Fashion’s Night Out: Retailers and designers will host events to attract shoppers

Fashion’s Night Out: Retailers and designers will host events to attract shoppers


In those dire days at the height of the recession in 2009, Vogue magazine came up with a shopping concept called Fashion’s Night Out in New York City to get consumers to come out, open their wallets and support the fashion industry.

While there were no special sales, it was an excuse to dress up and check out various stores that became party central with DJs, free food, champagne and mega-designers and supermodels making appearances.

The concept has since become an annual event and has now gone global.

This year Canada joins countries such as Brazil, India and Australia, to name a few, for the shop-till-you-drop party on Thursday Sept. 6.

But what benefit is there for shoppers since there are no deep discounts offered as incentives?

“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate fashion retailers and designers,” says Laurie Belzak, who works for the City of Toronto as sector development officer, and also acts as a liaison with the local fashion industry.

Major retailers like Yorkdale Shopping Centre to small independent boutiques like Rue Pigalle on Queen St. W. will be hosting a variety of events in celebration of Fashion’s Night Out.

Some of the major events will be a street party hosted by Holt Renfrew.

Bloor St. W., from Yonge to Bay Sts. will be closed for the party — it also happens to be the luxury department’s 175th anniversary — and the store will be open until 11p.m.

MasterCard has a ‘Stylicity Lounge’ at Hazelton Lanes Oval Square where one can shop and sip cocktails.

Shops in the area are hosting the Shopping Soirée, where money spent means entry into a draw for VIP gala tickets to Fashion Cares, and part of the proceeds also benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the AIDS Committee of Toronto.

The Bazaar by RAC — a popup market with over 20 designers and retailers — will take place over at the Burroughs Building at Queen St. W. and Bathurst St. where DJs will spin and cocktails will also be served.

But amidst all the revelry, one has to wonder if anyone will put down their cocktail long enough to try something on or make a purchase?

Belzak is confident there will be shopping . “How can it fail? There is so much excitement online surrounding it already,” she says, adding there will already be huge amounts of people out for the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival.

“That’s a tremendous and powerful combination,” she says.

In New York, the event, which also coincides with the beginning of New York Fashion Week, draws lengthy lines of people. But questions and criticisms on its relevance have been raised.

“It’s hugely successful for us,” says Fiona Zeman, a spokesperson for the New York Ted Baker London stores — which featured a young hip band playing in their Meatpacking District store at the event last year. “There is a huge amount of foot traffic.”

According to Zeman, the event is not sales driven. “That’s not the focus of the evening, it’s an innovative branding vehicle.” Zeman says the company uses the event to raise visibility of its new stores, like the 5th Ave. store that will host a party at this year’s event.

But it was the no-discounting aspect of the evening that drew Comrags designers Judy Cornish and Joyce Gunhouse to participate in FNO in Toronto. “We hate everything to be about discounting,” says Cornish.

The designers will host an editor from Plaid, a hipster art and fashion magazine, in their Dundas St. W. store to offer styling advice to customers that evening.

As for any hopes that this event will be a blockbuster in terms of sales, the duo is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“We think it might draw a younger and different crowd than would normally visit the store,” she says. “We’re more interested in seeing how things will go on this first Fashion’s Night Out.”