Here are the facts of the annual Coachella Valley Music Festival: It’s a dry 100 degrees outside, it’s in the middle of nowhere (relatively speaking), and it lures tens of thousands of cool kids and style-setters from all over California—and beyond. So what was the best way to capitalize on the swelled population in the desert? Poolside house parties made the biggest splash this year. We stopped by Anthem magazine’s Reebok- and Amp’d Mobile-sponsored soiree at a former Frank Sinatra estate in Palm Springs, as well as Motorola’s luxe fete with DKNY Jeans at a home close enough to the concerts to hear the music.
DKNY’s Kristin Kavanagh and Motorola’s Liz Dowling tapped MM & Associates’ Moj Mahdara to produce their party, which featured sleek white ottoman seating around the pool and hot tub. (The vast manse also offered tennis and sand volleyball courts.) Urban Palate—a just-launched branch of corporate catering company City Kitchen—served a hot-weather-appropriate, international menu that included mini edamame burgers, Ahi tuna rolls, chicken empanadas, a Mediterranean-style salad, and hummus and baba ghanoush. A staffer served up ice pops from a cart that bore Motorola and DKNY Jeans logos, and drinks flowed at the outdoor bars. Inside, Motorola showcased its products by way of a graphic display in a black and white lounge, and DKNY Jeans distributed clothes to celebrity guests (like Nicole Richie and Taryn Manning) in its own all-white lounge. A rotating schedule of DJs like Kid Millionaire and Squeak E. Clean manned the turntables, and Full Picture handled PR.
In further-away Palm Springs (about 20 miles from the concert venue), Anthem copublisher Andreas Herr and marketing exec Natalie Blacker made sure their party had a more casual vibe, evidenced by its guests’ willingness to act like kids, climbing all over the octopus- and whale-shaped inflatables in the piano-shaped pool and nibbling on cupcakes topped with plastic toys. Memphis Catering barbecued casual fare on the grill, and staffers from Los Angeles’s Beauty Bar mixed cocktails using cosponsor 42 Below's vodka. Guests lounged on towels printed with Amp’d logos outside, while inside Reebok gave out colorful kicks to V.I.P. guests, and sporty apparel and accessory line WESC gave out tote bags including bikinis and swim trunks. (We spotted many of those towels and swimsuits later on the Empire Polo Field during the festival.)
(By the way Spin magazine kicked off the weekend with a Friday night party at Palm Desert’s South Beach nightclub, with Atlantic Records and Dodge. DJ Adam 12 from Coachella band She Wants Revenge spun and Big City Rock performed.)
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 05.03.06
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