To officially launch the newest fragrance from Donna Karan—DKNY Delicious Night—the Stephen Weiss Studio on Greenwich Street was made over as the type of deep dance hall you’d expect to find on West 27th. More than 400 guests, including Ali Larter, Christina Ricci, and Rumer Willis, showed up on Wednesday night for the party and a performance by Common. The PR team of Estée Lauder, which licenses the fragrance, coordinated the launch.
For the design team at SC3 Group, the party presented somewhat of a styling challenge, having been enlisted to work with Donna Karan on events in the past, many at the same venue. “When Donna and everyone at DKNY have been to the space so often, we have to think out of the box,” said SC3 Group's Angela Giannopoulos. “We needed to surprise them, so we really went for the club atmosphere.”As a raw space, the interior of studio resembles a giant box (far from the desired club), so Giannopoulos looked for a way to define it while giving the crowd a natural way to navigate the room. “We didn't want to completely close the space, so we had to think of how [to] bring the ceiling down, separate the room, and keep it open," she said of the massive reams of tassels that hung at different lengths throughout the room, separating the seating areas while remaining fairly transparent. "A lot of the clubs in Greece, like in Santorini and Mykonos, use those fabrics, which is where I got the idea.”
The room was divided into three main areas, with two on the outside—each with its own bar—and another in the middle, directly in front of the small stage where Common delivered a half-hour hip-hop set beginning around 8.30 p.m. All of the lights, ottomans, and flowers echoed the fragrance's dark purple and red hues, and plenty of the small, orb-shaped bottles were set on plexiglass tables throughout the room.
The night’s signature drink was a blackberry martini, but there was an open bar of vodka, wine, and champagne for those not eager to conform. The menu from New York Caterers featured floating trays of mini burgers and coconut fried shrimp as well as giant cheese and fruit plates with flutes of bread sticks at every table.
For the design team at SC3 Group, the party presented somewhat of a styling challenge, having been enlisted to work with Donna Karan on events in the past, many at the same venue. “When Donna and everyone at DKNY have been to the space so often, we have to think out of the box,” said SC3 Group's Angela Giannopoulos. “We needed to surprise them, so we really went for the club atmosphere.”As a raw space, the interior of studio resembles a giant box (far from the desired club), so Giannopoulos looked for a way to define it while giving the crowd a natural way to navigate the room. “We didn't want to completely close the space, so we had to think of how [to] bring the ceiling down, separate the room, and keep it open," she said of the massive reams of tassels that hung at different lengths throughout the room, separating the seating areas while remaining fairly transparent. "A lot of the clubs in Greece, like in Santorini and Mykonos, use those fabrics, which is where I got the idea.”
The room was divided into three main areas, with two on the outside—each with its own bar—and another in the middle, directly in front of the small stage where Common delivered a half-hour hip-hop set beginning around 8.30 p.m. All of the lights, ottomans, and flowers echoed the fragrance's dark purple and red hues, and plenty of the small, orb-shaped bottles were set on plexiglass tables throughout the room.
The night’s signature drink was a blackberry martini, but there was an open bar of vodka, wine, and champagne for those not eager to conform. The menu from New York Caterers featured floating trays of mini burgers and coconut fried shrimp as well as giant cheese and fruit plates with flutes of bread sticks at every table.
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash
Photo: Joe Fornabaio for BizBash