Bravo's Project Runway Premiere
After a 10-year hiatus, Project Runway will return to Bravo revamped and better than ever with a new host, mentor, and judges. Airing it’s 17th season premiere, this culturally iconic television show features 16 designers showcasing their talent for fashion design in a nail-biting reality experience not to be missed. Bravo Media called on Empire to produce a highly glamorous bash to welcome the show back to its originating network.
The momentous premiere was celebrated by the show’s judges Karlie Kloss, Christian Siriano, Brandon Maxwell, Elaine Welteroth, and Nina Garcia at Vandal in New York City. Drawing inspiration from the venue’s decor featuring world-renowned street artists, Empire designed five rooms with creative and bold activations for the 250 guests to explore. Upon entry, guests were immersed in a funhouse-inspired checkered room with Bravo’s Project Runway logo stretching across the wall in black and white. Once inside, a hallway of dress forms inspired by those used in the show drew guests into the main event spaces.
Red carpet festivities and guest arrivals were accompanied by custom stenciled cocktails and passed hors d’ouevres. A velvet curtain entrance to the next room revealed a runway with an eye-catching LED arch and floor-to-ceiling images of the judges. Among the activations were two live art performances; The Bumby’s anonymous “Fair and Honest Appraisal of Your Appearance,” and Once Upon a Laurén & Jen Mussari live-painted custom, branded make-up pouches.
Another room installation featured a full-size bar cart adorned in florals and foliage, the perfect backdrop for a celebrity and influencer photo op. The cart, surrounded by accessory walls filled with metallic heels, boxes, and notions, transported guests to the work room familiarly seen on the program.
In the main party room, guests enjoyed passed hors d’oeuvres and food stations inspired by street food from Chile and Barcelona. DJ Hannah Bronfman kept the crowd dancing all night long, especially the contestants!
Before screening the never-before-seen clip of Season 17, NBC Universal Lifestyle Networks’ President, Frances Berwick, and new Project Runway host, Karlie Kloss, gave brief remarks about the show while guests continued the fun until the end of the night.
For more on Empire’s past work with Bravo Media, please click here.
Empire is a leading producer of premieres for television, motion picture, and other media and entertainment clients.
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
