10 Most Ridiculous Things Fashion Designers Have Done To Schmooze With Celebrities

If Valentino’s regal, luxurious clothing is any indication, the eminent couture company knows a thing or two about how to live life to the fullest. And in celebration of the brand’s Shanghai store opening, Valentino did exactly that. In addition to a performance by renowned opera singer Elisa Balbo, attendees enjoyed a ritual Chinese New Year lion dance and a Valentino collection designed especially for the new store.

In celebration of his Just Cavalli store’s Decemeber 2013 opening in Soho (and to expand the guest list of the event), Mr. Cavalli stretched his catwalk out the door and onto the streets of New York. It appears that even Roberto Cavalli finds New York real estate a little too cramped.

Alexander Wang’s sporty-chic clothing may captivate our attention, but it’s the designer’s after parties that are truly ingenious. After showing his Spring 2014 collection at Fashion Week, Wang hosted an after party at South Street Sea Port’s condemned Pier 17 shopping mall. Neon drinks abounded, manicurists performed works of art on the hands of attendees, and Niki Minaj took serenaded a packed dance floor. A conventional wrap party for Alexander Wang? Please.

If you’re bummed that Easter has come and gone, look no further than Faberge for your next egg fix. Known for its insanely opulent jeweled egg designs, the fine jewelry brand has created ”The Big Egg Hunt” in which consumers hunt down and photograph artistically designed eggs hidden around the city based on instructions from an iPhone app. Exceptionally lucky participants win their very own Faberge Egg. Though the endeavor benefits eco charity Elephant Family, I suspect Faberge doesn’t mind the positive press it receives from this wild scavenger hunt.

You’d think that donating 1.5 million Euros to fix the Spanish Steps in Rome would be enough of a celebration for Bvlgari’s 130th birthday, but the design house just kept upping the ante. Bvlgari hosted the best and the brightest for drinks at its store in Rome, where guests admired limited edition dazzlers. A decadent dinner followed afterwards.

At Fashion’s Night Out (R.I.P) 2010, Bergdorf Goodman was home to a designer dog modeling contest, spurred by the designers including the team behind Badgley Mischka. I’m not sure how the other designers’ canine companions were costumed, but I have yet to meet a customer who would turn down an opportunity to buy clothing from pups dressed as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Admittedly, Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2014 Supermarket wasn’t so much a random occurrence as show for fashion week, but the painstaking detail which Karl Lagerfeld added to the set made it truly legendary–and ridiculous. Each individual food item was printed with the Chanel logo or a droll witticism referencing an inside joke only fashion industry leaders would understand. Now, if only I could find Chanel brand milk at the local grocery store, my life would be complete.

We can’t actually blame Giorgio Armani for being the mastermind behind this doozy of a stunt. However, when Mayor Bloomberg named October 24th “Giorgio Armani Day” in 2013, it became one of the most ingenious and bizarre ways a designer has propagated his or her brand. 2013’s festivities included a Giorgio Armani exhibit at a custom-created venue, a special fashion show, and a pop up club DJ’d by Mark Ronson. Our invite must have gotten lost in the mail.

At Opening Ceremony’s first fashion week show in 2013, the models weren’t the only ones moseying down the runway. For the brand’s entree into runway presentations, Opening Cermony’s designers employed some of the most luxurious sports cars to transport models down the catwalk. And this wasn’t simply held in an anonymous white tent at the Lincoln Center; the show took place at SuperPier 25 near New York’s West Side Highway.