To Keep Journalists Happy
Before the week kicked off, title sponsor Mercedes-Benz’s PR team worked with the Donahue Group to send out Fashion Week survival kits to journalists, in tote bags emblazoned with a medical-looking red cross. The bags held Foot Petals stiletto care kits, first-aid supplies, and Bebe sunglasses (to be worn indoors as well as out for that authentic important-L.A.-fashion-person look).
For a Sleek Lounge Look
Mercedes-Benz used a series of black-and-white photographs of well-proportioned bodies posing alongside its cars—which Davis Factor shot at Smashbox Studios—as inspiration for the decor in its V.I.P. lounge. Lucite partitions in wavy forms (mimicking the curves of the female body) and black-draped walls lined with faux-flame pillar candles rounded out the sophisticated look. “We used the photos to inspire us in New York, and I want to do something with them in Miami as well,” said New Jersey-based Mercedes-Benz national events manager Lisa Holladay, whose company now controls title sponsorship for Fashion Week in all three cities. “Next time I would like to use the same images interpreted differently so that the overall look is much brighter.” Arizona-based Design & Decor Associates Inc. helped execute the lounge’s look.
To Integrate Info and Access
The Donahue Group looked to Promolocker to create gray wristbands for access to the V.I.P. lounge at Smashbox. When unsnapped from the wrist, the rubber bands revealed a USB device that contained Mercedes-Benz’s electronic press kit. That’s what we call a brilliant way for fashion to meet function.
For Brand-Building Eye-Candy
In addition to providing free shipping stations from Smashbox, Fashion Week sponsor DHL recruited some hunky male models to meander about dressed in DHL gear. Many showgoers—including celebrity attendees—had their photos taken with the guys, and those photos showed up on the wire to get exposure for the brand. And DHL wasn’t the only company to invoke costumed models: Sugar Communications hired Eye5 to provide models in dresses and body paint who promoted water and new Metamucil caplets. And Gran Centenario tequila brought back models dressed in angel wings to push the celestial-theme specialty cocktails it hawked at the bars. (This season, the wingspan was decreased to keep from clipping harried guests running from show to show.)
For Relief From Parking Drama
Because the parking lot is a significant distance from Smashbox Studios, valets often need 20 minutes or more to retrieve guests’ cars. But with flat-screen TV monitors placed outside the tent in the waiting area running live footage of the shows, guests who left early to beat the rush to the valet stand could catch the end of the presentations.
For Crowd Control
In past seasons, check-in tables were inside the tent’s lobby, but this season organizers set up the tables in front of the tent. This limited the number of folks—some of whom don’t have legitimate reasons for being there—who made it into the lobby area, creating a saner environment.
For Kitschy, Bright Decor
The Ed Hardy fashion show in the main tent featured a set design with the designer’s tattoo-style logo (the invitation took the same shape) and a bright neon sign bearing his name. To start the show, a backstage source tossed bright latex balloons onto the runway, and models tossed shiny glitter and blew bubbles from plastic bubble wands during their high-energy walks.
For High-Energy Entertainment
Underwear brand 2(x)ist kicked off its show with performances by the Corona Del Mar High School drum line and dance team, as well as the Los Angeles Laker Girls. It wasn’t exactly on the scale of Marc Jacobs’s Penn State marching band stunt a few seasons back, but then again, L.A.’s Fashion Week is not on the scale of New York’s.
For On-Site Convenience
This season, the designer showcase known as the Design Suites—previously held at a separate, off-site location—moved right into Smashbox Studios, adjacent to the shows, so guests with a block of time between shows could stop by with ease. In addition, the designers featured in the space turned over in the middle of the five-day week to make room for another set, encouraging guests to stop by again to check out what was new.
For a Colorful Branding Idea
Sponsor Chambord teamed up with OPI to carve out a small pampering corner in the Smashbox tent lobby. The liquor purveyor worked with the nail-polish brand to create a custom color—“I’m Chambord With It All”—that technicians used to polish the nails of showgoers at quick 15-minute appointments throughout the week.
For Something Completely Different
To differentiate its brand from the two dozen others showing at Smashbox Studios, 2 B Free was one of the lines to take its show across town. The casual brand hosted its presentation and party at Boulevard3 in Hollywood on March 19. Although the fashion show had a nominal 10:30 PM start time, it actually began an hour later, with models including Paris Hilton strutting down the runway. Media sponsor 944 splashed its logo around the space—which was mercifully bigger than the last time we caught the packed show, at the relatively diminutive GM Penthouse at the Beverly Wilshire.
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 03.22.07
Photos: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA (lounge), Getty Images (DHL, Chambord)
Before the week kicked off, title sponsor Mercedes-Benz’s PR team worked with the Donahue Group to send out Fashion Week survival kits to journalists, in tote bags emblazoned with a medical-looking red cross. The bags held Foot Petals stiletto care kits, first-aid supplies, and Bebe sunglasses (to be worn indoors as well as out for that authentic important-L.A.-fashion-person look).
For a Sleek Lounge Look
Mercedes-Benz used a series of black-and-white photographs of well-proportioned bodies posing alongside its cars—which Davis Factor shot at Smashbox Studios—as inspiration for the decor in its V.I.P. lounge. Lucite partitions in wavy forms (mimicking the curves of the female body) and black-draped walls lined with faux-flame pillar candles rounded out the sophisticated look. “We used the photos to inspire us in New York, and I want to do something with them in Miami as well,” said New Jersey-based Mercedes-Benz national events manager Lisa Holladay, whose company now controls title sponsorship for Fashion Week in all three cities. “Next time I would like to use the same images interpreted differently so that the overall look is much brighter.” Arizona-based Design & Decor Associates Inc. helped execute the lounge’s look.
To Integrate Info and Access
The Donahue Group looked to Promolocker to create gray wristbands for access to the V.I.P. lounge at Smashbox. When unsnapped from the wrist, the rubber bands revealed a USB device that contained Mercedes-Benz’s electronic press kit. That’s what we call a brilliant way for fashion to meet function.
For Brand-Building Eye-Candy
In addition to providing free shipping stations from Smashbox, Fashion Week sponsor DHL recruited some hunky male models to meander about dressed in DHL gear. Many showgoers—including celebrity attendees—had their photos taken with the guys, and those photos showed up on the wire to get exposure for the brand. And DHL wasn’t the only company to invoke costumed models: Sugar Communications hired Eye5 to provide models in dresses and body paint who promoted water and new Metamucil caplets. And Gran Centenario tequila brought back models dressed in angel wings to push the celestial-theme specialty cocktails it hawked at the bars. (This season, the wingspan was decreased to keep from clipping harried guests running from show to show.)
For Relief From Parking Drama
Because the parking lot is a significant distance from Smashbox Studios, valets often need 20 minutes or more to retrieve guests’ cars. But with flat-screen TV monitors placed outside the tent in the waiting area running live footage of the shows, guests who left early to beat the rush to the valet stand could catch the end of the presentations.
For Crowd Control
In past seasons, check-in tables were inside the tent’s lobby, but this season organizers set up the tables in front of the tent. This limited the number of folks—some of whom don’t have legitimate reasons for being there—who made it into the lobby area, creating a saner environment.
For Kitschy, Bright Decor
The Ed Hardy fashion show in the main tent featured a set design with the designer’s tattoo-style logo (the invitation took the same shape) and a bright neon sign bearing his name. To start the show, a backstage source tossed bright latex balloons onto the runway, and models tossed shiny glitter and blew bubbles from plastic bubble wands during their high-energy walks.
For High-Energy Entertainment
Underwear brand 2(x)ist kicked off its show with performances by the Corona Del Mar High School drum line and dance team, as well as the Los Angeles Laker Girls. It wasn’t exactly on the scale of Marc Jacobs’s Penn State marching band stunt a few seasons back, but then again, L.A.’s Fashion Week is not on the scale of New York’s.
For On-Site Convenience
This season, the designer showcase known as the Design Suites—previously held at a separate, off-site location—moved right into Smashbox Studios, adjacent to the shows, so guests with a block of time between shows could stop by with ease. In addition, the designers featured in the space turned over in the middle of the five-day week to make room for another set, encouraging guests to stop by again to check out what was new.
For a Colorful Branding Idea
Sponsor Chambord teamed up with OPI to carve out a small pampering corner in the Smashbox tent lobby. The liquor purveyor worked with the nail-polish brand to create a custom color—“I’m Chambord With It All”—that technicians used to polish the nails of showgoers at quick 15-minute appointments throughout the week.
For Something Completely Different
To differentiate its brand from the two dozen others showing at Smashbox Studios, 2 B Free was one of the lines to take its show across town. The casual brand hosted its presentation and party at Boulevard3 in Hollywood on March 19. Although the fashion show had a nominal 10:30 PM start time, it actually began an hour later, with models including Paris Hilton strutting down the runway. Media sponsor 944 splashed its logo around the space—which was mercifully bigger than the last time we caught the packed show, at the relatively diminutive GM Penthouse at the Beverly Wilshire.
—Alesandra Dubin
Posted 03.22.07
Photos: Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA (lounge), Getty Images (DHL, Chambord)
This season, attendees checked in outside the tent at Smashbox Studios, rather than inside the lobby.
Mercedes-Benz’s lounge featured decor inspired by photographs of bodies and cars.
The photographs hung throuout Smashbox Studios.
Gift bags for journalists had a survival kit motif.
Models in DHL gear posed for photos with guests and celebrities like Jenna Jameson and boyfriend Tito Ortiz.
Chambord and OPI teamed up to provide in-tent manicures.
Ed Hardy’s runway got bright, kitschy touches like latex balloons, glitter, and neon.
The L.A. Laker Girls, along with Corona Del Mar High School’s drum line and dance team, kicked off the fashion show for 2(x)ist.
Casual line 2 B Free hosted its late-night show in Hollywood, across town from Fashion Week’s Culver City headquarters.
