11 Inspiring Set Designs From New York Fashion Week

If there’s a large-scale venue in Manhattan, chances are Moncler has used it. For its February 8 Moncler Grenoble presentation, the high-fashion Italian skiwear brand took over the Hammerstein Ballroom to stage a Villa Eugenie-produced extravaganza. The event boasted 10 opera singers from the Pendulum Choir on oscillating pendulums that swayed as they sang in front of a stack of 60 illuminated boxes, each containing a model wearing an outfit from the fall collection. The nearly half-hour performance had a mandate to start on time in order to allow editors to make the dash across the East River to catch the Alexander Wang show.

For the launch of its fashion collaboration with the British-designed Peter Pilotto label, Target tapped Bureau Betak to produce back-to-back parties with co-host Net-a-porter.com in London and New York. The latter fête and private shopping night took place on February 6 at Gotham Hall, where 700 guests were immersed into a world of print and color that represented the Pilotto aesthetic. The focal point was a kinetic installation that combined synchronized music, light, video projection, and LED screens. A bevy of models wearing the collection walked the centrally placed mirrored runway at timed intervals during the event while attendees were encouraged to use social media through Instaprint stations using the #PeterPilottoforTarget hashtag. Two stylish English buffets anchored the space.

For Jason Wu’s fall show, held February 7 at 82 Mercer in SoHo, Bureau Betak shrouded the usually light-filled massive loft space with black drapes and chairs that strikingly juxtaposed the stark, marble-like runway and entrance arches. “Intimate, classic, but with a touch or surrealism,” said Alex de Betak of the set, which complemented a more reserved show that emphasized all things covered-up.

Similar to Jason Wu’s venue, the Lacoste show also contrasted a black show space with, in this case, a gleaming white runway and front row seating. Held at the largest tent space at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center and produced by Bureau Betak, the February 8 show featured a backdrop of two large video walls that played a digital journey to Chantaco, France, home to the world famous golf club in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The imagery was in the large mirrored shards that were “strewn” on the runway. “The modern images were in contrast to the more classical collection,” de Betak said.

In a radical move that tested both the limits of how far editors would travel and their patience for utter venue gridlock, Alexander Wang staged his February 8 show at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The venue, which advertises the latest in “solar energy, organic air purification, and eco-friendly building practices,” provided an apt setting for the Prodject-produced show that riffed on extreme conditions and survival. In a clever, high-tech finale, the lights went down and a dozen models walked out, taking their places around the edge of the runway. As the inner circular runway started and stopped, the heat-activated leather clothes on the models stationed in front of the set's metal vents changed colors—from black to blue or from yellow or purple—then slowly faded as they rotated away. Stefan Beckman designed the set.

Diane von Furstenberg took a one-season respite from Lincoln Center, decamping to Spring Studios for her February 9 show, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of her iconic wrap dress. Produced by Bureau Betak, the venue was best summed up in one word: bold. Bold prints and graphics complemented the venue’s soaring windows showing the Manhattan skyline. A performance by singer St. Vincent accompanied the show, which suffered from only one downside: the move in venue meant a reduction of several hundred seats.

Held on the eve of yet another snowstorm, the February 9 Opening Ceremony show saw Spring Studios transformed by Villa Eugenie into a scene reminiscent from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Invitations came in the form of golden tickets and, as guests arrived for one of two shows, they were handed boxes of chocolate made by chocolatier Callebaut. The highlight of the chocolate-filled evening and a nod to Belgium—the European nation that is the retailer’s country of focus for 2014—was a runway backdrop made from 2,000 pounds of melted chocolate poured down a blank white wall. To cap things off, mugs of hot chocolate were passed out to guests as they exited back out into the frosty weather.

With a new design team at the helm working alongside Marc Jacobs, the Marc by Marc Jacobs symbolically moved from its usual 69th Regiment Armory venue to Pier 36 for its February 10 outing. Producers KCD took the 25,000 square feet of show space and turned it into a conceptual BMX track complete with loop tracks and a full plywood runway and seating for more than 650 guests. Regular Marc Jacobs show vendors returned, including scenic designers Kadan Productions, sound company ADI, and lighting provider IMCD. 

For his fall show on February 10, Thom Browne transformed Center548 in west Chelsea into a church filled with pews, burning incense, illuminated oversize crosses, and fashionable alter boys. Produced by Villa Eugenie, models dressed as chic nuns—with sharp eyebrows, dip-dyed black nails, and white veils—took the runway in a nearly monochromatic collection.

Celebrating all things New York, Donna Karan staged her 30th anniversary show in the financial district, taking over the former J.P. Morgan headquarters at 23 Wall Street. The highlight of the February 10 show, produced by One Kick for 580 seated guests, was a media installation. In the stark and dark venue, a film by Steven Sebring played throughout and was designed to capture the essence of "A Woman in Motion.”

On February 13, Marc Jacobs capped off a snow- and ice-filled Fashion Week schedule with a palate cleanser of a show evident immediately from the 500 individually hung soft sculpture clouds—hung at two different points and slightly altering heights—encased in stretch-jersey-covered foam. “We played with the idea of having a ceiling or things hanging overhead to give the room a more intimate feeling,” said set designer Stefan Beckman (KCD produced the show). A “spoken soundtrack” featuring Jessica Lange reciting “Happy Days Are Here Again” evoked a mood, “giving it a strangeness under the ominous clouds,” Beckman added. Complementing the clouds at the 69th Regiment Armory were 630 individual circular seats made of cut upholstery foam laid out in a grid over 16 rows across 20,000 square feet. Flooring was felt pad with a carpet underlay. All materials were recycled following the show. Naturally, with overhead obstructions, Beckman noted that lighting was challenging and crucial especially given the overhead cover. “Lighting designer Joe Saint did an amazing job of maintaining the mood we needed but also ensuring the girls looked great and not too dark."