DP

At the X Games in Los Angeles, Hot Wheels set up a life-size replica of a double-loop stunt for toy cars. The giant orange race tracks were part of the "Double Loop Dare," which broke the world record Saturday when it brought two vehicles to race through a 66-foot double vertical loop. The stunt drivers, rally-car driver Tanner Foust and stuntman Greg Tracy, started on two different tracks and accelerated to 53 miles per hour before entering the loop, reaching seven times the force of gravity.

During the menswear shows in Paris, Thom Browne took to a garden in the Left Bank to showcase his spring 2013 collection. The Sunday-evening event saw male models line up in a grid pattern, each individually encased in a silver, Slinky-shaped contraption, which were later dropped to reveal colorful outfits worn beneath.

BET hosted its sixth annual pre-show dinner June 30 at Union Station in Los Angeles to celebrate the award show, which took place the following evening. For an eclectic look, and marked by a color palette of orange and nude, the venue was outfitted with an array of mismatched furnishings, contrasting linens, and plenty of orange-hued flowers.

Cosmopolitan en español celebrated its 40th anniversary with a Fab @ 40 Smirnoff Beach Bash for more than 200 guests at Miami Beach's Nikki Beach Club June 30. Activities included a Polaroid photo booth, color hair extensions and washables at the Splat station, and a roving swimwear-fashion show.

On Tuesday, Tide unveiled a 6,000-square-foot rendition of the American flag in New York’s Bryant Park, which included a performance by Katharine McPhee. To create the oversize version of the Stars and Stripes, Procter & Gamble invited consumers to submit personal stories to serve as inspiration for the U.S. Olympic team.

The theme of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Gala Awards Celebration, “The Orange Gala,” even extended to the performance artists. The June 23 event at the Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel drew nearly 600 guests. The color theme also applied to the highest-selling silent auction item: a basketball signed by the N.B.A. champion Miami Heat players, which fetched more than $3,000.

On June 26, the Paris Opera Ballet performed Giselle at the Harris Theater. Drawing on the ethereal, ghostly set of the famous ballet, designer Bill Heffernan brought a moonlit-forest look to the tent that housed the ensuing gala in Millennium Park. The “dining space was filled and overwhelmed with gigantic transparent suspended cubes, projected with provencale branch patterns, and hovering low over square dining tables,” he said. Ferns and white freesia decorated the table tops.

Anticipating that the upcoming summer games will boost requests for Olympics-inspired activities for corporate groups, teambuilding companies have been developing new programs. One example is Team Bonding's Olympic-style games activity, which opens with a ceremony—complete with a torch lighting and national anthems—and closes with medals awarded to the winning team.

TechWeek took place at Chicago’s sprawling Merchandise Mart June 22-26. With more than 70 educational sessions and some 200 speakers, the conference had a relaxed atmosphere replete with video games, bars on the expo floor, and free foosball for all attendees.

In a multifaceted partnership with NBC, Bloomingdale's built elaborate sets modeled after TV shows in its store windows. Filled with live actors, the displays showcased four shows set to premiere this fall, including The Playboy Club. The cross promotion between the entertainment network and department store goes beyond Fashion's Night Out, designed to promote the shows throughout September.

The integration of The Playboy Club at Bloomingdale's also included roving female waitstaff dressed as bunnies.

For the promotion, NBC and Bloomingdale's created a mobile app, where shoppers can take photos of themselves beside digital versions of the actors from the TV shows.

Bloomingdale's also provided activities for men in its store, hosting a skee ball competition that gave away a pair of tickets to the Brooklyn Bowl.

Other department stores also had engaging window displays, using the sizable real estate to exhibit celebrity appearances and unusual entertainment. Bergdorf Goodman tapped Chip Duckett of Spin Cycle to curate its efforts, which included a wide range of performances.

Ronnie Spector was just one of the performers for Bergdorf Goodman's live revue in its Fifth Avenue windows. The singer, once part of 1960s girl group the Ronettes, entertained the crowd with "Be My Baby."

Bergdorf Goodman also had plenty of activities inside, including a designer dog show, musical performances, and the "BG Wheel of Fashion," where shoppers could buy a ticket and the spin the wheel for a chance to win prizes. Robert Verdi (pictured, right) was on hand to encourage guests to stop by.

Although the live performance by Kelly Rowland was canceled, Macy's Herald Square store still played host to singer Joss Stone, accompanied by designer Tommy Hilfiger.

In addition to musical talent and designers, Macy's also brought in its culinary partners. Chef Marc Forgione and Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern held court in the department store's lower level, where they doled out tips for entertaining.

Among the many activities at Lord & Taylor was a station where F.I.T. students drew fashionable sketches of guests.

Fashion students also participated in the Fashion's Night Out effort from Dylan's Candy Bar and Rockport, in which they were challenged to design candy versions of Rockport’s Janae Pump for women and Day 2 Night Wingtip for men, using some of the 7,000 candies found at the store.

Consumers could get creative at the candy store by decorating their own cookies.

Mattel brand Barbie took over several double-decker CitySights buses, offering free rides to revelers while they traveled between neighborhoods. Aboard the bus, each seat held a dress-up box with a Barbie and some clothes.

As part of Barbie's initiative, shoppers were encouraged to visit partner stores, including Alice & Olivia, Alexis Bittar, and Tracy Reese, and hunt for special displays of the doll. Each case was emblazoned with a QR code that, when scanned, entered consumers into a sweepstakes to win an outfit.

Ahead of Missoni for Target’s official national launch on September 13, the retailer debuted a pop-up shop to the public during Fashion’s Night Out. The line started early, and as a result of the overwhelming interest, the entire inventory was depleted before the end of the night, forcing the temporary store to close the first day of its three-day run.

Disco was the inspiration at Tiffany & Company's Fifth Avenue flagship and, in addition to disco balls and era-appropriate music from DJ Kiss, the jeweler placed a gold-painted performer in its windows to attract shoppers.

Unlike last year's bazaar, Opening Ceremony's effort brought a carnival to the streets outside its outpost at the Ace Hotel. The festive outdoor market was inspired by Argentina and included an appearance by Miss Piggy.

The booths at Opening Ceremony's carnival represented the different designer lines and brands the shop carries, including Alexander Wang.

Opening Ceremony also promoted a new collection produced in collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures that celebrates the November release of The Muppets movie.

On Thursday morning, Saks Fifth Avenue announced it would hold a surprise performance by Joe Jonas. The event, which drew some 400 screaming fans to the store's seventh floor, was hosted in partnership with designer Simon Spurr.

In addition to Fashion's Night Out, Levi's celebrated its new 34th Street store and brought in indie-pop band Fun to entertain guests. Food and drinks were passed by servers, who matched the shop's barnlike design by wearing denim overalls.

Outside its Fifth Avenue store, Sephora set up small tented displays attractively dressed in pink rose coverings, with staff offering people passing by the chance to smell and take home a sample of Escada's new fragrance.

The carnival-style setup was a trend that pervaded many Fashion's Night Out efforts, including the one from Popchips. Set on the pedestrian plaza at 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, the offering included a bouncy castle, fun-house mirrors, and a juggler.

Naturally, Popchips used its pop-up to promote its products, and shoppers swarmed the site to grab free snacks.

Popchips' carnival also offered free tarot card readings.

Across 14th Street from Popchips was Giorgio Armani's "Frames of Life" event, which allowed shoppers to try on the new eyewear collection and pose for photos taken by blogger and photographer Yvan Rodic. The images were also displayed on a large, street-facing LED screen.

Web-based store Shopbop fashioned a lounge in the meatpacking district where stylist Louise Roe interviewed designers and other stylists. To reach a wider audience, the interviews were live-streamed to a page on the retailer's Web site.

Scoop posted a DJ outside its meatpacking district store to spin tunes for the happy, lively crowd that gathered for a block party.

The Fragrance Foundation found a fun way to participate by placing flower carts around the city and handing out fragrant roses to the Fashion's Night Out revelers.

Nail polish brand Color Club refurbished an ice cream truck and used the vehicle to dole out its wares in the meatpacking district.

As a way to encourage shoppers to visit more than one of its stores, Hugo Boss was giving away tickets for a after-party to the first 100 people who checked in at all three of its downtown outposts using an app for Facebook Places.

Gap's mobile marketing stunt, dubbed the Pico de Gap truck, hit New York just in time for Fashion's Night Out. The promotion, which started on the West Coast in August, was created to celebrate creative director Rosella Giuliani's 1969 fall denim collection and offers discounts with every purchase of two tacos.

Teen Vogue's fashion fair and block party in the West Village showcased wares from sponsors Vans and Essie. On display was a special collection of Vans sneakers designed by the magazine's editors.

Teen Vogue offered free manicures from Essie at its block party, along with Arizona Iced Tea smoothies and popsicle bars.

Maybelline, one of the sponsors of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, set up a large lounge in the meatpacking district's Gansevoort Plaza, where shoppers could pick up free T-shirts designed by Patricia Field and record videos to send to their social media accounts.

In addition to an open bar, guests at Kate Spade were encouraged to sing karaoke in the storefront window.

French skin-care company Votre Vu had a pop-up lounge in the meatpacking district where passersby could don costumes and have their photo taken in front of a step-and-repeat, or they could get beauty treatments in the brand's "Vu-lin Rouge" Airstream trailer.

Armed with their smartphones and iPads, many shoppers visited Net-a-porter's set up in SoHo, where they used the special Window Shop app to scan vinyl images to purchase designer goods.

As a nod to its latest title, Brazilian Style by Armand Limnander, Assouline brought samba dancers and caipirinhas to its Plaza boutique.

New Jersey pastry shop Rispoli provided tasty lobster tails at Odin New York's event, which also included a takeoff on the Price Is Right game Plinko.

Beverly Hills brought back its four-story Ferris wheel on Rodeo Drive, which was closed to traffic as thousands of visitors meandered through the street and its dozens of participating high-end retailers.

The view from the Ferris wheel included some of about 15 food trucks that served guests on the closed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, as well as entertainment and experiences available on the shopping street.

The Coolhaus truck hit the spot during the heat wave in town, though we saw the night's longest line at the Lobsta Truck.

Following Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s welcome of the event to Los Angeles, Nicole Richie hosted the first of two runway fashion shows at the Beverly Center.

The large runway show, which took place in the mall's center court, showed off fall lines from the new luxury wing of tenants. 

The band Cults performed at the 3.1 Phillip Lim boutique on Robertson, and KCRW's Dan Wilcox served as DJ.

The Christian Louboutin boutique on Robertson offered hair services by Frederic Fekkai and lashes by Make Up Forever.

Paul Frank took over a space on Beverly Boulevard for its exuberant, on-brand event, where guests got henna and glitter tattoos, scooped up candy at the bar, and listened to beats from DJ Taryn Manning.

Westfield Topanga’s celebration of Fashion’s Night Out included fashion shows, live entertainment, a raffle, a cooking demo, and an appearance by Tori Spelling. 

Musicians Jordan Snow, Cameron Galpin, and Tubby Love performed an alfresco set on Newbury Street, which was closed off to traffic for the first time in 15 years.

Models walked a red carpet at the Stephanie's on Newbury runway show, where Mayor Thomas Menino and actresses from The Fighter sipped champagne and mingled with guests.

At Ray-Ban, silver-suited waiters passed pink martinis and Hershey's Kisses.

At the Taj Hotel's private fashion show, guests got chilled Ketel One vodka martinis.

Models greeted guests at Tiffany's Studio 54-themed bash, which promoted the brand's new '70s-inspired jewelry collection.

Hundreds of balloons were handed out in-store and to passersby at Marni, each decorated with a decal mimicking the brand's silk scarf designs from its winter 2011 collection.

Ocean Drive magazine and Neiman Marcus Coral Gables Merrick Park created an in-store pop-up shop curated by editor in chief Suzy Buckley, with a photo booth and Bordeaux beauty bar.

An arts-and-crafts activity called "Hanky Panky" gave people the chance to decorate purchased panties using lace, ribbons, and rosettes. An on-site seamstress finished sewing the design and bagged them for guests to take home.

Saks Fifth Avenue at Bal Harbour Shops set up a casino in the men's department with games like blackjack and roulette.

The high-tech PhotoMingle booth on the first floor of Saks Fifth Avenue let shoppers take a photo, write on it, and upload it to Facebook.

TopShop and TopMan's morning fashion show took place at 10 a.m. outside the Michigan Avenue Store. Staffers arrived before 6 a.m. to begin setting up the alfresco runway.

Miley Cyrus posed with Arcadia Group owner Sir Philip Green at the opening of TopShop/TopMan on Michigan Avenue, the British retailer's first Chicago location.

To promote its upcoming show The Playboy Club, NBC dispatched models in silky bunny suits, who posed with guests and passed out treats at Bloomingdale's. The show's actors Naturi Naughton and Wes Ramsey also attended the festivities.

Gilt City hosted an epicurean tasting area, where chefs from the Wit served duck two ways.

Vineyard Vines’ whale mascot greeted guests at the Wisconsin Avenue shop.

Gilt City’s fashion fortune-tellers read guest’s cards at the tented BrightestYoungThings.com lounge outside Dean & Deluca.

Cosmetic company Lush threw a roller-disco-themed party with costumed employees and volunteers, shown here at the BrightestYoungThings.com lounge’s step-and-repeat.

Shoppers who showed their receipt with any purchase from a participating Georgetown merchant got free pedicab rides in the rainy weather.

Brides created toilet paper wedding dresses at the “Get Hitched in Georgetown” competition. The evening’s winner received a Georgetown wedding package with a designer wedding gown, cake, invitations, and waterfront reception.

Dancers from the Orlando Ballet performed at the barre in the men’s department.

Neiman Marcus brought in photographer Norma Lopez Molina to photograph models in fall fashions. The photo shoot, set up at the top of the escalator on the second floor, attracted a large crowd of onlookers.