The recent launch of South Africa's first bona fide Aston Martin showroom was an exclusive and elegant affair that befitted the iconic status of the Aston Martin brand. The launch experience was created by Loudfire, South Africa's leading parties, events and experiences company.
In conceptualising the styling of the event, Loudfire drew its inspiration from Aston Martin's 42-year association with the silver screen's most debonair international spy - James Bond. The result of course was an experience that was every bit as stylish and polished as Bond himself.
Comments Cedric van Staden, Loudfire sales executive and project leader for the event: "The task we set ourselves was to create a venue that was essentially an outdoor extension of the showroom itself, one that would celebrate the showroom and its gorgeous inhabitants, while giving guests this incredible feeling of space. We did this by utilising and dressing the ramp that is used to drive vehicles into the showroom. The technical challenge in this was to carefully calculate the load capacity of the ramp so as to ensure the safety of guests. That done, it was on to the styling of the event. We settled on a simple black, white and silver theme that complemented Aston Martin's corporate colours and helped us achieve the look we were after."
The end result of Loudfire's creative treatment of the Aston Martin showroom and surrounds was an experience that started with a red carpet entrance leading onto the charcoal black carpets of the ramp, beneath a combination of beautiful floating black and white freestyle tents. Elegant white furniture was custom designed by Loudfire to accommodate the guests within this innovative outdoor space. The creative team left the showroom relatively untouched, with its silver aluminium cocktail tables dressed with white orchids.
Adding to the ambience were the eclectic jazzy Café Del Mar sounds created by DJ Rene and his saxophonist, both of whom were flown to Johannesburg from Cape Town, for the occasion.
The VIP guests, who included former Miss South Africa Claudia Henkel, mingled freely and easily in this stylish yet relaxed environment, dining on champagne and oysters. For the more intrepid, the strategically located bars poured a vast assortment of Martinis that ranged from the conventional to the bizarre - shaken, not stirred, of course! Among the evening's favourites were a litchi lavender, rose martini and a Pina Colada martini.
Most celebrated among the star-studded guest list was a line-up of Aston Martin vehicles that would have made Bond very proud indeed. This included the iconic Vanquish, the V8 Vantage and the DB9 Volante.
Bruce van Halderen, CEO of Loudfire adds: "It was a real pleasure for Loudfire to work with the dedicated professionals from Aston Martin, and it was certainly evident that Cedric and his team had a lot of fun in the process."
And the name of the company responsible for this guest experience again? Fire, Loudfire.
Red Hot Lava
Tracey-Ann Carroll
Tel: +27 11 469-3086
