Trendy Event Themes

The pop-up took over 939 Studio, a raw event space in downtown Los Angeles. Subtle signage was visible from the street.

The space was designed to promote New Balance’s new X-90 Knit—a sneaker that combines “the best of the ‘90s with 2018 street style,” according to the brand. A series of rooms had a variety of decade-appropriate designs, including one using pink and teal that matched the shoe design.

A colorful hallway was inspired by Nickelodeon’s Double Dare—complete with green slime and a giant nose that proved a popular spot for photo ops.

A bedroom set had posters for Dr. Dre, Beastie Boys, and others 1990s favorites on the walls. Products from the new shoe line were displayed on the bed.

Another area of the room had posters for Pulp Fiction and other era-appropriate pop culture, plus a lava lamp and an old-school TV set.

In a twist on the ball pit photo op, guests could lay in a pool of colorful Koosh balls, a popular ‘90s toy.

What’s the 1990s without a trip to Blockbuster? One area of the space had a wall of old VHS tapes.

The New Balance shoe line was displayed throughout, including in the video store area—the black tape from an oversize VHS tape was used to hold the product. Signage played off the old "Be Kind, Rewind" slogan, instead saying "Be Kind, Rewind to the '90s"—the name of the pop-up.

Graffiti on the walls promoted the New Balance and Foot Locker brands.

A wall made from Nerf toys offered a fun photo op.

Another photo op resembled the end of an old-school video game.

Shoes were also displayed on a couch that threw back to ‘90s TV show SNICK.

Boy Meets World star Ben Savage attended the opening-night party, where guests could pose in front of a green screen and later see the images displayed on old televisions.

Family Matters star Jaleel White also took advantage of the photo op.

The evening event, which was hosted by actress Regina Hall, featured a backdrop of custom-designed graffiti created by Julio Himede Design. The artwork was temporarily attached to buildings with vinyl stickers, creating a fully immersive and on-theme environment for attendees and the TV audience.

Himede also installed LED video screens in every window of the main building behind the stage. Ever-changing content created a dynamic look while R&B artists such as Xscape performed.

The entirety of Brooklyn Street at Paramount Studios was transformed with custom-made elements such as newspaper boxes covered in era-appropriate stickers. Producers also designed street lights, bicycles, fire hydrants, and a hot dog cart.

Classic New York City yellow cabs were branded with VH1 signage.

Even the lot's doors were transformed, using custom sconces and hardware that would fit the time period.

Tabletops featured custom graffiti, as well as swag and other giveaways from sponsors including Twix.

The props provided fun photo ops for '90s icons such as singer Faith Evans (pictured).

During the televised special, Mariah Carey performed her 1997 hit “Honey.” Other crowd-pleasing performers included Missy Elliott, Lil' Kim, and Fabolous.

Recreations of easily recognizable images, like Vincent Van Gogh's painting of his bedroom, let guests interact with the setting to create a shot to their liking.

Darel Carey's simplistic yet striking black-and-white room offered the type of notice-me design that Instagrammers often search for in the form of street art or vibrantly painted city walls.

The museum left snappable props out and about that guests could easily pick up and use to their liking.

Likewise, installations like the Selfie Throne, nodding to Game of Thrones, eliminated the need for event photographers and let guests shoot until they captured that one need-to-post pic.

Kitschy props like the statue of David snapping a selfie added a touch of humor that guests were also likely to want to share.

A Gym Selfie installation was one on many nods to selfie clichés.

The museum's Bathroom Selfie installation let guests create the optical illusion that they were the mirror image of friends. Such head-turning shots appeal to both posters and followers, the latter of whom are more likely to do a double-take—and comment—on unorthodox shots within their streams.

A photo op that let guests create the illusion that they were atop Los Angeles' tallest building—with a sweeping cityscape beneath them—was yet another installation that let guests create an eye-catching shot for their feeds.

Held in early May, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Mission Creek Gala was designed by Gillian Valentine with the goal of highlighting four distinct habitats of the country: the Santa Barbara channel, the coastal wetlands, the oak woodlands, and the California wildflowers on Figueroa Mountain. Designers used decor from the museum to create the different components. The coastal habitat had an elegant under-the-sea theme, with light, silver tableware and small tide pools filled with starfish, shells, and other ocean-inspired elements.

The Santa Barbara channel area of the Mission Creek Gala also incorporated ocean elements, with large shells used as floral vases. Hogue & Co handled the evening’s floral design.

Hogue & Co also designed lush florals for the woodland area of the gala. Hanging branches, lanterns and candles, and deep brown tablecloths added to the woodsy vibe.

Also in the woodland area, Gillian Valentine used green napkins and table runners, greenery and branch centerpieces, and butterfly decor to complete the look.

The 21st edition of the Knot Gala—held in New York in October and designed by Dallas-based Emily Clarke Events—took on a dark woodlands fantasy theme inspired by Shakespeare. Unique touches included floral statue entertainers from Scarlett Entertainment who greeted attendees at the entrance and posed for photos.

The Watermill Center’s 2014 benefit in New York had a series of fairy tale-inspired art installations. As the centerpiece of the entrance, Annick Lavallée-Benny's "N.U.A.G.E.S." was an imposing fixture constructed from wood, chicken wire, cotton batting, polyfill, and fishing line. The conception of clouds was inspired by the magical flying carpets that are featured throughout the tales of the benefit's "One Thousand Nights and One Night: Sleeping Nights of Sheherazade" theme.

For the Television Academy's Governors Ball in 2016, which took place after the Emmys in Los Angeles, Sequoia Productions created a “Nature’s Elegance” theme. Centerpieces by LA Premiere alternated between low birch-wrapped looks and towering, colorful designs rising more than three feet tall off tabletops in trumpet-style vases; overall, the look included more than 50,000 hydrangeas, 80,000 roses, and 20,000 succulents. Fabrics were done in neutral, earth-inspired tones, and sequin mesh, metallic silks, and floral sequin organzas added an element of glamour.

The same year, HBO’s annual post-Emmys party had a water theme. Designer Billy Butchkavitz used a color palette with seven shades of blue, and a 105-foot-long water lounge flowed from the dining pavilion to the formal entrance of the event space. Rippling water-patterned custom carpet covered the party space, and centerpieces were hand-blown glass pedestal bowls with floating dinnerplate dahlias, creating the look of a tabletop water garden.

For New York Fashion Week in 2013, Nike erected a three-day installation to celebrate the launch of its Nike Free Hyperfeel running shoe. Produced by Aramique Krauthamer, the black-on-black temporary structure featured a tactile labyrinth comprising barefoot experiences that amplified nature. Three distinct physical spaces made up the labyrinth, which replicated common running surfaces like stone, sand, and grass.

For a vendor showcase in Los Angeles in March 2016, Patina Catering used elements like flowers, moss, and branches to bring to life a “living garden” theme. Champagne chilled in bowls reminiscent of birds' nests, made from foraged organic materials.

At luxury watchmaking convention Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2014, IWC Schaffhausen chose a water theme. Aiming to celebrate its Aquatimer collection, the trade show booth was meant to evoke the feeling of diving into a wave. Replica hammerhead sharks hung from the ceiling, surrounding a central chandelier comprising 2,400 individually strung Plexi "bubbles" that hung nearly 30 feet down. Two cross projectors cast deep sea images both vertically and horizontally onto two large curved screens, while a circular bar in the middle of the space housed an information desk and a bar that served cocktails and even caviar.

For the City of Hope Spirit of Life gala, held in Los Angeles in November 2016, Namevents created a stage that resembled the moon's pocked surface and used fiber-optic panels in the roof of the tent to resemble stars. The sides of the tent were also draped black, and the carpeting was black as well so that the focus remained on the stage.

The New Yorkers for Children gala in fall 2012 had a "light the way" theme, inspired by the nonprofit's mission to improve the lives of young people. David Stark handled the decor, embellishing a photo backdrop of a forest scene with white birch trees, lush greenery, and a path lit by lanterns.

At another Billy Butchkavitz-designed HBO Emmys party, held in Los Angeles in 2015, real fire was a decorative element: 24-foot-long reflecting ponds showcased multiple flaming sculptures. A 27-foot-high flame sculpture on a rotating platform was the party’s centerpiece, and ombré-patterned custom carpet covered 50,000 square feet underfoot. The event's 25-foot-high decorative perimeter walls were covered with flowing draperies embellished with iridescent paillette sequins and punctuated by 25-foot-high red lacquer columns.

The Allie Awards, held in Atlanta in March 2016, had an “Xperience the Elements” played out in three themed environments that channeled earth, water, and fire. Your Event Solutions created a 16-foot-long table with a built-in water feature.

In 2013, the Emmy Awards’ Governors Ball in Los Angeles had an imaginative enchanted forest theme, produced and designed by Sequoia Productions. Decor included stylized trees and an expansive canopy of futuristic faux foliage hanging overhead. Each of the 400 tables had its own distinctive look with a dramatic flower arrangement from La Premier that included silver manzanita branches, calla lilies, roses, and orchids.

The first edition of Refinery29’s 29Rooms, held in New York in 2015, had a cloud-inspired space called "Sound in the Clouds." The room invited guests to pop their heads inside physical clouds and listen to music curated by Saint Heron, the movement under Solange's label, Saint Records.