SEPHORA: BEAUTY AT THE BENTWAY LAUNCH EVENT

Jul 30

Until recently, the undeveloped area underneath The Gardiner Expressway was an underused space in downtown Toronto. Now called The Bentway, this swath of land has been re-developed into a community space and art hub serving the young and fast-growing Fort York neighbourhood. We were excited to hear that The Bentway’s newest change was being completed by Sephora Canada with their large-scale, long-term installation Beauty at the Bentway. An inspiring and truly remarkable example of community investment and ethical advertising, Sephora revitalized what was still a raw portion of The Bentway and transformed it into something beautiful, with art by local artist Avril Wu on the piers of the overpass, a massive green wall, striking planters in the brand’s classic stripes, and ongoing activations throughout the summer. We were honoured to play a part in this noteworthy event after being brought on by our friends at Middle Child PR to design and produce the launch event of Beauty at the Bentway.

Throwing a clean-driven, community-focused and photo-worthy kick off was a must for this event, with lifestyle and beauty influencers and media in attendance. With a ribbon-cutting ceremony, “beauty rest stop” activations for Sephora Clean and Planet Aware cosmetic brands, and lots of clean eats, this launch event garnered buzz and excitement for the installation and everyone involved!

a Ribbon Cutting ceremony and launch event

Ribbon cutting ceremonies offer up all of the symbolic energy needed to open a new space, and really haven’t changed much since the 1800s when they first started gaining popularity. Like smashing a bottle of champagne, or breaking a giant loaf of bread as we have seen some restaurants do, the ribbon cutting ceremony is perfect in its simplicity. Set in front of an already incredible backdrop, we kept things sleek and simple to honour the opening of Beauty at the Bentway’s ribbon cutting moment!

minimalist and modern Beauty Rest Stops

Sephora Beauty at the Bentway was inspired by the brand’s Clean and Planet Aware certifications, which help customers choose sustainably-made products without harmful ingredients. Many of the founders of those brands participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony, and later showcased their products to the influencer and media attendees. There was very little in the way of outdoor furniture at The Bentway, so we fabricated these “beauty rest stops” for the brands to display their products, with u-shaped bases to comfortably stand in while discussing their offerings. The bases of the market stands were crisp white, in line with Sephora’s colours, and easily customized with each brand’s logo front and centre. The tops of the stalls had canopies of crisp black and white scalloping, and they worked perfectly as an outdoor Sephora pop-up!

Clean, market-style, grab and go eats

To hone in on all things “clean,” we sourced a juice vendor to provide guests with fresh, natural juices in an assortment of different flavours. For sustainability we used glass bottles and branded them with the Sephora logo, and served them with black and white striped paper straws and napkins, in line with Sephora’s brand colours. We also worked with a caterer to create a healthy, nutrient-rich menu consisting of easy to eat, snack-style food. We ended up with a drool-worthy menu consisting of Ontario peach martini salad, sesame ginger poke, charcuterie and antipasti, and crudité and hummus. For dessert we offered real-fruit popsicles in mango chile, piña colada, and strawberry mango flavours, in eco-friendly packaging. To display everything and allow for a grab-and-go, market style experience, we sourced a cute, brand-able bar cart and vinyled it to fit the theme! It was delicious and everyone left the party nourished and satiated!

EVENT DESIGN AND PRODUCTION SERVICES FOR YOUR CORPORATE AND LAUNCH EVENTS

Do you have a new product or installation that deserves an equally stellar launch event? We would love to help! With a rock-solid team of organized, creative event planners, designers, stylists and fabricators, we can bring any activation to life. Please contact us for more info!