Two days before the heavy hitters of the fashion press descended on the Bryant Park tents, Old Navy took the opportunity to debut its new look to more than 500 celebrities and members of the press. The Gap-owned brand is relaunching, trying to shake off its past image with more design-conscious clothes for a younger set, and Wednesday night's event took place at Eyebeam, a venue used for lots of fashion events, including Rock & Republic's spring/summer presentation in September. The event is part of a multipronged repositioning campaign that also includes new television commercials and print ads and the brand's sponsorship of last year's MTV Movie Awards.
Hosted by Old Navy president Dawn Robertson and executive vice president of marketing Michael Cape, the event included a live performance from singer Natasha Bedingfield, a week after the release of her album Pocketful of Sunshine. Cape and senior director of public relations Rebecca Weill hired production company EventQuest to design and construct an interactive showroom and lounge that would bring the new branding to life.Blue wallpapered walls encased the venue's front room—used by the production team as an entrance hall—and more temporary walls hid the industrial brick columns inside. Elsewhere, EventQuest created a clean aesthetic by building white platforms for the V.I.P. area, the stage, and the DJ booth. Mannequins sat on small platforms lining the north and south walls, showcasing the four collections planned for the next four months, from February's "Urban Explorer" to May's "Summer Nights."
Beyond the white lounge furniture and blue carpets, the event also employed animated graphics and videos to introduce the new logo and the brand's more contemporary style. Screens embedded in the entryway walls displayed a loop of colorful animation, and at the other end, a large video screen represented the night's tagline, "On the List"—flashing names of the night's attendees as well as the names of their publications.
To tie it all back to fashion and Old Navy's marketing to a more design-oriented audience, the brand brought in students and lecturers from the Fashion Institute of Technology to create fashion illustrations and paint portraits of guests. This turned out to be a popular idea; throughout the event, men and women lined up for their turn, taking drinks from a bar a few feet away.
They had plenty to nibble on, too—waiters passed hors d'oeuvres such as mini Kobe beef cheeseburgers with aged Vermont cheddar and wild mushrooms, mesquite-grilled chicken empanadas with chipotle jam, and white and dark chocolate squares with caramel, nuts, coconut, and graham crackers.
Hosted by Old Navy president Dawn Robertson and executive vice president of marketing Michael Cape, the event included a live performance from singer Natasha Bedingfield, a week after the release of her album Pocketful of Sunshine. Cape and senior director of public relations Rebecca Weill hired production company EventQuest to design and construct an interactive showroom and lounge that would bring the new branding to life.Blue wallpapered walls encased the venue's front room—used by the production team as an entrance hall—and more temporary walls hid the industrial brick columns inside. Elsewhere, EventQuest created a clean aesthetic by building white platforms for the V.I.P. area, the stage, and the DJ booth. Mannequins sat on small platforms lining the north and south walls, showcasing the four collections planned for the next four months, from February's "Urban Explorer" to May's "Summer Nights."
Beyond the white lounge furniture and blue carpets, the event also employed animated graphics and videos to introduce the new logo and the brand's more contemporary style. Screens embedded in the entryway walls displayed a loop of colorful animation, and at the other end, a large video screen represented the night's tagline, "On the List"—flashing names of the night's attendees as well as the names of their publications.
To tie it all back to fashion and Old Navy's marketing to a more design-oriented audience, the brand brought in students and lecturers from the Fashion Institute of Technology to create fashion illustrations and paint portraits of guests. This turned out to be a popular idea; throughout the event, men and women lined up for their turn, taking drinks from a bar a few feet away.
They had plenty to nibble on, too—waiters passed hors d'oeuvres such as mini Kobe beef cheeseburgers with aged Vermont cheddar and wild mushrooms, mesquite-grilled chicken empanadas with chipotle jam, and white and dark chocolate squares with caramel, nuts, coconut, and graham crackers.
Old Navy brought in fashion illustrators.
Photo: Digital Diva
EventQuest built steeply angled walls in the entryway, designed to draw the eye toward a video screen at the end.
Photo: Digital Diva
Students and lecturers from the Fashion Institute of Technology painted portraits of guests in the style of fashion illustrations.
Photo: Digital Diva
Four vignettes in the main space displayed the new collections, while screens above showed photographs of models wearing the clothes.
Photo: Digital Diva
The V.I.P. lounge was an elevated platform decorated in Old Navy's signature colors of blue and white. An artistic installation of jeans hung by the wall.
Photo: Digital Diva
An interactive touch-screen monitor allowed guests to peruse outfits and pieces from all four collections.
Photo: Digital Diva
