Invites

Keeping with the brand’s enigmatic appeal, H&M created invitations embedded with a scrolling LED panel inside a slim white box to celebrate its collection with Maison Martin Margiela.

Models walked a yellow checkerboard runway at Louis Vuitton’s spring show, so yellow was the natural choice for the fuzzy-pipe-cleaner lettering set on the brand’s perfectly square card.

A nod to the jungle-inspired collection revealed at the spring 2013 show, Kenzo sent out a tin box containing a branded mini survival kit for the fashionable great outdoors. The invitation itself could be tied to the carabineer as a flotation device.

Playing up a preppy, collegiate vibe, the invitation to the J. Press York Street collection’s spring presentation, fittingly held at the Yale Club, came in the form of a scaled-down wool felt pennant flag.

Invitations to Miu Miu’s three-night-only private members’ club at the Café Royal in London came in the form of an accordion file box with a magnetic closure that contained a full protocol rundown of the venue’s offerings, complete with a membership card.

To celebrate its festive “Electric Holiday” windows and Disney partnership, Barneys fashioned a weighty invite with LED lights in four different colors that illuminated the double-mirrored glass to create an infinity effect.

For his spring 2013 Burberry Prorsum show, designer Christopher Bailey celebrated the skyline of London—both the brand’s home base and where it stages its shows—by recreating it in laser-cut pop-up form.

Designed in-house, the multidimensional accordion-style invitation for Liberty’s “Christmas in July” preview was inspired by a trip to the London Transport Museum; each vignette was a train platform that would start your journey aboard “The Liberty Express.”

In a tongue-and-cheek take on the traditional fashion show invitation, designer Luca Orlandi (whose past show invites have come in the form of an album cover and parking ticket) enclosed the invite for his spring 2005 show in a Luca Luca condom wrapper that promised an event "designed for ultra sensation."

Designed in-house, the multidimensional accordion-style invitation for Liberty's "Christmas in July" preview was inspired by a trip to the London Transport Museum; each vignette was a train platform that would start your journey aboard "The Liberty Express."

Measuring in at about one and a half inches in height, Ann Demeulemeester's 2009 fashion show invite was a play on proportions. Details of the event, including location, date, and time, were printed on individual pages for a flip book effect.

In a no-expense-spared bash for the 2010 opening of its New Bond Street London flagship, Louis Vuitton created unique, numbered V.I.P. invitations that incorporated multiple elements of its travel legacy. Information about each component of the party was featured on a distinct card stock or vachetta leather piece; the final piece was a python card case bearing after-party details. The entire invite was fastened together with a leather tie and gold key—a nod to the French fashion house's luggage-making roots.

Neil Barrett is known for geometric cuts and mathematical exactitude in his designs, and the invitation for his spring 2011 men's show played up those ideas. Details for the show were printed on thick card stock packaged into an envelope, trompe l’oeil-style.

For the fall 2008 shows at London Fashion Week, fashion designer Gareth Pugh created a latex rose corsage as the invitation to the British Fashion Council's Moët & Chandon Boudoir V.I.P. room. The pieces were packaged in a Moët & Chandon box and messengered to guests.

For his spring 2013 Burberry Prorsum show, designer Christopher Bailey celebrated the skyline of London—both the brand’s home base and where it stages its shows—by recreating it in laser-cut pop-up form.

The four-and-a-half-inch-tall invitation to the 2008 inaugural Broad Contemporary Art Museum gala in Los Angeles was inspired by Jeff Koons's "Cracked Egg" sculpture, which was part of the inaugural show. The egg was chosen to represent the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s "rebirth" as the new pavilion was unveiled.

For a 2008 exhibition at Lever House, artist Tom Sachs mailed miniature, windup plastic Hello Kitty figurines as a preview of his "Bronze Collection" artwork on the iconic Japanese character. The plastic-covered packaging was printed so the artist's name appeared to be tacked on with Scotch Tape.

For the 2008 Tod's Art Plus Film party at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, British fashion designer Henry Holland designed a flip-book-style invitation that featured his cheeky drawings of notable figures in film, music, fashion, and the arts.

To herald its holiday 2011 charitable partnership with Lady Gaga, Barneys New York threw a party and sent out elaborate invitations. Created by Design Packaging and encased in the iconic Barneys black gift box, the 3-D mock-up of Gaga's Workshop came complete with functioning pop-up details and a transparent card allowing the bearer V.I.P. elevator access to the dedicated floor.

The invitations for the 2007 opening of Dries Van Noten's Paris flagship were deceptively simple. A Polaroid shot showing a close-up of the Belgian designer shop served as a sneak preview as well as a way to individualize each invite.

Chopard celebrated its 150th anniversary with an extravagant dinner and party at the Frick Collection in 2010. The Swiss watchmaker and jeweler enlisted New York-based Erin Bazos of Art Direction & Design to create a formal hardcover invitation utilizing a custom "Animal World" logo developed for all the jeweler’s anniversary events. The cover illustration, executed in gold foil stamping, was hand drawn and complemented by a watercolor painting created for the inside of the invite.

For Bloomberg's White House Correspondents' Dinner after-party in 2008, guests were sent a device that would only reveal the party information when recipients scanned their fingerprints. As an added element of security, each credit card-size piece only responded to the fingerprint of the intended invitee.

In a nod to its heritage as a purveyor of fine leather goods, Hermès, in past seasons, has issued fashion show invitations printed on various forms of its leather offerings. With some, the brand logo was embossed on the leather while with others, the "H" logo was perforated.

Always one to offer a whimsical take on fashion, Stella McCartney worked with author and illustrator Adam Hargreaves to create a 32-page book invitation for her spring 2007 fashion show. In addition to the Little Miss Stella character, Hargreaves also rendered fashion notables like Suzy Menkes, Anna Wintour, and Anna Piaggi in cartoon form.

Menswear brand Commonwealth Utilities held its first runway show in 2009. In a nod to the event venue, the Astor Place Hair barber shop, the invitation included items like combs vacuum-sealed in plastic.

As a reference to New York City, invitations to the 2006 Maison Martin Margiela store opening in the West Village came in the form of a coffee cup, with event details printed on a folded napkin placed inside.

Inspired by Maria Lani, the self-declared actress who conned the crème de la crème of the 1920s Paris art scene into painting her portrait, John Galliano's spring 2011 fashion show invites came in the form of scaled-down artworks printed on canvases with the show details on back.

For its 25th anniversary celebration, Manhattan restaurant Indochine enlisted illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme to sketch various iconic patrons that have dined in its space over the years. Printed on thick, letter-size paper stock, the postcard-style illustrations served as an artful memento to the milestone.

Fusion's Synergy invitation suite costs $387 for 50 sets, a price that includes custom envelopes printed with a return address and guests' addresses, as well as access to the company's easyinvite.com services.

In line with Riviera Club’s “California wine renaissance” inspiration, menswear designers Derek Buse, Joe Sadler, and Greg Ullery collaborated with the Santa Barbara’s Curtis Winery to produce 75 bottles of a 2008 Rhone Blend red wine. Select editors and guests received the limited-edition bottles, as well as details of the presentation’s date, time, and location printed on a note fashioned after a taxi receipt.

Betsey Johnson’s Valentine’s Day show is a play on the childhood game “he loves me, he loves me not.” To spotlight the phrase in an invitation, the quirky designer created oversize playing cards embedded with moving holographic images.

For a bit of whimsy, Andrew Buckler sent editors oversize buttons to serve as show invitations, with all pertinent details laminated onto the face of the accessory. To cope with the challenge of a change in presentation date after the buttons were already made, a simple sticker was placed over the old date.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Barbie’s boyfriend, Mattel tapped six American menswear designers to create special outfits, which will be unveiled during Fashion Week. For guests attending the event at Christie’s auction house, the invitation was a Ken doll mask.

A play on the traditional badge-and-lanyard pass, the invite for sportswear brand Number:Lab is an item guests can conveniently wear around their necks for easy identification.

To highlight a collection designed to be worn in the city and on the slopes, Moncler Grenoble will host its presentation at Grand Central Terminal. And in a nod to the storied location, the event’s invitation comprises a mock train ticket with the date and time of the show punched out.

While some designers seek to make a first impression with elaborate invitations, Jeremy Scott took a different approach. To reflect his street style and love of color, the designer sent out bright pink paper flyers.

Influenced by Ali MacGraw in Love Story, Porter Grey is designed by sisters Kristen and Alexandra O’Neill and makes its first appearance at the tents this season. To convey its preppy style, the brand used printed Currier & Ives postcards as the invitations for its show.

Although his brand is still relatively young, Alexander Wang projects an adult, professional tone that has earned him a strong reputation among editors and buyers. To complement his aesthetic, the designer’s show invitation consists of simple, clean, and stark thick white card stock with complementary white lettering. In contrast, a second invitation, for the opening of Wang’s new SoHo store, is all black.

The oversize invitation for the Gant by Michael Bastian show may look simple, but the graphics and short story gives editors a glimpse into the inspiration behind the fall collection.

Designer Mathieu Mirano sent out petri dish invitations to his Fashion Week show.

Turnock and Arak created the event's 75 invitations, which also doubled as gifts.

Redmond created these miniature holiday cards for Grace Bonney, the founder of Design*Sponge, to hand out to her staffers. The envelope featured a giant snowflake and a tiny wax seal.

A promotional mailing for insurance software company Aplifi included the company’s logo on the front, along with a magnifier so recipients could read the detailed product information. According to a report in Deliver Magazine, the mailings resulted in a 30 percent increase in Web traffic.

The Toledo Museum of Art sent members custom tiny packages that each held a limited-edition lapel pin wrapped inside a miniature architectural blueprint of the Main Museum.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art hired Redmond to send 400 thank-you cards to donors in honor of the museum’s 75th anniversary.

For the premiere of Waitress, Basik Design created playful diner-themed invites in the form of a spinning cherry pie.

Kira Evans Design's pop-up invitation marked the opening of the Pearl theater in Las Vegas.

For Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot List issue party in New York in April, the magazine designed a hot-pink flip book.

Replay jeans included Egglings planters with their invitation.

Chalkboard-like design details can offer a crafty, lighthearted vibe. Tag & Company offers a flat-printed invitation.