The Los Angeles area branch of Barneys New York may be located in Beverly Hills, but many of its high-profile customers are identified with another part of town—Hollywood. So when HBO Video approached the stylish store with the idea of designing windows in honor of the DVD release of Rome: The Complete Second Season, the cross-promotion seemed like a smart fit. The two companies had something else in common as well: heat. “I knew a lot of hip people who were obsessed with the series,” says Dawn Brown, Barneys’ vice president of marketing.Barneys and HBO kicked off the release by cohosting a cocktail party on Saturday in the top-floor quarters of the Barney Greengrass eatery. The collaboration brought together HBO Video’s special events manager, Delphine McNeil, with a Barneys marketing team headed by creative director Simon Doonan, assisted by vice president of publicity Dawn Brown and visual director Donald Ashue. The store also consulted with Rome’s Emmy-winning costume designer, April Ferry, on the design of the windows and the party, which used a dense backdrop of earth-colored costumes as decor. Interspersed among the displays were mannequins dressed in contemporary gowns by Nina Ricci, Vionnet, and Lanvin.
“We have fabulous things in our store, and we want to make sure people remember and see that,” Brown says. “You have a captive audience.”
While an iPod played an eclectic music mix selected by Ashue, more than 200 guests nibbled hors d’oeuvres of grilled-cheese and lobster-salad sandwiches while they lounged on fuzzy brown ottomans topped with silky pillows in blue, gold, and rust. They left with DVDs and commemorative books.
“We have fabulous things in our store, and we want to make sure people remember and see that,” Brown says. “You have a captive audience.”
While an iPod played an eclectic music mix selected by Ashue, more than 200 guests nibbled hors d’oeuvres of grilled-cheese and lobster-salad sandwiches while they lounged on fuzzy brown ottomans topped with silky pillows in blue, gold, and rust. They left with DVDs and commemorative books.
Photo: Courtesy of Full Picture
Photo: Courtesy of Full Picture
Photo: Courtesy of Full Picture