L.A. Designer Checks In With Hotel Uniforms
Maybe you’ve seen designer Tadashi Shoji’s creations on the runway of the Miss Universe contest.
Or maybe during your last visit to Las Vegas, you spotted a Mandalay Bay casino employee sporting a Tadashi design.
Well, if you happen to check into the new Ivy Hotel in the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego, you might see more of Tadashi’s elegant influences.
The Japanese-born designer, who has lived in Los Angeles for decades, was hired by Michael Kelly, the man behind the $90 million boutique hotel, to create all the uniforms for the staff, from the housekeepers and security personnel to the valet parkers and cocktail waitresses.
“We started a year and a half ago, but the theme changed several times,” said Tadashi, a graduate of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and the creator of gowns for celebrities such as Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson and Tyra Banks.
The designer’s Tadashi Collection is known for its array of sophisticated evening gowns and cocktail dresses. But Tadashi has been branching out to sportswear as well as hotel uniforms. Last year, he launched the Tadashi Home Collection of bedding, bath and personal-care items.
Tadashi met with the hotel’s interior designer, Dana Lee, who wanted the uniforms to match the hip but urbane tone of the 176-room hotel, which opened in mid- May.
Tadashi came up with about 20 different styles. “They didn’t want regular uniforms,” he said, fresh from the recent Miss Universe competition in Mexico City, where he was the official designer for the event.
With elegance in mind, Tadashi designed the women’s front-desk uniform to be a pleated-stitched dress with a fitted jacket. The front-desk attire for men consists of well-tailored suits.
The cocktail waitresses sport flared mini-dresses. Other waitresses wear longer dresses.
The bartenders wear black jersey shirts with short sleeves. The housekeeping staff has dark tan dresses with brown pockets, cuffs and hems.
Tadashi is happy with the hotel collection. But this isn’t his first venture into the realm of hotel uniforms. He has designed outfits for employees at the MGM, Mirage and Mandalay Bay hotels in Las Vegas. He even has a new uniform line called Exactly by Tadashi.—Deborah Belgum
