Zentai introduction

1. Zentai
Zentai (from the Japanese ゼンタイ) is a term for skin-tight garments
that cover the entire body.
[1]
The word is a portmanteau of zenshin
taitsu (全身タイツ) ("full-body tights").
[2]
Zentai is most commonly
made using nylon/spandex blends.
[3]
Brands
Some companies have tried to create mainstream brands of the suits by dropping the traditional
name; examples include RootSuit or Superfan Suit in theUnited States, Bodysocks[4] or SecondSkins
by Smiffy's[5] and Morphsuits in the United Kingdom, and Jyhmiskin in Finland. Morphsuits has
achieved relativecommercial success internationally. BetweenJanuary and lateOctober 2010, the
company shipped 10,000 to Canada alone.[6] Morphsuits brand has actively tried to disassociate
themselves from the existing zentai community, occasionally being listed as the product's co-
inventor.[7] Superfan Suits acknowledges in interviews that the outfits have existed previously.[8]
Their[clarification needed] term has become somewhat generic in the process; one New Zealand-based
newspaper refersto competing brand Jaskins as"one of themain online morphsuit brands." Jaskins
company founder Josh Gaskin says their origins areunclear, pegging the first usagewith It's Always
Sunny in Philadelphia. These suits are used by animators: the original colors offered allowed the
person wearing the chroma key suit to be lifted easily from a video image.[9]
Mainstream use
This mainstream push has made them relatively common apparel at major
sporting events, and created internationally recognized personalities
out of The Green Men, two fans of the Vancouver Canucks NHL team.
[10]
Various professional street dance/hip hop dance groups use the
outfits, such as The Body Poets in the United States,
[8][11]
and Remix
Monkeys in the United Kingdom.
[12]
Other applications of the bodysuits have included music videos (Black
Eyed Peas' song "Boom Boom Pow", including the live performance at
the Super Bowl), breast cancer awareness,
[13][14]
fashion modeling on an
episode of America's Next Top Model, social anxiety workshops,
television (Charlie Kelly as Green Man), [15]
a participant in public
art project "One & Other",
[16]
and social experiments.
[17][18]
A British
theme park offered free admission for those in zentai in the colours
of their park logo.
[19]

2. Legal limitations
Since Zentai cover one's face, a fine of up to €150 is issued to those who wear them publicly in
France. Furthermore, Some sports leagues, such as Major League Baseball, ban the use of the
costume hoods.[20]