Thinc Design: Winner of World Design Awards 2021. Showstoppers! Spectacular Costumes from Stage & Screen, a 20,000 sq ft pop-up exhibition, was designed as a major fund-raising attraction for the Costume Industry Coalition (CIC) Recovery Fund, which supported this hard-hit sector of the entertainment industry during the pandemic. Thinc partnered with the CIC with the intention of showing an astonishing array of costumes and bringing costume makers out of the shadows to spotlight their artistry and skills. Housed in a former sporting goods retail store in the heart of Times Square, the two-story space was transformed into an immersive maze that displayed more than 100 iconic garments from Broadway, Dance, Opera, Cruise Ships, Theme Parks, Television and Film.

The exhibit led visitors through an immersive and interactive sensory experience, while infusing vitality back into the reawakening New York Theatre District. Showstoppers! not only provided an up-close-and-personal look at the details and craftsmanship that are typically visible only from far away on a stage or screen, but also offered up-close access to individual costume makers and experts working in open shops onsite. Films were projected throughout the space, to provide a view into some of the 55 costume workshops that dot the city. Many of the embroiders, milliners, and dressmakers who worked in the shop areas of the exhibition also tell their own stories in these films, personalizing the extraordinary work that is generally hidden from public view.

Showstoppers! was put together in three and a half months, and its lighting, sound and design (from Thinc Design) were provided at cost or gratis. The exhibition opened in August of 2021 and its limited two-month run was extended for an additional two months.

Project Details
Firm
Thinc Design

Designer
Tom Hennes

Project Name
Showstoppers! Spectacular Costumes from Stage and Screen

World Design Awards Category
Pop-Ups & Temporary Built

Project Location
New York

Team
Producing Partner: Brian Blythe, Audio Design: Sonic Designs, Audio/Visual Integration: Brad Peterson, Graphic Production: Rogue Color, Lighting Design: Bob Ross Design/Thinc Design, Scenic Production: Empire Scenic, Video Production: Thinc Design, Fabricators: JAG Fabricators

Country
United States

Photography ©Credit
©Tom Hennes

Thinc is a multi-disciplinary exhibition design firm located in New York, serving clients across North America and around the globe. With more than 30 years in practice, the Studio has successfully completed projects for a wide range of institutions, including museums, science centers, aquariums, zoos, attractions, and global brands.

By creating imaginative, inspiring and immersive spaces to tell compelling stories, our ultimate aim is to effect meaningful relationships between our clients and its public. Thinc is particularly interested in enabling transformative experiences—ones that fundamentally alter the way people think about the world, about themselves, and about each other.