Decor

Mix and match SuperLever panels to create a funky vibe

Magnolia Bluebird created walls of cotton candy served on LED glow sticks for the Pop Art-theme sweet sixteen party. “It smelled like a Katy Perry concert when you walked in the door,” says Danielle Couick, principal of the Columbia, Maryland-based event planning company.

Hermès opened its new Beverly Hills flagship store with a Bounce-produced party so transformative, it almost felt like an entirely other place and time. And that's exactly what the production and design team behind the nuanced bash was going for: “We wanted it to transport you, so when you were walking into the space, you were really taken into another world. We were trying to achieve a sense of disbelief that you would experience while watching a film or a piece of theater,” said Hermès senior vice president of communications Peter Malachi. About 700 guests found a private warehouse in Culver City reimagined with dreamy vintage Hollywood and French flair, the original inspiration for which was drawn from a scarf specially commissioned for the new store. The red carpet arrivals backdrop mimicked the iconic Hollywood hills and sign.

The Watermill Center, Robert Wilson's artistic laboratory in the Hamptons, is known for incorporating unusual elements into its annual benefits, and in 2007 the night began with a live-action take on the logo-filled photo backdrop, which had actors in frog costumes holding signs with sponsors' names. “We've never had a step-and-repeat before, and we thought that if we had that, it had to be our own version,” said Watermill Center public relations and special events manager Natascha Theis. Artist Andrey Bartenev designed the installation.

Relativity Media's 21 and Over was filled with drinking scenes, of course. So when the movie had its premiere party at the Regency Village Theatre in Westwood in February, event producers brought its hard-partying plot line to life with an unusual arrivals wall. Jade Alex, Relativity Media's director of events and special projects, worked with Best Events to create a 60-foot wall that comprised some 3,700 red plastic cups. Stationed alongside the red carpet, the cheeky fixture served as a backdrop for press photographs of stars such as Justin Chon and Skylar Astin.

With a headliner like Kanye West and sponsor Cartier helping to underwrite the event, the Museum of Modern Art had no trouble drawing a big crowd for its annual Party in the Garden in 2011. But as in years past, the institution's planning team sought to widen its base of supporters even further and find new ways to keep the spring fundraiser fresh. To bring guests straight into the cocktail area and create more of a grand backdrop for the arrivals, the planning team used the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden's gates as the event's entrance, and marked it with a striking leafy topiary embellished with MoMA and Cartier logos.

For its annual film benefit in 2011, the Museum of Modern Art honored director Pedro Almodóvar. As a subtle way to acknowledge the Spanish heritage of the director, the organizers added red-hued touches to the minimalist space. To switch things up, MoMA reconfigured the layout, receiving guests through the 54th Street side of the museum rather than the 53rd Street entrance. This new perspective gave producer KCD the opportunity to make a statement in the arrivals and check-in area while not detracting from the modern space and the night's honoree. The celebrity arrivals area was marked by an enormous wall designed by Raul Avila with more than 20,000 red roses.

Time and People set up an adult lemonade stand serving specialty versions of favorite springtime cocktails at their joint Friday-night party at the St. Regis hotel. The names of the cocktails had a political theme: the tequila-based "Primary Punch" and a vodka-based drink called the "Delegate."