The stars attending GQ's Men of the Year awards at the Regent Wall Street walked a red carpet into the event, but they experienced a walkway of a different color—and kind—when they traveled across the street to the after-party at 48 Wall Street: a black bridge with underlit Plexiglas squares with the GQ and Spike TV logos and clear Plexiglas tubes rising up on either side. Because the entrance to the after-party couldn't be constructed until after everyone was inside the awards event, there was a limited amount of time to put it together. "We had an hour to assemble it," said Mark Veeder, creative director of EventQuest, which designed and produced the event with GQ senior director of special projects Matthew Hallman. "It was all hands on deck."
The unusual walkway led to another unique.phpect: the venue itself. The old bank building at 48 Wall Street is a little-known but ideal location for a party following another event at the Regent Wall Street. The after-party space was transformed into a black box that had a video screen running horizontally around the room, with four floor-to-ceiling screens anchoring each corner. "Our whole concept was based around an environment that constantly changed and immersed [guests] in the pages of GQ and the products of the sponsors," Veeder says. Eighteen projectors displayed the images, including photos from the magazine and specially created images of sponsor products, like Amstel Light and Bombay Sapphire.
"A lot of events have been stagnant, with great decor and beautiful flowers and furniture, but now it's time to go to the next level. Decor now is fluid and ever-changing," Veeder said. The video element "adds a vibe that keeps people discovering new things. You can look at the screen for a few minutes, and then look back and see something completely different. Whereas with a stagnant event, once you've seen the decor, you've seen it."
There were plenty of cozy lounges set up for the 700 guests to relax in (including the suggestively named Hummer Lounge, sponsored by the automaker). Black and silver banquettes were paired with teal, burgundy, black and silver matte ottomans and brushed silver tables in comfortable groupings.
Because the awards event didn't include dinner, Taste served hearty yet portable hors d'oeuvres, including baked tortilla cones with southwestern chicken and black beans; spicy tuna hand rolls with seaweed cone wrappers; and vegetarian greek salad cones with hummus, feta and olives. Rather than use traditional buffet tables, EventQuest created 60 small food stations made of Plexiglas that contained brightly colored fabric sculptures inside.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Read our coverage of last year's awards...
The unusual walkway led to another unique.phpect: the venue itself. The old bank building at 48 Wall Street is a little-known but ideal location for a party following another event at the Regent Wall Street. The after-party space was transformed into a black box that had a video screen running horizontally around the room, with four floor-to-ceiling screens anchoring each corner. "Our whole concept was based around an environment that constantly changed and immersed [guests] in the pages of GQ and the products of the sponsors," Veeder says. Eighteen projectors displayed the images, including photos from the magazine and specially created images of sponsor products, like Amstel Light and Bombay Sapphire.
"A lot of events have been stagnant, with great decor and beautiful flowers and furniture, but now it's time to go to the next level. Decor now is fluid and ever-changing," Veeder said. The video element "adds a vibe that keeps people discovering new things. You can look at the screen for a few minutes, and then look back and see something completely different. Whereas with a stagnant event, once you've seen the decor, you've seen it."
There were plenty of cozy lounges set up for the 700 guests to relax in (including the suggestively named Hummer Lounge, sponsored by the automaker). Black and silver banquettes were paired with teal, burgundy, black and silver matte ottomans and brushed silver tables in comfortable groupings.
Because the awards event didn't include dinner, Taste served hearty yet portable hors d'oeuvres, including baked tortilla cones with southwestern chicken and black beans; spicy tuna hand rolls with seaweed cone wrappers; and vegetarian greek salad cones with hummus, feta and olives. Rather than use traditional buffet tables, EventQuest created 60 small food stations made of Plexiglas that contained brightly colored fabric sculptures inside.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Read our coverage of last year's awards...
At the GQ Men of the Year awards after-party at 48 Wall Street, EventQuest's large illuminated bar with silhouettes matched some of the images projected onto screens overhead.
The interior of 48 Wall Street was transformed into a black box with constantly moving videos running horizontally around the room. In addition, four floor-to-ceiling screens anchored each corner.
Two large blowups of GQ covers with award winners Colin Farrell and Adrien Brody stood in the entrance in front of two circular staircases leading to the after-party.
EventQuest created small food stations made of Plexiglas with brightly colored fabric sculptures inside.
