For four days, fashion go-to Refinery 29 drew lines of people day after day to its pop-up fashion and art collaboration for New York Fashion Week, “29 Rooms,” in collaboration with a variety of brands, artists and more.
29 Rooms were inspired by the creativity and self-expression which Refinery 29 believes are superpowers that everyone possesses, with the mission to inspire women to wield these fearlessly. 29 Rooms were the brand’s physical manifestation of this mission, inviting attendees to explore and unleash their artistic imagination, prompted by the various rooms throughout the warehouse space for which they sought to “spark conversations, fuel dreams and connect you to yourself and each other.”
Collaborative partners for the space included a bevy of celebrities and influencers including Lady Gaga’s Born this Way Foundation, Rupaul, Tinashe, Abbi Jacobson, Hillary for America and Adrian Grenier, among others, as well as major brands including Michael Kors, Papyrus, Ford, Perrier, Ulta Beauty and others.
With a line up like this, it’s no doubt that Refinery 29 certainly pulled out all the stops for this activation. They truly made it everyone’s fashion fun house as lines wrapped around throughout the space; it’s set up could leave you wandering for hours if you wanted to just get lost in the fashion fun house that was. A few of our favorite rooms?
- Gurls Talk: Curated by model Adwoa Aboah, this installation featured a series of corded phones hanging in a large bundle from the ceiling with gold phones that you could listen into women’s conversations. The idea behind this was the actual hotline Aboah created for women to be able to share their stories, struggles and learn from obstacles other women have overcome. The hotline is active at 646-854-6329 for women of all backgrounds to share their story and know that they are not alone.
- Beyond the Bubbles: Perrier created an exclusive experience for attendees to write on their own plastic balls that would be tossed into a ball pit inspired center of the room, as well as had more than 2,000 white balloons in the space along with Perrier samples. Their theme was “everyone’s got a little extraordinary inside…here’s to letting it bubble over and spill into every day. Capture what makes you extraordinary, place it in the pool and enjoy a thirst-quenching bottle of Perrier.”
- Love Yourself: Put together by a variety of collaborators including Cleo Wade, Kate Greer and more, the Love Yourself room by Chez Conversations invited attendees to literally take a load off by lying on a comfy round bed as if you were almost stargazing as the artists note that “we must prioritize self-care.” The installation invited listeners to lay back, gaze up at the sky of sound, art and moving poetry to better love others.
- Panda-Monium: It’s no doubt this was one of the most-trafficked rooms in the space as who doesn’t love to be a kid again? Artist Nicola Formichetti put together a ball pit filled with a panda-inspired theme, noting, “that’s why fun’s always in fashion at Nicopanda where we find power in play.”
- Come To Your Senses: Designed to stimulate your senses as the artists Signe Pierce and futuristic Brooklyn-based production facility & showroom for hand-screened wallpaper, Flavor Paper note that “your brain is your most powerful sexual organ and arousal is almost all in your head,” this room featured scratch and sniff aphrodisiac wallpaper with a variety of hidden objects throughout the space to look, smell and listen, stimulating a variety of the senses.
- Show Your Pride: Artist Kate Moross designed a variety of posters featuring sayings about Love such as “Love is Love” and “Love Wins,” “Support Love,” and “Live, Let, Love” where attendees were invited to take the extra posters and share the love. The room was centered around a large glowing rainbow in which the artist noted, “Pride is not just an LGBTQA parade. It’s a daily commitment to loving yourself and whomever you damn well, please…Show your true colors under the archway in the name of love is love.”
- #ShoutoutKindness: Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation which aims to inspire youth and build better communities, curated the #ShoutoutKindness to inspire attendees to share kindness by joining in the conversation by visiting the phone booth style structures in the space to record a message to someone who made your day.
Refinery 29 did a wonderful job inspiring creativity and self-expression as they noted in their mission when walking into the space from the variety of rooms and the unique curations inspired by the various artists and brands involved. For more information about 29 Rooms, visit Refinery29.com/29rooms.
-Alyson Campbell