Fashion icon becomes shining city beacon
New York’s Meatpacking District is now home to the new 35,000-square-foot headquarters of fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg. The five-story studio headquarters contains a retail space, showroom, offices and a personal residential suite for von Furstenberg.
Design Objective
Lighting designer Suzan Tillotson of Tillotson Design Associates wanted to bring von Furstenberg’s trademark style to the building’s exterior, illuminating it from the inside out with signature colors of the DVF brand.
How Did They Do It?
In collaboration with architects Amale Andraos and Dan Wood of WORKac, Tillotson turned the building—which is a New York City historical landmark—into a gleaming beacon of vibrant colors at night.
To create the effect and match the precise color she desired, Tillotson chose iColor Cove MX Powercore a high intensity, color-changing linear LED luminaire (now specified with PureStyle Compact Powercore, IntelliHue). Each window in the building’s upper levels contains one 12-inch luminaire with a 20-degree narrow beam angle. The luminaires are installed in architectural pockets at the bottom of the windowsill and are concealed from view. After hours, the white shades are drawn and the luminaires are turned on, and the windows radiate hues of hot pink and fuchsia—variations of von Furstenberg’s signature color.
Tillotson used ColorPlay 2 software to author and design the lighting effects for the installation. Using this software program, she can program the luminaires to match the exact color palette of the DVF brand. Paired with the iPlayer 2 controller, the shows can be stored and triggered instantaneously.
The Result?
The lighting schematic brings new life to the fast-paced neighborhood, drawing attention to the studio headquarters and matching the energetic feel of this trendy area.
