The “SMTOWN LIVE 2025” concert was held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on January 11th and 12th. The event celebrated SM Entertainment’s 30th anniversary, with a packed house of fans cheering on their favorite SM artists. The concert was also live streamed on global platforms Beyond LIVE and Weverse, amplifying the excitement.
Reuse of costumes: Déjà Vu on stage
However, fans noticed a sense of déjà vu during the performances. Many of the performers wore outfits strikingly similar to those seen in previous performances. While they couldn’t pinpoint the exact dates, fans recognized the “familiar” costumes.
A notable example was NCT Dream, who wore their black and white outfits from the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour in the US last December. They also reused costumes from their promotions for the remake of HOT’s “Candy.” Likewise, RIIZE wore the clothes from their “Boom Boom Bass” show, while NCT 127 wore the white padded vests seen during their end-of-year stage at SBS’ Gayo Daejeon last year.
This sparked mixed reactions among fans. Some welcomed the return of the outfits they had previously admired, expressing gratitude for the “repurposed costumes.” However, others were disappointed, expecting special new stage attire for the 30th anniversary concert. Comments like, “Reuse again?” “It’s the 30th anniversary, couldn’t they have prepared new outfits?” AND “I wanted to see shiny new clothes” reflected their discontent.
Practical reasons and environmental considerations
But the stylists had their reasons. As “costume reuse” was a trend online, Super Junior’s Leeteuk addressed the issue during a live broadcast on January 12. He explained that the concert was on a limited budget and that creating new costumes would be expensive, with the costs deducted from the performers’ activity fees. To save resources, they decided to reuse previous clothes. Leeteuk also clarified that although constant reuse may seem inappropriate even to artists, it prevents waste and avoids unfair criticism of designers. Fans who listened to Leeteuk’s explanation showed understanding.
One netizen highlighted not only the high cost of producing the costumes, but also the importance of considering the environmental impact. They were referring to SM Entertainment’s massive 3,540-square-meter costume warehouse, revealed in KBS2’s “Boss in the Mirror” last October. The episode featured Kim So-yeon, CEO of ESteem Entertainment, visiting the storage facility, which houses over 110,000 outfits worn by idols such as BoA and aespa. Reflecting on this, one fan commented, “After seeing the collection, I think that reusing clothes in a sensible way is right and environmentally friendly. But please avoid reusing the ones that didn’t get a good response.
Meanwhile, the “SMTOWN LIVE 2025” concert, which attracted 40,000 fans in two days, will continue its world tour starting in May, spreading its excitement around the world.
