Fashion's Night Out—a public promotion designed to galvanize consumer spending—now has hundreds of participating retailers throughout New York, organizers revealed this morning. Created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, the City of New York, and Vogue, the September 10 event involves stores such as Macy's, Links of London, and Giorgio Armani staying open late and providing discounts, music, performances, and activities for shoppers. As much as 40 percent of the proceeds from the citywide event will benefit the September 11 Memorial & Museum, and clothing donated during the evening will be collected by the New York City AIDS Fund and distributed to HIV/AIDS organizations.
Of the many musical, athletic, and culinary activities happening during this kickoff to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the biggest will be the one hosted by Vogue's Anna Wintour, designer Michael Kors, and Macy's chairman and president Terry Lundgren at the Macy's on Queens Boulevard in Queens. The location will play host to a Vogue boutique, a show by the cast of Hair, and a surprise celebrity guest, according to WWD. Other notable events around town include salsa lessons at Barneys New York, a performance by reggae rapper Matisyahu at the Kenneth Cole shop in Rockefeller Center, and a Padma Lakshmi-judged cook-off between Peter Som, Cynthia Rowley, and other designers at Bergdorf Goodman.
