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Patricia Field, Kotex, and the secretly interesting redesigned MaxiPad

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Earlier this week U by Kotex launched a collaborative contest with costume designer Patricia Field, inviting people to redesign the maxi pad. ‘Girls have choices in all aspects of their lives, so why should they settle for boring and institutional feminine care products?’ said the company in a statement.

Ridiculous marketing ploy? Clearly. But if you check out the 600-plus colorful maxi pad submissions the company has collected on its website since Monday and don’t find yourself coveting at least some of them, you are a stronger woman than I. Among my favorites are this pad to the right, inspired by the street artist Banksy, and oddly, all the skull and crossbones biker pads, of which there are many.

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A company rep explained that none of these designs will actually make it into production--probably a good choice, since having all those dyes down there doesn’t seem too healthy. Instead, winners of the contest will be invited to work with Patricia Field (costume designer for ‘Sex and the City’) later this year to design a pad that will be on shelves in 2012. Expect it to be a bit more subtle.

Designer products in the, um, personal waste space, seem to be a growing trend. It wasn’t too long ago that the Internet was going crazy over Cynthia Rowley’s designer diapers for babies.

--Deborah Netburn

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