the world. But what is a good suit?
“A costume should support the performance. It must not take up all the space, disturb or harm. It must correspond to the style of the choreography, to the personalities of the skaters while respecting their morphology, explains the creator. There are skaters who like more sober costumes, and others who need it to shine, like the Japanese. Crystals are part of the DNA of figure skating. It’s ballet on ice, it’s a very athletic performance, but there’s also the artistic side. »
PHOTO JEFF ROBERSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Madison Chock and Evan Bates in Beijing on February 7. The skater wears a futuristic-looking costume created by Mathieu Caron.
Mathieu Caron works in close collaboration with athletes, coaches and choreographers, then he creates tailor-made costumes that can take up to 120 hours of work, which is the case with the futuristic costume of American Madison Chock.
I’m inspired by fashion, I like clean suits with a cut that leaves room for body and movement.
Matthew Caron
Some costumes were created remotely. “It happens on Zoom. We take all the measurements, we sometimes have virtual fittings, then we send the costume. There may be small adjustments, but very often it works very well. He only met once in 2018 the Japanese champion Shoma Uno and since then he sends him his different costumes by post.
Canadian athletes have passed through his workshop, as have some Americans and French who train in Montreal. There are even friendly relations that have been woven over the years. “By dint of working together, some have become friends”, underlines the creator.
Mathieu Caron knows in detail the schedules of passage of the athletes he dresses and will be there for the next few days, feverish, in front of his television.