Fashion’s Night Out appeared to be a major success for luxury brands in New York, which hosted a variety of guest performers, games, designer challenges and customer rewards to celebrate the event.
The Luxury Daily team made the rounds on Sept. 8 to get a first-hand glimpse of how luxury brands in New York handled the big night. Making our way from the meatpacking district to Madison Avenue, our stops included British department store Jeffrey, Michael Kors’ new store in Rockefeller Center, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Dolce & Gabbana.
"We could tell from the response that we received through social media that there was a lot of excitement across the country," said Susan Portnoy, Fashion’s Night Out spokesperson for Condé Nast, New York.
"[We are] thrilled that the rain didn’t make it soggy and our expectations came through and it was really unbelievable," she said. "There were wonderful amounts of people going into the stores."
Condé Nast's Vogue editor Anna Wintour concieved Fashion's Night Out.
Time to celebrate
The crowd at Jeffrey comprised a lot of super-chic women touching, trying on and buying quite a lot of shoes, hats, clothing and jewelry by the likes of Yves Saint Laurent, Jil Sander and Prada.
The store had a guest appearance from "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe right before closing.
French mineral water brand evian was providing beverages for shoppers and star-seekers alike while displaying the newly-designed bottles by French fashion label André Courrèges (see story).
The next stop was the Michael Kors party at the American designer’s newest store in Rockefeller Center, which enticed so many fans that a number of them had to wait on line just to get in.
Mr. Kors himself made an appearance at the jam-packed store around 9:30 p.m., but was quickly ushered out by security.
The brand graciously handed out Champagne throughout the night and had a DJ to entertain shoppers.
Fifth Avenue was packed with consumers all of ages, not to mention a sea of limo and towncars.
Many stores had lines and younger consumers gathered outside to try to catch glimpses of celebrities, such as rap artists Nicki Minaj and Drake at Versace.
Next up was Saks Fifth Avenue. Its large digital display in partnership with Stylelist (see story) drew consumers’ attention, as well as guest appearances by singer NeYo and a chance to win a free laptop from digital retailer Levano.
Glee stars Lea Michele and Ryan Murphy were also at Saks signing autographs.
Then it was off to Bergdorf Goodman, which hosted a slew of events including a make-up face-off, a dog show and numerous designer appearances including Tom Ford and Jason Wu.
DJs Andrew Andrew, Becka Diamond, Johnny Dynell and T.C.Meggs & Gunnie kept consumers dancing throughout the store.
Last stop but never least, Dolce & Gabbana hosted teen celebrity Justin Beiber, clad in a leather purple jacket, much to the delight of a street full of screaming fans.
Overall, the night seemed successful as shoppers and their bags took to the streets in search of cabs on the traffic-jammed Fifth and Madison avenues around 11 p.m.
Many of the digital spectacles are still up to remind shoppers of the celebrations, and keep them buzzing on the social media front.
"Fashion's Night Out is a huge economic boost for fashion and retail brands," said Emmett Shine, founder of Gin Lane Media, New York.
"It raises a large amount of brand awareness, there are significant in-store sales, online launches, and the event solidifies fashion as a integral piece of New York City culture," he said.
Gin Lane Media created the digital displays for Saks Fifth Avenue and Helmut Lang.
Condé Nast does not expect to see a considerable amount of feedback for at least another few weeks.
"Over the next few weeks, we will get more feedback and anecdotal commentary about what worked and what didn’t, depending on where it is in the city," Condé Nast's Ms. Portnoy said.
"We expect a lot of diversity and feedback," she said. "Unfortunately, there is not too much that we can say at the moment."
Here are some Luxury Daily pictures from Fashion's Night Out in New York
