"I mean, who doesn't love balloons? These giant colorful trees (built by Founders Entertainment with balloon arrangements supplied by Katie Balloons) were sprouting up around the festival grounds at Governors Ball this year. Talk about instant photo bait! And such a clever way to reinvent what some may consider a tired design trope." —Michele Laufik, style editor
"The featured exhibit at the museum at the time of this April benefit was 'David Bowie Is,' and the event design from David Stark featured plenty of glam. After cocktails on the first floor—a space punctuated with columns of thin gold fringe streamers—guests went upstairs for dinner. The atrium was a riot of streamers in various materials and colors, draped at different heights and angles, announcing a sense of fun on a monumental scale. Spaced throughout the room, entertainers jumped on mini trampolines, generating energy but also drawing guests eyes upward to take in the decor. Shiny silver dome centerpieces reflected the drama overhead." —Beth Kormanik, editor in chief
The dinner, which was held in November at New York Hilton Midtown, honored designer Diane von Furstenberg with the Freedom Award and Larry Fink, chairman and C.E.O. of BlackRock, with the John C. Whitehead Humanitarian Award. The annual dinner raised $16.8 million to support the organization’s humanitarian work. The table centerpieces were mirrored cubes featuring photos of refugees.
