A RetailWire poll in September of last year found that eighty percent thought the first ever Fashion's Night was worth the effort. Only eight percent thought it was a total waste of time.
This year, the event was even bigger with more retailers and celebrities participating with the aim of getting people to think about wearing (that means buying) the latest and greatest on store racks.
While the event certainly generated a lot of press, numerous reports question whether the event did much for business.
Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, said, "The FNO (Fashion's Night Out) celebrations are essentially preaching to the choir with the same fashion editors, designers and retailers talking to the same target customers about things that only interest those in the know about fashion. FNO offers little to attract those customers not all that into fashion. It is these less than enthusiastic clothing shoppers that the business needs to attract to give it a shot in the arm."
A Toronto Star report suggested that the night was more for those "hellbent on partying" than spending on clothing and accessories.
Others begged to differ.
"It was a like hybrid of Nuit Blanche, Halloween and Gay Pride," Sarah Casselman, market editor of Fashion Magazine, told The Star. "There is a great energy to the city (New York) and it's bringing people together in spirit."
While the point of Fashion's Night Out was to get consumers to shop in stores, others are looking to expand the reach of Fashion Week events through the internet. In one case, Burberry added an e-commerce component to enable consumers to buy items they saw being modeled on the catwalk.
"It's giving the consumer even more inside access than the buyer in the front row," James Gardner, founder and chief executive of Createthe Group, which is working on the runway live streams for Burberry, told The New York Times. "They're able to put the product in their shopping bag, pay with their credit card and check out before the buyer is even finished watching the show and goes to the showroom the next day."
Mr. Gardner added, "The economic challenge has added new focus to this, and technology and digital has almost become the most important strategic priority in these companies. The brands are seeing this really resonates with the consumer, and we see huge spikes in traffic."
Discussion Question: What is your assessment of Fashion's Night Out and efforts such as webcasts to broaden the appeal of high fashion?