Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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DESERT PATROL Barbara Bell (CENTER) has been sewing up business all over town, including Five50, for which she designed these two uniforms. whose low dip in front has your significant other hypnotized? That's Bell's work, too. She also works closely with Angel Management Group and high school classmate Billy Richardson's Block 16 Hospitality. About the new Five50 uniforms, Bell says, "They're very edgy, hip, and LA chic: dark denim, leather leggings, and cool gold fabric. The hostesses wear a fitted black above-the-knee dress with a gold zipper that goes down the back center. Some of the guys are in John Varvatos Converse shoes. I'd wear every single piece out." Guilty pleasure: The design process starts when Bell sub"I go for foot mits sketches and presents a private fashion reflexology on show for casino honchos. Once she gets the Spring Mountain nod, she goes into production, with personal Road at a place fittings for every employee who will wear called Good Foot Spa." her designs. "All 300 Hakkasan employees It's a deal: "My have my cell phone number," she says. "They favorite place is call whenever they want something shortZara. It's high ened—or for a cigarette burn emergency." fashion meets A lifelong fashion fiend, Bell has degrees affordable from USC and the Fashion Institute of pricing." Design and Merchandising. In 2001, she cofounded the largest custom clothier for professional athletes in the US, heading its NBA division, which led to a partnership with Stephon Marbury on a private label for Macy's—and eventually to the Strip's hospitality world. "Uniforms are a challenge," she says. "Employees want to look and feel good. When they do, you see it in their service. Restaurant, bar, nightclub, and casino owners are realizing that uniforms are a big part of the patron's experience." There are also practical concerns that come with UNIFORM DESIGNER BARBARA BELL HAS AN EYE FOR STYLE, Las Vegas uniforms. "Cocktail waitress dress sizes in AND HER UNIFORMLY STRIKING WORK IS CATCHING ON WITH Vegas go from a zero to a size 16," Bell says, because VEGAS'S BIGGEST HOSPITALITY GROUPS. BY CINDY PEARLMAN they must accommodate baby bumps and those with a penchant for third helpings at the buffet. When choosing colors, "I have to keep the interior of the as Vegan Barbara Bell was the design brain behind the sultry dresses casino in mind. And dangles don't launder well." Finally, a delicate issue that must occur (admit it) to anyone reading and uniform pieces on Hakkasan's servers, hosts, and waitresses; now she's creating a new uniform program for Hakkasan worldwide. She about Vegas cocktail waitress attire: Just how much skin is enough? "These also designed the uniforms for Shawn McClain's pizza joint Five50, which girls definitely need support," Bell says. "You might think that the girls opened at Aria in July. And the dress on the cocktail waitress at El Cortez want to show everything. They don't." V INSIGHT L PHOTOGRAPHY BY SQUARESHOOTING.COM Breaking the Mold 64 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 064_V_SP_DP_BarbaraBell_Sept13.indd 64 8/6/13 10:30 AM