Lipton joined forces with Gen Art to launch its new Pyramid Teas. The sponsors-and-artists matchmakers introduced the new line to a crowd of models, actors, and Gen Art members in an artsy, fashion-forward setting at Xchange. “Our goal with this event was to show Lipton in a new light and to reach a younger, more contemporary audience,” said Lipton marketing director Patricia Zenobi. “We wanted to showcase each of our new teas through vignettes that bring each flavor to life.”To create the vignettes, Gen Art vice president of events Elizabeth Shaffer came up with six outdoor scenes to represent the tea’s six new flavors. “Each tea has a history, so using colors, flavors, and shapes made sense to me. Then I put a little Gen Art icing on the cake by implementing live models wearing garments from up-and-coming designers.” The mini-environments included a (fake) snow-covered lounge area with a fireplace (for the Vanilla Carmel Truffle flavor), an outdoor garden with pebbles, grass, and a swing (Green Tea), and a mossy set with red leaves, tree stumps, and wooden chairs (Bavarian Wild Berry). To further translate the teas, Taste Caterers came up with cocktail and food pairings for each vignette. Menu samplings included a black tapioca parfait with layers of tapioca and black tea- infused pudding alongside the “Black Pearl Mo-Tea-To” cocktail.
Beyond event production, Gen Art, which often mixes marketers, artists, and twentysomethings, also coordinated the event’s guest list. “Lipton said, ‘We’re coming to you because we don’t want to be known as your grandmother’s tea anymore,’ and we reached that goal by putting together a non-corporate cocktail party with a youthful, hip audience,” says Shaffer. The organization also held a pseudo-competition for up-and-coming fashion designers to create frocks inspired by each tea flavor. In the end, garments from Marie Marie, Gustavo Cadile, Mal Sirrah, Gayle Met Glen, Ciarla, and Sara Feinberg were chosen. Actress Emmy Rossum hosted the event for 500 and visibly pregnant Tori Spelling made a surprise visit.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 10.11.06
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Beyond event production, Gen Art, which often mixes marketers, artists, and twentysomethings, also coordinated the event’s guest list. “Lipton said, ‘We’re coming to you because we don’t want to be known as your grandmother’s tea anymore,’ and we reached that goal by putting together a non-corporate cocktail party with a youthful, hip audience,” says Shaffer. The organization also held a pseudo-competition for up-and-coming fashion designers to create frocks inspired by each tea flavor. In the end, garments from Marie Marie, Gustavo Cadile, Mal Sirrah, Gayle Met Glen, Ciarla, and Sara Feinberg were chosen. Actress Emmy Rossum hosted the event for 500 and visibly pregnant Tori Spelling made a surprise visit.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 10.11.06
Related Stories
Mixing Art and Profit
Young Fashion Label Hosts Boozy Runway Show
Lipton's new Pyramid Green Tea flavor inspired a grassy outdoor vignette, complete with a wooden swing and a satin-clad model.
A model, with hair and body accessories made of twigs, stood in the Bavarian Wild Berries vignette.
A beach scene with sand and a white picket fence represented White Tea, and the model's orange dress was a tribute to the tea's mango infusions.
Lipton's Black Pearl Tea got a glam interpretation, featuring a chandelier, a leather couch and ottomans, and mirror-topped tables.
Gen Art vice president of events Elizabeth Shaffer channeled a Spanish bullfighting scene for Red Tea, which featured a rose-strewn floor and red lighting.
A chic lodge setting represented Vanilla Carmel Truffle, but, unfortunately, the marshmallows were not for roasting.
Shaffer wanted the pyramid shape of the tea bags to carry through the event, as in the triangular highboy cocktail tables.
Waiters from Taste Caterers hovered around each vignette, offering appetizers and cocktails inspired by the tea flavor.
