Blue lighting and sequined tablecloths made for a striking look at Ronald McDonald House Toronto’s holiday season gala in December 2012.
#2 Benefit
San Francisco
The museum's biggest fund-raiser, which in 2012 raised $2.8 million for art education programs, is an elegantly design gala with highlights like chef Hubert Keller—as the event's DJ. The ball will take place off site next year while the museum is closed for Âexpansion. Next: April 2014
A striking visual centerpiece of the event was a huge illuminated gramophone, not unlike the Grammy award statuette itself.
Known for creating the show's most visually stimulating booths, IWC Schaffhausen chose a water-theme setup this year, which celebrated its Aquatimer collection and was inspired by the Galapagos Islands, both above and beneath the water. Meant to evoke the feeling of diving into a wave, replica hammerhead sharks hung from the ceiling, surrounding a central chandelier comprising 2,400 individually strung Plexi "bubbles" that hung nearly 30 feet down. Two cross projectors cast deep sea images both vertically and horizontally onto two large curved screens, while a circular bar in the middle of the space housed an information desk and a bar that served cocktails and even caviar.
