Luxury fashion brands ignite a sense of fantasy in consumers and event planners alike. From scented fountains on the dance floor to horses dressed in couture, here's a look at bright, fashion-inspired ideas from events that celebrated Chanel, Missoni, Stella McCartney, and more.
Classic Italian cuisine inspired the 2012 Met Ball's evening’s menu, which began with an appetizer of whole baby lobster (an homage to Schiaparelli's famous lobster-print dress) accompanied by a julienne of vegetables with caviar.
David Rodgers did the design and production for the exhibition's opening-night party, which took place on January 10 at the Wilshire May Company Building. A lounge area had a Studio 54 theme and was decked in disco balls;Â furniture was swathed in Diane von Furstenberg-like prints.
Parked in front of the event, a car had a pattern that recalled Diane von Furstenberg's famously bold prints.
At the 2013 event, Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum was filled with pink-and-black lounge furniture inspired by Viktor & Rolf's signature brand hues.
At the 2010 opening, organizers played off the fashion house's roots as a purveyor of saddles and harnesses. Young equestrians assisted with the ribbon-cutting ceremony that kicked off the event, and two stilt walkers with horse costumes flanked the entrance. The "horses" were wearing custom Hermès suits.
In 2009, HBO’s 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards post-award reception had a Paul Poiret-inspired look from Billy Butchkavitz. Red roses—Poiret's logo on his dress labels—filled 140 low black glass vases on tables throughout the space.
At the 2009 launch for Louis Vuitton's collaboration with Stephen Sprouse, Brooklyn Guild designed a hallway that led to the main room. Created as a second area for photographers to snap pictures of guests, the tunnel was marked with Stephen Sprouse-Louis Vuitton graffiti and covered with a color-changing ceiling.
In 2011, Donatella Versace hosted a bash in New York to celebrate her collaboration with H&M. It took place at Pier 57, a site dubbed “Versace for H&M Hall on the Hudson” for the night. Two long bars were erected at opposite sides of the space, boasting 18-foot-high walls and a sprawling palm-print motif as a backdrop.
At the 2011 event in New York, Creative Edge served a bevy of hors d'oeuvres and desserts such as macarons on custom Missoni-inspired trays lined with bold prints.
According to Raúl Àvila, who has produced the benefit's decor since 2007, "surrealist whimsy" influenced his ideas for the event. In the center of the museum's Great Hall sat a custom-built, 24-foot-tall cylinder covered in white roses, with red roses inserted in a large-scale lip pattern inspired by Schiaparelli and Prada designs. A total of 40,000 roses were used in the installation.
At McCartney's New York presentation, a custom topiary spelling out the designer's name stood in the garden of restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea. It was visible to guests through the windows.
For the 2012 event in Chicago, planners took inspiration from Yves Saint Laurent, and more specifically from the designer's Moroccan home, the Jardin Majorelle. To evoke the exotic setting, a scented fountain filled with oranges and candles spruced up the dance floor, where the Stu Hirsch Orchestra played at the end of the evening.
At the 2010 store reopening, guests could play with 30 custom Chanel spray-paint cans, which interacted with LED screens to make temporary graffiti.
At the 2012 event in Las Vegas, as a reference to the pearls adored by Coco Chanel, producers hung curtains of white beads at various points throughout the exhibit. Stepping through the beaded curtain, guests could view rare and special Chanel accessories and jewelry displayed inside gilded bird cages.
The beauty editor brunch to preview Betsey Johnson's fragrance Too Too was held at Milk Gallery in 2011. Organizers took advantage of the clean spare look of the space—and channeled the designer's girly vibe—by creating a ballet-studio-like setting. Ballet dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy posed in the gallery windows.
