Who’s the hottest fashionista around? Hello Kitty! Yes, this funky pop icon was the muse for 30 top international designers when M.A.C Cosmetics asked them to design couture inspired by this famous feline. Manish Arora, who’s designed for celebs and society divas, was one of the noted names invited to design for this client who really is the cat’s meow!
“I wanted to embody the spirit of Hello Kitty and make her a dress that would celebrate her sweet girlish fantasies,” says Manish Arora. He himself did not make it to New York for the big bash but his luscious dress was the center of attention – a high waisted concoction in black tissue with fantasy horse appliqués in silk and chiffon and a bodice appliquéd in pink with grey and silver sequined 3 dimensional clouds.
M·A·C Cosmetics asked designers to work within the color palette of the Hello Kitty collection of black, grey, white and pink and asked the question, “What would M·A·C Hello Kitty wear if she were a fashionista?”
The result was a fantasy wardrobe of everything from swimwear to cocktail dresses created by designers from Europe and the US including Emanuel Ungaro, Herve Leger, Blugirl, Catherine Malandrino, Charlotte Ronson, Elie Saab, Kai Kühne, Katy England, Marchesa, Miro, Opening Ceremony, Rosa Cha, Ruffian, Sinha Stanic, Tadashi Shoji, The Blonds, threeasFOUR, Vicente Villarin, Yigal Azrouel and Zac Posen.
The one-of-a-kind collection was unveiled at a hip, fun cocktail party at Cedar Lake in Chelsea, packed with beautiful people, fashionistas, designers, celebrities and Hello Kitty fans. In the center of the dark room stood a bevy of stunning live models and mannequins on pedestals – and you couldn’t tell who was real and who was plastic! It was quite unreal!
All the couture was sold on eBay, with the proceeds benefiting the Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) which is such a nurturing place for young designers. Certainly there were many appreciative eyes on Manish’s ensemble. As the editor of Julieb, an online luxury magazine, said of the dress, “It’s whimsical and very fun– it kind of wants to make you smile and that’s what fashion should really be about!”
“Make up is an accessible luxury – you can change your lipstick, and you can change your makeup and completely transform yourself,” observed John Demsey, Group President, M·A·C Cosmetics, when asked about the new line in tough times. Did he believe the M.A.C. Hello Kitty Cosmetics would take off in India? “Absolutely – without question,” he said. “India is very fashion forward and Hello Kitty is an iconic persona and an iconic brand.”
