The Global Shopping Celebration: Fashion’s Night Out Sept. 10th

Pictured: New York Discounter Daffy’s Invitation to Fashion’s Night Out

Attention bargain shoppers, there are worldwide specials about to take place. This is no “blue light” special but rather a haute show down. In just 48 hours the Mission Impossible (aka Fashion’s Night Out ) to help stimulate the fashion economy is about to begin. This is serious business as retailers in New York, London, Paris, Mumbai, Beijing and Milan pare down their prices to drive traffic to their shops. There will be champagne, beauty treatments and yes, discounted clothing and accessories. The event even has it’s own T-Shirt like a rock band on tour. My in-box is teaming with notes about the parties, the specials and notes from readers. I’ve heard from Canadians who are going to make the trek to New York City to check out the bargains and have some fun. If you have the mad money, it sounds like the ultimate girlfriend’s getaway. Will this festival of shopping help? I don’t know, but it certainly can’t hurt and I applaud the retailers, designers and Vogue for coming up with this innovative idea. Studies show that women are still shopping despite the economic slowdown. Nothing wrong with a little fashion band-aid on the wounds of the Recession. After all, there was Live Aid. And now, we have Vogue-aid for all the fashionistas going recessionista. I keep envisioning the single “We are the Fashion World, we’ll provide a better deal for you to start spending” sung by a chorus of supermodels and Vogue staffers.

Following is a little run down of what’s on the way and some of the deals.

In my hometown of Los Angeles trendy shops on Robertson, Beverly Hills stores and the hip n’trendy Fred Segal of Santa Monica will be participating. Click here to see the list of events from the LA Times. Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills will feature a jazz band, runway shows, special gifts with purchase, and a trend presentation at 7 p.m. with Lisa Love, West Coast editor for Vogue. I already bought my Fashion Night Out T-Shirt from this store to support the industry.

In London, check website F. Tape’s rundown of the designer deals. It’s dizzying. It makes me thirsty for a big gin and tonic. The thought of hoping a Virgin Atlantic flight tomorrow has crossed my mind. 🙂 Anya Hindmarch, Asprey, Brown’s, Burberry, Chanel, H&M (promoting the upcoming Jimmy Choo collection) , Karen Millen, Liberty, Harvey Nics and Selfridge’s will all be rolling out the Red Carpet.

In New York, there will be parties, pop-up stores, Anna Wintour at Macy’s Queens, events at Designers’ stores and major retailers. Click here to see the full listing. Participants include some of my favorites: Diane Von Furstenberg, Norma Kamali, Donna Karan, BEHNAZ SARAFPOUR, CAROLINA HERRERA, NANETTE LEPORE, ST. JOHN, STELLA MCCARTNEY, Rachel Roy and many more. In New York, there will also be a clothing drive where you can donate old clothing items to others before you buy new. I really like the idea of giving before you get.

Donna Karan will be part of 3 special events in New York.

Donna Karan Collection, 819 Madison Avenue, between 68th & 69th,
6-8pm, Join designer Donna Karan for a live in-store performance with famed rock jazz pianist ERIC LEWIS, AKA Elew @ 6:30pm.
*Extended shopping hours until 9pm

DKNY – (SAVE THE RUNWAY EVENT WITH COCO ROCHA),655 Madison Avenue at 60th Street 9-11PM
DKNY invites you to help “SAVE THE RUNWAY” and benefit the National September 11 Memorial Museum

DKNY (Hosted by KAROLINA KURKOVA and DIVALYSSCIOUS MOMS)
655 Madison Avenue at 60th Street, 2nd Floor,7-9PM
DKNY, DIVALYSSCIOUS MOMS & THE NEW YORK OBSERVER

Other countries participating in the festivities include: India, France, Greece, Spain, Russia, Italy, China, Japan, Tawain and Brazil. It truly is a United Nations of Fashion.

What do you think readers? Is the lure of the discounts and the freebies enough to make you want to put your shop on in the midst of the Recession? There are many cities participating in Fashion’s Night Out. To see if your city has events, just Google Fashion’s Night Out + the name of your city.

In there is a Loehmann’s or Neiman Marcus in your city, check their celebrations:

Fashion’s Night Out with Loehmann’s!

The Loehmann’s celebration will feature Lambertson Truex collection on sale at their US stores : Chelsea, Upper West Side, White Plains, Chevy Chase, Aventura, Beverly Hills and San Francisco.

Check the Neiman Marcus website for their events around the US.

Pictured: Check for events at your local Neiman’s in the US and enter their shopping spree!