Erica Sarlo likes to say she fell into event production twice. The first time was fresh out of RISD, where she got a BFA in furniture design. She graduated in the midst of the recession and knew she had to keep her employment expectations open. As fate would have it, she met the star event designer Susan Holland, whose clients included Oprah Winfrey, Bette Midler, and the Obamas. They worked together until 2020, when Holland retired and moved to Miami. At this point, Sarlo was planning to join a major fashion house, a project that fell through because of the pandemic. It wasn’t long before she got another decisive sign. In August of that year, an old client called to ask if she’d plan a ceremony for them. “I was like, ‘I’m just gonna do it,’” Sarlo recalls. “I got my LLC in two weeks, and just hustled.”
She hasn’t looked back since, and in the past three years has evolved into an indispensable name in the behind-the-scenes world of events. The Westchester native has New York indie institutions like the Drawing Center, MoMA PS1, and Artists Space and boutique brands like Eckhaus Latta and Maryam Nassir Zadeh in her Rolodex, and has thrown some of the art world’s most memorable post-pandemic galas (even becoming known as the gala whisperer). Fresh off of two major events for Creative Time and CARA, Sarlo called up CULTURED to talk about advocating for better cocktail napkins, finding inspiration in horror and sci-fi movies, and the time the FDNY pulled up right as a runway show was about to start.
CULTURED: What was your favorite type of event growing up? I want to know how you got into the event life.
Sarlo: I was always very into my birthday; I always had some sort of theme. I did a splendid sixteen instead of a sweet sixteen. I also grew up going to a lot of bar and bat Mitzvahs. Those were always really fun to me. I like the idea that you can be transported into some fully realized theme for four hours, and then you just go home after. I liked the commitment to a concept. There's no other thing that exists quite like an event.
CULTURED: What’s the most important thing you learned from Susan Holland in your years working with her?
Sarlo: That you cannot have a formula. As soon as you have a formula, you’re dead. Every event and every venue should have fresh eyes. At the Plaza for instance, they have a place where they put the bar every time, and Susan would never walk into those [kinds of] places and listen to what they say. She is a person entering the space for the first time as if a guest were and is able to embody what they're gonna do. We really shared that love of floor plans. Her work was truly like an art form because she didn't want to do a million events a year. She wanted to have her hands in everything so that she could not have a formula.
CULTURED: You've produced runway shows, bar and bat mitzvahs, intimate dinners, and major galas. Throughout all of these kinds of events, is there an Erica Sarlo touch that’s consistent?
Sarlo: There's a consistency in the integrity of the design and quality of the event, but I'm not one of those designers that have a stamp aesthetic that I'm applying. I'm looking for the institution's mission to sing through what I'm doing and for it to really be their event. People know it's my party because it works well and functions despite it being beautiful. I mean, not despite, but even if it's beautiful. There's no sacrifice of function because it's beautiful.
CULTURED: What’s your secret weapon in terms of functionality?
Sarlo: I just have a good sense of people who are itching to do something next. One thing [I also learned] from Susan is that layers are everything at an event. It's just trying to develop layers to keep people's attention—to change scenery, to change lighting, to change moods, to keep things moving.
CULTURED: What’s a detail you advocate for in events?
Sarlo: Cocktail napkins! Just considering a cocktail napkin and not letting it be the cheap coin edge cocktail napkin because that is the first thing your guest touches. It's an important detail. I find myself fighting a lot for responsible materials, which is sometimes challenging because people are looking at others' work and wanting what they have, and I'm like, “Well, the way you get that is you buy it, and it goes into a dumpster after.” I'm able to design within that restriction, like “OK, the client wants this, how can I solve it where I can sleep at night?” We donate to Materials for the Arts. I work with Common Ground Compost. I actually terra-cycled all the balloons for Creative Time. So there are ways to work within that. I push back on certain things, like flower walls.
CULTURED: Do you still enjoy going to events if you’re invited to one?
Sarlo: Oh yeah. I actually love a bad event in the same way that I love bad service in a restaurant. I mean it depends on who you choose to live your life with, but with my friends, we love that because you'll never forget it. I'm like, “How did they even come up with that decision? How did they even think that putting the bar there was a good idea?” People get nervous about me coming, but I'm there to be a regular guest. I wanna have a drink, I wanna eat food that's not cold. I'm not looking to be super mean about the event. I'm just there to have fun.
CULTURED: What does location scouting look like for you? And what’s the craziest place you've ever designed an event for?
Sarlo: Locations are the hardest and most important part of an event. In New York, it's the hardest part of the process. My parents are from the Bronx, so I feel like I really know this city well. I can scavenge for things, but I'm always looking for venues. I'm always like, “This would be great for like a 20-person dinner. This would be great for a 400-person dinner.” The most difficult, but also one of my favorites was the old Essex Market for Eckhaus Latta’s 10-year anniversary. That was a beast of a show because we had to make it safe. We had to fill in holes and get the heaters working, which we didn't get to work. We needed to get the gas unlocked. I had to hide wires, and there were leaks… That season I was also doing Maryam Nassir Zadeh in the same neighborhood and both shows had floods the day before the show. I just had to make it part of the show. And actually, the city essentially gifted [the Essex Market space] to us, but we had to get all the permitting for it. I remember the inspector came at 9 pm and our show time was 9 pm and there were 500 people in line. I remember on the walkie-talkie somebody telling me, “The FDNY are here,” and I was like, “No!” For us to pull off a venue like that in February was just amazing.
CULTURED: I love that story. Is there something you wish people knew about event production?
Sarlo: Event design is a creative conceptual practice for me. I am a creative person, not just a party planner. I am really good logistically, and I recognize that I couldn't be one without the other. The thing about event design is if you're not able to produce it, it's not worth designing it. If you can't do one or the other, you have to be able to do both. It's a unique skill set because it involves problem-solving and using ephemeral materials. It's not my style to do build-outs for multiple days with a lot of waste. Guests feel that energy, and it doesn't really make for a good party. The best parties happen spontaneously in your house when you just invite people over, and they bring people, and all of a sudden, you find extra bottles of tequila.
CULTURED: Where do you look for inspiration?
Sarlo: I am in a community of artists and fashion designers, so I'm always going to whoever has a show up at that time, and we're always talking about aesthetics. I find a lot of inspiration from the people I collaborate with, like Sophie Stone who's a florist and an artist. Unexpectedly, I find a lot of inspiration from cinematic lighting; horror and sci-fi are pretty big inspirations for me. I'm also creating something that's site-specific, so I get my inspiration from being in the venue, and whatever kind of feedback I hear. I love it when a client gives me two words. Last year for Creative Time, my client was like “piano lounge,” and then I went to see Elvis, and I was so inspired by that movie. I put together a mood board the next day and sent it, and that became the basis for that event last year.
CULTURED: Is there an event you’d drop everything to do?
Sarlo: The Met Gala. It's amazing that it's in the Met and the Costume Institute—there would be so many layers that would be exciting for me. And it’s the ultimate theme party.
