As part of a two-day immersive experience at the Dolby SoHo space in Lower Manhattan, Michael Kors kicked off New York Fashion Week on February 5 with a technology-laden celebration launching his Spring 2019 MICHAEL Michael Kors campaign starring Bella Hadid.
A modern reimagining of one of Kors’s favorite inspirations—the Jet Set—the designer and his supermodel muse held court surrounded by a myriad of high-tech innovations. The campaign, shot by photographer David Sims, reflects a modern interpretation of jet set, one that focuses on speed, energy, and optimism. Each room in the Dolby space was designed to bring these campaign tenets to life or, as Kors mused, “What 'jet set' has become in today’s world.”
Spread across multiple exhibits, guests first encountered a 360-projected environment of the “MK” logo in the Infinity Room; Dolby presented custom Kors video content, made up of 12 Dolby Vision displays and Dolby Atmos audio, surrounded by mirrors, creating the feeling of an infinite horizon of video.
According to a Dolby spokesperson, in planning the activation, Kors and his team were drawn to Dolby for its state-of-the-art technology—“It’s not just what you see; sound is so important”—and for its flashy space. Dolby produced all elements featuring its technologies.
In the Experience Room, Dolby worked with the Kors creative team to present an all-encompassing visual and audio experience: 16 projectors displayed across all four walls and the floor of the 1,000-square-foot space. A new Dolby Atmos remix of the Kors spring campaign audio material dynamically moved around leveraging 31 speakers, including 10 from above.
Dolby Dimension headphones were used to virtualize the audio of outtakes from the Kors spring campaign, and with Lifemix, allowed consumers to enjoy the original content without being cut off from their surroundings.
Continuing on, the Studio encouraged guests to star in their own MICHAEL Michael Kors Spring 2019 ad campaign. Guests could capture their movement on their own devices or via Hypno camera systems that instantly produce edited videos with branding, effects, and music. The latter afforded the chance for visitors to insert themselves into a re-created campaign set inspired by the actual Sims-lensed campaign that featured trampolines, exercise balls, and other props that encouraged movement.
Nestled in the back of the first floor was the Virtual Forest, where guests were treated to another content moment via a stylized set-up of 18 freestanding Dolby screens, enhanced with additional 3-D elements.
“Technology has become fashion,” Kors affirmed.
Downstairs, the party continued. Exaggerated, life-size charms were reimagined in the form of a seesaw and giant swing logo, allowing guests to interact with the brand’s logo and underscoring the joy and movement found in the campaign. The bottom floor also featured the Hypno Icon, a reactive video booth that produced a video by tracing guests’ movements, generating neon-hued shadows in real time. Throughout the night, guests were treated to musical entertainment via DJ Francois K and the Dolby DJ Lab.
Following the V.I.P. opening, Kors’s takeover of Dolby SoHo was open to the public for one day to star in their own shoot with Hadid.
