Nothing says Playboy like Pamela Anderson jumping out of a 60-foot cake. The magazine's 50th anniversary party offered guests that spectacle along with so many other lascivious details—each one with the Playboy brand written all over it.
Bureau Betak transformed the 69th Regiment Armory into a party space in the shape of the iconic Playboy bunny head for the occasion. Two long lounges in the ears duplicated the cabin of the private plane the magazine maintained decades ago. A turquoise dance floor surrounded by large rocks represented the grotto at the Los Angeles Playboy mansion, with a cushioned hideaway and DJ booth built into the rocks. Nearly life-size centerfolds plastered the wall behind a 75-foot-long central bar. The cake from which Anderson leapt was actually a three-tiered dance floor. She delivered a short tribute and was joined by Ashanti who sang "Happy Birthday" to the infamous Hugh Hefner, seated in a V.I.P. area right in front of the set—alongside his daughter, Playboy CEO Christine Hefner.
Guests were invited to stand behind three life-size blowups of historic Playboy images—the Marilyn Monroe cover, an early-60's picture of Hefner and a 2001 centerfold—and have Polaroid pictures taken as they peeked through cutouts to put their faces on the celebrity bodies.
Abigail Kirsch catered the event, providing chocolate-dipped strawberries and miniature blonde Playboy bunny-shaped cookies. An army of servers dressed in black as femlins (the nymphs LeRoy Neiman sketches for the Playboy pages) roved the space placing food in the mouths of the 1,200 party guests, who included Donald Trump and several Sex and the City cast members. Fifty Playboy bunnies circulated in the crowd.
"We took elements from Playboy's past and put a modern twist on them," Playboy director of event marketing Sue Igoe said. "We wanted to celebrate the magazine's history in an upscale, New York fashion. Everyone was very pleased with the way it turned out."
—Alesandra Dubin
Photos by Stillman Jefferson Thomas Digital Photography
Bureau Betak transformed the 69th Regiment Armory into a party space in the shape of the iconic Playboy bunny head for the occasion. Two long lounges in the ears duplicated the cabin of the private plane the magazine maintained decades ago. A turquoise dance floor surrounded by large rocks represented the grotto at the Los Angeles Playboy mansion, with a cushioned hideaway and DJ booth built into the rocks. Nearly life-size centerfolds plastered the wall behind a 75-foot-long central bar. The cake from which Anderson leapt was actually a three-tiered dance floor. She delivered a short tribute and was joined by Ashanti who sang "Happy Birthday" to the infamous Hugh Hefner, seated in a V.I.P. area right in front of the set—alongside his daughter, Playboy CEO Christine Hefner.
Guests were invited to stand behind three life-size blowups of historic Playboy images—the Marilyn Monroe cover, an early-60's picture of Hefner and a 2001 centerfold—and have Polaroid pictures taken as they peeked through cutouts to put their faces on the celebrity bodies.
Abigail Kirsch catered the event, providing chocolate-dipped strawberries and miniature blonde Playboy bunny-shaped cookies. An army of servers dressed in black as femlins (the nymphs LeRoy Neiman sketches for the Playboy pages) roved the space placing food in the mouths of the 1,200 party guests, who included Donald Trump and several Sex and the City cast members. Fifty Playboy bunnies circulated in the crowd.
"We took elements from Playboy's past and put a modern twist on them," Playboy director of event marketing Sue Igoe said. "We wanted to celebrate the magazine's history in an upscale, New York fashion. Everyone was very pleased with the way it turned out."
—Alesandra Dubin
Photos by Stillman Jefferson Thomas Digital Photography
For the Playboy 50th anniversary celebration at the 69th Regiment Armory, Pamela Anderson and Ashanti jumped out of a 60-foot cake to congratulate Hugh Hefner.
Servers dressed as femlins fed guests Abigail Kirsch's chocolate-dipped strawberries and other sweets.
Abigail Kirsch created cookies in the shape of miniature blonde Playboy bunnies.
Bureau Betak recreated the cabin of the Playboy plane for two of the party's lounges.
