The launch party for Cargo, Conde Nast's new shopping magazine for men, was hotter than a Prada sample sale—and just as crowded. In fact, for all the media types, models and metrosexuals vying to get into the event at Splashlight Studios—the list was closed at 1,100 invitees—you'd have thought Cargo was giving away goods and not just cataloging them in its pages.
Instead, the consumer products that the magazine lauds were conspicuously absent—a conscious choice on the part of event producer Avi Adler. "The challenge was how to bring the pages of the magazine to life in a way that was evocative and true to the spirit of the magazine without feeling too advertise-y," said Adler's partner, David Stark, who worked closely with Cargo publisher Alan Katz on the event. "We didn't want it to be product placement décor." (That's something that Adler and Stark did for Cargo's Conde corporate cousin, GQ.)
Instead, the goal was to highlight the magazine's not-just-for-gay-guys subject matter: grooming, fashion, technology, autos, spirits and home décor. Various themed vignettes combined video projections, sculptural installations and performance art. And everything—down to the body paint on models posed in the scenarios—was white. A real car, cut in half and painted white, represented Cargo's automobile coverage. A living room set-up replete with white couches, chairs and an entertainment center (provided by Props for Today and Greenroom) suggested home décor. And in another spot, a model posed mid-shave in front of a bathroom mirror wrapped in nothing but a towel.
Carla Ruben, president of caterer Creative Edge Parties, said her mandate for the menu was to provide "manly food," and she translated that into hearty fare. Miniature gourmet burgers—hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as portobello mushroom burgers and barbecue pork burgers—were wrapped, fast food-style, in waxed paper; crisp Yukon Gold fries were served with Belgian mayo and curried ketchup; and several grilled pizza stations provided a gourmet take (roasted pumpkin and smoked mozzarella, anyone?) on the ultimate guy food. The desserts were upscale versions of lowbrow favorites: mini Ciao Bella ice cream cones, apple cider donuts, Hostess-style cupcakes with a vanilla squiggle, and Oreo-inspired bittersweet chocolate sandwich cookies with the Cargo logo.
Splashlight's outdoor space was tented and filled with white, bright orange and chocolate brown furniture, and guests puffed on cigarettes offered at the outside bar, making the tent a comfy but not-quite-legal smoker's lounge.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Instead, the consumer products that the magazine lauds were conspicuously absent—a conscious choice on the part of event producer Avi Adler. "The challenge was how to bring the pages of the magazine to life in a way that was evocative and true to the spirit of the magazine without feeling too advertise-y," said Adler's partner, David Stark, who worked closely with Cargo publisher Alan Katz on the event. "We didn't want it to be product placement décor." (That's something that Adler and Stark did for Cargo's Conde corporate cousin, GQ.)
Instead, the goal was to highlight the magazine's not-just-for-gay-guys subject matter: grooming, fashion, technology, autos, spirits and home décor. Various themed vignettes combined video projections, sculptural installations and performance art. And everything—down to the body paint on models posed in the scenarios—was white. A real car, cut in half and painted white, represented Cargo's automobile coverage. A living room set-up replete with white couches, chairs and an entertainment center (provided by Props for Today and Greenroom) suggested home décor. And in another spot, a model posed mid-shave in front of a bathroom mirror wrapped in nothing but a towel.
Carla Ruben, president of caterer Creative Edge Parties, said her mandate for the menu was to provide "manly food," and she translated that into hearty fare. Miniature gourmet burgers—hamburgers and cheeseburgers, as well as portobello mushroom burgers and barbecue pork burgers—were wrapped, fast food-style, in waxed paper; crisp Yukon Gold fries were served with Belgian mayo and curried ketchup; and several grilled pizza stations provided a gourmet take (roasted pumpkin and smoked mozzarella, anyone?) on the ultimate guy food. The desserts were upscale versions of lowbrow favorites: mini Ciao Bella ice cream cones, apple cider donuts, Hostess-style cupcakes with a vanilla squiggle, and Oreo-inspired bittersweet chocolate sandwich cookies with the Cargo logo.
Splashlight's outdoor space was tented and filled with white, bright orange and chocolate brown furniture, and guests puffed on cigarettes offered at the outside bar, making the tent a comfy but not-quite-legal smoker's lounge.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
At Cargo magazine's launch event at Splashlight Studios, decor included a model dressed and painted in white lounging on white furniture.
Images projected onto an all-white closet space represented the magazine's fashion pages.
To suggest the grooming element of Cargo's not-just-for-gay-guys subject matter, a model posed mid-shave in front of a bathroom mirror wrapped in nothing but a towel.
Creative Edge Parties served milk and Oreo-style chocolate sandwich cookies branded with the Cargo logo.
