Image Credit : AZBcreative - Peter Harley
David Jones
Linds Lubrin
Project Overview
Working on the ARIAS gives us a unique chance to design both public and private spaces, unified by a theme.
This year, we worked with David Jones to customise the red carpet for the amazing variety of performers and celebrities attending the ARIAS. Bold elements and stylised greenery made the perfect foil for paparazzi shots and imbued the red carpet arrivals with a sophisticated rock vibe.
We also created a more intimate sanctuary for featured performers and celebrities to get ready before the event in a penthouse suite at The Darling.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Alex Zabotto-Bentley
Jenni Munster
Peter Harley
Lucy Erasmus-Green
Project Brief
We were inspired by the “Shot by Sound” collaboration between David Jones and rock icon Daniel Johns, to bring a fusion of music and fashion to the red carpet.
We created a rock ’n’ roll studio space for photo calls, with white painted scaffolding and black and white branded blocks and shapes, echoing the shoot. A large media wall and a live stage area got everyone in the mood for the music to come.
For the fans it was important that the artists were easy to see and for the waiting press, that they could get good images, while incorporating the David Jones branding.
We also designed a VIP suite at The Darling hotel, with stylists and makeup artists on standby to help celebrities get ready. We massed lush summer blooms to create a warm, luxurious environment, put in makeup stations with plenty of natural light and a bar with charming bar tender and platters of fresh fruit. To create a relaxing, at-home vibe, we arranged a stylishly eclectic mix of objects and fashion books on low coffee tables.
Project Innovation/Need
Conveying both the high fashion image of David Jones and the cool rock vibe of the ARIAS really gave us an opportunity to be creative.
We worked with the store’s signature black and white palette, which also worked with any outfit that might appear on the red carpet. It was important to create a set that had visual impact and offered flexibility for photos, without overshadowing the talent.
We also needed to create a calm, luxurious environment to make the night’s VIPs feel relaxed as they got ready. We wanted to also incorporate subtle branding for David Jones as the VIP suite would be used for live broadcasts. Utilising the large picture windows, we devised subtle adhesive decals with the store’s logo that would appear in TV interviews.
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Design Challenge
One of the challenges of the ARIAS every year is the heat. We anticipated temperatures in the high 30’s, so we worked with hardy, potted perennial shrubs to line the red carpet without wilting.
We also wanted to keep the setup as simple and cool as possible, using open structures and bold shapes to keep the area feeling breezy and open.
For the performers, just posing can be daunting, so we wanted them to have more ‘props’ to work with, to encourage a more relaxed, playful mood. So we created the powder coated spheres and prisms for guests to 'play' with.
At the other end of the scale, we wanted the VIPs to have a very calm, private experience, where they could conduct interviews with chosen media and fully unwind as they prepared for the evening’s events.
Sustainability
The entire structure we created for the red carpet arrival was made of old scaffolding that we repurposed and powder coated to build the structure for this project.
The main props and staging for the red carpet were built from recycled timbers. They were designed to be broken down and reused in future projects.
For the VIP suite, we used vintage props and decorations from the AZBcreative archives, which will be reused in the future.
We maximised natural light in the suite, to cut down on electricity use and create a more relaxed environment. Transparent decals were used for branding without cutting out the natural light.
Pop-Ups, Display, Exhibit & Set Design
This award celebrates innovative and creative design for a temporary building or interior, exhibition, pop up site, installation, fixture or interactive element. Consideration given to materials, finishes, signage and experience.
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