Girl Groups Under ‘Revealing Outfit Restrictions’—Are They All Doing Aerobics?

[ 12/16/2010 ]

‘Are All the Girl Groups Doing Aerobics?’ Girl groups currently promoting songs have been appearing onstage in one-piece outfits, almost as if they had planned it together. These stage costumes, with the tops and bottoms joined, resemble aerobics wear. Girls’ Generation, promoting ‘Hoot’; T-ara, whose costumes for ‘Yayaya’ have sparked debate; and Kara, topping the charts with ‘Jumping,’ have all chosen one-piece styles. The reason the groups have ended up looking alike is the broadcasters’ dress rules. In August, the Korea Communications Standards Commission advised terrestrial music programs to exercise caution over sexually suggestive content. Broadcasters subsequently began restricting outfits that exposed female performers’ chests or navels. As reviews have become stricter, girl groups have started preparing separate costumes for performances in Korea and overseas, and sometimes different outfits for terrestrial and cable broadcasts. Kara promoted ‘Jumping’ in Japan first. Ahead of its return to Korea late last month, the group hurriedly made separate costumes to meet local broadcast requirements. Girls’ Generation wore one-piece outfits covering their navels on terrestrial television, but appeared in midriff-baring tops at the Golden Disc Awards broadcast on QTV on the 9th. Speaking about the debate over T-ara’s one-piece costumes for ‘Yayaya,’ a representative of the group said, “We were told their navels had to be covered, so after much thought we chose one-piece outfits. If they danced in separate tops and bottoms, their navels might show.” The representative added, “Loose one-piece outfits would lose the look we wanted, so they had to be fitted. It’s frustrating that the restrictions have led to a debate over whether the costumes are too suggestive.” Others in the music industry agree that the one-piece outfits adopted after the broadcast restrictions can look more suggestive. “We were told not to expose chests or navels, so we dressed the group in fitted outfits. But those outfits emphasize their figures even more,” said a girl-group manager. “The result feels more provocative than before. It’s a strange situation in which the rules have had the opposite effect.”