The Fragrance Foundation Awards Hosted by Joel McHale
For the fifth consecutive year, Empire served as producer of the Fragrance Foundation Awards, the fragrance industry’s premier event celebrating outstanding achievement and creativity.
Held at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the evening began with guest arrivals and an elegant cocktail reception in the Hall’s outdoor sunken plaza and soaring glass atrium. Amidst a series of freestanding walls, printed with this year’s design motif, guests mingled and sipped champagne while attending celebrities walked the red carpet and posed for photographers.
Once seated in Alice Tully Hall, the evening's host, comedian and actor, Joel McHale, kicked off the star-studded award program in his signature style. His humorous opening monologue covered the Fragrance industry and this year’s nominee achievements.
Notable program participants included Hall of Fame Honoree and CEO of Puig, Marc Puig, Lifetime Achievement Perfumer, and Master Perfumer of Firmenich, Harry Frémont. Country singer Trisha Yearwood performed a moving rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
Celebrity presenters and attendees included Karlie Kloss, Katie Holmes, Carolina Herrera, Judith Light, Adrian Grenier, NinaGarcia, Debi Mazar, Dascha Polanco, Jessica Pimentel, Mario Contone, Tommy Dorfman, Elettra Wiedemann, Carly Chaikin, Annie Parisse, Anna Clumsky, Lais Ribiero, and Rose Gilroy.
Following the seated Awards program, guests returned to the Alice Tully Hall atrium which had been transformed during the program into an elegant, seated dinner—the perfect summer evening dining experience.
The evening ended with an afterparty held at the Lincoln Restaurant where guests danced to music by fashion-favorite DJ Mia Moretti.
The Fragrance Foundation Awards bring together virtually every luxury and consumer brand in the fragrance industry, including Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Diana Vreeland, Burberry, Giorgio Armani, ToryBurch, Marc Jacobs, Victoria’s Secret, Michael Kors, Givenchy, Elizabeth Arden, LVMH, Puig, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Cartier, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès, Lancôme, Zegna, Clinique, and Gucci.
Empire is a leading producer of events, award shows and programs for the luxury brand, fragrance, cosmetics, and fashion industries.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
