Andy D’Auria, the Italian designer behind the high-end women’s sportswear line Dismero, visited Chicago in January, and after spending a day on designer-boutique-studded Oak Street, he knew he'd found an ideal location for his first Stateside store. Fast-forward just three months to last Thursday, where some 250 Chicagoans came together to celebrate the opening of Oak Street’s Dismero boutique with a Hollywood-themed party at the Esquire Theater.
Two months prior to his grand-opening event, Andy began planning with independent consultant Lynne Bredfeldt. “It was important to Andy to have a big welcoming party. He wanted about 200 people to attend,” Bredfeldt said. That goal immediately made hosting the event in the new boutique—a 1,000-square-foot space—impossible.So Bredfeldt set her sites on the Esquire Theater, a former movie house that has been empty for almost a year. Though she had to put in several phone calls to the building’s developers, who weren't exactly keen to turn the venue into an event space, Bredfeldt was determined that the theater would host the Dismero opening event. “I liked the space because it's close to the store, and it’s clean and white, which is what Andy wanted,” she said. Bredfeldt also liked the possibilities that the space presented. “The Esquire is kind of a blank canvas,” she said, “so we could be as creative as we wanted.”
To help conceptualize the event, Bredfeldt partnered with Event Creative designer Jeffrey Foster. Inspired by the movie-filled history of the space, Foster said he went in a “Hollywood glam” direction, blending existing features of the theater with elements he brought in especially for the evening.
“One of the most beautiful elements of the Esquire Theater are these 25-foot columns with Art Deco finishes,” Foster said. “We draped those columns in white fabric, which gave the space a beautiful, Hollywood feel.” Toward the front of the venue, Foster erected a curved, white spandex wall, which he illuminated with amber light and splashed with eight-foot images of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.
The Hollywood theme continued outside the theater, where a red carpet formed a path from the entrance of the Esquire Theater to the neighboring Dismero boutique. (The store was open during the event, allowing guests to shop throughout the night.) A sudden onslaught of rain, snow, and sleet gave Foster a last-minute idea: He hired four men to stand outside the theater with umbrellas, ready to lead partygoers on a short but dry journey from theater to shop.
Two months prior to his grand-opening event, Andy began planning with independent consultant Lynne Bredfeldt. “It was important to Andy to have a big welcoming party. He wanted about 200 people to attend,” Bredfeldt said. That goal immediately made hosting the event in the new boutique—a 1,000-square-foot space—impossible.So Bredfeldt set her sites on the Esquire Theater, a former movie house that has been empty for almost a year. Though she had to put in several phone calls to the building’s developers, who weren't exactly keen to turn the venue into an event space, Bredfeldt was determined that the theater would host the Dismero opening event. “I liked the space because it's close to the store, and it’s clean and white, which is what Andy wanted,” she said. Bredfeldt also liked the possibilities that the space presented. “The Esquire is kind of a blank canvas,” she said, “so we could be as creative as we wanted.”
To help conceptualize the event, Bredfeldt partnered with Event Creative designer Jeffrey Foster. Inspired by the movie-filled history of the space, Foster said he went in a “Hollywood glam” direction, blending existing features of the theater with elements he brought in especially for the evening.
“One of the most beautiful elements of the Esquire Theater are these 25-foot columns with Art Deco finishes,” Foster said. “We draped those columns in white fabric, which gave the space a beautiful, Hollywood feel.” Toward the front of the venue, Foster erected a curved, white spandex wall, which he illuminated with amber light and splashed with eight-foot images of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.
The Hollywood theme continued outside the theater, where a red carpet formed a path from the entrance of the Esquire Theater to the neighboring Dismero boutique. (The store was open during the event, allowing guests to shop throughout the night.) A sudden onslaught of rain, snow, and sleet gave Foster a last-minute idea: He hired four men to stand outside the theater with umbrellas, ready to lead partygoers on a short but dry journey from theater to shop.
The Esquire Theater, a venue rarely used for events, hosted the opening celebration of Oak Street boutique Dismero.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
Dismero owner and designer Andy D'Auria welcomed guests from the theater's balcony.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
J&L Catering provided passed hors d'oeuvres infused with Italian flavor. One of the items on offer: mini popovers filled with melon and prosciutto.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
The Hollywood-glamour theme carried over from the theater to the boutique, where photos of starlets lined the walls.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
Due to the early-spring rain and sleet, Event Creative placed the red carpet under the theater's awning and hired umbrella-bearing escorts to lead guests to Dismero.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
On the staircase of the Esquire Theater, models posed in Dismero designs during an informal fashion show.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
Eight-foot images of Grace Kelly lined a curved, white spandex wall that Event Creative put up for the evening.
Photo: Eric Craig for BizBash
