A Quebec costume designer is stepping into the global spotlight at the 2026 Winter Olympics, dressing some of the world’s top figure skaters as they compete on the sport’s biggest stage.

Mathieu Caron, a former ballroom dancer from Quebec, has been creating elaborate costumes for more than a decade. He says his fascination with glittering fabrics and dramatic designs began early.

“I was very fascinated by the costumes, all the bling-bling and the fabrics. So I decided to go to fashion school,” Caron told Global News.

After studying fashion at LaSalle College in Montreal, Caron launched his company designing clothing for ballroom dancers. His work soon expanded into the figure skating and ice dancing world.

By 2018, his creations had reached the Olympic podium. Caron designed the costumes worn by Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir during their gold medal-winning performance set to Moulin Rouge.

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Now in Milan for the 2026 Winter Games, Caron says 28 athletes from 10 countries are wearing his designs. Among them are American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, as well as Japanese skater Ami Nakai.

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Caron says each costume can take up to 150 hours to complete, from the first sketch to the final rhinestone. Caron says the process involves close collaboration with athletes, coaches and choreographers to ensure the design complements the music and enhances movement on the ice.

“We have meetings with athletes, but also with the coaches, choreographers. We talk about the music and the vision of the program,” he said.

His studio team includes other designers, cutters, seamstresses, pattern makers, and painters — all working to bring the garments to life.

The price reflects the labour involved. Caron says costumes typically range from $3,500 to $8,000, depending on the hours required and the complexity of the design.

While figure skating remains a central focus, the designer said he hopes to expand into other creative fields, including Broadway musicals and designing full looks for touring artists.

For now, Caron says he feels fortunate to see his creations glide across Olympic ice, and in some cases, onto the podium.

For the full story, watch the video above.

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Following her son’s third round of baby vaccinations, Zoe Nichols felt helpless as she listened to his endless cries. Even though the little boy had been given the suggested doses of Calpol, he just wouldn’t settle. 

‘He was just crying and crying,’ Zoe, 39, tells Metro.

She wanted to stay with him following the vaccinations, but Zoe had compulsory training at work the next day, so that afternoon the beauty therapist bundled her baby into the car to take him to his grandparents, a two-hour drive away. 

‘For the whole journey, he mainly slept – he loved being in the car,’ Zoe remembers. 

After dropping her son off with his grandparents, she made the two-hour drive back to Dorset, only to receive a worrying phone call as soon as she walked through the door at around 11pm.

‘His grandparents were saying that he wasn’t right – he wouldn’t stop crying, and he had a fever that wasn’t coming down with medicine,’ Zoe remembers. ‘They were going to take him to the hospital.’

The doctors tried to reassure the family that it was probably just a common virus, but Zoe couldn’t help but feel eaten up with ‘mum guilt’, because she couldn’t do anything to help. Eventually, her son was put on a drip for the night and, as she tried to sleep, Zoe kept her phone close by in case of an update.  

Thankfully, the next morning, she received a smiling photo of her baby, who was all back to normal.

As a child, Zoe remembers having all her vaccines, and yet, at 15, she still got measles. She says that two years later, at beauty college, half of her class — some who had been vaccinated and some who hadn’t — were off with mumps. 

The experience always made her question the point of vaccinations and whether they actually worked, she says. So when Zoe became pregnant at 31, she started to think about what she should do for her baby. 

At her NCT class, she remembers being urged by the leading midwife to give children whatever vaccines are offered by the NHS. ‘You take all the information that you’re given as gospel,’ Zoe explains. ‘But all pros and cons should be made available.’ 

Although a couple of acquaintances had said there were ‘lots of warnings on side effects’ when it came to jabs, she eventually decided to go along with NHS guidelines and booked the MMR vaccinations for her baby. 

While her son’s eight and 12-week jabs were uneventful – he had just a mild fever manageable with Calpol – it was the 16-week shots that Zoe believes landed her baby in hospital. 

‘I  thought that it came and went too quickly to be a virus,’ she says.

Just before he turned one, it was then suggested that her little boy have a Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine to protect him from picking up tuberculosis from abroad, as his father’s family from India often visited. Again, Zoe did what the doctors recommended.

‘But the vaccine injection site got scabby and pussy. It took ages for his skin to heal, and he still has a big scar from it,’ she says, adding that it was the last straw for her.  ‘I wasn’t going to put him through that anymore.’

Since then, Zoe’s son hasn’t had any of the vaccines offered through the NHS to children, at one year, 18 months, three years, flu, or Covid vaccines. 

‘I’m not a scientist, but I know what happened for me and mine,’ she says. ‘I don’t want to look at stats and figures, because those can be easily manipulated by pharmaceutical companies.’

But her choice has raised eyebrows, with several healthcare professionals and acquaintances warning the mum that she should ‘protect’ her little boy by getting him vaccinated.

Zoe remembers one occasion in early spring 2023, when her son was rushed to the A&E because he couldn’t breathe at nursery. 

‘Initially, I was asked if he had received all his jabs. When I replied no, the nurse gave me a look as if I had sneezed in her face,’ she claims. ‘She then told the doctor with an attitude, and acted as if I hadn’t fed him for a week or had committed some other form of neglect.’

The toddler ended up being diagnosed as having both enterovirus and rhinovirus and recovered within days. 

Zoe insists that she feels cautious when anyone pushes her into making a decision, not just whether it involves vaccinating her son. Anyone quick to judge anti-vaxxers, she’d like to know the ‘primary experience’ that led them to think the way they do. 

‘Why are they so for vaccines?’ Zoe asks. ‘My child was in the hospital overnight directly after having had a vaccine. That’s why I’m against it. My primary experience has led to my decision.’

News that measles cases have been found in the UK doesn’t scare Zoe, either. In fact, what frightens her is thinking about the children who do get vaccinations and what they are having put into their bodies.

She wonders why we question what is in our food and water, but don’t ask what the vaccines are, and the harmful impacts that they could have on adults and children.

‘I think there are pros and cons to everything,’ she says.

Zoe believes that if her child did get measles, he would get ill and then get better, just like she did when she had measles at 15.  However, recent statistics have shown that measles is on the rise across Europe, with nearly 130,000 people contracting it last year, double the number in 2023 and the highest rate since 1997. Last June, a child from Liverpool died from contracting the disease, while London is currently seeing a fast-spreading outbreak infect dozens of schoolchildren.

While Zoe acknowledges the pain families who have lost children due to measles must feel, her personal experiences mean she will not sway her decision. Instead, she asks: ‘Why in 30 years has nobody managed to find a cure for when you actually have measles?’

The mum insists she doesn’t throw caution to the wind either, but takes precautions to keep herself, her child, and the people around her safe from any virus. When her son comes home from playdates and school, or is about to eat a meal, Zoe makes sure he washes his hands. 

‘In my opinion, there are better ways to stop disease spreading than vaccinating people,’ she explains. ‘It can just start with safe measures like washing your hands or using a bit of sanitiser. If clients are under the weather, I don’t see them, and I wear a mask during my treatments.

‘I just don’t feel that mass medication will help. If you look after your body and your mind, I really don’t think you need a vaccine.’ 

Zoe is also keen to guide her son away from injections until he can make a fully educated decision for himself. 

‘I’m not a radical conspiracy theorist,’ she insists. ‘I’m just being mindful and conscious. It’s my choice and I don’t want myself or my child to be an experiment.’

A version of this article was first published in October 2025.

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During the day, Vic Lyons works full-time in dementia care as a senior Admiral Nurse. Her job is to help families navigate the emotional and bureaucratic minefield of a disease that robs their loved ones of their independence, memories and cognitive functions. 

Although Vic would naturally display kindness and a sympathetic ear when listening to what people are going through, it is all the more poignant for her.

When she logs off to the day, Vic heads back to her home in Hertfordshire, where she and her husband, Andrew, 53, care for Andrew’s 89-year-old mother Margaret, who was diagnosed with dementia in January 2024. All while also raising their two sons, aged 15 and 12.  

‘At work, I support families going through dementia and, at home, I’m in the thick of it,’  Vic, 51, tells Metro. ‘Mornings are consumed with getting Margaret dressed and the boys to school, while evenings are spent coaxing her through confusion and helping my sons with homework. Then the weekends are swallowed by housework, bills and medication reviews.’

There is thought to be up to 2.4million ‘sandwich’ carers in the UK – people stuck between looking after their children and elderly relatives – something the nurse admits is ‘a tough gig’.

‘The demands are exhausting,’ she admits. ‘It feels like Groundhog Day and there’s no respite. When you’re caring for someone you love, there’s no off switch. Both Andrew and I work full time, so every day demands careful planning.

‘Andrew gets his mum dressed and drops her off at the local day centre each morning, while I put her to bed in the evening. Her dementia is advanced, and her memory span is sometimes just seconds.’

Vic explains that Margaret can no longer make herself a drink, and often forgets who the family are. ‘She gets anxious when she’s by herself. It takes all of us, including the boys, to care for her,’ she says.

‘I know how hard it is for families because of my job – and yet the reality is so much harder than I ever thought it would be.’

In 2021, Vic’s mother-in-law moved from London to a flat close to the family home, a move planned to preserve her independence for as long as possible.

‘She’d stopped cooking dinners, taking her pills properly and going to the supermarket,’ remembers Vic. ‘We didn’t have an official diagnosis but, because of my job, I knew where this was headed. We discussed what care Margaret would need and moved her in around the corner because she still wanted her autonomy. We installed cameras and zone alerts for peace of mind – and count ourselves lucky that she sleeps through the night.’  

However, Vic recognises that her mother-in-law will soon need around-the-clock care. ‘Her condition is fast deteriorating,’ she adds sadly. 

‘We’ve pressed the button on building an extension to our house next year. Margaret oscillates between not wanting to be a burden and not wanting to be alone. But for her welfare, we see no other choice than for her to move in with us.’  

Thankfully, Margaret has enough money saved to fund the day centre costs where she receives specialist dementia support and companionship during the week while Vic and Andrew are at work. Still, the couple will need to remortgage their house to pay for the extension.

While the family have had to confront the costs of later-life care, a new poll has revealed just how much Britain is burying its head in the sand when it comes to ageing, care needs and the price tags attached.

A national survey of UK adults aged 45-+ reveals that two-thirds (62%) have never discussed later-life care with a parent or partner, while only 6% have a clear plan for how they or their parents will be supported as they age.

In fact, an astonishing 94% of people don’t talk about these things until forced to by circumstance. It was only when Margaret began to display worrying symptoms that it prompted conversations about care, highlighting how even the most informed families often delay planning until they are forced to act. 

The research, commissioned by Age Space, the UK’s leading online hub for families supporting elderly relatives, paints a picture of widespread confusion, financial uncertainty and what campaigners are calling a ‘dangerous national silence’. 

Vic explains that she also worries about the emotional impact the situation is having on their family – especially their two boys. 

‘When Margaret’s distressed, they can feel a bit scared and unsure how to react,’ she explains. ‘She sometimes thinks Andrew is her husband and I’m the other woman – it’s hard for the boys to hear this. I want them to feel they can invite friends around and be normal noisy teenagers.

‘I feel constantly torn. If the boys come home and want to talk but Andrew’s mum is becoming distressed or needs something, I have to prioritise her.

‘On special occasions such as Christmas Day, I worry she’ll get upset and I don’t want the boys to carry that memory. I also feel sad that they probably won’t sit and watch a movie with us – there’s an emotional barrier there now because of Nan.’  

The personal toll of being a sandwich carer, is also something that resonates with Vic. ‘You’re caring for everyone except yourself,’ she admits. ‘We get an hour watching TV at night if we’re lucky. I haven’t been to the gym in a year, and holidays look impossible for us now.

‘Last year, we went to Portugal while Margaret stayed with her sister, but a UTI led to delirium and she was admitted to hospital. We spent our holiday speaking to doctors and worried sick about her.’

For Vic, the silence around care in the UK is rooted in fear, rather than avoidance.

‘People don’t know where to start. The topic is wrapped up in fear – fear of cost, fear of losing independence, fear of aging. It isn’t easy,’ she says. 

‘People imagine caring is popping in to make a cup of tea. But it’s navigating memory loss, safety worries, emotional distress and guilt. And most people have no idea how much support they will need until they’re already drowning.’

To tackle Britain’s care silence, Age Space has launched the Prepare to Care campaign, fronted by broadcaster Janet Ellis. The campaign urges families to have earlier conversations about care, ideally years before decisions are forced on them by crisis. For more information, click here.

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