Set design studio Stufish set out to create a unique architectural language informed by mid-century lofts and Austin Powers for pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s first arena tour.
The Short n’ Sweet tour, which came to London this weekend, is entirely centred around a single set – an all-white, two-storey “apartment” with four rooms, two spiralling staircases and a heart-shaped conversation pit.
Going beyond a simple backdrop, the aim was to create a functional piece of architecture – one that the singer, her band and her 12 backup dancers could actually interact with.
Much like a musical, this allows the show to unfold as a continuous narrative set in a self-contained world. Throughout the show, Carpenter moves from room to room as she acts out getting ready for a party and crying heartbroken tears on her heart-shaped toilet.
“Historically, in a pop show, you wheel out an object for four songs, and then you wheel it away and bring another one out,” said Stufish partner Ric Lipson. “They don’t necessarily tie in with anything.”
“We’ve made a white set that never disappears, that doesn’t move, and there’s no ability to escape it, and so it puts you into a narrative-based show with these scenarios,” he told Dezeen.
The team aimed to develop a distinct architectural language for the apartment that would speak to the singer’s styling as a modern-day pinup without veering into the pastiche.
Instead of zeroing in on a particular era, the aim was to evoke a general sense of rose-tinted nostalgia.
A Malm-style conical fireplace and tall corniced ceilings evoke a mid-century New York loft – although with grander proportions – while the circular bed with its pink satin covers was lifted straight out of the Fembot’s lair from 90s spy comedy Austin Powers.
Nods to the old-school glamour of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn can be found in an ornate vintage Louis XIV-style chaise longue and the bathroom’s clamshell sink, complete with heart-shaped, monogrammed soap.
The dramatic sweeping staircases and gossamer curtains hearken back to the sets of 1970s variety shows hosted by musical legends like Cher and Dolly Parton.
“We were taking these more classic looks but also trying to put a modern spin on them so that she doesn’t become a pastiche piece, she’s making her own Sabrina Carpenter architecture,” Lipson said.
“Her style, the way she styles her hair, the baby doll outfits, they’re all reinterpretations of classic things, which is why, when you look at her show, it doesn’t look like any of the other young female artists who are on a similar path.”
Working with Carpenter’s sister Sarah and Dannah Gottleib, who act as the singer’s creative directors, Stufish introduced tongue-in-cheek details to reflect Carpenter’s flirty, innuendo-heavy lyrics.
There’s a heart-shaped toilet, furry pink handcuffs and graphics declaring that the apartment is located conveniently on the 69th floor.
“She’s very into double entendre,” Lipson said. “There are slight little nods to cliches and details and things that we love.”
Alongside traditional stage lights, tasselled floor lamps and spherical sconces provide illumination as part of a lighting scheme by LA studio See You Later.
Stufish previously created a baby-blue motel set for Carpenter’s 2024 Coachella performance and another festival set for Lana Del Rey that was modelled on the conservatory of London’s brutalist Barbican Centre.
Lipson says these architectural constructions are evidence of a larger trend amongst musicians looking for a “new way of doing arena shows”, allowing them to weave larger narratives that fans can get invested in.
“Artists want a playground that gives them things to do beyond being on a clean stage with a big screen at the back,” he said.
“That’s the beauty of creating these sets that have architectural merit.”
Building on Stufish’s experience in designing London’s ABBA Arena – the “world’s largest demountable venue” – the stage can be easily disassembled into smaller parts that can be lifted by hand, squeezed through standard doorways and into around 20 separate trucks.
“We’ve done tours with other artists where there are 40 trucks,” Lipson said. “So we’ve managed to achieve a lot with not as much stuff, which I think is also important from a sustainability point of view.”
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