Elle Woods: You could say she went from her sorority house to her fiancee's house to the auction house. The premiere party for Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde made over Christie's Rockefeller Center with a fun, girly look inspired by the film heroine's retro wardrobe (with hints of Jackie O and lots of Chanel and Pucci prints) and the updated mod look of her Washington, D.C., apartment. Produced by MGM's Adam Keen and event planner Wendy Creed of Los Angeles-based Wendy Creed Productions, the evening gave 1,200 guests a taste of the fabulous blonde's lifestyle up close and personal.
The windows above Christie's 49th Street entrance flashed with pink, purple and white spotlights (designed by Raymond Thompson of Images by Lighting) that roved around pink silhouettes of Reese Witherspoon's alter ego. Inside, giant signage for the film decorated the lobby, and a long hallway filled with rainbow-colored lights ended in the atrium, where 30-foot-long dupioni silk drapes were suspended from the second floor. A tall, 4- by 6-foot pink flower sculpture by Jennifer McGarigle of Floral Art decorated the space between the staircases, surrounded by low pink bench seats dotted with pink checked pillows.
"The design was a combination of a retro, 60's Op Art style mixed with the contemporary influences of Philippe Starck," Creed said. Using modular lounge furniture and custom-made pillows in a variety of configurations, Creed created open spaces conducive to mingling as well as more intimate seating arrangements that encouraged one-on-one conversations. One gallery featured two identical rows of white seats with low mahogany tables, and scrolling images from the film were projected onto the surrounding walls. Pink and blue illuminated bars and buffets centered along each wall offered drinks and fare from DM Cuisine, including grilled filet of beef, seared tuna, bowtie pasta salad and blondies for dessert. In an adjacent gallery, another living room-like setup featured a white shag carpet (identical to the one in Elle's D.C. apartment) and a U-shaped seating area surrounded by more movie images.
The James Christie Room was transformed into a bilevel V.I.P. room. The lower level featured white walls with circular cutouts backlit with pastel lights, and tables covered with purple dupioni silk cloths and small pink floral arrangements filled the center of the room. A few steps up, white lounge furniture, illuminated bars and buffet tables dotted an elevated platform. In another room, an Andy Warhol-esque painting of Bruiser, the canine star of the film, was the backdrop for a small lounge area that overlooked a 15- by 15-foot illuminated dance floor—similar to the Saturday Night Fever-esque floor we saw at the Sims Online launch— surrounded by floor cushions and low benches.
To complete the Elle Woods experience, some pampering for the female guests was in order. Creed and Keen indulged guests in a hot pink salon room that doubled as a showcase for the event's sponsors. Attired with blonde wigs and white dresses, stylists from Frederick Fekkai's salon gave blowouts (the stylist-to-the-stars has a cameo in the film), O.P.I. manicurists gave polish color changes, makeup artists from Stila gave makeup applications, and massage therapsists from Oasis Day Spa offered chair massages. Pink fabric covered the walls, and billowing, sheer white fabric was suspended from the ceiling to partion off each area. And those who were a bit peckish after the pampering could munch on pink licorice, rock candy, M&M's and jelly beans.
—Suzanne Ito
The windows above Christie's 49th Street entrance flashed with pink, purple and white spotlights (designed by Raymond Thompson of Images by Lighting) that roved around pink silhouettes of Reese Witherspoon's alter ego. Inside, giant signage for the film decorated the lobby, and a long hallway filled with rainbow-colored lights ended in the atrium, where 30-foot-long dupioni silk drapes were suspended from the second floor. A tall, 4- by 6-foot pink flower sculpture by Jennifer McGarigle of Floral Art decorated the space between the staircases, surrounded by low pink bench seats dotted with pink checked pillows.
"The design was a combination of a retro, 60's Op Art style mixed with the contemporary influences of Philippe Starck," Creed said. Using modular lounge furniture and custom-made pillows in a variety of configurations, Creed created open spaces conducive to mingling as well as more intimate seating arrangements that encouraged one-on-one conversations. One gallery featured two identical rows of white seats with low mahogany tables, and scrolling images from the film were projected onto the surrounding walls. Pink and blue illuminated bars and buffets centered along each wall offered drinks and fare from DM Cuisine, including grilled filet of beef, seared tuna, bowtie pasta salad and blondies for dessert. In an adjacent gallery, another living room-like setup featured a white shag carpet (identical to the one in Elle's D.C. apartment) and a U-shaped seating area surrounded by more movie images.
The James Christie Room was transformed into a bilevel V.I.P. room. The lower level featured white walls with circular cutouts backlit with pastel lights, and tables covered with purple dupioni silk cloths and small pink floral arrangements filled the center of the room. A few steps up, white lounge furniture, illuminated bars and buffet tables dotted an elevated platform. In another room, an Andy Warhol-esque painting of Bruiser, the canine star of the film, was the backdrop for a small lounge area that overlooked a 15- by 15-foot illuminated dance floor—similar to the Saturday Night Fever-esque floor we saw at the Sims Online launch— surrounded by floor cushions and low benches.
To complete the Elle Woods experience, some pampering for the female guests was in order. Creed and Keen indulged guests in a hot pink salon room that doubled as a showcase for the event's sponsors. Attired with blonde wigs and white dresses, stylists from Frederick Fekkai's salon gave blowouts (the stylist-to-the-stars has a cameo in the film), O.P.I. manicurists gave polish color changes, makeup artists from Stila gave makeup applications, and massage therapsists from Oasis Day Spa offered chair massages. Pink fabric covered the walls, and billowing, sheer white fabric was suspended from the ceiling to partion off each area. And those who were a bit peckish after the pampering could munch on pink licorice, rock candy, M&M's and jelly beans.
—Suzanne Ito
For the Legally Blonde 2 premiere party, Wendy Creed transformed the James Christie Room into a bilevel V.I.P. room. The lower level featured white walls with circular cutouts backlit with pastel lights, and tables covered with purple dupioni silk cloths and small pink floral arrangements filled the center of the room.
An Andy Warhol-esque painting of Bruiser, the canine star of the film, was the backdrop for a small lounge area that overlooked an illuminated dance floor.
Two rows of lounge furniture faced each other in another room, and stills from the film were projected on the walls. White bars with pink lights inside lined the walls.
A pink salon offered guests blowouts, manicures, makeup applications and chair massages. Salon attendants wore blonde wigs.
