Twice a year Chico’s FAS, the parent company of Chico’s, White House Black Market, and Soma, hosts a press preview event in New York City for all three brands. Magazine editors, stylists, influencers, and analysts are all invited to check out the new collections and enjoy a day of pampering and treats. Each brand has its own unique identity so it is incredibly important that these events are designed to fit within each brand’s style. We would often pull inspiration for the event from the collections themselves, incorporating colors and patterns throughout.
The Spring 2019 Press Preview was set up in a hotel suite with the product set up on mannequins through each of the rooms for a lifestyle view of the clothing. The design was to incorporate the reds and pinks throughout each brand’s collection and play upon florals for springtime. All of the signage and the invitations had hand-painted watercolor flowers representing each of the brands: Chico’s (sunflower), White House Black Market (poppy), and Soma (peony). We stuck primarily with those same colors and flowers for the floral arrangements that we set up in each brands room of the suite.
For the Fall 2019 Press Preview, we decided to change up the location from 11 Howard to DreamDry in the Flatiron district. We wanted to give guests more of a fun experience and held the event right before fashion week. Stylists and editors could come get a blowout or manicure and view product before heading to the other fashion shows. Instead of colorful floral arrangements and invitations, we went for something simpler by setting up small white arrangements throughout the salon and doing a simple burgundy invitation design. By creating more of an experience, we saw higher attendance numbers and guests ended up staying for longer periods of time.
KATHERINE STUCKY 