Fashion's Night Out proved that one way to get shoppers back into stores is to throw a party. Coordinated events in stores across major cities offered entertainment, plenty of champagne and hors d'oeuvres, as well the chance to mingle with celebrities, models and designers.
The publicity around the event naturally came from the celebrities. In the New York region, Donna Karan and the Olsen twins were at Bergdorf Goodman, Justin Timberlake at Saks, Gwen Stefani at Bloomingdale's, Charlize Theron at Dior and Kate Hudson at Stella McCartney.
But the events, which marked the start of Fashion Week, drew the crowds.
At Tiffany, a DJ and Vogue editors offered styling assistance. At Henri Bendel, women lined up to have red lips drawn on by Gucci Westman, Revlon's global artistic director. The cast of the musical, Hair, performed at the Macy's in Queens. Lord & Taylor offered a chance to win tickets to Fashion Week, VH1 Save The Music Diva Concert, a New York Yankees or Giants game, Broadway show, shopping spree and spa package.
At Barneys New York, t-shirts were being hand-painted by artists from the denim label Loomstate on the first floor, hand massages were being offered to women on the beauty floor, salsa lessons at Juan Carlos Obando's space on the third floor, and the designer Thom Browne met fans on the fourth floor.
U.S. Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour, the brainchild of the event, herself made an appearance at the Macy's in Queens as a gesture to show that holding shopping parties during a recession wasn't "elitist."
Ms. Wintour told The New York Times, "It's bigger than our wildest dreams. We're just hoping that our global fashion stimulus package works."
Robert Burke, of Robert Burke Associates, a luxury consulting company, told Reuters on Friday that the event succeeded in its goal of bringing people into stores.
"Whether people bought last night or they didn't, they are going to see things they hadn't seen in the past and go back and buy, so I think the residual effects of last night will last for the whole season," said Burke.
To some, however, the biggest accomplishment was that the night brought back the "fun" of shopping.
"Fashion has been so flat. The party element hasn't been there," said Terri Coleman, partner in the brand Tuccia, told The Associated Press. "This gives them a reason to have fun."
The event also featured a Fashion's Night Out charity T-shirt to benefit the National September 11 Memorial and Museum and the New York City AIDS Fund that could be autographed by celebrities. Terry Lundgren chief executive of Macy's, told the Times that the chain had sold more than half its 6,000 T-shirts, for $30 apiece, by 5 p.m.
The impact on sales was undetermined with a percentage donated to charities. But Mr. Lundgren felt that sales on Thursday night would at least cover the expense of keeping eight Macy's stores nationwide open late for the promotion.
Discussion Questions: What did you think of Fashion's Night Out? What impact might it have on consumers' attitudes or on sales? Do you agree that "the residual effects ... will last for the whole season"?