Fashion's Night Out Returns To New York City In 2010

NEW YORK, New York -- "Fashion's Night Out" will return.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and NYC & Company--the city's marketing, tourism and partnerships organization--today announced the return of Fashion's Night Out (FNO) on Sept. 9, 2010.

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Coming off the successful first-ever Fashion's Night Out for the city, next year's event will look to continue to support the fashion and retail industries across the five boroughs of New York City.

A key focus for 2010 will be to attract new participants in addition to the more than 800 stores that took part in th2 2009 event and to provide a boost to the overall economy.

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Next year's event will again be marked by events and promotions across city stores featuring some of the fashion and retail industries top designers and leaders.

"The numbers are in, and it's clear that Fashion's Night Out was a tremendous success," Bloomberg said.

Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour recalls the moment she knew the event had gone off without a hitch.

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"It was only fifteen minutes after the event began and we were getting reports about lines around the block at stores throughout the city," Wintour said. "It was wonderful to see people embrace this initiative, and we are thrilled that they wish it to return."

Fashion's Night Out successfully raised awareness for fashion and helped build consumer confidence--with thousands of people joining the festivities at stores including Barneys New York, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Payless ShoeSource.

An independent study conducted by ShopperTrak, estimated a 50 percent increase in retail foot traffic and NYC & Company's own post-event survey of 1,300 consumers reported 75 percent purchased merchandise during FNO.

The NYC & Company survey also reported that two-thirds of consumers questioned visited stores they had never been to before and 61 percent visited neighborhoods outside of their work and residential areas.

Stores and consumers interested in receiving information are encouraged to register their information at fashionsnightout.com and become fans of the FNO Facebook page.

After the programs success this past year, plans are being made to stage FNO once again in places such as London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Madrid, Moscow, Athens, Taipei, Tokyo, Beijing, Sao Paolo and New Delhi.

"The international Vogues want to make good things happen for our readers and for the fashion and retail industries," commented Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman of Cond Nast International. "Fashion's Night Out was highly successful, generating more store traffic and higher sales, and it was a lot of fun too. We are proud to be leading the effort again."

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