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Creating an inspiring environment is one of the four pillars of the conference, and each year has a different look and feel. "We want to be a bit edgy, a bit shocking even," said Richard St-Pierre, C2MTL president and partner.

The conference had custom furniture designed to give people a place to perch but also facilitate conversations. Overall, there were fewer chairs than people, so "they're connecting whether they like it or not," joked St-Pierre.

Attendees could peer through a periscope that rotated 360-degrees for different views of the conference.

For attendees who wanted to skip the main stage talks—or couldn't find a seat—there was the Garage, a more casual venue with a vintage design aesthetic. The space showed live feeds of what was happening on the main stage but also offered its own programming, such as smaller presentations, business pitches, musical acts, and a bar and grill.

Attendees could eat their words, literally, at an installation from Glasgow Studio that turned their tweets into dried pasta. A wheel of alphabet pasta would spell out the words of tweets from attendees who used the hashtag #EatThat. Clear bags holding the pasta also had stickers printed with the original tweet.

This year, C2MTL highlighted the efforts of the Montreal-based nonprofit One Drop, which works to provide clean water across the world. At drinking water stations throughout the floor, disposable cups were printed with messages that encouraged attendees to purchase reusable water bottles, with the proceeds supporting the charity.

Montreal-based caterer Agnus Dei created a popular interactive sorbet station. Rings of raspberry, mango, and coconut sorbet spun around a wheel, while guests simply had to hold a scoop up to the device to build their own cone.

Massivart organized a collection of interactive art installations including a giant Lite Brite created by local design studio La Camaraderie.

Artist Miss Yad sketched live scenes from the conference that represented "moments of inspiration, moments of connection, moments of experimentation, and moments of celebration." Each day saw new sketches posted to a board near the entrance to the main stage that was marked with the hashtag #Momentum.

In the food area, colorful vegetables and herbs in tin cans provided a rustic contrast to the high-tech spaces inside.

Fast Company, the conference's media partner, sponsored a Reading Lounge in the middle of an outdoor plaza.

The Fast Company tent, with dramatic lighting and colorful seating, was a focal point to the plaza, which was designed with a more festive, casual feel than the indoor conference.

Several outdoor sponsor lounges were located in shipping containers. Although they held different companies, the lounges had a consistent design. About half of attendees are women, and the event design is purposefully "slightly feminine," said Will Travis of Sid Lee, which produced the conference.

Between speakers in the main Forum Microsoft space, author and strategist Justin Kingsley presented lighthearted segments called C2 Minutes. Designed to introduce the audience to Montreal culture, they often included interactive elements, such as inviting attendees to try the traditional greeting of kissing each other on the cheeks, while on stage, a "volunteer" couple started kissing on the mouth.

For the main stage, organizers chose speakers that represented diverse sectors such as fashion, telecommunications, spirits, and fine art. "The main focus for this year is about transformation and helping people get into the mindset that they're comfortable changing their agenda," Travis said. "How are they going to transform their businesses, themselves, their lives?"

This year, C2MTL moved to a cashless food program to speed up service. Mobile boxed-lunch stations were stationed throughout the conference grounds and accepted credit cards as well as prepaid cards. Attendees could email themselves a receipt.

On the opening night of the conference, Cirque du Soleil performed a show called "The Creative Spark."

Picnic tables in a covered dining area on the plaza encouraged attendees to interact. "Every area in the space is designed with a purpose," said Travis.

A marketplace stocked by the city's official design bureau sold Montreal-theme merchandise. The wares were also promoted as stylish gifts for meetings and events held in the city.

The bars at the conference each had a different design. In the Garage space, retro cassette tapes covered the bar front.

At I.A.E.E. Expo! Expo! in December, Freeman created an interactive video wall that helped attendees understand the company's various services.

Large monitors displayed the Twitter stream.

Vogue and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People presents an insider's look into the glamorous history of the Costume Institute's recent exhibits and the evolution of one of New York's biggest fund-raisers.

The late event designer Robert Isabell mixed crab-apple blossoms and peonies to create spring fresh centerpieces for the 2003 gala, which was inspired by the "Goddess: The Classic Mode" exhibits and held in the museum's Roman Sculpture Court.

In 2004, the gala paid homage to the "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the Eighteenth Century" exhibition with Victorian-esque topiary trees and conical-shaped centerpieces featuring colorful blooms like lilacs.

Inspired by a garden party at a French chateau, event designer David Monn used a classic combo of white blooms and greenery, such as juniper, gardenias, boxwood, and camellias (one of Coco Chanel's favorite motifs) for the 2005 tribute to the iconic French fashion designer. The tables were covered with sage-colored burlap and overlaid with Belgian linens to complete the look.

For the museum's 2007 tribute to French couturier Paul Poiret, four peacocks perched in a gilded cage, which was surrounded by more than 12,000 red roses—the designer's personal emblem. In the book's introduction, Vogue editor in chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour recalls an event planner's nightmare: the pride of peacocks going AWOL in Central Park before the gala.

In addition to the eccentric peacock display, the "Poiret: King of Fashion" exhibition and the designer's love of prints inspired the gala's dining decor in the Charles Engelhard Court, which included swinging lanterns, colorful cushions, and mismatched floral centerpieces.

Marc Jacobs designed the grand flowing gown worn by the mannequin in the Great Hall for the 2009 gala to represent "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" exhibition—a celebration of the women who give life to designers' creations.

Guests climbed the steps, which were lined with zebra-striped carpeting for the "Model as Muse" gala, in the museum's Great Hall. The wild inspiration came from legendary Manhattan nightclub El Morocco and its iconic animal-print interior.

Nathan Crowley's exhibit design for 2010's "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" featured panorama rooms, similar to those at the turn-of-the-century world's fairs. Inspired by the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, Crowley and Raúl Àvila, who oversaw the event's decor, inflated a 35- by 40-foot hot-air balloon in the Great Hall to greet guests.

In 2012, the museum presented "Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations," which explored the aesthetic similarities between designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada. For the gala dinner, held in the museum's Temple of Dendur, the chairs were upholstered with many of Prada's popular prints and were complemented by bright poppies and anemones on the tables, creating a whimsical feel that mimicked both women's fashion sensibilities.

For 2013's "Punk: Chaos to Couture" gala, a chandelier made of thousands of razor blades, which was created by London-based artist and designer Simon Kenny, hung above a bed of 75,000 roses in the entrance hall, playing off the subversive nature of the genre. Àvila once again handled the decor for the party.

A 30-foot rose-covered sculpture representing Charles James's famous curve-loving construction stood above the Great Hall's information desk for the 2014 gala, which celebrated the 20th-century American couturier.