Design styles
Black tie.
Before anyone reads it.
A black-tie invitation has one job the others do not: guests must know how to dress from the object in their hand, before they reach the line that tells them.
What makes an invitation read as black tie?
Weight, darkness and restraint — a heavy stock, a deep ground, metallic or blind marks rather than colour, and formal centred type. Guests judge dress code from the object before they read the words; an invitation that looks like a party invitation will produce guests dressed for a party whatever the card says.
01
What actually defines it.
- Physical weight. The single most reliable signal. A light card cannot say black tie however it is printed.
- A dark or deeply saturated ground, with the type reversed or foiled out of it.
- Metal used sparingly. One foil, one place. Gold everywhere reads as cheap; gold once reads as expensive.
- Formal wording and generous margins. This is not the direction for a conversational voice.
02
Where the house has built it.
| Commission | Occasion | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Midnight House · The Tenth | Charity gala, black tie, 220 guests, The Rivoli | A benefit that has to feel worth the ticket price |
| Pois de Fête · Minuit Perlé | Gala dinner, eight pieces | Formality carried right through the table pieces |
| Elizabeth & William · The Second Name | Wedding, The Bonheur Hotel, New York | Black-tie register for a wedding rather than a benefit |
Say the dress code early if it costs money. Black tie means some guests are hiring or buying. Put it on the save-the-date, not only the invitation — see the dress code guidance for the exact line and where it belongs.
03
Common questions
Does it have to be black?
Is foil necessary?
For a gala, does the invitation affect donations?
An evening that arrives before the evening does.
Gala suites run from the invitation through the table plan, the menu and the auction pieces — all one identity.
See gala design