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Zentai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeZentai (disambiguation).

zentai suit
Four women in zentai

Azentaisuit(fromJapaneseゼンタイzentai) is askin-tight garmentthat covers the entire body.[1]The word is a portmanteau ofzenshin taitsu(Japanese:Toàn thân タイツ,lit. 'full-body tights').[2]Zentaiis most commonly made using nylon/spandexblends.[3]

Use

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The costumes are seen at major sporting events in North America and the United Kingdom. They created internationally recognized personalities ofThe Green Men,two fans of theVancouver CanucksNHL team.[4]Various professionalstreet dance/hip hop dancegroups use the outfits, such as The Body Poets in the United States[5][6]and Remix Monkeys in the United Kingdom.[7]

People wearing vibrant zentai suits with matching T-shirts and caps posing in a white room
UK-based Remix Monkeys is a dance troupe that usesMorphsuitsin their street dance routines

Full-body suits are used for videospecial effects:their unique colors enable the person wearing thechroma keysuit to be digitally removed from a video image.[8]Other applications have included music videos (Black Eyed Peas' song "Boom Boom Pow",including the live performance at theSuper Bowl), breast cancer awareness,[9][10]fashion modeling onan episodeofAmerica's Next Top Model,social anxiety workshops, television (Charlie Kelly as Green Man),[11]a participant in public art project "One & Other",[12]and social experiments.[13][14]

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People in coloured zentai suits with text and logos
Two brand ambassadors for theToronto Transit Commission,with a sports fan

Sincezentaicover one's face,a fine of up to €150may be imposed upon those who wear them publicly inFrance.Furthermore, some sports leagues, such asMajor League Baseball,ban the use of the costume hoods.[15]

Brands

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red zentai wearing mannequins in a shop display
Red suits used to recolour mannequins to signal the winter sale

Companies have created brands of the suits includingRootSuitorSuperfan Suitin the United States,Bodysocks[16]orSecond SkinsbySmiffy's[17]andMorphsuitsin the United Kingdom, and Jyhmiskin in Finland. Morphsuits has achieved relative commercial success internationally. Between January and late October 2010, the company shipped 10,000 to Canada alone.[18]The Morphsuits brand has actively tried to disassociate themselves from the existingzentaicommunity.[19]Superfan Suits acknowledges in interviews that the outfits have existed previously.[5]The term "morphsuit" hasbecome a generic termin the process; one New Zealand-based newspaper refers to competing brand Jaskins as "one of the main online morphsuit brands." Jaskins company founder Josh Gaskin says their origins are unclear, pegging the first usage withIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

See also

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Notable users of Zentai

References

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  1. ^Crawford, Ashley (2 August 2008)."Private worlds".The Australian.Retrieved16 January2011.
  2. ^"Toàn thân タイツ definition".Weblio.Retrieved17 December2012.
  3. ^"Full-body suits give identity, freedom to Japan's 'zentai' festish fans".The Japan Times.17 April 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2016.Retrieved17 April2014.
  4. ^Jory, Derek (11 January 2010)."Force & Sully".Vancouver Canucksand theNational Hockey League.Retrieved25 May2010.
  5. ^abDluzen, Robin (25 July 2011)."SuperFanSuits: The Lucrative Business of Full Body Spandex".TINC Magazine.Chicago IL. Archived fromthe originalon 11 August 2018.Retrieved7 July2012.
  6. ^Kristen Perez, editor (10 October 2010).The Body Poets- Demo Reel 2010(streaming video). Event occurs at 2:15.Retrieved15 July2011.
  7. ^"Remix Monkeys".United Kingdom: Facebook. 2011.Retrieved15 July2011.
  8. ^"Second skin, secret life".Taranaki Daily News.New Plymouth NZ. 21 September 2010.Retrieved15 July2011.
  9. ^"1 in 8 Pink Ladies on WCNC".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2021.Retrieved25 July2011.
  10. ^"Pink Ladies Take to Charlotte Streets with Breast Cancer Detection Message".Prweb. 7 October 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2012.Retrieved25 July2011.
  11. ^"Green people".The Fun Revolution. Archived fromthe originalon 25 April 2012.Retrieved25 July2011.
  12. ^Rawlinson, Kevin (14 October 2009)."The good, the bad and the naked of London's Plinth".The Independent.London UK.Archivedfrom the original on 7 May 2022.Retrieved28 September2011.From the man in the skin-tight yellow Morph suit to the existential humanitarian who did absolutely nothing, 2,400 people have now climbed the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to take part in Antony Gormley's artwork.
  13. ^"Ani's Adventures".Aniadventure.livejournal. Archived fromthe originalon 25 April 2012.Retrieved26 November2012.
  14. ^"NGM Blog Central - A Halloween Zebra Migrates to Washington, D.C. - National Geographic Magazine - NGM".Blogs.ngm. 27 October 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 25 December 2012.Retrieved26 November2012.
  15. ^Rayner, Ben (20 May 2011)."Blue Jays see red over green men".The Toronto Star.Toronto ON.Retrieved19 July2011.
  16. ^Misstear, Rachael (20 April 2012)."Teenager's colourful bodysock business booms just one year after he left school - Wales News - News".WalesOnline.Retrieved15 August2012.
  17. ^"GB Olympic Rowing Team Get a Morale Boost from Smiffy's Fancy Dress Company Second Skin Union Jack Costumes".PRWEB UK.16 July 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 18 October 2012.Retrieved13 March2013.
  18. ^Bascaramurty, Dakshana (28 October 2010)."Zentai suits – not just fetish wear any more".The Globe and Mail.Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2011.Retrieved23 April2011.
  19. ^D'Alfonso, Daniel (23 January 2011)."Flagging some patriotic fashion".Herald Sun.Melbourne City MC AU.Retrieved15 July2011.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toZentai.
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