A Campus In Style: NYC's 2013 Fashion Night Out canceled

Fashion’s Night Out in the US will go on hiatus in 2013 with the celebrity appearances and late-night shopping absent in America for at least another year.

Fashion’s Night Out was created in response to the economic recession that hit New York City hard in 2009. Through fashion, this planned event was introduced to help boost the city’s struggling economy in one of its most famous markets. One of the other main goals of the event was to raise money for the NYC AIDS Fund.

After initial success, this event was renewed for the next three years. Up to this point, the success of Fashion’s Night Out had spread from New York City across the country and across the globe. This event has been annually sponsored by Vogue, the Fashion Designers of America and NYC & Co. Over the years, designers and stores have hosted miniature parties and gatherings to lure in shoppers with free drinks, music and sales. The occasional celebrity sighting was inevitable, and that is also a key component in drawing in crowds to each individual store. This inclusive night gave shoppers and city goers a chance to socialize and preview upcoming collections from the individual designers and stores.

In recent history, retailers have found it hard to allocate resources during this night at the beginning of New York’s Fashion Week. Budget issues have caused problems with designers and companies actually making a profit from the money that goes into supporting a citywide party. Because this night was first implemented during times of a struggling economy, an event like this made sense to try and bring customers back in. Since then, designers have found more stable business and aren’t seeing as many financial benefits from Fashion’s Night Out.

The event was never looked at as being a huge moneymaker, with real success coming from the engagement and attention to the importance of retail in New York City. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg approved of the event, saying in interviews that Fashion’s Night Out brought energy and optimism to the city’s retailers who use their creativity to benefit New York City.

With the event cancelled, it will be up to individual retailers to decide how to engage shoppers and the public during New York’s fashion week. Hopefully the charitable contributions won’t get put on hiatus as well, as Fashion’s Night Out has raised over one million dollars for the NYC AIDS Fund since 2009.