Wane? What signs of wane?
Much ballyhooed-about talk that Fashion’s Night Out had seen its final days was quashed by the impressive—if not massive—turn out by the deluge of fashion hungry shoppers, with their credit cards out, as they overran the city from the Upper East Side to SoHo.
As was expected, midtown—in particular the corners of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street—were slowed to a crawl as shoppers and partygoers store hopped. Everywhere one looked, there was a sea of people: Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Tiffany & Co., Girard-Perregaux. At Bergdorf Goodman, celebrating its 111th anniversary, paper BG crowns had more than one guest it was the chicest Burger King they’d ever been to, while upstairs Victoria Beckham was swarmed by fans and clients. A few blocks over, Solange Knowles deejayed at Coach to celebrate a customization project with the re-launched Legacy collection. Further east, Kellan Lutz was spotted jumping from bed to bed on the seventh floor of Bloomingdale’s.
On the Upper East Side, Michael Kors was joined by Debra Messing and Kate Upton for—you guessed it—a karaoke party where the designer crooned “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night.” Not to be outdone, Oscar de la Renta serenaded Sarah Jessica Parker, who had just traipsed across the street from a visit to Fred Leighton.
Heading downtown, Opening Ceremony proprietors (and Kenzo creative directors) Carol Lim and Humberto Leon were joined by Spike Jonze at the Ace Hotel for a Korean karaoke night.
In the Meatpacking District, not only did Ford draw its fair share of tastemakers to its special panel discussion on sustainable fashion while introducing their new fusion hybrid sedan, but Nicole Richie upped the frenzied locale by unveiling her new collection for QVC. Right in the middle of the square.
Way downtown, at Thom Browne’s TriBeCa flagship, 30 limited-edition ties (priced at $275 each) featuring a safety pin design based on the designer’s current fall collection sold out before FNO had even officially started.
Back up in SoHo, meanwhile, things were—to put it bluntly—bonkers. Lines snaked out doors from Camper to Victoria’s Secret, Lacoste to A Bathing Ape. The GQ/Nordstrom pop-up celebration—featuring one of the most well-edited lineup of goods this journalist has seen in some time—was such a draw that publicists had to keep guests at bay after the large store filled up to capacity in the first 30 minutes (and this was for the VIP reception). Over at M.A.C, Azaelia Banks put on a personal appearance and mini concert that had Spring Street looking more like Mardi Gras. And at DKNY, Karlie Kloss was joined by pals like Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevigne as she sold her special brand of vegan cookies aptly called “Karlie’s Kookies” created with Momofuku benefiting FEED Projects (the secret ingredient: agave nectar). “They’re dairy-free, gluten-free…you have to send some to Pat [McGrath],” exclaimed Kloss, to which the stylist Edward Enninful replied with a laugh, “Yes, for sure. She could use it.”
- Jim Shi