WILSON KELLO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF HUSTLER LINGERIE, DISHES TO NUDE AMBITION AT THE INTERNATIONAL LINGERIE SHOW ABOUT THE INSPIRATION BEHIND AND FUTURE OF HUSTLER LINGERIE. MODEL/SERVER AND WINNER OF NUDE AMBITION’S HOLIDAY LINGERIE CONTEST, CHRISTINE HALL, SHOWS OFF HUSTLER LINGERIE’S WINNING PIECE.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY STUDIO WEST PHOTOGRAPHY
INTERVIEW BY NUDE AMBITION
Which current trends is Hustler Lingerie loving?
We love the less is more phenomenon, crotch-less, boob-less, ass-less. It seems as though the less the lingerie covers the more the customer wants it. Maybe we will just be able to ship an empty box at some point. Beyond that the whole risqué vibe seems to be taking over. Both the dominatrix and burlesque lingerie styles are crossing over and infiltrating the mainstream lingerie trends. We also like mesh and lace. Satin, mesh, and lace are staples, but we are impressed with the innovative new ways of working with it. For example, we are seeing mesh with flocking appliqués and even screen prints. There is an emergence of street wear sensibilities being applied to lingerie fashions that is exciting and current. To sum up, the more risqué styles and the street wear crossovers are the trends we love right now.
From where does the inspiration for Hustler Lingerie spring? Do you have muses or favorite bodies you like to adorn?
Larry Flynt. our inspiration is Larry Flynt himself including his motto and the magazine. That’s really who we design for. We believe in the same things as the Flynts. Free speech, freedom of expression and the basic American rights that make this country truly great. We embrace those values and so we create sexy timeless pieces that flatter everyone. If you are asking if there are there any single bodies or one person that I want to throw the lingerie on, then I’m probably supposed to say Angelina Jolie. But no–we have, and everyone has, different standards of beauty. We strive to create sexy lingerie that flatters everyone that puts it on.
The “Utility Belt” from the Hustler Casino Line won Nude Ambition Magazine’s Holiday Lingerie Contest. The fabric on this piece is like nothing we have ever seen before, it looks like suede from a distance but up close and to the touch it feels like satin. What is this intriguing fabric and is it easy to care for?
That’s actually baby sealskin. No–that’s a custom woven logo jacquard, like the Gucci jacquard or any high end fashion logo jacquard, which is interwoven satin, so you get a subdued delicate effect where you can’t actually see the interwoven print from a distance, but as you get closer, it emerges. Especially when it is tone on tone, because it is delicate satin you would care for it just as you would your favorite satin nightgown.
Does Hustler Lingerie consider itself a new company? Is it under new management?
We’re not really a new company. Hustler has been making people very happy for the past forty years and International Intimates who owns this license, has been making people happy for the past twenty five years. So, are we under new management? Yeah, we have the hustler Lingerie license now and we plan to do big things with the hustler and the Flynt family. We’re ambitious, capable, and unafraid.
Who can we credit for this exciting line? And what big plans are in store for Hustler Lingerie?
Every member of the team contributes equally. That is to say, every member of the team gives everything they have and the result is a phenomenal amount of new development. Right now we are launching a brand-new package lingerie line and we have a costume line coming out. We have numerous projects currently under development that I really can’t reveal too much about right now. I can say we are working around the clock. We are meeting with the Flynts to discuss many more dimensions of the license.
Hustler Lingerie was a sponsor for Ozfest this past summer. What other events is Hustler Lingerie sponsoring?
Well, we sponsor parties every month, at least one sometimes two or three, and we have a few more big tours lined up for next year. We’re trying to get as close to the people as we can to prove that sexy clothing isn’t just for dancers or women with perfect figures. It is for everyone. At Ozfest we were amazed at how many women, fat, short, skinny, tall, were stealing their boyfriends beer money to buy a bikini set, especially in Kansas City. You know who you are, if you are reading this.
Which women does Hustler Lingerie aim to please?
Angelina Jolie, dancers, women with perfect figures. No! We aim to please every single woman that puts on our lingerie. If she looks in the mirror and says, “Hell yes,” then we’ve done our job.
The fashion apparel industry watches the street to see what new trends the people (trendsetters) are starting.
Who does Hustler Lingerie think are the lingerie fashion trendsetters?
In our particular segment of the industry, there aren’t really too many trendsetters. The market seems to be pretty comfortable seeing the same thing in a new or different box year after year. As far as the lingerie market as a whole, Agent Provocateur is probably the single coolest lingerie company that I can think of. That’s whom I would look to for actual new trends. Beyond that, the trendsetters exist beyond the market. As I was saying earlier, the new trends are from innovative techniques and new appliqués. The people who are willing to embroider a logo over satin, or to create a mesh demy cup bra with flocked hearts, or just any kind of out of the box thinking are moving the trends.
Pole dancing is starting to become a huge trend in women’s fitness. Is Hustler Lingerie involved in this boom?
Yes, we are, in fact hustler Lingerie is the sponsor of Amy Raven. She is a professional pole-dancer and a member of the International Pole Federation. We give her outfits to wear during competitions and when teaching. I spoke with her recently and she has an enormous group of students who range from an attorney to a celloist, a restaurant owner to high school students. Even a sixty-five year old woman, whose only background is in ballroom dancing, takes her class. We are heavily involved in Amy Raven’s career right now. She was recently crowned, at Pole-Palooza, as the Princess of the Pole. She is very active and we are supplying her with outfits and she is spreading the word about hustler Lingerie.
The Halloween costume events Hustler Lingerie hosts are pretty wild. Over the years the women’s costumes have become very risqué. Halloween seems, for adults, like a contest of who can be the sexiest. Which is your most popular costume? Which is your sexiest costume?
Yeah, our parties are kind of crazy. Actually, we just developed our new costume line and we have not really released it to the public yet. We will be unveiling the catalogue in December and we expect a very enthusiastic reaction from the industry. That is, of course, if the industry wants beautiful, perfectly tailored, extremely sexy costumes. And yes, they are sexy, the cuts are high, the neckline is low, there is a lot of cleavage, there is a lot of flesh. But as your question suggests, that is what the industry wants right now, and that is what the people want, so if there is a question as to who is going to win the sexy contest next year, it will probably be the one wearing hustler Lingerie Costumes.
Do you have a forecast for our Nude Ambition readers about what lingerie styles will be popular?
I am designing things with mesh, crotch-less panties, peek-a-boo bras, and demi cup bras. The more flesh the better. Where we do cover skin, we cover it in mesh and satin. We have big bows! Forget the small bows–we have big bows coming off the back of the panties, big bows coming off the back of the hosiery, and lots of black and gold.
