Both are 1) open late, 2) extremely well-connected, 3) rife with celebrity appearances, and 4) swarming with enthusiastic visitors, making it 5) nearly impossible to filter out the noise… but at the same time, 6) neither has turned out to be the instant moneymaker everyone thought they would be.This we suspected already the night of the big party, with crowds, performances, and fancy displays making it difficult to actually shop for clothes. As it turns out, we're not the only ones who felt this way: Barneys creative director Simon Doonan, admits that although "just from an energy point of view it was fabulous," the much-heralded evening of shopping was "not incredible from a business point of view." In the same interview, Doonan refused to say whether Barneys lost money on the night, but acknowledged that the event "was not inexpensive."
Of course, as with any promotional stunt, the question is whether Fashion's Night Out can have an impact long-term, perhaps getting people back in the mood for shopping so they'll return another time and actually buy things. Measuring that, however, is best left to posterity.
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9/16/09: Comments NYC gossip blog Gawker on the situation:
The problem isn't that people don't like shopping, it's that they have no [unprintable term] money!
Well put indeed.
Photo via The Cut
