Much like everyone, I got caught up with the buzz surrounding Fashion’s Night Out (see previous post) however the end results were a mixed bag of mayhem that wasn’t terribly appealing. Exceeding expectations from retailers looking for a boost, as throngs embarked on Fashion’s Night Out, 16 Countries 100 US cities and 1000 NYC retailers joined the fray, have we reached a tipping point?
Uptown, Luca Luca offered luxury to its best customers and access to the Creative Director and President of the line. “If it is expensive and its worth it, then the client will buy it,” said Raul Margoza, the Creative Director at Luca Luca; “It’s got to be a value, not just disposable goods.” At $15 a pop, how hard does a fast-fashion brand have to work at this? Downtown, Top Shop was relatively calm as well it should be, every day is a shopping day there—and you know that when you enter.
Designer Rebecca Taylor stated it best to Lauren Simonetti of Fox Business. —“If Fashion had a Halloween, this would be it.”
Far and wide results were a mixed bag for the evening, where many fashionistas were somewhat put off by the carnival atmosphere. According to Turkey’s English Daily, Hurriyet, Istanbul's fashionable districts on Abdi İpekçi Avenue and at the İstinye Park shopping mall on the city’s European side and along Bağdat Avenue on the city’s Anatolian side were all geared up for sales. “Designer stores were keenly anticipating the event, preparing special luxury lounges, DJ performances and promotions in cooperation with Vogue Turkey. Yet despite the anticipation and excitement leading up to the event, total sales in fashion stores in Istanbul were considerably less compared to those of other cities participating in the event, such as New York City, where people have been known to virtually attack products.”
While slammed in the NY Post, I think that for the most part, French Vogue editrix Carine Roitfeld got things just right, with a flurry of Invitation Only events along Paris’ epicenter of the evening’s festivities on Avenue Montaigne. Invite-only was also the way to go for a smattering of NYC stores including Intermix which kept the masses at their SoHo location were the Tequila Avion flowed and J Brands introduced an exclusive collection only available online. Socialite Byrdie Belll held court with a civility not seen on the bustling streets outside.
LA saw lines in the parking lot at the venerable Fred Segal where the Dandy Warhol’s performed and Rachel Zoe’s nemesis Taylor Jacobson held court chatting about her Skinny Minx jeans from the Kasil + Taylor Jacobson denim line. Melrose Avenue got it right by hosting a Fashion Crawl appealing to its younger demo.
I think that in order for NYC’s Fashion Night to be a successful three-peat, they will need to innovate. NYC needs more experiences and less mess. We need to engage the shopping districts to band together and create passports of experiences that tie together the experience of the vicinity and clarify what the hell is going on where, and engage social media more—Foursquare badges anyone? NYC & Co. let’s wake up to the opportunity.
No longer is it enough to swing open your doors and throw some champagne in a tub and call it a night. The night should be led by big brands on both the low and high end, from H&M and Macy’s to Barney’s and Bergdorf’s. Many, like Barney’s did an excellent job of creating experiences for their customers (see previous post), however in the end—did it drive sales or just showmanship? An excellent buzz for those to tell their tales of shopping, if only more people actually did that versus watched the festivities unfold before them. Yes, Rebecca it was like Halloween, but as a New Yorker I don’t go out on Halloween unless I’m invited to a party; it’s just too much of insanity and impossible to get a cab.
Next year fewer shops should participate, big and bold events should be encouraged for sure, but temper them with more genteel events that actually appeal to the shopping experience. Trudging through the streets of SoHo I saw more camera’s in people’s hands than shopping bags. A carnival atmosphere is fine, but even a circus has only three rings.
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