Fashion Night Out 2011
Now in its third year, Fashion Night Out features over a thousand retailers in New York City, with participants in over 250 American cities and 18 countries across the world partaking in the festivities. It is an annual global shopping experience that is the product of the imagination of a certain Vogue editor, Anna Wintour. Some have coined the event “Anna’s fashion stimulus package,” but most have come to know it as a large scale fashion party with a global scope. It starts after-hours, when stores open their doors, throw parties, sprinkle in celebrities and fashion elites, all in the hope of selling something. Somehow it always comes down to the bottom line.
The event has traditionally been a success even when viewed strictly from a financial perspective. Last year the event boosted retail slightly while raising over $800,000 for charity. The event is generally blitzed by freebie seeking cadres of thrift-heads, looking to guzzle champagne, amass stocks of free t-shirts, and win prizes — anything will do so long as it is free. Retailers have picked up on the leach trend, and are taking a new approach this year. It seemed to be working, as around New York, people were slowly willing to buy in exchange for a good time.
Retailers lined up celebrities and sprinkled them across their stores in an effort to provide a unique entertainment experience for shoppers, in hopes of them opening up their purses to buy items. Tommy Hilfiger, Coco Rocha, Joss Stone and Samantha Ronson were among a group of celebrities at Macy’s in Herald Square. The Victoria’s Secret Angels will be available for photo ops, so even straight men have something to look forward to.
Amid all the enthusiasm, some fans left disappointed, as a handful of celebrities scheduled to make an appearance decided otherwise. Kelly Rowland and former Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean were among the no-shows. Even more fans were unhappy when they couldn’t interact with their celebrity of choice in the manner in which they expected. Ladies expecting autographs of Justin Bieber were intent on returning their purchase because they were unable to secure the signature of the singing sensation.
Related News:
Category: Fashion
