As if the fashion world would be caught dead participating in anything so gauche as to call itself TARP.
Rocked by the recession and with no bureaucratic bailout in sight, the fashion industry has taken matters into its own highly creative hands and tomorrow presents Fashion’s Night Out — a one-night-only, five-borough retail extravaganza designed to get shoppers (that’s you) back into stores.
It’s “Hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” — only with Anna Wintour as Andy Hardy, backed by those crazy kids at Vogue and NYC & Co., the city’s official promoter. And, oh yeah, retailers, designers, manufacturers and media are pitching in, too.
The result? Tomorrow, no less than 700 stores citywide will stay open till 11 p.m., offering — along with fall fashion — entertainment, celebrity and designer appearances, gifts with purchases and cocktails. (And don’t worry if you’ll be overseas — cities like London, Paris, Bombay, Rio and Madrid are doing it, too.)
“These events are not going to be like your mother’s in-store wine-and-cheese parties,” says Steven Kolb, executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which is helping with the night.
He’s not kidding: “Anna Wintour and Michael Kors will kick the evening off in Queens, Bleecker Street is being taken over by Teen Vogue, there are double-decker buses that will take a tour of retailers, Oscar de la Renta is going to sing in his store.”
If you’re having a hard time getting it, think First Night meets Lollapalooza for shopping. If your head still hurts, remember: This idea was born in France.
That’s where Wintour was last March (taking in the ready-to-wear!) when, Kolb tells us, at a meeting of the international editions of Vogue, she was inspired by Paris’ Nuit Blanche, an annual festival in which museums stay open late and the entire city celebrates art and culture.
Then Wintour shared her idea.
“I had drinks with Anna at the Ritz in Paris in March,” CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg recalls, “and we discussed creating something that could start Fashion Week. A month later, she and I went to Gracie Mansion for breakfast. Over scones, the mayor agreed to support Fashion’s Night Out, but only if all the boroughs were involved.”
Before you roll your eyes at a pity party for fashionistas, it’s worth noting that the fashion industry, which includes designers, retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, employs more than 175,000 people in New York City, making it the second-largest sector behind finance. According to NYC & Co., it generates $10 billion in total wages.
“It’s been doom and gloom for the stores, the salespeople, the pattern makers in the garment room and even the delivery people,” the CFDA’s Kolb explains. “Something positive needs to be brought to retail — exciting events to bring people back into the stores. And when you buy something, the stimulus will not trickle down: The salesperson who sold it to you will benefit from it.”
And if altruism doesn’t do it for you, try this: The bargains that almost every store has been offering since November will not last.
Because of the economy, “Everybody quickly understood that it had to be done. There was too much product in the system,” explains Saks Fifth Avenue CEO Steve Sadove. “You won’t see the same thing this season because inventories are back in line.”
In other words, buy now — or cry later.