A celebrity fashion designer has accused a number of Hollywood stars of trying to score free clothes from her.
Fans may remember Kelly Nishimoto for hosting TLC’s Something Borrowed, Something New, but behind the scenes she created a number of popular fashion brands, including the cult athleisure line Cute Booty Lounge.
Now Nishimoto is calling out a handful of stars that she claims tried to score freebies from her through their stylists, including pop legend Paula Abdul.
‘I’ve had a few celebrities that just don’t like to pay,’ she shared on her Hairbrush News podcast.
‘Paula Abdul. Her stylist pulled some pieces for her to wear on American Idol and she wore them,’ she continued.
‘And before they were returned, the stylist called and said, “Paula would really like to keep these three pieces.” And I said, “No problem, I’ll send you over the invoice.”
Celebrity fashion designer Kelly Nishimoto has accused Paula Abdul and Kate Hudson of trying to score free clothes from her in the past
‘And then she was like, “Oh, she was hoping you would gift them to her.” I’m like, she’s filming American Idol for who knows how much she’s getting an episode. I’m over here struggling, can barely pay my rent and my employee, my one employee and my one sewing lady. And you want me to give you a thousand dollars of the clothes for free?’
She added, ‘How about she pays me the thousand dollars and then pays me another thousand dollars for letting her borrow the rest of the stuff that I have to dry clean.’
Nishimoto then claims that the stylist sent all the items back once they realized they couldn’t get them for free.
‘They sent everything back. I thought that was so tacky,’ she said.
Nishimoto then accused Kate Hudson’s stylist of calling her to try and get a free pair of her Cute Booty leggings, despite the fact that Hudson had just launched her own athleisure brand, Fabletics.
‘And I thought, “Oh, well she can buy them. What would she like and I will send over the invoice.” And then I never heard back. I mean, c’mon. Really?’ she said.
Despite Nishimoto’s claims, a number of fans and fashion industry insiders defended Abdul and Hudson on social media.
‘To be fair, the assistants job is to try and get it for free. So she may have spoken for Paula. Paula could have easily stated she wanted the pieces, and the assistant took it upon herself to ask for it for free,’ wrote one person.
‘This is on the stylist, not the client. They don’t wanna chip into their own budget,’ commented celebrity makeup artist Ernesto Casillas.
A number of people jumped to Abdul’s defence, including designer Michael Costello, who said that it may have been Abdul’s stylist who tried to get the freebie without her knowledge
Nishimoto also accused Hudson’s stylist of calling her to try and get a free pair of leggings, despite the fact that Hudson had just launched her own athleisure brand, Fabletics
Celebrity fashion designer and Project Runway star Michael Costello also defended Abdul.
‘Paula is exceptional. I say that not just because she’s a friend, but because she’s always conducted herself with professionalism. In fact, Paula has always paid in full for anything she’s ever worn from our company,’ he wrote.
The Daily Mail has contacted both Abdul and Hudson’s management for comment.
Nishimoto is best known for hosting TLC’s bridal reality series Something Borrowed, Something New, which ran for three seasons from 2013 to 2014.
In February, she announced that she was closing down her fashion brand after 22 years to pursue other projects.
She now hosts her own podcast called Hairbrush News.
