Fashion’s Night Out, the brain child of U.S. Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, celebrated its third year on Thursday in more than 100 cities and 17 countries.
While there were a number of must-see FNO events in New York City, fashionistas and shopaholics only had five hours to get around to everything.
That’s where planning comes in! Using the Fashion’s Night Out NYC iPhone app, I marked a number of “favorite” spots to stop by on my FNO journey. From there, I filled in the gaps as I traveled from store to store. I documented the night using my smartphone – after all, who wants to carry around a huge camera all night long?
Kicking the evening off, I attended indie department store Opening Ceremony’s carnival-themed event at Ace Hotel, where Miss Piggy (yes, that’s right) unveiled her new collection, Muppets x Opening Ceremony. Meanwhile, Opening Ceremony announced this year’s country of focus for its store: Argentina.
From there, I headed to the big department stores – my experience at the first FNO event in 2009 taught me that they rock at throwing FNO parties. Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue had the best offerings this year. The canine fashion show at Bergdorf’s was a blast, and I enjoyed testing out Jo Malone’s latest cologne, Wild Bluebell, at Saks.
I also stopped by Harry Winston (where models were decked out in fairytale wedding gowns and beautiful jewels), Diesel (where an Afrobeat band called Tchaka was performing on the sidewalk and Nylon magazine was interviewing up-and-coming bands), Sephora (where Solange Knowles was DJing), Rockefeller Center (where models were posing in the promenade) and Prada (where I endulged in unlimited free champagne).
The highlight of the night was serendipitously attending a Ne-Yo concert at Saks, which he was hosting in celebration of his hat collection’s launch. I saw a group of girls running up the escalator and decided to follow. To my surprise, Ne-Yo walked on stage within seconds of my arrival and started singing “I Just Can’t Stop.” Only in New York.
Check out the pictures below for a look at my adventure during Fashion’s Night Out NYC 2011, and share your experiences in the comments below! What was your favorite event of the evening?
Images courtesy of Erica Swallow
