Floor Decor

Signage from event sponsor Browns Shoes decorated the dance floor at Fashion Magazine's 35th anniversary event.

"I love creating a unique place for guests to congregate and enjoy one another, so I thought, why not create a massive floral carpet that would serve both as a beautiful focal point and a gathering area? I designed a 'carpet' and filled it with hundreds of beautiful blooms and then covered it with Plexiglas. The result was a statement piece that allowed guests to dance on air." —Preston Bailey

In a smart move that avoided the complications that come with laying carpet over stairs—especially on a snowy night in New York—the event's producers projected a strip of red light over the library's front steps, effectively creating a virtual red carpet that led to the entrance. Hundreds of LED candles sat on either side of the illuminated pathway.

Decals on the floor of the museum mimicked a bike trail, which guided guests from the theater to the party space.

The magazine held its after-party at the Carnegie Library, famous for its lighted dance floor showing a map of the city. The event also featured lounges and other activations from sponsors Clear Channel Communications, the Entertainment Software Association, Mercedes-Benz, Corona Light, Reyka Vodka, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

To create a modern, all-white look for a 2006 dinner at Manhattan’s Pier 60, Empire Force Events hid the venue’s colorful, patterned carpet with a layer of large, white confetti. 

The bash following dinner, dubbed the "happily ever after party" was held in a tent. In one room guests danced on a dance floor from Fox Ventures that was embedded with LED lights. "We used this element because they looked like night stars," said NACE gala co-chair Aisha Malik.

For the cocktail hour, the Capitol Hill hotel was turned into two Wizard of Oz-inspired spaces. After checking in, guests followed a projection of the book's infamous yellow brick road, which led into a bar and lounge styled after the book's Emerald City. Electric Entertainment created a custom gobo from an automatic moving projector and a lighting software to position the road to go across the length of the room.

Orange lettering and arrows on the floor showed guests where to begin their visit.

Betsey Johnson's Monday evening show in the Theatre venue of the tents was an homage to the Tour de France and the different neighborhoods of New York. As such, the catwalk was decorated with road markings, and the collection was divided into area-appropriate outfits, including black-and-white looks for the Upper East Side (pictured).

The centerpiece of the cocktail section was an enormous sign depicting the event's arrowhead symbol and tagline. Oversize illuminated arrows pointed outward from this point, guiding guests to sections themed around the issues the foundation works on.