Was Beyoncé's racy Super Bowl outfit too much? Parents' backlash over 'trampy' stage costume

Beyoncé's daring leather ensemble at the Super Bowl last night has sparked anger from some parents who believe it was too racy for prime time television.
Several viewers took to Facebook and other social networking websites to suggest that the performer's costume, by fashion designer Rubin Singer, looked a little too 'S&M'.
Beyoncé was 'over the top trampy,' according to one mother commenting on the Today show's Facebook page. 'I was embarrassed to watch it with my 9 year old son,' she wrote.

Too racy? Beyonce's strip tease, revealing leather outfit and suggestive dance moves were criticised by some viewers who thought her ensemble - designed by Rubin Singer - was not family-friendly

Conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham tweeted sarcastically: 'Very family-friendly dancing S&M by Beyonce. What every girl shd aspire to. #waronwomen [sic].'

 

And an angered Huffington Post reader wrote: 'This is a family event - did the woman need to dress like a harlot???'

'This is a family event - did the woman need to dress like a harlot?'

However overall reception of her costume was positive, with viewers and fans praising it as fierce and sexy, a testament to her girl power attitude.
And many were shocked to discover that the brains behind the pop star's jaw-dropping leather getup did not belong to a big-name label, but to the relatively new and unknown New York-based designer, Rubin Singer.
'I have to tell you, this is a moment,' Mr Singer, 34, told The New York Times. 'It's the biggest moment of my career.'

Outline: The designer's sketch (pictured) shows the jaw-dropping outfit Beyonce wore during halftime, made out of leather, python, iguana, silk and plastic

Worthy of a superstar: The outfit required fourteen workers, five fittings and over two hundred man hours in the designer's New York atelier to complete

The designer's creation included a black plunging leather bodysuit fashioned with strips of engineered python, paneled iguana, silk, plastic and leather, with insets of black lace.
The ensemble also featured a motorcycle jacket with padded shoulders and a leather flounce skirt which Beyoncé ripped off early in the show, revealing a ruffled Chantilly lace skirt.
The Destiny's Child singer accessorised the look with long black leather gloves, knee-high black socks, flesh-coloured tights and black Proenza Schouler boots.
Though Mr Singer has worked with Beyoncé several times since they first met six years ago, his sartorial contribution to last night's halftime show - which was watched by over 110 million people - is by far his biggest gig to date.
Prior to the show, Mr Singer told the New York Times: 'Everyone's expecting Beyoncé to go with a major designer. She knows it’s a game-changer.
'My business could have legs from this.'

Layers of black: Beyoncé strutted onstage wearing a black short-sleeved motorcycle jacket and black skirt, both of which she ripped off to reveal a racy leather and lace bodysuit

Girl power: The show featured a surprise reunion with the performer's Destiny's Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland (left) and Michelle Williams (right), the latter of whom also wore a creation by Rubin Singer

The fashion designer was born into a Russian family of couturiers, his father having created the costumes for the Bolshoi Ballet and his grandfather having dressed Russian royalty.
Mr Singer's own career began to take off when he was appointed as associate designer at Oscar de la Renta.

The man behind the design: Mr Singer, 34, says his creation for Beyoncé was inspired by female warriors in Norse mythology

He then launched his own label in 2007 and has since dressed the likes of Fergie, Alicia Keys, Heidi Klum and Beyoncé's little sister Solange Knowles.
For the halftime show, Mr Singer faced the challenge of not only creating an ensemble worthy of America's best-loved superstar, but also one that would withstand her rigorous dance moves.
As such the outfit's completion required fourteen workers, five fittings and over two hundred man hours at Mr Singer's atelier.
And this was not his only feat: the designer also created Destiny's Child Michelle Williams' onstage look as well as all of the jackets worn by the 120 backup singers.
However Miss Knowles' other band mate, Kelly Rowland, opted instead for a custom-made Emilio Pucci leather bodysuit.
The designer also had to adapt Beyoncé's dress to fit her shrinking waistline due to intense daily rehearsals in the weeks leading up to the show.
Mr Singer told ET: 'When a performer is working so vigorously, they're shrinking constantly, and so she was losing weight every day.
'We had to keep taking it in and taking it in and taking it in and doing tweaks and changes.'
Beyoncé's getup was apparently based on the designer's upcoming fall 2013 collection, 'Valkyrie's Dominion,' inspired by female warriors from Norse mythology.
Mr Singer explained in a release: 'In Norse mythology a Valkyrie is a female figure who decides which soldiers die in battle and which live.
'A woman with power, focus and unbridled sexuality; not unlike Ms Knowles herself, was the starting point.'
Singer and his designs have featured in WWD and Elle magazines, and his eveningwear and cocktail dresses are sold in Neiman Marcus stores and several other specialty stores nation-wide.
He will present his fall 2013 collection during New York Fashion Week next week.