| EVENT REPORT 09.14.09 3:12 PM |
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| More Photos From Fashion's Night Out: A Dunk Tank in Williamsburg, Kenneth Cole's Concert |
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FROM NEW YORK As photos, tweets, blogs, and news articles have shown, Thursday's "Fashion's Night Out" initiative brought a carnival-like atmosphere to hundreds of stores throughout the city. Crowds swarmed Midtown, SoHo, the West Village, and other retail districts for live music, free food, games, and other activities, which as a new report reveals, helped boost sales numbers. On Friday afternoon, Chicago research firm ShopperTrak released data that points to a 36 percent increase in foot traffic in Manhattan shops, compared with the same day last year.
“The overwhelming turnout in Manhattan lifted sales throughout the country, providing some welcome good news for participating retailers in an otherwise difficult 2009,” said ShopperTrak co-founder Bill Martin in a statement. Retail executives also agree that the initiative had a positive impact from just getting customers into the stores. “It was worth doing,” Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and C.E.O. of Brooks Brothers, told WWD. “We do a lot of events, and we generally don’t get a lot of business from them. It’s more to show people what we do and who we are, rather than sales that night. There is always a certain percent that comes back to shop. The best thing about Fashion’s Night Out is that a lot of people came out and are still looking at shopping in a positive way, even if they didn’t shop.” |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | At the block party co-hosted by Bird and the designers from Vena Cava, shoppers could try to dunk fashion notables like Mickey Boardman (pictured), Sam Shipley, and Jeff Halmos.
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash |
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 | Adding to the carnival-like atmosphere, Bird's festivities also included popcorn and cotton candy.
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash |
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 | Other shops and designers around Bird's Grand Street store participated, customizing items, selling sketches, and painting faces.
Photo: John Minchillo for BizBash |
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 | Kenneth Cole's flagship store at Rockefeller Center hosted a 45-minute concert by Jewish reggae musician Matisyahu. The event drew some 450 attendees, who were privy to an assortment of beers, vodka-thyme-lemonade cocktails, and nibbles.
Photo: Courtesy of Kenneth Cole |
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 | In addition to Zac Posen painting in the windows and Mary-Kate and Ashley Oslen bartending, Bergdorf Goodman's evening included a cook-off between designers Edward Bess, Naeem Khan, Gilles Mendel, Lela Rose, Cynthia Rowley, and Peter Som. Top Chef judge Padma Lakshmi hosted the competition, which Rose won with her corn crepe dish topped with lobster and cilantro pignon salsa.
Photo: Jessica Torosssian for BizBash |
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 | Elie Tahari's marketing team brought in Billy Joel's daughter Alexa Ray Joel to perform at the SoHo boutique.
Photo: Courtesy of Elie Tahari |
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 | Red Baraat, a band that plays bhangra and brass funk music, performed outside Ports 1961's West Village store. Inside, the label hosted an exhibit of Indian artwork alongside its racks of clothing.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | Tory Burch, who hosted one of the few outdoor parties of the night, served up barbecued dishes from La Esquina.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | To house weary shoppers trekking between events, Ikea partnered with Best Buy's Geek Squad to create a tented lounge in the meatpacking district.
Photo: BizBash |
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 | Only a handful of retailers chose to provide transportation. Payless sponsored four Grayline buses, and Aveda supplied a fleet of pedicabs from its store in the Flatiron district.
Photo: Courtesy of Payless |
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Our full coverage of Fashion's Night Out can be found here.
—Anna Sekula
RELATED TOPICS
Vogue, Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, Fashion Week, Bird, Vena Cava, Kenneth Cole, Ports 1961, Tory Burch, Payless, Aveda
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