Manifesting the Feel of Magical Events with Binh Nguyen

Creating the optimal mood and feeling is partially due to sensory stimuli that are visual and auditory but creating a specific emotional connection is also dependent on the feeling we get from the spatial components. The surroundings we find ourselves in can have a massive effect on the emotions we are feeling and the interaction we have with others in that space. Experiential Designer/Environmental Graphic Designer Binh Nguyen has contributed his talent in work with some of the biggest names in fashion for major events including the BVLGARI Launch Event for Omnia Sapphire Fragrance in Los Angeles, the Alexander Wang (AW) for BVLGARI New York, and multiple Fashion for Relief events. The excitement and seeming spontaneity of these events belie the excruciating attention to detail which Mr. Nguyen employs in his designs, which is precisely why he is so coveted within the industry. 

  More often than not, it’s respecting the restrictions while manifesting the creative possibilities that demand the most from a professional. Binh Nguyen, as part of the collaborative event production team, provided the preliminary conceptual design and visualizations for BVLGARI events in NYC and LA. As Experiential Designer for the collaboration of AW for BVLGARI in NYC (2017), Mr. Nguyen had to be hyper-mindful of respecting the existing architecture component of the space in which the event was held. Recreating an 80’s-era luxury department store required documenting the space with architectural photography to generate visual components necessary to 3D CGI visualization, generating CAD floorplan and elevation, as well as revising existing floorplans. Immensely mindful, Binh declares, “Whether it be a private party hosted in the grand backyard garden of a LA residence up in the Hollywood Hills with a vista to downtown LA (fragrance launch party) or an underground nightclub abundantly available in the exciting cosmopolitan center of New York City (AW for BVLGARI), there are ‘site specific’ components for the designer to respect and utilize. They reflect the very fabric of our living environment – a classically trained methodology from a formal architecture education at Cornell.” Nguyen did in fact also create the ideal environment for a BVLGARI event in Los Angeles, curated in the form of a private dinner atop the Hollywood Hills. This magical event featured fog making machines in combination with neon mood lightning to manifest a glowing mist; a transition state of liquid into airborne particles taken directly from BVLGARI perfume product itself. 

  His work for Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief presented the challenge of transforming an airplane hangar into the ultra-glamorous venue for Campbell’s event that hosted such celebrities as Justin Bieber, Gwen Stefani, Uma Thurman, the Duchess of York, Kate Moss, P Diddy, Jane Fonda, Beyoncé, and others. Tied to the Cannes Film Festival program, it was certain that the stars and the exposure they bring in tow would be quite high. The design necessitated copious seating and the required runway to feature the iconic models who would traverse it. The responsibility of Binh’s role as experiential designer was magnified by the understanding that the environment and mood created was a direct catalyst for the fundraising to take place at these events. “Preparing the table” so to speak for celebrate events such as these might inspire anxiety in most professionals but Binh Nguyen takes a very calm and meditative perspective on his work. He relates, “I as well as many younger designers serve as agents for changes – backed by nature’s principles and nature’s intelligent systems. It’s safe to say that there’s a child of nature within us and deeply echoing our desires to return to nature from within. While we’re working in such a fast-paced professional system with many demands and measures for productivities, many yearn for a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual quality of stillness, balance, and peace in our interaction with the living environment. In a way, my work as Experiential Designer offer a glimpse of reminder to reconnect people with spatial opportunities for wellness benefits – a returning to what’s already been provided and inspired by nature – regardless of how exciting we evolve in modern day with continuing achievement in technologies.”

Writer: Arlen Gann