For Rihanna's debut Fenty Puma runway show, held February 12 at 23 Wall Street, production company Prodject commandeered about 35,000 square feet of space in the financial district for a distinctly unique five-day build. Only the video floor portion of the runway was raised, covered by about 200 pieces of custom mirror. Models first walked on the runway, then around the perimeter of the space on the same level as the first row of seats, bringing the clothing closer to the guests.
"The mirror allowed the collection to be viewed from multiple angles in an exciting way," said Prodject founder and president Keith Baptista. "Since the audience was sat on risers around the set in a theater-style setting, each guests saw the collection in a completely unique way."
Thom Browne's February 15 show at Skylight Modern featured 41 models, 372 guests, and a set meant to evoke Washington Square circa the Great Depression. Produced by Villa Eugenie, the city square was outlined in scrim drawings of what appeared to be 19th-century residences. The images bordered a dirt walkway around the perimeter of a small park.
Tommy Hilfiger's February 15 show at the Park Avenue Armory was produced by KCD and boasted a near-lifesize Randall Peacock-designed ship, dubbed the T.H. Atlantic. The ship boasted two main cabins, steam stacks, operational architectural lighting fixtures, branded buoys, piles of antique luggage, and an overall dimension of 130 by 40 feet.
The ship was made of scenic lumber cladding a steel frame structure. The actual hull was treated canvas stretched over a lumber frame to create curvature and maintain lightness for transport. Construction was done off site; the set was then deconstructed and rebuilt on site over four days (and removed in about five hours). Some 60 guests sat on the boat itself, while in total 900 attendees sat for the show.
As Wall Street is the central focus of the movie, money is a simple way to represent The Big Short in decor. For instance, the Chicago launch party for Absolut Mango vodka in 2009 was inspired by the fruit itself (it's a Hindi symbol of love, prosperity, and fertility) and a money tree draped with real and fake dollar bills was designed to represent prosperity.
Another way to incorporate money as a visual is to use throw pillows designed to look like stuffed money bags, which is what Cash Money Records did for its 2011 pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles.
If burnt-out vehicles aren't at hand, the juxtaposition of live foliage and industrial architecture can create a post-apocalyptic feels, just as it did for the Luminato Festival's opening party.
The Chicago Botanic Garden's Antiques & Garden Fair Preview Evening took place on April 23. Landscape architect Maria Smithburg and Manifredini Landscaping & Design lined the entrance with red buckets of varying heights that held lush, cheerful arrangements of purple tulips.
Vibrant colors reverberated throughout the themed rooms of the Corcoran Gallery of Art for the Corcoran Ball in Washington in April. The Rotunda had a Mexican-themed look with white and gold linens accented by tall centerpieces filled with green, yellow, and red tulips.
The Friends of the High Line benefit returned to New York's Pier 57 in May for an evening dubbed the "Photo Party." Overhead, strings of café lights hung with bunting crafted from photographs of the park attached to clothespins. Eclectic-looking chandeliers also dotted the ceiling.
The Museum of Modern Art’s annual Party in the Garden took place in New York on May 21. Overhead, dense arrangements of tropical plants were suspended between white pillars, creating a jungle-like canopy effect.
At the Pratt Institute Fashion Show and Cocktail Benefit on April 25, models walked a ribbon-shaped runway. Held at Center548 in New York, the show displayed edgy looks from 17 student designers, and Blumlein Associates Inc. designed a runway that let the collection be viewed from any angle in the room.
The Horizons for Homeless Children's gala took place at Boston's State Room on April 6 and had a dinner of organic herb-roasted chicken with lemon-thyme nage. To enhance the light, delicate dinner, Winston Flowers topped tables with floating white orchids. Surrounded by candles in black and white holders, the simple arrangement had the serene vibe of a Zen garden.
The Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario hosted its annual gala at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex on April 20, and the innocent, whimsical nature of the fund-raiser's beneficiaries inspired the evening's vibe. Lounge furniture was asymmetrically positioned and sectioned off into areas that held pink, yellow, or purple rentals, and giant pinwheels hung overhead.
Industrial elements dominated the Tate Americas Foundation's Artists Dinner on May 8. Designer David Stark used giant metallic tubes, florescent lights, and galvanized metal accents in New York's raw event space Skylight at Moynihan Station.
The May 29 fund-raiser at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto had a Versailles theme; naturally, the sweets table was rife with gilded, opulent confections. The table was designed by Ashley Elizabeth of Made With Luv cakes and Natalia Fernandez of Velvet Rope Floral.
The staircase at the May 6 gala in New York was flanked by oversize American and British flags made entirely of 150,000 red, white, and blue roses
At the Adrienne Arsht Center's annual gala in Miami April 26, rows of marquee-style lighting lined the Knight Concert Hall. After dinner, singer Harry Connick Jr. performed for the 400-person crowd.
Dubbed "Passport to Discovery," the American Cancer Society's Discovery Ball at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago had a time-travel theme that nodded to the society's past, present, and future as it celebrated its 100-year history. At the registration area, the 900 guests checked in at a desk that resembled an old-fashioned ticket counter, and HMR Designs' decor included worn suitcases, vintage train schedules, and other tropes that brought the year 1913 to life.
Although the dress code was black-tie and the champagne flowed at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's Butterfly Ball in Chicago on May 3, the gala had a farm-like atmosphere. Playing off the event's "Savour Nature" theme, which highlighted the new exhibition "Food: The Nature of Eating," Event Creative brought in vegetable-centric decor. Tables were decked with miniature gardens potted with tomatoes, colorful peppers, asparagus, and kale; around the centerpieces, fairy lights in miniature Mason jars added to the elegant yard-party vibe.
Billed as the most successful cancer-related fund-raising gala in Canada, the Daffodil Ball in April had a Great Gatsby theme that brought the 1920s to life at Windsor Station in Montreal. In the cocktail space, a living fountain twirled around slowly. Planners mounted the statue and surrounding water trough over an octagonal hole in Windsor Station's floor, and the set up required reinforced struts covered by flooring and raised three feet above ground level.
In March, the Chicago History Museum hosted the Costume Ball to celebrate the opening of its then-new exhibition, "Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair." As a nod to the evening's sartorial focus, Kehoe Designs dressed chandeliers in purple fringe.
On May 9, nearly 300 artists and art patrons celebrated the Santa Monica Museum of Art’s 25th anniversary. The event raised a record $600,000 amid a rarefied dining experience: The dinner was prepared by Suzanne Goin of Lucques and envisioned by iconic chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. The meal was served on fresh-cut, organic banana leaves selected by Chez Panisse’s special events chef, Samantha Greenwood. Dates and tangerines made a colorful presentation in the menu.
Syzygy Events International returned as the visionaries behind the staging and decor for the Washington fund-raiser in April. Designers took inspiration from fashion designers Jason Wu's and Louis Vuitton’s 2013 spring collections with sleek, black and white decor with checkered details.
Sponsored by Toys "R" Us, the event took place at Toronto's Fairmont Royal York Hotel on April 6. With the goal of raising money for sick or injured children, organizers created a whimsical bash filled with circus-inspired ideas. Dinner tables were topped with miniature Ferris wheels that held cupcakes topped with colorful frosting.
Karl Lagerfeld designed the Bal de la Rose du Rocher, a fund-raiser for the Foundation Princesse Grace that took place at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo on March 23. In the dining room, Lagerfeld evoked the casino of Monaco's famous Hôtel Hermitage. Tables were draped in cotton sateen printed with a game-table motif, then topped with dice and custom gaming chips. Gold and silver vessels held red Baccara roses, peonies, and poppies.
Held in Chicago on May 18, the Goodman Gala celebrated the theater's upcoming production of The Jungle Book. Kehoe Designs transformed the Fairmont Hotel's ballroom into a tropical setting replete with lagoon-colored lighting, leafy centerpieces, and giant cutouts of animal silhouettes.
At the April New Museum spring gala honoring artist Christian Marclay, guests arriving at New York's Cipriani Wall Street were met with a larger-than-life live installation of white PVC balloons that set the tone for the duration of the event, a four-month project in the making.
Held at Chicago's Navy Pier on April 13, the American Heart Association's Heart Ball had an all-red lounge that served as a plush activation for sponsor Redd's Apple Ale. Kehoe Designs handled decor, and Deseo Events planned the event.
The first-time event at the Art Institute of Chicago May 16 raised money for local public charter school the Academy of Global Citizenship, and students from the school were on hand to greet guests, give them directions, and remind them of the evening's cause. Though the event was relatively small, guests bid high all evening, raising more than $1 million.
The fund-rasier took over the Artists for Humanity Epicenter in Boston on April 27, and an abstract sculpture hanging over the dance floor underscored the eco-conscious theme of climate change. The piece was meant to evoke the ghostly, transparent look of melting glaciers.
Held in Tampa on May 18 at A La Carte Event Pavilion, the ball had a French flea-market theme. Using a backdrop of Parisian cafés, the silent auction had a look that blended in with the evening's vibe. Gold Productions created the decor.
The April 22 ball was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. On a central staircase, candles were arranged to dramatically spell out "H" and "W," the initials of sponsoring company Harry Winston Inc.
Held in Chicago on May 18, the ball had comic-book-inspired decor from Kehoe Designs. A cartoon-like, illuminated city skyline served as a fitting backdrop on the stage where comedian Martin Short performed. Crystalline centerpieces were meant to look like fallen kryptonite.
Event Creative did the decor for Chicago's Steppenwolf Gala in early May, bringing what designer Jeffrey Foster called a "dark and sexy" decor scheme to a raw event space. Arty light fixtures featured lightbulbs in wire spheres, and strands of lights hung from the ceiling.
The American Cancer Society hosted its Key Gala in Boston at the Park Plaza Castle on April 4. Geared toward a crowd of young professionals, the event had a late-night menu from the Catered Affair. Laid-back snacks included hot pretzels with ballpark mustard.
With the tagline, "Rock the Cradle of Civilization," the Royal Ontario Museum's "Ancient Prom" took place on April 6. Hosted by the Young Patrons Circle, the benefit's theme was inspired by a new exhibition called "Mesopotamia." Sponsor Ceramic Glaze offered nail art that used patterns from the museum's ancient collections.
Steppenwolf auxiliary council's hip fund-raiser took place at Chicago's Venue One on April 5. Geared toward a youthful crowd, the event offered a Magnolia Photo Booth with fun props such as fake mustaches and—to underscore the theatrical theme—a movie slate.
On December 8 at the W South Beach, Marriott International launched Storybooked, a short-form documentary series about the travels of four international artists in Japan, Italy, Spain, and Peru. The series was created by Marriott’s creative and content studio and will be displayed across various Marriott International hotels with future episodes available online. The series launch event was designed and produced by Black Flower Agency.
On December 5, Ketel One and III Points teamed up for the Art Basel Concert Series at Mana Wynwood. Along with a performance by Bjork, concertgoers had the chance to customize their cocktails with fresh produce or select specialty cocktails as well as Ketel sodas garnished with fresh fruits, herbs, and citrus.
In addition, the Maison St-Germain installation, which was adorned with florals and prisms representing the elderflowers of which the liqueur is made, lite up the Faena Hotel’s oceanfront beach.
The Red Bull Sound Select event, which took place on December 6 at the Ground, featured performances from local and national hip-hop and R&B artists. The musical lineup was curated by Florida artist Twelve'len and included work from emerging Miami artist Jason Arles.
In 2013, the California Science Center's Discovery Ball had a celestial theme inspired by a space shuttle on display. Centerpieces on some dining tables at the Science Center's ball looked like mini solar systems in glass bowls.
Held in Boston, a 2011 launch party for the book Sex on the Moon had a celestial theme. Moons, stars, and candlelit hanging orbs also decorated the space.
Nerdist and Lucasfilm’s Course of the Force, the Olympic-style lightsaber relay run for charity, returned to Comic-Con for a second go in 2013. The race began at Skywalker Ranch and ended at San Diego to coincide with Comic-Con. The event benefited Make-A-Wish Foundation, and from July 9 to 16 it took over the California coastline, with runners encouraged to be creative and wear their best Star Wars gear.
At the LG Innovators' Ball in Toronto in 2012, motorized solar systems served as centerpieces for the high-top cocktail tables.
In 2008, Food for Thought provided thematic hors d'oeuvres such as Saturn-shaped pigs in a blanket for the Adler Planetarium's Celestial Ball in Chicago.
"May the Fourth Be With You” is an unofficial holiday that celebrates Star Wars each May 4. In 2014, Crocs chose the day to celebrate the launch of its Star Wars-theme kids' collection. Working with marketing firm Domain, the brand staged a promotion that involved stormtroopers dancing outside of its New York flagship store. Created by the hip-pop duo Scott & Brendo, whose “Stormtropper Secrets” music video was a YouTube hit, the dance started on the street and led into the store. Inside, kids tried on shoes from the new collection.
Held in 2014 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's annual benefit was dubbed “A Celebration of John Williams: Opening Night Gala Concert.” As a tribute to the film composer, who scored Star Wars, stormtrooper and Darth Vader characters greeted guests at the post-concert dinner.
Visa, the official payment services provider of FIFA, had two lounges at the Moscow Marriott Hotel Novy Arbat and the Four Seasons Hotel Moscow for the World Cup. To highlight Russian culture, a dedicated space within the lounge area was decked out with traditional Russian wares and accessories, and during the afternoon Russian fare and delicacies such as vodka, caviar, and wine, were served. Lounge design and production was handled by Shiraz Creative.
In early June, Louis Vuitton opened up a pop-up store in the Miami Design District dedicated to its official World Cup collection. The store welcomes guests with a hexagonal structure that resembles the World Cup ball includes a reflective interior surface for snapping selfies.
The ninth edition of the online-video convention took place June 20 to 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center. To celebrate the original MTV Cribs franchise but add a modern, D.I.Y. twist, MTV tapped creative agency MKG to design an eye-catching, interactive booth built for social media. The space was designed to resemble a house, with a kitchen, a living room, and a second floor that offered a unique view of the convention center. Rock Steady contributed scenic design to the booth.
Facebook’s consumer booth featured a series of rooms where fans could pose with on-theme backdrops and props. One photo booth featured the brand’s signature blue and thumps-up icon, while others had 3-D emojis.
Twitter worked with Los Angeles-based event agency The Say OK for its lounge, which featured multiple rooms designed in monochromatic colors. The green area, which also included branding for influencer network Niche, featured a rounded entrance lit with neon. A series of Twitter and Niche icons formed on-theme decor on the wall. Each colorful room featured props, furniture, carpets, and pillows that matched the color scheme.
Tinsel Experiential Design partnered with Comparti Catering and Ceci New York to host a dinner for event planners and media at the Altman Building in New York in June. The event showcased a 1991 Jaguar, owned by Comparti Catering co-founder Mac Osborne. The car was filled with tree peonies, lisianthus, garden roses, and quicksand roses.
At the Washington Ballet's annual Nutcracker Tea Party, held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in December, guests enjoyed a formal tea service in the ballroom, which was decorated with ballet-theme decor and balloons.
In October at the Mandarin Oriental in Boston, Tyger Productions created a glam art deco atmosphere for the UnMask Cancer benefit, which supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Large 24-inch crystal spheres on tall gold pedestals punctuated the room, along with a waterfall curtain of cut crystal from above.
In September, Oakville Galleries and PCM Project and Construction Management presented Cocina: A Dinner in Gairloch Gardens, a six-course dinner benefiting the Oakville Galleries’ artistic and educational programming. Held on the 12-acre property along Lake Ontario, the dinner, catered by Victor Dries, was served al fresco on rustic harvest tables inside a tent, among the 15,000 blooms of the gardens. Rentals were provided by event sponsor Higgins Event Rentals.
The 65th annual Crystal Charity Ball, held at Dallas’ Hilton Anatole's Chantilly Ballroom in December, featured "An Evening in the Alps” theme. The decor included crystals, sparkling lights, trees and winter florals, fake snow, hanging lanterns, snowy mountain scenes painted on backdrops, and more; Tom Addis Productions Inc. designed the event. The ball raised $5.8 million for eight non-profit organizations that serve children.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, South Coast Plaza hosted the Art, Excellence & Friendship gala in October at the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California. The space featured a luxe black, white, and gold decor scheme with all-white floral arrangements, including cascading Phalaenopsis orchids as centerpieces. Local design company White Lilac handled the decor and florals.
In October, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and Irene Dunne Guild hosted Providence Saint John’s 75th anniversary gala celebration, “The Future of Excellence in Personalized Healthcare,” which raised $1.4 million. Held at 3Labs in Culver City, California, the event, produced by JJLA, featured a homage to the Santa Monica pier with Ferris wheel rides and carnival snacks.
In September, New York’s MoMA PS1 hosted its second annual benefit, which featured music, performances, and more than 20 artist projects inspired by college life. Guests roamed the halls of the public school turned museum, enjoying dining hall-like snacks and a dance party in the gym. Proceeds benefited MoMA PS1’s Annual Exhibition Fund.
For the 19th annual Hudson River Park Friends Gala in October, Hudson River Park’s Pier Sixty was transformed into a lush, green wonderland, as a nod to the Hudson River Park itself. The New York City fundraiser raised $3.27 million, nearly $200,000 more than last year’s gala, benefiting the city’s riverfront park.
National non-profit the Colon Cancer Alliance hosted its annual Blue Hope Bash in October at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington. This year’s theme was “In This Together,” in which the evening’s host, NBC Weekend Today co-anchor Craig Melvin, shared the story of his brother who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. The event raised $1.5 million.
Benefiting Kids Beating Cancer, the Hats & Heroes Masquerade Ball, which was held at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando in September, featured a Phantom of the Opera theme, which was reflected in the dessert dishes. The event raised $850,000 for the Kids Beating Cancer pediatric transplant center programs.
The fifth annual Sip for the Sea, which supports the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, featured sustainable food and wine pairings, along with the Tuck Room's signature Heizenberg Infusion tower, which contained apple cider infused with tea, late summer berries, and Japanese orange. Liquid nitrogen was used to chill it. The event was held in September at the Central Park Zoo.
The City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award Gala, which was produced by Namevents, featured decor inspired by a sunset with blue, yellow, and pink tones. The logo was brought to life by a ceiling treatment, which used oversized panels hung in the shape of rays. The event took place in November at the Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.
Rethink Breast Cancer’s Boobyball fund-raiser featured a “Get Physical” theme, with organizers asking guests to don their best ‘80s and ‘90s workout apparel. The 16th annual event, which took place at Rebel in Toronto in October, incorporated a variety of retro details into the event decor, entertainment, and activities.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute held its “Monkey Business Gala” in September in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard in Washington. The evening featured food stations from Africa, North America, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Asia, highlighting the regions in which the organization works to save species.
At the Basser Center for BRCA’s “Jean Bash” benefit—which raises funds for the BRCA gene-related cancer research center—David Stark riffed on the “genes” theme in the event’s decor. For example, folded denim jeans in a variety of shades were used to create a wall that was a backdrop for the event's photo booth. Jeans also were used to created a three-dimensional number five. The benefit took place in November at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s inaugural Art Bash, held in November in Toronto, was inspired by the infamous parties of Andy Warhol’s New York studio in the 1960s known as the Factory. The dinner's floral mannequin head centerpieces, which were created by Fifth Element Group, were meant to be disruptive and evoke Warhol's head, with the flowers standing in for his white wig.
For the 23rd edition of the InterContinental Miami Make-A-Wish Ball, Maxwell Blandford, the ball’s creative consultant, selected the theme of “Mystical Music Box,” a colorful celebration that drew inspiration from a variety of musicians, artists, and fashion designers such as Grace Jones, Andy Warhol, and Yves Saint Laurent. For example, a giant Warhol-inspired retro Brillo box served as a bar backdrop. The November event raised more than $2.3 million for Make-A-Wish Southern Florida.
This year, the nonprofit organization Meridian International Center’s annual Meridian Ball, held at the Meridian House in October in Washington, featured a Latin-inspired design, including tropical flowers, cigar rollers, colorful paper cutouts, and a doughnut wall with Mexican hot chocolate. After dinner, guests headed to the dance floor, in a tent from Select Event Group that was decorated with papel picado (decorative Mexican craft paper cutouts) and rustic light fixtures.
