It is curious how differently people dress depending on what they’re about to do on the ice. Most Minnesotans would wear heavy padding or flannel while they’re on the ice, because their plans include hockey and bothering walleye, respectively. But synchronized skating and figure skating demand something far more elegant. It would be a sin to put shoulder pads on an ice dancer’s lissome frame.
Eden Prairie local Hazel Matthys is a highly specialized type of fashionista. Her models wear blades of steel instead of high heels. They dart around ice in woven silks that were tailored not only to their bodies, but to the music they are dancing to itself. Hazel dresses skaters.
“I only learned how to skate during high school,” said Hazel, “and never anything fancier than doing laps around the rink at the park. If you told me back then what I would do for a living, I’d have thought it couldn’t be.”
Hazel grew up on a small farm in southwest Minnesota. Cottonwood still isn’t the kind of town where you can find stylish clothes, so as a child her access to fashion was limited to photos in magazines. As part of her farmhouse upbringing Hazel was taught how to sew. She used her mother’s lessons to replicate as best she could what the models wore in Vogue and Glamour. She no doubt attracted some jealous stares from her classmates.
Had hunting or snowmobiling won Hazel’s heart then she could have stayed in Cottonwood. Instead she moved to Minneapolis to study at the Lothian College of Fashion, graduating in 1998. Naturally Eden Prairie, a city second only to Paris in terms of its significance to the fashion world, needed so talented a young seamstress’s skills. Hazel answered a help wanted ad to go and create dance, ice skating, and cheerleading outfits for The Line Up.
After four years with the store Hazel submitted to the allure of having a thousand bosses instead of only one, so she went into business for herself. Like a hairdresser who leaves a salon, she took several clients with her. The eventual rise of the internet coupled with the decline of local interest in figure skating soon demanded that Hazel take a different approach to her business.
“By the end of last decade I had already dressed some highly regarded skaters,” said Hazel. “The Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club, who are based in Edina and whose outfits I designed, were becoming famous for competing throughout the world. I decided to take advantage of their recognition (in the most positive sense) by cold calling skating coaches across the country – to tell them who I was, what I had done, and what I could do for their teams next.”
Perhaps their utter shock at receiving a cold call which didn’t pertain to auto insurance or free ocean liner tickets stunned the coaches into accepting Hazel’s services without hesitation. Her phone campaign ultimately earned Hazel a widespread client base including the Skyliners in New York City, the Starlights in Chicago, and the Northernettes here in the Twin Cities. Last year alone she dressed 565 figure skaters.
“Here is what makes me different,” said Hazel. “I don’t make ‘costumes.’ I create pieces of dress. By applying old-school sewing and tailoring techniques to athletic wear, my clothing provides the stretchiness of a swimsuit with the look of a garment worthy of its own page in Vogue.
“I make my skirts out of woven silk. The drape and softness of the natural fabric let it accompany a dancer’s motion with a certain grace that synthetic fibers will never mimic. Silk helps an audience – and especially judges – to fully appreciate the fluidity of an ice dancer’s movements.
“I dress a skater to conquer the piece of music they are dancing to. This means tailoring their clothing not only to their body, but to the piece of music they will be dancing to as well. As I listen to the music I envision its color and its movement, and translate that artistic vision into a single athletic gown. In a sense I’m creating a new fashion line with every song I tailor to.
“The over-the-top, heavily sequined garments that Blades of Glory ridiculed are a thing of the past. So are stuffy theatrical dresses. The modern figure skater should look as natural on the ice as she would on a runway.”
Hazel was gracious to grant an interview with Eden Prairie Lifestyle. She knows it is unlikely that a great many of the magazine’s readers will spring up out of their chairs upon finishing this article to go and place their orders for her dresses. But should you ever need one of our country’s preeminent figure skating dress creators, you need look no farther than Eden Prairie.
You may learn more about Hazel Matthys at hazelmatthys.com.