Campari 150th Anniversary Party: Design & Planning
Negroni? Campari & Soda? Campari & orange juice? Which is your favorite Campari drink? I am a sucker for a Campari on the rocks with a splash of soda and orange...always delightful on a hot summer day like today...
I'm regressing now! Back to the topic at hand - Campari! Dating back to 1860, this aperitif is one of the most recognizable in the world, primarily due to the brand's beautiful advertisements that have been captivating consumers and art collectors alike for over a century now. This past May, Campari celebrated their 150th Anniversary at The Bowery Hotel and In Bloom New York was asked to create the flower displays as well as the environmental decor for the fete.
The evening was produced by the Art Production Fund, with a special musical performance and never-before-seen works of art by Kalup Linzy. Co-hosting the event were mixologists Tony Abou-Ganim, Jacques Bezuidenhout, Marco Dionysos, Francesco Lafranconi, Lynnette Marrero, Eric Alperin & Allen Katz as well as Manhattan Cocktail Classic and United States Bartenders' Guild.
There were a many elements that we needed to design for this event including bar displays, floral decorations for their vintage advertisements, a large-scale logo for stage backdrop, a photo booth display, one significant entry table design as well as several table centerpieces. We knew we wanted to create something entirely new and fresh while still maintaining Campari's classic brand and image.
Our immediate inspiration came from an antique birdcage at our hands as well as Alexander Mcqueen's 2008 Spring/Summer Butterfly headdress. We wanted there to be whimsy and also an element of darkness in this Campari garden.
First, we began brainstorming for the main installaion that would set the mood for the additional design elements. Envisioning the large antique birdcage coupled with a mannequin on display, we quickly put together a mock-up to get a feel of the layout. We conceived this display based on the image of a beautiful woman who lives in a garden with hair of butterflies and dresses in a bodice of flowers. Reaching out, she embodies an eternal desitre for this bottle housed behind the overgrowth of the antique birdcage.
As for producing this imagination, we first needed to create the bodice for the mannequin. After mapping out the pattern in pencil, we individually hot-glued every petal and ruscus leaf onto the heart shape-leotard. We simply used two elements to keep the design clean and fresh: dark green Italian Ruscus and red rose petals.
We built the boddice from the bottom upward with Italian Ruscus to achieve the effect of organic growth. Ruscus ended up being the perfect plant to achieve this goal.
Next, we added the rose petals one by one. Since the hot glue changed the color of the petal, we needed to ensure that we covered these areas by an overlapping petal. We initially thought to use silk flowers instead of fresh florals but decided against it, keeping in mind that we would have to house the mannequin in our floral refrigerator until the following day to keep the petals fresh.
The last element that we were able to prep in advance was the wisteria and branch design on the antique birdcage. We used branches varying in width, choosing the most twisted and interesting pieces.
Part 2 to follow with photos of the event!
