| INFLUENCES 09.22.09 9:00 AM |
|
New Louis Vuitton Book Focuses on Integrating the Brand and Art
|
 | | Jun Aoki & Associates' terrazzo façade of the Louis Vuitton Ginza boutique in Tokyo is embedded with translucent marble squares. |
|
Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion, and Architecture documents the iconic French luxury brand’s collaborations with leading international artists, architects, designers, and photographers. The 400-page anthology (with 400 color illustrations), out today from Rizzoli New York, includes an A-to-Z list of those who have worked with the company over the years—Vanessa Beecroft, Frank Gehry, David LaChapelle, Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, and Zaha Hadid, among others—on advertising, fashions, boutique designs, and commissioned art projects.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Louis Vuitton |
 |
| FRESH FACE 06.24.09 11:00 AM |
|
Michael Smith Creates Integrated Sound Programs for Events
|
Since he started out as a DJ hobbyist in 2000, Michael Smith has gone on to make a name for himself, spinning professionally for luxury, fashion, media, and entertainment brands. Now he’s expanding his offerings with Michael Smith Event Music, which creates complete programs for corporate clients like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Vogue. Call it sonic branding: sound services beyond a traditional DJ’s purview that work with a brand’s specific mission.
“I’ve always been interested in creating a unique sound experience,” Smith says. “So you’re selling a car. What’s your objective for the event? Not just ‘Hey, here’s a cool DJ who can rock a party.’ It’s ‘What is your event about?’ It’s about working with a brand’s sonic identity. Everywhere that [a company uses] music, I believe it should be consistent with the brand.”
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Louis Vuitton, Jaguar |
|
| NEWS 05.20.09 4:01 PM |
|
In the News: Celebrities Return to Washington Social Scene, Life Ball Draws 40,000
|
Vienna Swells During 2009 Life Ball: An estimated 40,000 people visited Vienna, Austria, over the weekend to take part in the 17th annual Life Ball, Europe's largest H.I.V./AIDS charity event. The night ended up something of a combination between a black-tie benefit and Mardi Gras, with Bill Clinton and Eva Longoria Parker speaking to the crowd about social responsibility and Pamela Anderson and Katy Perry dressed as sea creatures in an ocean-themed runway show. Held at Vienna's town hall, the event also included a pool filled with more than 600,000 gallons of water, filled with dancers dressed as sea monsters, jellyfish, and mermaids. [NYT]
Obama Administration Keeps Celebrities in Washington: Obama's presidency has brought a resurgence of celebrities to Washington—and not just for big events like the inauguration and the White House Correspondents' Dinner. From official White House events to local campaign stumping for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, celebrities including Will.i.am, James Earl Jones, and actor-turned-White House staffer Kal Penn have not been strangers to the town's social scene. Event planners in Washington should strongly consider beefing up their step-and-repeats. [Examiner]
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
Life Ball, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Will.i.am, Louis Vuitton, Richard Prince, Bravo, Gossip Girl, History Channel |
|
 |
|
| EVENT REPORT 11.01.07 6:51 PM |
|
MOCA Fetes Murakami With Cartoonish Gala
|
 | Marc Jacobs with Murakami.
Photo: John Sciulli/Berliner Studio/BEImages |
|
The Museum of Contemporary Art built its fall gala around one of the most accessible artists on the contemporary scene—Takashi Murakami, whose colorful bags for Louis Vuitton have spread his fame far beyond the art world. Not surprisingly, the weekend of events hailing the opening of his one-man show broke attendance records, with 8,000 fans of his playful, fetishistic work inspired by Japanese anime cramming the members’ evening at the Geffen Contemporary on Saturday. That meant MOCA's imaginative director of special events, Vanessa Gonzalez, working with Best Events' production team, had to accomplish a Herculean turnaround for the Murakami gala the following night.
More than 1,300 guests turned out for cocktails and nearly 1,000 stayed on for the seated dinner of tuna sashimi, seared beef rib eye with shiitake mushrooms, and banana spring rolls in coconut tapioca. As attendees picked up their dinner tickets, organizers handed them natural-leather card cases imprinted with a signature Murakami flower face, made by Vuitton as a souvenir of the evening. (Susan Loughry, Vuitton’s global events director, collaborated on the event.)
Museum supporters entered a cavernous black space, with walls and overhead spheres emblazoned with the artist’s colorful cartoons of skulls and eyes. Greeting guests was a silent chorus line of a dozen women dressed as Murakami’s recurring character Miss Ko2, sporting long champagne-blonde wigs and sequined bustiers designed by Lunna Menoh. Revelers sipped Belvedere white cosmos in black martini glasses and nibbled spicy-tuna sushi and chicken yakitori passed by Patina as Kanye West (another Murakami collaborator) performed a few songs.
MORE >>
RELATED TOPICS
MOCA, Takashi Murakami, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton |
|
|
