A&O Technology at the Berlin Fashion Week

	Photo: Anja-Pietsch

To the strains of "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica, lighting architect Gert Hof created a superlative light show to open the MICHALSKY StyleNite 2011 at this year's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin. Hof used lighting to interpret the work of the fashion designer Michael Michalsky; witnessed in person by some 1,500 invited guests, the performance was seen by thousands more online.

For this production, Gert Hof employed seventy-eight A&O FALCON searchlights from A&O Technology. Lighting designer/operator Pawel "Spider" Pajak was entrusted with the programming and operation of the equipment.

"The overall contract for the technical implementation both indoors and out-of-doors was awarded to A&O Technology," explains Adrian Gediga, senior manager sales/rental of A&O Technology. "With our partners, Black Box Music, Laserfabrik, and Asamoa Agens, we were able to prepare and implement a flawless program in less than 72 hours."

Hof suspended more than half the searchlights from a ring of trusses above the catwalk in the large arena forming the heart of the Tempodrom. Images of light that flowed into one another and changed color were displayed along with a triple circle formed by points of light on the floor that kept reappearing. As the guitars faded out at the end, the xenon lights were extinguished in a spiral sequence to set the scene for the opening of the Michalsky StyleNite catwalk show, in which light was again used to show the garments and internationally renowned models such as Toni Garrn and Andrej Pejic to best advantage. First up was the Michalsky spring and summer collection 2012, the theme of which was "Tolerance." This was followed by an interlude of live music performed by the British synth-pop band Mirrors. Then came the premiere of the first LASCANA by Michalsky beachwear collection. Finally, the designer invited the models and public to attend the legendary MICHALSKY after-show party featuring the DJ duo Tiefschwarz, at which the new Michalsky fragrance was presented. The after-show party was illuminated inter alia by Barco VersaTILE LED wall modules and FALCON FLOWER 3000W luminaires.

For Hof, whose light shows are generally presented outdoors, this production inside the Tempodrom posed a special challenge, due primarily to the unusual construction of the folding roof as well as constraints of space: "My lighting triptych was designed to contribute to the Tempodrom something unique. The concrete dome forming the apex of the roof, with an opening through which daylight enters, formed the center of the lighting installation. Each material has its own specific characteristics and taboos, its own personality, and each wants to tell its own story. The point is to find a common language in which different materials can communicate."

According to Michalsky, around 20,000 spectators were able to enjoy this year's Michalsky StyleNite, which is invariably a hot ticket and represents the culmination of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, as in addition to the 1,500 invited guests a further 17,595 fashion lovers followed the live stream on the Internet -- a record number of spectators for an event reserved exclusively, as a general rule, for fashion insiders and celebrities.