New York Fashion Week is a time for the world to see what’s “in,” but it’s not just for clothing and accessories. The annual event is also about ideas from social justice to inner beauty, inspiring a host of non-endemic brands to create spectacles of their own.

Papyrus

Each year at New York Fashion Week, American Greetings hosts the Café by Papyrus–a pop-up venue where attendees can grab a coffee or tea and send intricately designed greeting cards. The decadent hangout spot returned this year, but Papyrus “popped up” somewhere else for the first time—the runway.

Papyrus—an American Greetings company—partnered with fashion designer Adam Selman and artist Daniel Sean Murphy to create a set made entirely of paper. Bright blue flowers, grass and 100 Papyrus hummingbirds lined the runway as models showed off Selman’s collection.

“This is really historic. Integration into a show has never really happened before as far as we know,” Alex Ho, chief marketing officer for American Greetings, told AdWeek. “It’s a testament to the traction we’ve had over the years and the tie to fashion.”

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Farrow & Ball

Floral designer Lewis Miller and his team have been known to create guerilla-style flower installations around New York City with splashes of bright colors and texture in unexpected places.

For New York Fashion Week, Miller chose a construction site for his latest work and this time, he collaborated with wallpaper brand Farrow & Ball. Normally described as a “pretty bleak city corner,” the construction site was transformed by wooden pallets layered with vibrant flowers. The walls surrounding Miller’s installation are covered in printed Farrow & Ball wallpaper.

“Ultimately, I think we are creating something truly spectacular, fresh and whimsical that celebrates the best of both our brands,” Miller told Vogue.

“Building on the creative energy of a city like New York, especially during Fashion Week, we hope to inspire people everywhere to find a moment of escapism in the everyday—whether it’s in their home, on their daily commute, at work, or on their way to a fashion show,” added Charlotte Cosby, head of creative for Farrow & Ball.

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Refinery29 And Partners

Female-focused publisher Refinery29 hosted an immersive experiential installation for New York Fashion Week. The colorful activation featured 29 individually curated rooms linked to brand partners including Ulta Beauty, Aldo, Clarins, Dunkin’ Donuts, Juicy Couture and Cadillac with Jason Wu.

Each room in the aptly named “29Rooms” activation holds an interactive brand message. The Clarins room includes plants used in the company’s Next Generation Double Serum, for example, and Belletrist—a community devoted to books and authors—featured a giant typewriter that encouraged visitors to share their stories.

Visitors were able to rent Snap Spectacles for free and were encouraged to share their experiences across social media.

Shoe brand Aldo curated a room that invited guests to celebrate their own styles on a runway called “Love Walk.”

“Our team believes that Refinery29 has really redefined what it means to do a brand collaboration and what it means to do an experiential marketing campaign,” Katie Green, Aldo’s senior director of communications, told AdWeek. “They’ve been able to create an opportunity in this new digital and social era to really create meaningful content for brands while also allowing you to be part of a greater conversation during a time when let’s face it, there’s a lot of clutter during fashion week.”

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Lexus

Continuing its #HowFashionTravels campaign, New York Fashion Week sponsor Lexus provided a fleet of nearly 100 vehicles for show-goers and industry insiders.

Another activation in partnership with Interview Magazine called “Lexus: Set in Motion,” let visitors be the star, stepping onto a set to be professionally photographed next to a Lexus vehicle. The activation was more than just a photo op, offering professional makeup and hair touch-ups. Even the photos were taken by an industry professional.

“Through our partnership with Interview Magazine, we are able to invite the public to experience what a real editorial fashion photo shoot is like, which is something Lexus has not executed in the past and is a unique opportunity that we can offer to the general public,” Lexus general manager Greg Kitzens told Marketing Daily.

Disney

Celebrities are everywhere during New York Fashion Week, but this year ushered in a new era for one unexpected icon—Minnie Mouse. The Disney icon, whose reputation as a fashionista dates back to 1928, hobnobbed with the likes of Kate Bosworth, Jhené Aiko, Nicki Minaj and Paris and Nicky Hilton.

Minnie met with fashion designers and swung by the offices of both Instagram and Refinery29. She even wore a custom outfit courtesy of fashion designer Monse and appeared at the Monse fashion show.

In the past year, Minnie has worn custom designs by Alice + Olivia’s Stacey Bendet and Olympia Le-Tan, helping to solidify Disney’s place in the fashion world.