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. 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???’ 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.’ 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.’ 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.
