In an earlier post we mistakenly credited Vex Clothing for the production and creation of the latex worn in both M.A.C. Cosmetics’ Hello Kitty promo video and at the store launch in New York. Later we were told that Atsuko Kudo actually made the latex in the video, so naturally many of us were baffled as to who actually made the clothes.
Seems both Vex Clothing AND Atsuko Kudo were hired by M.A.C., as Laura from Vex Clothing learned last night:
“I have had confirmation that the outfit in the Ads are Astuko Kudo.
The items we designed and produced for the project were all of the latex pieces that you now see on the ‘Wild’ character (the darker skinned girl) apart from her ears(!) The significant pieces are her catsuit, gloves and collar as these pieces quite define her look. All of these pieces are items which have been available from the Atsuko Kudo range for some time and were chosen by Katy as she specifically wanted to use this style for the ‘Wild’ look. We also made all of the bows.
For the ‘Mild’ character (the lighter skinned girl) all of the latex bows including the one in her hair were made by us. These are items we have been producing for many years. The rest of her costume as far as we know is not made from latex and we did not have involvement with that.
We had no involvement with the costumes for the male characters.
So this was a commission for Atsuko Kudo designs which we duly completed in June 2008. It appears MAC contacted Vex in August 2008 some two months later and as yet we do not know what the pieces Vex made for them look like.
We, like many others no doubt, are looking forward to seeing the Vex version of the clothing for the campaign as so far no pictures of the Vex version have been published. The pictures of the NYC launch party are of the Atsuko Kudo designs.
In the meantime, we hope that all latex fans and Hello Kitty fans can enjoy the pictures created here in London last summer, knowing that the latex pieces so lovingly designed, crafted and used were indeed produced entirely from the studios of Atsuko Kudo.
Thank you again,
Best wishes,
Ako and Simon (Atsuko Kudo)”
From Atsuko Kudo re: Hello Kitty/Clarification
Hi Miss Fuzzy Bunny!
Firstly, thank you for running this high quality and ever informative site – it’s so very much appreciated.
We’d like to take the opportunity to add our voice to this slightly confused issue and hopefully finally clarify what actually did happen.
In May 2008 Atsuko Kudo was approached by well known London based stylist Katy England, to design and produce costumes for a forthcoming MAC/Hello Kitty range to be shot by one of the world’s top fashion photographers, Nick Knight.
The items we designed and produced for the project were all of the latex pieces that you now see on the ‘Wild’ character (the darker skinned girl) apart from her ears(!) The significant pieces are her catsuit, gloves and collar as these pieces quite define her look. All of these pieces are items which have been available from the Atsuko Kudo range for some time and were chosen by Katy as she specifically wanted to use this style for the ‘Wild’ look. We also made all of the bows.
For the ‘Mild’ character (the lighter skinned girl) all of the latex bows including the one in her hair were made by us. These are items we have been producing for many years. The rest of her costume as far as we know is not made from latex and we did not have involvement with that.
We had no involvement with the costumes for the male characters.
To clarify, this was a commission for Atsuko Kudo designs which we duly completed in June 2008. It appears MAC contacted Vex in August 2008 some two months later and as yet we do not know what the pieces Vex made for them look like.
We, like many others no doubt, are looking forward to seeing their version of the clothing for the campaign as so far no pictures of the Vex version have been published.
In the meantime, we hope that all latex fans and Hello Kitty fans can enjoy the pictures created here in London last summer, knowing that the latex pieces so lovingly designed, crafted and used were indeed produced entirely from the studios of Atsuko Kudo.
Thank you again,
Best wishes,
Ako and Simon (Atsuko Kudo)