Tamara Allison, the Las Vegas-based senior image consultant for Design Collective® by Cintas, may be Vegas’ most powerful tastemaker when it comes to hotel and casino glamour. And for anyone growing up in the 1990s, Allison is the real-life Sue Ellen (played by Christina Applegate) in Stephen Herek’s cult film, “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” Like Sue Ellen, Tamara brings her innate sense of fashion to the employee apparel business by dreaming up and creating show-stopping uniforms and cocktail waitress dresses in this town’s most prestigious resorts.
Her career started in Detroit, Michigan where Tamara developed apparel programs for several casinos including Motor City Casino Hotel, Greektown Casino, and MGM Grand Detroit. That is where her love for image apparel began.
Now, a Summerlin resident and employee of Cintas for nearly 20 years, Tamara’s strong fashion background and a sharp eye for detail has made her the lead image consultant for the company’s gaming division where she works hand-in-hand with hotels and casinos to create custom and fashion-forward apparel programs.
“The fashion industry and the casinos have a long-standing relationship,” says Tamara, whose clients include The Venetian, Palazzo, MGM Grand, Stations Casinos, and Resorts World, to name a few. “Las Vegas is the epicenter of glitz and glamour, where clothing is more than just style - it’s a statement.”
As an image consultant for Design Collective, Tamara and her clients work closely with Design Collective’s award-winning in-house designers to create one-of-a-kind wardrobe collections for the front of the house to the back, including valet, bellmen, front desk, casino floor, housekeeping, chefs, engineers—you name it.
Recently, Tamara worked with Resorts World to create the stunning cocktail server dresses worn on the casino floor. In keeping with the resort’s extravagant design theme, each royal blue cocktail dress features 650 Austrian crystals that cascade down the bodice creating an eye-catching ombre effect.
In an interview with Red Rock Lifestyle magazine, Tamara described that she and the design team “begin each concept from the ground up. We work directly with each client to have a full understanding of their image and vision to create a unique, sophisticated, and functional apparel program in perfect alignment with their brand.”
The result is dazzling! Fashions truly made for the casino floor and some that rival today’s leading evening wear designs. The dresses created by Design Collective bring back the old glamour of Sin City where the Rat Pack ruled, and Liberace sparkled.
This nod to iconic Las Vegas glamour can be seen in the head-turning white and beaded fringe cocktail dresses worn by servers in the lounge at Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa—where each custom dress is hand washed by the casino after each wear.
While creating statement pieces in keeping with each client’s brand is a key element, modern technology and carefully crafted and tested pieces are equally as important. Located in the heart of the gaming capital, the Design Collective by Cintas Las Vegas Design Studio specializes in creating designs with a team of talented designers, pattern makers, seamstresses, and tailors dedicated to making brands come to life to create the perfect employee and customer experience.
A rags-to-riches story, Cintas was originally an industrial rag cleaning company. Nearly 100 years later, the company is the largest employee apparel supplier in North America, outfitting more than 5 million people in work apparel each day.
The ability to create and implement a consistent apparel program across all national and local brands is what sets Design Collective apart. A one-stop shop for all wardrobe needs, Cintas offers a plethora of garment options and the technology needed to make execution seamless. From collaborations with retail brands like Chef Works® and Carhartt® to chic suiting and luxury custom dresses for casino staff, Design Collective is the leader in ready-to-wear and bespoke attire.
“Today’s environment demands we deliver not just the glamour and wow factor but cutting-edge innovation ensuring employees and customers come first. In addition to eco-friendly materials, we are using new fabrics with antimicrobial properties to help garments remain fresh throughout the workday,” explained Tamara.
And she would know. Tamara has consistently increased sales each year, earning her four Presidents Club Awards and four Presidents Club Diamond Level Awards. But it’s her persistence, unwavering dedication to customer satisfaction, and relationships she has built over the years with owners, operators, and management teams that has Design Collective by Cintas glittering in the gaming industry.