| EVENT INTELLIGENCE 11.21.05 12:00 AM |
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| It Happened to Me: Falling Lighting Equipment |
| A follow-up look at how an accident in September is changing Diane von Furstenberg's event plans. |
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FROM NEW YORK Designer Diane von Furstenberg's show during Fashion Week in September made news, but not for the reason PR director Alexis Rodriguez might have hoped. On September 11, some of the lighting equipment set up for the show at von Furstenberg's studio collapsed, injuring guests and causing panic among the crowd, just as the models were doing their final walk. It happened slowly, giving some members of the audience time to hold up the lights long enough to mitigate the damage. Still, five fashion editors suffered injuries. DVF special events director Luisella Meloni, creative director Nathan Jenden, von Furstenberg, and Rodriguez escorted unhurt guests to the exits and cleared the house while caring for the two most severely injured attendees, comforting them, and calling 911 to get an ambulance to the scene.
Needless to say, the party scheduled for after the show was a toned-down affair, with von Furstenberg leaving early to visit one victim in the emergency room. The next day—as news of the accident hit media outlets from The Daily to the Associated Press—the fashion house contacted and sent flowers to the injured, with offers to cover any medical bills. Nonetheless, one person is suing; the lawsuit was underway at press time.
The accident has changed the brand's plans for upcoming shows. Rodriguez says the next is likely to be at the 7th on Sixth tents in Bryant Park, "where there's less liability; everything is properly checked and there's a whole crew working on all the other shows so everything is safe and secure." Also, the venues are larger, and DVF is a growing business. "We've learned we're a much bigger company than we thought—we needed more seats than we had [on the night of the accident]. This big of an event must be done at a space that can handle this type of crowd," Rodriguez says.
Still, DVF continues to host smaller events at the studio—using the same lighting designer. "He's brilliant," Rodriguez says, "and lights falling has nothing to do with lighting design." As for the vendor who installed the lights? The design house has severed that relationship.
All told, the designer's team thinks it fared well under pressure. "Handling a crisis situation comes down to instinct," Rodriguez says. "We just went into autopilot and didn't freak out."
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 11.21.05
Photo: Thos Robinson/Getty Images
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