Project Overview
Reimagining the corporate
dinner as immersive experience
This bespoke closing dinner for Estée Lauder Companies transformed a raw airplane hangar into a sensorial journey of luxury and escape. From pitch to execution, I led the entire experience — curating a high-concept, opulent atmosphere through refined aesthetics, immersive details, and brand storytelling.
The challenge was environmental: a raw industrial space with no inherent luxury. The solution was total — every surface, every sightline, every sensory detail designed to make guests forget where they were and feel entirely transported.
Reimagine the corporate dinner as an immersive branded experience — something no one at ELC had seen before.
Seamlessly integrate themes of beauty, aviation, and luxury hospitality into one coherent visual world.
Maintain elegance and functionality within the significant environmental constraints of a raw industrial space.
Strengthen team unity and reaffirm ELC's commitment to elevated, branded experiences for its people.
01 · Concept & Moodboards
The vision before
the build
The concept began with a single question: what does it feel like to arrive somewhere extraordinary? The moodboards established the emotional register — opulent without being obvious, cinematic without being theatrical. Aviation as a metaphor for elevation, both literal and aspirational.
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images/mb2.jpg02 · Environment & Layout
Architecture of
the evening
The floor plan was designed as an emotional arc — arrival, immersion, peak, and close. Every zone was considered: the entry moment, the sightline from each seat, the lighting temperature as the evening progressed, the placement of florals to draw the eye toward the stage.
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images/snr.jpg03 · The Evening
The room, alive
When the lights came up and the space filled with people, the concept became real. Every decision made in the design phase — the scale, the color temperature, the table spacing, the stage sightlines — held exactly as intended.
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images/env11.jpgPhotography by Nunzio Ruggerio, 2025
04 · Outcome & Reception
A new benchmark
for ELC
The event was met with exceptional praise and exceeded internal expectations across every measure. It set a new benchmark for experiential storytelling at Estée Lauder Companies — demonstrating that a corporate gathering could carry the same emotional weight as a luxury brand activation. The evening strengthened team unity and reaffirmed the brand's commitment to elevated, intentional experiences for its people.
What leadership said
The reception
There hasn't been an event at ELC like this in a long time.
He created something very unique for the North America team, and I know how special that makes them feel.
Javier has so much potential, and when you unlock that in somebody and watch them grow, it's the best feeling as a leader and as a boss — to see people spread their wings.