Collabs: Kelly Nishimoto and Playhouse Hollywood Sex Up the World of Workwear

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Just like launching a perfume or sunglasses, it's become a rite of passage for designers to create uniforms for some kind of hip hospitality enterprise—think Gwen Stefani for the W bar, or Jenni Kayne for the Thompson Hotel. And now LA's Kelly Nishimoto has unveiled her first stab at the world of workwear, with custom outfits for the bartenders and cocktail waitresses at Playhouse, the bordello-style club that opened on Hollywood Boulevard a few weeks ago. But these aren't your standard blend-into-the-background kinds of uniforms—the staff at Playhouse are expected to perform for their tips, resulting in a sultry getup that wouldn't look out of place on an actual Vegas stage. "I LOVE black and pink, and I LOVE lace and corsetry, so I naturally gravitated towards that," explains the designer in an e-mail. "And I wanted to finish the look with unexpected twists,like the mini top hats with super long feathers and the 'Eyes in the back of your head', so on that second or third drink you think you're seeing things." The look at right is the bartender's uniform, and although we probably wouldn't want to spend an entire night pouring vodka tonics in a corset, we're sure the clientele will have far more fun looking at it than at a boring black button-down.
· Kelly Nishimoto [Official Site]
· Playhouse Hollywood [Official Site]