My “Fashion’s Night Out”
Thousands descended upon the streets of New York on Thursday for the City’s inaugural Fashion’s Night Out event. After changing from my suit to skinny jeans in the office bathroom and enduring odd stairs on the seemingly long journey from the elevator to front door, I was finally able to join the swarms at around 9pm. Industry insiders, fashion enthusiasts and run-of-the mill consumers alike collectively celebrated the start of New York Fashion Week by parading from Fifth Avenue to Soho, seeking sales, giveaways, celebrity sightings and free booze.
We kept our Fashion’s Night Out experience limited to 35 Howard St. in Soho for the Opening Ceremony event. Apparently, hundreds of hipsters had the same idea…the crowd was massive and the line did not move. We waited in the completely stagnant queue for about 15 minutes, and watched as Erin Wasson (who went unrecognized by the doorman) entered. However, my patience was shortlived, which prompted me to accost one of the store’s sales associates to find a quick pass in. I asked him for a way to surpass the line, and he informed me that all I needed to do was make a purchase, and he could escort me inside. So, I bought a skinny tie from the Band of Outsiders truck for $40, which I considered a steal, not even considering the fact that it came with a free cookie from Momofuku!
At the front of the store was the store’s co-owner, Humberto Leon, who surprisingly remembered me from a previous encounter and my apparently memorable Tim Hamilton strappy sandals. We chatted up for a bit, and he regrettably informed us that they had run out of alcohol. We also missed A. Wang’s appearance, who showed up earlier in the evening with a school of muses. A bit disappointed, we perused the shelves and mingled a bit longer, until the discomfort from the heat produced by the large crowd forced us to prematurely leave. However, my sadness from missing the alcohol and Alexander was more than remedied from my next encounter outside the store. Standing outside with a small entourage was none other Kate Mulleavy of the Rodarte sibling duo. I approached her, and she was incredibly receptive and friendly. Our conversation went something like,
Me: “I’m a huge fan of your work, despite the fact that I can’t wear any of it.”
KM: “Not true. There’s a guy inside wearing our thigh high wrap up boots.”
Me: “I’m not that bold.”
We conversed a bit longer, and I inquired about the whereabouts of her sister Laura, who was apparently still back on the West Coast tying up some loose ends before the pair’s runway show on Tuesday. I then asked for a picture, which I had to regrettably take with my iphone for lack of having a better camera on hand.
In my opinion, FNO = success. Though I’m not sure it accomplished one of its purported goals of boosting consumer spending (as I saw few shopping bags in the hands of attendees who hopped from store-to-store) the event provided public access to the otherwise exclusive world of high fashion, and allowed designers, celebrities and fans of fashion to cohabit as one big, happy, fashion-loving family (…for a few hours at least).
