The fresh, warm, Belgian dark chocolate (4,000 lbs of it, courtesy of Callebaut) dripping down the walls of Opening Ceremony's Fall 2014 runway show in Tribeca was irresistible; absolutely transporting was Rodarte's Star Wars-inspired LED light set in Chelsea, and Hugo Boss' spring garden, replete with blooms and mirrors, delectable.
But it was the vast, dreamy cloudscape at Marc Jacobs, which closed New York Fashion Week, that takes the cake. To a repetitive soundtrack of the spoken words "Happy days are here again.... Let's sing a song of cheer again," the designer sent out a beautiful, ethereal, pared down collection in grayish, muted pastels, on models that walked what was probably the longest runway ever constructed.
If the clothes maketh the man, the set maketh the show. And who maketh the sets? Many of the most spectacular backdrops at New York Fashion Week this season can be credited to Bureau Betak, the special events and fashion shows production company founded by French fashion and furniture designer Alexandre de Betak.
The designers' use of materials like mirrored panels, graphic motif runways — not to mention scents and smells — and, in Alexander Wang's case, a rotating finale runway amid industrial steel columns in a warehouse in Brooklyn, all served to heighten the feeling of being in a space where you felt the designer had total control over the environment, and your experience.
If this is the way forward (and it certainly seems like major designers are favoring independent studios to stage their shows), the Lincoln Center tent and its generic runway configuration is definitely in trouble.
For resetting expectations on show standards, Blouin Artinfo's pick for the top six sets this season are: Opening Ceremony, Rodarte, Hugo Boss, Alexander Wang and 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Lacoste.
To view these sets, click on the slideshow.
To watch the Rodarte's intergalactic fantasy-inspired show, see the video below:
