The temperature might have dropped Thursday night, but the decor at Malibu Rum's event inside the Hudson Hotel's basement-level space Good Units referenced sunnier climes. In an effort to market its new Malibu Black spirit as the signature drink of Halloween, the Pernod Ricard-owned brand threw a costume party that mixed surfboards, beach balls, and skaters with plasma lamps, skull-and-crossbones imagery, and paint cans stamped with radioactive warning symbols.
Actress Katrina Bowden, dressed as a zombie version of Tinkerbell, was on-hand as the night's host, joining designer Christian Siriano, Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle, and more than 400 other costumed revelers. Although the holiday shindig didn't provide much in the way of tricks, the organizers did dish out a treat—a surprise performance by hip-hop group Salt-n-Pepa.
Tasked with the production of the late-night event was Extra! Extra!, which opted to incorporate the tropical island motif of Malibu's brand identity within the more macabre, creepy accoutrements usually associated with Halloween. This meant applying body paint to turn the skate boarders into zombies and adding extra makeup to female dancers dressed as surfer chicks to make them look like vampires. Custom-made surfboards by Andrew Bunch were splattered with fluorescent colors that glowed under black light, illuminating parts of the venue, while leafy fronds contrasted bars covered with tin foil and white bone-shaped patterns.
Following the antics of the skateboarders on a branded half-pipe ramp, Cheryl James and Sandy Denton of Salt-n-Pepa took to the stage to close out the night with hits like "Push It," "Let's Talk About Sex," and "Shoop."
