Ivey Awards releases annual campaign images

Last Thursday, I attended a VIP and press preview for the Ivey Awards as they unveiled their advertising campaign. And this isn't any ad campaign: the gorgeous photography by William Clark (whose clients include METRO Magazine, Minnesota Bride, Target, and Mall of America) is always a staple of the campaign, as is the beautiful art direction, settings and costumes.

["The Script" dress by dj gramann II]

"After we finish, every year we think, how are we going to top this next year?" Clark said during the preview. With the merging of design, theater, fashion, and art direction (which came courtesy of FAME Retail Agency), Clark said, "It takes a village" to pull the campaign together.

This year's campaign was built around four "heroes" to be featured in the four primary shots for our promo materials. Each hero wears a custom, hand-crafted garment meant to echo an aspect of the theatre (script, music, drama) made by an up-and-coming Minneapolis fashion or costume designer, and done pro bono for the IVEY Awards.

One of them is a huge gown with a 12 foot train made up of sheets of paper ("The Script" dress by local costumer dj gramann II) to emulate the playwright; another, "The Pin Cushion," as a reference to costume designers (by costumer Lisa Conley); another, "The Writer," inspired by an ink well (by costumer Shannon O'Black); and another meant to mimic the drama of the red curtain has a 30-foot train which will be photographed dangling off of a Juliet balcony at a local theater (by fashion designer Ariel Bock), all shot at iconic theaters around Minneapolis such as the Southern and the Fitzgerald.

The Ivey Awards, a production by Scott Mayer and Mitch Kelly, takes place September 19 at the State Theatre. Find out more about the Ivey Awards at www.iveyawards.com.

["The Composer"]

["The Writer" ink dress by Shannon O'Black]

["The Red Curtain" dress by Ariel Bock]

["The Pin Cushion" dress by Lisa Conley]