Bandit Lites supplied lighting production and crew for LD Jonny Gaskell’s visual design at the Top Shop Fashion Show and Awards, sponsored by popular London fashion retailer Top Shop. The two-day event was staged at Syon House in West London, and each day saw 1,500 of the retailer’s design teams and store managers as guests.
Gaskell and his partner Nick Gray of Renegade Lighting were asked onboard by event producers 9PR. 9PR wanted dramatic, theatrical moments in the show, and the lighting was integral to achieving this. Gaskell, a rock-n-roll LD, lit the show and catwalk area–a 150’ long marquee, featuring a central stage area with four runways coming off it– with 130 ETC Source Four® profiles, hung from overhead trusses. The stage had two concentric trusses above it, complete with a 4’ diameter mirrorball hung in the center. The Source Fours provided smooth and even lighting on the models and emphasized the natural tones of their skin and the clothes.Two four-legged ground support systems–one above the stage in the center and one at the entrance end of the room–supported all the overhead trusses. Summit Steel supplied all rigging and trussing equipment.
The Top Shop show was split into men and women’s sections. The men were lit in steel blues, while the women were lit in warmer more evenly spread colors, giving their show a softer feel. The Men’s show was required to look grungier with a rock ‘n’ roll vibe, so Gaskell used 16 bars of ACLs, 12 Moles, and eight Atomic strobes to add some classic rock ‘n’ roll visual moments during the performance. The moving lights–24 Martin MAC 2000 Profiles, 20 MAC 200 washes, and 20 High End System PC beams–were spread out over center stage and along the catwalk trusses. These added color, drama, and layering at the appropriate moments.
A 24’-high tower behind the catwalk doorway–with two Coemar Supercycs and loaded with a vertical line of eight Strobeflowers plus a laser in the middle–bombarded the catwalk with beams, silhouetting the models for the Top Man show. For the Women’s show, the tower was again used, this time with eight mirror balls blasted with side light from Source Fours. Gaskell operated the entire system using a Wholehog® 2 and a Wing.
An Awards show followed the fashion show, and then guests exited to the conservatory area where themed Bedouin tents were decked out with food and refreshments. Andy Cobb, who designed the fashion show’s set and stage, also designed the Bedouin tent bar and dining area outside. Gaskell lit the bars and the Bedouin tent area with Source Fours. Gaskell also illuminated the outdoor gardens with approximately 25 MBI floods plus numerous Source Fours and other lanterns.
For the evening’s entertainment, the back wall was moved to the rear of the stage, transforming it into a band performance space. The two over-stage trusses were dropped in low. Bandit supplied 14 PixelLine LED battens, half of which were rigged on floor stands and half hung off the lower truss, giving a top-to-bottom wall effect for the two scheduled bands.
