15 Ideas for On-Theme Staff Outfits

For Paris Fashion Week in 2013, H&M built its 20,000-square-foot “Maison H&M” on the historic Musée Rodin grounds. The elaborate setup comprised several rooms, including the parlor, bathroom, and library space, where models donned French maid uniforms. The staff at the after-party also wore maid outfits.

Chef Michael Mina celebrated the grand opening of Bardot Brasserie at Las Vegas’s Aria Resort & Casino earlier this month. Parisian-inspired cuisine, cocktails, and entertainment marked the evening, which included a photo booth fit for a Francophile and beret-clad models.

Dubbed "Mad Hot Wonderland," the National Ballet of Canada's 2011 gala held a number of references to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, including the costumes worn by staff. For instance, valet drivers were dressed as the White Rabbit.

In a bid to capture the attention of the Comic-Con crowd in San Diego during the 2014 show, M.A.C. Cosmetics dressed models as Marge Simpson to unveil the Simpsons Collection makeup at its San Diego Gaslamp store. Models done up like the cartoon character circulated in the store and outside.

Playing off the event's superhero theme, staffers at Maxim's 2012 Super Bowl party in Indianapolis wore capes, skintight leggings, and mask-like makeup.

At the party to celebrate the Season 2 premiere of HBO’s hospital comedy series Getting On last year, a staff of fake doctors and pharmacists engaged with guests, dispensing customized fake prescriptions (which guests could exchange for gift bags).

The Washington Ballet's 2008 spring gala took inspiration from the dance company's production of "Cinderella" and included servers dressed as footmen in classical costumes and white wigs.

For the 20th anniversary party for French Laundry restaurant in California’s wine country last year, event staffers wore straw hats and overalls over their chef's uniforms in an effort to channel the venue’s rustic farmhouse atmosphere.

At the Absolut X tour stop in Miami in 2013, models clad in futuristic gear offered masks to guests, all in line with the high-concept masquerade theme.

Academy Awards Governors Ball chair Jeffrey Kurland—a costume designer—was a natural fit to design elegant uniforms for the 900 staff people working the event in 2011.

Last year, beer brand Schlitz hosted what it called the Schlitz Bouts, a 1920s-inspired night of boxing and entertainment, in a nod to an era that was historic for both the brand and the event’s host city of Los Angeles. Everyone involved with the event wore vintage costumes, which resulted in an event atmosphere that felt like stepping back in time—or onto a period movie set.

At the much-hyped 2012 Los Angeles premiere for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part Two, the last installment of Summit Entertainment's movie franchise, staffers dressed like characters from the film welcomed frenzied fans inside.

At the Recording Academy's Grammy Glam event in Los Angeles in 2012, models in goddess robes were an on-message fit for sponsor Venus.

In 2011, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts brought together its “Brits to Watch” honorees—not to mention the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge themselves—for a party where staff dressed appropriately in jackets done as interpretations of the Union Jack.

Stephanie Izard, who is behind popular restaurant Girl and the Goat, released her book Girl in the Kitchen in Chicago in 2011. Kicking off her book tour was a farmers'-market-theme party with surreal touches—like a Redmoon performer in a goat's mask serving desserts from a tray attached to her middle.