Couper held a night at the museum—Hall des Lumières (HDL), New York City's digital art museum—on April 18, and invited 80 tastemakers to ring in spring, aka RSVP season.Photo: Courtesy of Couper
“The weather is warming, the invites are flowing, and occasion wardrobing is top of mind,” Gilroy added.
Cue Couper’s night at the museum, which took place on April 18 and welcomed 80 guests. However, we’re not just talking about any museum—the event took over Hall des Lumières (HDL), New York City’s newest more-than-30,000-square-foot digital art museum that was previously home to the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank in the early 1900s.
Agee Gretta Leinberry, the co-founder and COO of Couper, said of the site selection: “At Couper, we treat each piece [of clothing] as a wearable work of art, so what better place to celebrate a new season of museum-worthy looks than at New York’s permanent digital art center?”
When asked about a standout touchpoint, Caroline Gilroy, the co-founder and CEO of luxury fashion retailer Couper, pointed to "the presentation of food and drink."Photo: Courtesy of Couper
In addition, “when Couper launched, our platform encouraged people to ‘please touch the art,’ [so] we knew there was an opportunity to collaborate [with HDL],” Leinberry explained. The result was just that: an evening where fashionable females united to sip celebratory champagne—”it’s not a Couper event without overflowing Coupe glasses,” Leinberry quipped—while being immersed in the venue’s main exhibit, Gustav Klimt: Gold In Motion.
Thanks to HDL's cutting-edge photo- and video-mapping technology, guests were literally touched by art as Klimt’s decorative works (which fittingly centered around the female body) reached every corner of the bilevel space. And, in the spirit of Couper’s “please touch the art” sentiment, the New York-based brand had spring-appropriate mini, midi, and maxi dresses, tops, and skirts on gold display racks alongside statement jewelry pieces on floral-filled tables for guests to admire.
A standout touchpoint? “The details within the presentation of food and drink were outstanding,” Gilroy said, noting that it had personal-to-Couper touches—like a “signature coupe tower”—as well as “a decadent display of luscious fruits, meats, cheeses, artisanal breads, and desserts.”
Alexandra Reiss, the director of hospitality and events at HDL, echoed that sentiment: "Seeing our historic bank table transformed into a lavish food display was terrific, as well as watching conversations spark surrounding the Gustav Klimt: Gold In Motion exhibit."
“We loved that it felt like another form of art that guests were not only encouraged to touch, but to eat!” Gilroy added of the display, which was designed by Romilly Newman.
Speaking of designs, VIP guests were dressed in Couper’s styles “with the intention of expanding brand exposure on social,” Leinberry explained. “We loved getting women out in the wild wearing the product so that customers are able to see real-life ways of styling and wearing the product.”
Ultimately, “there is nothing better than touching, feeling, and styling the product in person,” Leinberry said. Thus, as a primarily online retailer, live events will remain an important part of Couper’s marketing strategy because “the quality has an opportunity to shine in a way that it can’t online,” she explained. And with Couper being just a mere nine months old, “the goal of the event was to continue to establish our brand DNA while increasing our reach and social following.”
Keep scrolling to see more from inside Couper’s night at the museum…
VENDORS
Event Rentals: Something Different Party Rental
Florals: Porcelain Vine Floral
Food & Design Styling: Romilly Newman
