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English
Series:
Part 3 of Heated Rivalry Meta
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Published:
2025-12-11
Updated:
2026-02-22
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8,980
Chapters:
4/?
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Heated Rivalry Costumes

Summary:

analyzing the costumes in heated rivalry!

thank you hanna puley, zoe leberg, hasham ibrahim, and brittany paty!!!

Notes:

i love the costumes in this show. there’s such a clear intentionality behind them that adds layers to every scene and it warms my heart :))) split the post up into two parts because it got Long. part two here. also all of this is prep so i can properly break down the outfits in the texting montage because there’s SO MUCH going on there!!!

alt text now added

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Chapter 1: Shane + Ilya: 1.01 Rookies, Part 1

Chapter Text

1. 1st International Prospect Cup

ilya stands with his back to the camera, leaning against an exterior wall. he's wearing a black beanie/toque and jacket, with a dark gray sweatshirt hood.

ilya stands leaning against an exterior wall with a cigarette in his mouth. he's wearing a black beanie and a dark gray sweatshirt under a black button-up coat.

So we’re introduced to Iya with his back to the camera. He’s in all black except for the dark gray of his sweatshirt hood. then he turns to lean his back against the wall. The black jacket and beanie/toque reflect his roles within his family and the hockey world: the black sheep and the bad boy, respectively. When his back is turned, we get a hint of gray that reveals itself to be more when he turns more towards the camera. Yes, he is a bad boy and a black sheep, and he’s more than that. He lives in gray areas, caught between who he's expected to be and who he actually is on so many levels. He’s pretty ensconced within those roles right now so his sweatshirt is a dark gray that’s nearly black.

ilya stands against an exterior wall with a cigarette in his hand, looking at shane entering the frame. ilya is on the left and shane is on the right. ilya is wearing a black beanie, dark gray sweatshirt, and black button-up coat. shane is wearing a dark green beanie, white sweatshirt, and black button-up coat. ilya's on the left and shane's on the right.

Then Shane shows up! What i love about an opposites attract romance is that you have two outwardly very different characters who inwardly share many of the same values. We can see this reflected in Shane and Ilya’s costumes: Ilya’s in a dark gray, nearly black sweatshirt while Shane’s in a white sweatshirt; and they’re both wearing beanies/toques and a sweatshirt under a black, button-up coat. Shane’s white sweatshirt reflects his role as the good Canadian boy. He’s wearing black and white because that’s how he views the world. Most interestingly, he’s wearing a dark green beanie/toque. We later see Ilya in similar colors: here, Shane is the pursuer, seeking Ilya out to introduce himself; later, Ilya is the pursuer.

5 players of the canadian youth national hockey team take a knee at center ice in front of their coach. their uniforms are red, white and black. their jerseys have a red base, white stripes at the elbows and waist, white lettering for the names, and black shoulders and lettering for the numbers. their shorts and helmets are black. their socks are red with two white strips mid-shin.

4 team russia youth national hockey team stand near center ice receiving notes from their coach. their uniforms are white, red, gold, and blue. their jerseys have a white base, gold lettering, red shoulders and cuffs, and 2 stripes, one white and one blue, at the hips. their shorts are red with white and blue vertical stripes on the side. they have white socks with a red and blue stripe near the knee. their helmets are red.

I fucking love their juniors jerseys. They’re inverts of each other! Team Canada is mainly red with black and white accents; Team Russia is mainly white with red and gold accents. It’s more of Shane and Ilya being that opposites-attract romance. There’s also more to the colours themselves. Team Canada has more black accents than white, and I think this represents Shane’s ruthlessness when it comes to hockey. Like, he’s still a good polite boy and he also takes pleasure in demolishing other teams. Team Russia has all that white because Ilya’s secretly a soft boy unconsciously looking for love. And then the red: I think red symbolizes competition in this show. I’m gonna do a whole colour analysis later since I’m still mulling stuff over with a friend. Team Canada’s jerseys have so much red because Shane lives for competition, it sharpens him and he takes pleasure from it. Shane’s also like a hockey robot, hockey is core to his identity (to be clear I am using hockey robot as an affectionate shorthand for his singleminded focus on hockey and possible autism, since that’s how the term is used in Check, Please!). Meanwhile Ilya also loves competition and hockey and neither are as central to his identity. He’s a loverboy, and we know from the books the lengths he will go to for love. 

ilya sits alone and off-center in the arena seats. he's chewing on a sweatshirt string with his hands in pockets, knees spread wide, and his hood pulled up over his beanie. he's wearing a black beanie, dark gray sweatshirt, black coat, and medium-gray sweatpants.

shane and his mom sit centered in the arena stands. shane is perched on top of an arena chair with the seat flipped up. his mom is sitting properly in the seat. shane is wearing a dark green beanie, white sweatshirt, black button-up coat, and white sweat pants. shane's mom, yuna, is wearing a blue-gray coat.

We get to see Ilya and Shane’s full outfits when they watch each other practice from the stands. This reveals Ilya’s significantly lighter gray sweatpants, and Whane’s white sweatpants. (Sidenote, I cannot imagine wearing all white. That would stress me out so much, especially in locker rooms??? Shane, bby, what are you doing.) Ilya’s hidden depths, and Shane genuinely being a good boy by and large. We also get the juxtaposition of Ilya being alone and Shane being with his mom. Ilya’s family fundamentally does not give a crap about him while Shane’s family and his mom in particular are very invested in him. Also Yuna’s wearing a blue-gray coat and I think blue symbolizes hockey, further reflecting her active role in Shane’s hockey career.

 

2. The Draft

"major league hockey draft" overlays the screen in yellow all caps. shane, ilya, and a third young man stand in suits in front of an MLH branded wall. shane is wearing a standard suit: white shirt, black jacket, and a silver tie with a diagonal grid pattern. ilya is wearing a dark, navy blue suit jacket, white shirt, and dark blue tie. the third young man is wearing a dark blue suit jacket and green and blue tartan tie.

shane stands in a nicely dress room, flanked by his parents. his mom, on the left, is talking to the owner of the montreal metros, who has his back to the camera. yuna is wearing a shiny, gold dress. shane is wearing a black suit jacket, eggshell blue shirt, and blue-gray tie with a diagonal grid pattern. his dad is wearing a standard suit with a black suit jacket and tie with white shirt.

ilya, his father, and the owner of the boston raiders stand against a railing. ilya is wearing a dark, navy blue suit jacket wiht a very subtle, small windowpane pattern.

The outfits at the draft reflect the opposite-attract again. With the additional juxtaposition of the 3rd guy wearing a noticeably different suit colour and a plaid tie. Shane’s black suit jacket reflects his competitive spirit at being drafted second. His shirt and tie shift colours, looking white and gray respectively during the photo op and looking more blue while talking to the Montreal Metros guy. We can see him visibly shift into media mode while talking to guy, reflecting the color shift. Then Ilya’s wearing a very dark navy blue suit jacket with a subtle, small window pane pattern. It doesn’t really show up in these screenshots. (Also we later see Shane’s dad wearing a similar pattern before their first game together :).) Ilya’s so proud of this hockey achievement, and he’s able to work his actual personality into his press obligations. 

shane, ilya, and a third young man stand in front of an MLH branded wall holding up their jerseys. shane's jersey for the montreal metros is blue, white, and red. it has a dark blue base with a broad white stripe around the middle and neckline, with a thin red stripe around the white stripe. the metros' logo is a big, curvy m in blue with a red partial border and a white fleur-de-lis. ilya's boston raiders jersey is black, white, red, and gold. it has a black base with a broad white strip around the bicep and neckline. the arm stripes have thin white and red stripes above and below the broad stripe. the raiders' logo is a gold canon with a capital r in the wheel and a thin gold tire around it. the third young man's jersey is green, white, and black.

Let’s also look at the home jerseys for the Metros and the Raiders. The Metros’ jersey is mainly blue with white and red accents. The Raiders’ jersey is mainly black with a big splash of gold in the middle, and white and red accents. The white and red accents on both jerseys visually link them together, visually representing the continuing link between Shane and Ilya. That blue on the Metros’ jersey is a big reason I think blue symbolizes hockey. Shane wears a lot of blue and he’s also far more intertwined with his image within the hockey world than Ilya. Shane’s a hockey robot while Ilya has a lot more interests and things going on in his life outside hockey. The black on the Raiders’ jersey reflects how Boston wants Ilya on their team for his ruthlessness and bad boy image; remember how the announcers call him the kind of aggressive player Boston likes? Me and my friend have been thinking yellow/gold symbolizes expectations/reality. So Yuna’s wearing that gold dress because she mediates that for Shane, and the Raiders have gold so prominently because of Ilya’s family situation. his family places additional expectations on him outside of hockey and he’s the only one facing his father’s decline. Also the Metros' logo is a butt and the Raiders' logo is a cock and balls. There’s probably something with third place having that green jersey but I don’t care and neither does the show, really.

 

3. Gym Scene

ilya and shane sit on a gym floor in front of a mirror. ilya is wearing a black muscle tank, shorter black shorts, white ankle socks, and white shoes with orange tread. shane is wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, tight dark green shorts, white crew socks, and black shoes with white accents.

Ah, the beloved gym scene! Ilya in his black muscle tank and Shane in his long-sleeved white shirt (Shane. Buddy. To exercise inside in? Come on.) following the opposites-attract scheme again. Ilya’s showing more skin with his muscle tank, shorter shorts, and ankle socks. (I have a whole series of posts on sock symbolism here on tumblr and on ao3.) Meanwhile Shane’s covering up a lot more skin with his long-sleeved shirt, longer + tighter shorts, and crew socks. I really like the color symbolism going on here. Ilya’s shirt and shorts are black, his socks are white, and his shoes are white with orange tread. He’s showing a little vulnerability to Shane in asking questions and flirting with him. Also orange lighting has been present in all of their hook-ups, most noticeably in their first one where they’re being all sweet with each other. So I’m thinking orange symbolizes vulnerability or warmth. Then for Shane, he’s got those black and white shoes because he’s caught between this sexual awakening and who he’s supposed to be. Also he’s pissed at Ilya going first in the draft instead of him. There’s also the green again, because he spends this episode trying to catch up to Ilya, the first person who can truly challenge him in a long time.

 

4. 2nd International Prospect Cup

ilya in shadow standing in a hotel room lit only by the tv and lamp. he's wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt, black pants, and white socks.

Stark contrast to see Ilya all covered up here after the gym scene. Long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks, barely any skin showing because he’s got to guard himself to interact with his abusive family. Also to contrast against his actual bad boy brother. He’s in a gray shirt and pants with white socks because he’s in a murky area trying to protect himself from his family and also help them at the same time with his father’s memory loss and Andrei/Alexei asking for money. And he’s gotta be vulnerable to do that, showing his hidden soft side.

 

5. CCM Commercial

shane and ilya crouched for a face-off while filming a commercial. they are lit from behind so they're mostly in silhouette.

They’re wearing the outfits and the same colors! They’re having fun! Meeting each other on even ground! They’re able to see how much they have in common right now and form a connection because of it!

the back of yuna's head fills the left side of the frame. in the center is shane, facing towards yuna and looking to the right so he's in profile, face lit by the lights from below. he's wearing a long-sleeved black shirt.

Shane’s wearing black!!! Staring at Ilya on the ice!!! He’s literally lit up by watching Ilya show off!!! I wanna do a whole series of posts breaking down the lighting design in this show because Shane moves into the light as he accepts his sexuality and Ilya’s usually half-shadowed as he navigates his two worlds where he can’t be fully himself in either of them. Anyway. Shane’s in black because he’s accepted that there’s something between him and Ilya that he wants.

ilya and shane in the locker room showers. they're both naked, facing away from the camera, and on opposite sides of the frame.

Shower scene. They both gotta be bare physically, gotta vulnerably expose themselves, to mutually acknowledge their attraction to each other. Either one of them could have gotten the other in serious trouble for what they do in here between Shane openly ogling Ilya and getting an erection because of it, and Ilya fully jerking off to Shane.

shane and ilya in the locker room. shane sits on a bench in the middle of the frame, dressed in all black except for his socks. he's in a long-sleeved black shirt and pants. ilya stands at his locker in the background, naked except for the gray-green towel around his waist and his black slides.

Then afterwards we get Shane fully covered up again, but in all black except for his socks. He can’t deny that he wants Ilya anymore, and only takes a little coaxing to agree to their hook-up. Meanwhile Ilya’s shirtless, has a dark green towel wrapped around his waist, and slides on his feet. He’s the pursuer here at significant danger to himself, coming onto another player in the locker room. 

 

6. 1st Hook-Up

shane looking at himself dressed in a suit in the mirror. the shot is framed so we're looking over his shoulder into the mirror. he's in a black suit jacket, white shirt, and silvery-blue tie with criss-crossing stripes.

Shane looks so young here. About 15 years old. He doesn’t know how to handle the situation, so he’s falling back on his media training and literally suiting up. Doing so seemed pretty instinctual, and it took him a moment to snap out of it. Here’s the hockey boy he’s supposed to be, Canada’s golden boy, representing all the Asian and other non-white kids interested in hockey, about to have sex with his rival. He can’t be this boy and be interested in Ilya. He’s gotta step out of his role as the model minority golden boy to be with Ilya. Being with Ilya is fundamentally more relaxing because he can be his full self, and that’s represented by him going from his suit to a t-shirt and non-suit pants.

shane and ilya stand in the entranceway of shane's hotel room. the lighting is dark orange with many shadows. ilya is wearing a patchwork black and gray coat and gray pants. shane is in a short-sleeved gray shirt and black pants.

Do you see what I mean with the orange. It’s REALLY orange. Anyway. Ilya’s in a jacket while Shane’s in a t-shirt! A patchwork black and gray jacket with gray pants for Ilya, and a gray t-shirt and black pants for Shane. Ilya’s sending mixed signals, playing into this bad boy image while also being really sweet and taking care of Shane. He’s also going into this a lot more guarded than Shane. Yeah, Ilya’s going to be vulnerable with Shane, and also he’s gonna put his guards back up as soon as possible. Meanwhile this a really big step for Shane. In the book he had a girlfriend and some prior sexual experience; as far we know in the show, this could very well be his first time having sex. He wants it and he has to be coaxed into it, and that’s nicely conveyed in his clothing. 

ilya kissing shane up against a wall. ilya's wearing a black tank top and ilya is in a gray t-shirt.

ilya is trying to pull shane's t-shirt off while shane tries to undo ilya's belt. ilya is in a black tank top and gray pants. shane is in a gray t-shirt that ilya has pulled up to his armpits and black pants.

Them undressing each other, going back and forth with taking off their clothing, mimics the way they trade off being vulnerable to progress their relationship in the book and presumably the show. Also once again, Ilya’s showing more skin than Shane and the colors of their clothing are inverted. I also find the bit where Ilya’s gently trying to take Shane’s shirt off while Shane’s frantically undoing Ilya’s belt so funny. Ilya’s like let me in I wanna be closer to you, and Shane’s gotta get that dick in his mouth or he’s gonna die. Shane awakens Ilya’s emotions and Ilya awakens Shane’s sexuality.

ilya is sitting on the bed naked, taking his socks off. shane stands at the end of the bed, shirtless and in black pants.

Ilya’s pretty quick to get the rest of his clothes off once they move to the bed since he recognizes and accepts his feelings for Shane much quicker than Shane does. Ilya once again has to coax Shane into undressing/being vulnerable, and Shane likes it. He takes his time neatly folding his clothes because he’s gotta take his time sorting out his shit before fully committing to Ilya. And Ilya’s absolutely endeared by Shane’s process. I went over the sock situation here on tumblr and on ao3.

a close-up on ilya wearing a black tank top with a patchwork gray and black coat over top.

shane sitting up against the headboard, naked.

Afterwards, Ilya jumps up and puts his clothes back on: putting his emotional guards back up; after all, it’s “”“just”“” sex, and even that had Shane panicking about their hockey careers. He leaves Shane naked (except for his socks) on the bed, reeling over the ramifications. This has been a lot for Shane: just potentially had sex for the first time, with a guy, with Ilya Rozanov, after spending the day shooting a commercial, and they’re about to start their rookie seasons as NHL/MLH players. He’s feeling pretty vulnerable right now.