Kinetic Art Mobile Installation at New York Fashion Week

Custom-Made Kinetic Mobile Art Installation at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park for Twinkle By Wenlan via MAO PR

The installation itself was a logistical challenge: I had only twenty minutes between shows to bring in all five mobiles, unpack, assemble, and install them – while also passing inspection from the insurance representative. The mobiles needed to have a strong visual impact without interfering with the models, the audience or the structure holding all the lights above the runway. Despite the tight constraints, the combination of Wenlan’s tactile knits, flowing silk prints, and the slow, hypnotic rotation of the mobiles transformed the space into a luminous, atmospheric environment that contributed to what many described as one of the most memorable presentations of the season.

The custom designed mobiles were inspired by a scene from the movie Valley of the Dolls (1967), in which the “I’ll Plant My Own Tree” sequence places Susan Hayward – her vocals dubbed – within a beautifully theatrical hanging mobile that becomes the visual heart of the scene. Made of translucent plexiglass or acrylic discs suspended from long, slender metal arms, the mobile turns gently around her, its discs catching the stage lights like floating pieces of colored glass. The elements vary subtly in size and curvature, creating soft shifts of light and shadow as the sculpture moves. Hanging high above but cascading downward in airy tiers, it frames Hayward almost like a luminous chandelier, giving the performance an elegant, dreamlike quality. Though the designer and technical details remain undocumented, the mobile’s scale, transparency, and layered branching arms show a clear nod to Alexander Calder’s mobiles, making it one of the film’s most memorable and enchanting visual moments.

– See the video clip of the scene –

See more of my custom-made hanging mobiles and kinetic sculpture installations …