When your guest of honor has been shot nine times, tight security is a must. A security check-in area worthy of the Oscars surrounded Capitale for the launch of Reebok's new shoe, where rapper 50 Cent debuted the G6 model from his Rbk G Unit shoe collection.
The Bowery was blocked off from Delancey to Broome, where a block-long, tented and red-carpeted walkway ran along the sidewalk. Guests checked in and showed their IDs, and security guards from A & J Security Consultants waved metal-detector wands over the male guests.
Inside the restaurant, custom-designed projections by Dorian Orange illuminated the walls. Rbk-branded satin pillows dotted the U-shaped banquettes along the walls, and a curving buffet station snaked through the center of the room, offering manly fare like roast beef, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and potstickers.
Inspired by the street ball games that take over outdoor public courts like the West Fourth Street courts in the West Village, the Strategic Group's Tony Berger and Reebok vice president of global communications Denise Kaigler brought the game indoors to the party. AG Light and Sound rigged a large cyclone cage equipped with a basketball hoop to descend to the floor at midnight, when players from Entertainers Basketball Classic—the group behind the summer street ball tournament in Harlem's famous Rucker Park—played a short game wearing the G6 and A7 shoes.
"The idea of the basketball court was to bring the sporting.phpect and fuse it with music and let people be a part of it," said Berger. "It wasn't just a basketball game. It was about bringing the street ball games to life, and inviting people into the cage and play with the guys and dance in the cage afterwards."
The late-night event, which began at 9 PM and lasted through 3 AM, was the second half of a two-city, one-day tour for Reebok. The event began with a 3 PM press conference at the Reebok store in Philadelphia to promote 50 Cent and Philadelphia 76'ers star Allen Iverson's shoe collections. The duo then caravanned to Capitale, where a second press conference was held before the party.
––Suzanne Ito
See the invitation to this event...
Read about another Reebok launch...
The Bowery was blocked off from Delancey to Broome, where a block-long, tented and red-carpeted walkway ran along the sidewalk. Guests checked in and showed their IDs, and security guards from A & J Security Consultants waved metal-detector wands over the male guests.
Inside the restaurant, custom-designed projections by Dorian Orange illuminated the walls. Rbk-branded satin pillows dotted the U-shaped banquettes along the walls, and a curving buffet station snaked through the center of the room, offering manly fare like roast beef, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and potstickers.
Inspired by the street ball games that take over outdoor public courts like the West Fourth Street courts in the West Village, the Strategic Group's Tony Berger and Reebok vice president of global communications Denise Kaigler brought the game indoors to the party. AG Light and Sound rigged a large cyclone cage equipped with a basketball hoop to descend to the floor at midnight, when players from Entertainers Basketball Classic—the group behind the summer street ball tournament in Harlem's famous Rucker Park—played a short game wearing the G6 and A7 shoes.
"The idea of the basketball court was to bring the sporting.phpect and fuse it with music and let people be a part of it," said Berger. "It wasn't just a basketball game. It was about bringing the street ball games to life, and inviting people into the cage and play with the guys and dance in the cage afterwards."
The late-night event, which began at 9 PM and lasted through 3 AM, was the second half of a two-city, one-day tour for Reebok. The event began with a 3 PM press conference at the Reebok store in Philadelphia to promote 50 Cent and Philadelphia 76'ers star Allen Iverson's shoe collections. The duo then caravanned to Capitale, where a second press conference was held before the party.
––Suzanne Ito
See the invitation to this event...
Read about another Reebok launch...
At Reebok's G6 and A7 shoe launch at Capitale, branded projections lit up a scoreboard and giant video screen suspended in the middle of the ballroom.
A giant cyclone fence cage rigged to descend from the ceiling at midnight surrounded the Rbk-branded scoreboard.
Dorian Orange projected custom-made video projections onto Capitale's walls.
Guest of honor 50 Cent showed photographers the G6 shoe from his G Unit collection.
