| EVENT REPORT 04.23.08 4:28 PM |
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| Altar Acts |
| French liqueur house Cointreau launched a new cocktail with Dita Von Teese and her latest burlesque act. |
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It's not every day you see burlesque at an old synagogue, but last night French liqueur company Cointreau invited more than 500 guests to the Angel Orensanz Foundation for just that. Debuting a new cocktail and an act from brand ambassador Dita Von Teese as part of its "Be Cointreauversial" ad campaign, Cointreau filled the former synagogue on the Lower East Side with some French-inspired decor, plenty of alcohol, and celebrities including Jason Lewis, Russell Simmons, and RuPaul.
For the event's producer, U.K.-based event management firm Inca, which created a similar event in London in December, the key was to match the marketing message with an appropriate venue. Since the draw for guests was Von Teese, it wasn't necessary for the production and design to involve an overwhelming build-out. Positioning the performance stage in front of the altar in the main hall, the team did little to disguise the neo-Gothic interior. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Dita Von Teese performed her new burlesque act on a revolving stage that featured a giant martini glass.
Photo: Elizabeth Lippman |
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 | The design of the save-the-dates was based on the two large feather fans that Von Teese uses in her act.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | A bottle-shaped cutout marked the entrance to the event.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | A wall of Cointreau bottles replaced the step-and-repeat on the red carpet.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | Surrounded by a mock gilded frame, the stage was shrouded with an orange curtain and marked with the campaign's tagline "Be Cointreauversial."
Photo: BizBash |
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 | Behind illuminated bars, bartenders in berets served Cointreau-based concoctions.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | The V.I.P. area included tables and vintage furniture.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | Fake mirrors branded with Von Teese's image dotted the walls.
Photo: BizBash |
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Cointreau did, naturally, add its stamp to certain aspects of the event, including the orange carpet running up the entrance stairs and into the front hall, the orange lighting scheme, and a variety of French accents including berets for the waitstaff. A bottle-shaped cutout framed the foot of the stairs to the building, and a wall of dummy Cointreau bottles replaced the typical step-and-repeat in the arrivals area.
The doors opened at 8 p.m., and at 9:45, Von Teese emerged on stage, stripping off an elaborate, bejeweled costume to the whistles and camera flashes of a packed house. The act ended with the performer splashing in a giant martini glass and sipping on the cocktail named for her.
—Anna Sekula
RELATED TOPICS
Cointreau, Dita Von Teese
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