aespa’s “Risky” Red Carpet Looks At “Melon Music Awards” Suffer Criticism

aespa attended the 2025 Melon Music Awards, but their red carpet appearance quickly became a point of debate online.

Rather than focusing on the group’s presence, attention shifted to their outfits and the lack of cohesion between them.

Only Karina, Giselle, and Winter walked the red carpet, as SM Entertainment confirmed that Ningning was absent due to cold symptoms. 

안녕하세요, SM엔터테인먼트입니다.

당사 아티스트 에스파 닝닝의 오늘(20일) MMA 레드카펫 불참 관련 안내 드립니다.

닝닝은 금일 감기 증상으로 인한 컨디션 저하로 금일 예정되어 있던 레드카펫 행사에는 부득이하게 불참하게 되었습니다.

다만 무대에 대한 아티스트의 강력한 의지에 따라,…

— aespa (@aespa_official) December 20, 2025

For the event, the three members wore noticeably different looks. Karina chose a fitted black knee-length dress, keeping her styling relatively simple. 

Giselle wore a short blue backless mini dress, while Winter appeared in a black-and-gold dress of similar length featuring bow details.

While each outfit stood out individually, many felt the styling lacked coordination. Netizens pointed out that there was no shared color palette or concept tying the three looks together, making the group appearance feel disjointed.

Others also raised concerns about the thin and revealing nature of the outfits, especially given the cold weather in Korea at the time of the event.

• “They could’ve at least matched the colors. More than that, why do they all look so cold….”
• “Only Karina’s outfit feels safe. The others look way too bluish and boxy, like wardrobes, so it comes off tacky.”
• “Each outfit is pretty on its own, but there’s zero sense of unity lol.”
• “It really looks kind of mid.”
• “Why did they decide to make the concept that different for each member? lol”