There is little doubt that the new tents for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center are a marked improvement from the setup at Bryant Park. Clean, uncluttered, and, as some attendees have said, "more civilized," the complex sports a more spacious lobby furnished with gray tones and unfussy booths. In fact, a large part of the modern aesthetic can be attributed to the sponsor areas in the lobby, a reactionary shift to more simple stalls that match the overall look. Curvilinear white walls topped with boxwood hedges demarcate many of the booths, a decorative element created by McNabb Roick under direction from IMG Fashion. Here's a look at what sponsors have been doing inside the tents.
Photo: Jennifer Calais Smith
Title sponsor Mercedes-Benz produced two areas in the tent lobby, showcasing a blue 2011 E550 Cabriolet Designo and a silver 2011 CL63 in booths as sleek as those at the New York International Auto Show. LED backdrops at each displayed video footage of the runway shows.
Photo: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
For its Star Lounge, Mercedes-Benz tapped supermodel Iman and designer Carlos Mota to furnish the backstage area for V.I.P.s. Using products from Iman's new collection of home decor fabrics, the pair created a colorful and eclectic setting for the 780-square-foot space.
Photo: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
Expanding on the Twitter panel built for its front-of-house lounge in February, American Express exhibited tweets, messages, and images from a select group of bloggers, fashion experts, and designers on a multimedia wall that dominated its lobby booth.
Photo: BizBash
Looking over the theater and stage venues in the tents, the American Express Skybox lounge hosted card members. Hosted by stylist Kate Nobelius, the Skybox was created by interior designer Bill Sofield.
Photo: Courtesy of American Express
Packed throughout the week, AOL's media lounge sat in the center of the lobby, sunken into the elevated floor. To design the contemporary white and purple space, AOL tapped Garin Baura, who outfitted it with comfy banquettes, cocktail-style tables and stools, and a video screen for watching shows.
Photo: Jennifer Calais Smith
In addition to branded notebooks, pens, and buttons (all quickly scooped up before noon each day), AOL provided a booth where reporters could record and upload videos.
Photo: Jennifer Calais Smith
In an effort to highlight the contrasting colors of its vanilla- and mocha-flavored Frappuccino brews, Starbucks fashioned a brown and white lounge and used the product bottles and bottle caps as decoration.
Photo: BizBash
Produced by Grand Central Marketing, the bar and lounge section for New Zealand winemaker Kim Crawford complemented the hedges in the space with a green color scheme and wreathlike backdrop. As the company was not allowed to serve wine until after 2 p.m., the booth provided hand massages in the morning. Organizers estimate more than 2,700 sample glasses of wine were poured per day.
Photo: BizBash
Fashion Week's official makeup sponsor Maybelline New York offered a simple but effective space in the tent lobby. Produced by MKG, the area included an eye-catching pink letter M, an elevated lounge in the rear, and samples handed out to attendees from a small counter at the front.
Photo: BizBash
MKG also produced the Essie pop-up salon. The nail polish company offered free manicures to Fashion Week attendees on Friday, September 10, and Wednesday, September 15.
Photo: BizBash
