Fashion’s Night Out, conceived and launched in New York last year by Editrix in Chief Anna Wintour, is a sometimes-icy industry’s attempt to reconnect with consumers. The hope is that the public will open their hearts (and wallets) to the fashion industry when plied with cheap fizz, special offers and celebrity appearances. Last year, following a massive media blitz, events were held across stores in New York that saw everything from massive discounts to bartending Olsen twins. Despite a lackluster increase in sales from the evening, the event has now gone global, with Nights Out being held everywhere from Beijing to Mumbai. Even Sydney has been blessed with a Fashion’s Night Out, being helmed by Vogue Australia Editor Kirstie Clements.
We thought we’d see how our local version, taking place tonight, compares with New York’s, which will happen tomorrow evening, across several key areas:
PARTICIPATING OUTLETS:
New York has around 950 events scheduled for the evening.
Sydney has 55 designers taking part in the event and 450 participating stores. Given the relative sizes of Sydney and New York’s industries, this is pretty impressive.
MEDIA COVERAGE:
If a blog is based in America and has anything to do with fashion, there is an excellent chance it’s become a shrine to Fashion’s Night Out. In addition to this, the evening’s key runway show will be live streamed on CBS, where a documentary about the buildup to the event will also be airing.
As for Sydney’s event… well, err, we’re writing about it?
STAR POWER:
New York’s event is a veritable cornucopia of stylish celebrities, not least of all because Wintour, along with her Editor At Large Andre Leon Talley, have become famous in their own rights. Others along for the ride include a huge swathe of supermodels, from Alessandra Ambrosio to Sasha Pivovarova, reality TV stars of all shapes and sizes (and that’s just Snooki and Rachel Zoe), and, again, the Olsens.
Sydney has Megan Gale and Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore, and, as if you needed anyone else, there will apparently be other celebrities so famous, Vogue couldn’t even bare to name them on its page.
THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR HAWKING:
Both the Mulleavy sisters (Rodarte) and Alexander Wang will be selling their clothes from the boots of classic convertibles in New York, thanks to Opening Ceremony’s trunk sale.
In Sydney, Jaguar is a major sponsor, so local gems like Ellery and Bassike will be falling off the back of some very expensive trucks for prices that are almost a steal.
‘OMG’ FACTOR:
Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of Balenciaga, is popping in to New York to visit the label’s meatpacking-district flagship boutique. This is a rare event for the designer, who will be in town to host the U.S. debut of the photo exhibition Cindy Sherman: Untitled (Balenciaga). Model, songstress and Jack White wifey Karen Elson will also be performing at the store.
Sydney does not have that.
OVERALL WINNER: Anna Wintour, but was there ever any question of that?