That Slap, milestone wins by Troy Kotsur and Ariana DeBose, a hard to forget performance by Beyoncé and three female hosts made up several of the history-making and taking to social media worthy moments at the 94th Academy Awards. Lady Gaga warming hearts during her touching moment with Liza Minnelli and Nicole Kidman’s viral meme, which was actually shot during the Oscars pre-show when she excitedly spotted Jessica Chastain, also made it into the night’s top memorable points. And while making the different headlines, the best and worst instants all happened with the same electric, future-forward stage design by Creative Director David Korins and Swarovski as a backdrop.
While this is the 14th time Swarovski has been involved with designing the Oscars' illustrious stage, it was the designer’s second time taking on the gig. Once reunited, they went on to create the mesmerising light-filled stage that lit up Los Angeles’s Dolby® Theater this year. The exhilarating and elegant stage design, which radiated hope, unity and positivity while celebrating creativity, featured over 90,000 crystals from the Austrian maison. And it was thanks to the hundreds of craftspeople, who spent thousands of hours creating the crystallised elements, that Korins’s dazzling vision actually came to life.
Korins, the mastermind behind designs on Broadway productions like “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” describes it as a dynamic portal into the future in which we trade in the currency of electricity and elegance. His immersive and spellbinding swirling blue and white design stage design featured a dome and two floating orbs illuminated with strands of Swarovski crystals. LEDs also helped to create an optical illusion of shape and depth. What’s more, in a transfixing moment, a curtain made from 80,000 Swarovski crystals illuminated the night of nights.
“The beautiful thing about working with Swarovski crystals is that you use them just the way they are. They shine and sparkle the way you want them to,” the Emmy-winning Korins said. “With Swarovski crystals, there's no need for scenic enhancements, what you want to do is accentuate what they are already meant to do and that is capture and reflect light beautifully.”
