‘Like a dream’
CREATOR OF DAVIS’ OLYMPIC DRESS GRATEFUL FOR OPPORTUNITY by LORI GROSSMAN
After Meryl Davis and Charlie White
skated their record-setting Olympic short dance in Sochi, Davis told the media that “I just felt like I was in a dream.” It looked like a dream. Effortless. Breath-
taking. Timeless. Randall Christensen, the designer who created their “loverly” costumes, had to watch their dance several more times. “When they initially performed, I was
smiling and crying at the same time!” he said. Randall Christensen’s path to making
costumes for Davis and White began in a so- cial ballroom dance class at Brigham Young
University in the late 1970s. Te Saturday Night Fever craze was at its height, and Chris- tensen got hooked on dancing. He moved to Phoenix and became a dance instructor at a Fred Astaire Dance Studio. “I had a difficult time getting someone to
make my professional costumes as well as my students’ costumes, so I decided to try it my- self,” Christensen said. “I mean, how difficult could it be? Oh, to be naïve AND passionate! I had some very patient students and dance partners. “I’m self-taught, so I created my own
rules based on what I felt was most important. For dancers, it’s all about the flow and move- ment of the dress.” Next, it was on to “Dancing with the
Stars “(DWTS).” “I was with DWTS for 11 seasons (2
through 12), doing two seasons per year,” he said. “Practically every article of costum- ing was custom-made. We only had from Wednesday to Sunday to design, shop, cut, sew, fit, finish and bead/rhinestone the cos- tumes.” It was perfect training for a future fig-
ure skating costumer — especially when the requirements for ballroom and skating cos- tumes are so similar. “Both styles work off of a bodysuit, so
flexibility is paramount,” Christensen said. “Both genres are athletic, yet glamorous, and the bodice designs, embellishments and sil- houettes are similar as well. “Te main differences are the length of
the skirts and the skating rules [against] show- ing too much skin. Te cut, fit and flow are the same.” DWTS viewers loved his designs. A cou- ple of Detroit-area skating moms admired
36 DECEMBER 2016
ballroom dresses and were aware of the quality and history of Christensen’s work. Cheryl Da- vis and Jacqui White decided to contact him. “Meryl has been working with our local
dressmaker Louann Williams and her partner Stephanie Miller for about 23 years now,” said her mom, Cheryl. “During both the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, we did our usual routine and ... decided to add outside designers. We reached out to Randall to create something for a short dance dress for the Sochi Olympics.” Cheryl and Meryl found their idea for the dress in the movie White Christmas. “Ev-
Fair Lady medley, beginning with the song “I Could Have Danced All Night.” “Tey were looking for a costume that
ery December, we love to watch White Christ- mas and love watching Danny Kaye and Ve- ra-Ellen dance to the song “Te Best Tings Happen While You’re Dancing,” Cheryl said. “Te way Vera’s dress moves with the music is sublime. We decided to send a picture and video of the dance to Randall and asked if he could create something similar.” Davis and White would skate to a My
would embody the emotions of a young lady coming into her own,” Christensen said. “I’d been sent a link to a movie from the 1950s. I spent days looking at it, trying to figure out how I could capture the essence of that dress and somehow make it work on the ice. Hon- estly, I struggled with it. “I kept letting the images wash over me until I got a grasp of how to make it skateable.
Randall Christensen
I took inspiration from key elements of the dress, yet making it unique to Meryl. Once I stopped putting pressure on myself, the imag- es came right away.” With the addition of a deeper pink un-
derskirt — at Meryl’s request — the dress was finished. “We were thrilled with his design; it was
perfect,” Cheryl said. “I was grateful for this opportunity to be
a part of such a moment in their lives, know- ing this was the culmination of a lifetime of work and dedication,” Christensen said. “Tat moment will be burned into my mind for life.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
