On Sept. 8, Fashion’s Night Out held center stage as it was celebrated from New York to Milan. This event was created three years ago to boost fashion sales during the recession. By making ordinary shoppers feel like celebrities, high-end designers can increase sales and gain new customers. Celebrities such as Adriana Lima, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and designers such as Marc Jacobs attended Fashion’s Night Outs around the world. The cast of the hit TV series Glee did a special music video performing David Bowie’s Fashion for FNO. Around the globe, FNO branded t-shirts and sold merchandise to help raise profits for the New York City AIDS fund.
Last Thursday, FNO came to the International Plaza. “International Plaza was Tampa Bay’s first official shopping center host,” said Nina Mahoney, Marketing and Sponsorship Director at International Plaza. In the six-month preparation time, over half of the 200 stores and restaurants participated directly in this event. Along with planning the event itself, contacting outside partners such as the Florida Orchestra, the Morean Arts Center and the St. Petersburg Times was a high priority. There were also enough red carpets, photographers, photo booths and DJ’s to keep the party going strong and make the shoppers feel like they were the Nicki Minaj’s and Marc Jacobs’s of Tampa.
All of Mahoney’s and the International Plaza’s preparations were a success. Every store involved had promotions to attract the crowds. Tiffany & Co. had free jewelry cleaning on any of their pieces while Build-a-Bear had a special $5 off promotion. BCBG Max Azria, Gucci, L’Occitane, Louis Vuitton and other stores provided cocktails, hors d’oeurves and freebies while supplies lasted. Some stores actively participated in FNO by having models show off their clothing. Chelsea Oliver and Stephanie Harrison modeled the Betsey Johnson clothing and had their hair done by Toni & Guy Hairdressing. “There are so many people here!” said Oliver. “I wasn’t expecting this many people to come out and shop,” said Harrison.
Swarovski Crystal had one of the most unique promotions. Swarovski makes everything from jewelry and figurines to crystal studded home accessories and iPhone cases. Rings, bracelets, champagne glasses and their new “Hello Kitty” line, featuring everything from jewelry to Swarovski crystal embedded purses, were glittering on display. Swarovski was one of the stores that had special giveaways and food for shoppers. Scrumptious red velvet cupcakes and shimmering crystal body tattoos drew a sizable crowd. Melissa S., a Swarovski employee, said that at one point they had so many people in the store, there was a line out the door waiting to come in.
One of the outside partners there was the Florida Orchestra. The orchestra had various groups play mini-concerts. A solo violinist and as a steel drum group jammed out by the entrance of Nordstrom’s. A string quartet was set up by the elevators where the luxury cars were on display. They played popular ‘80s renditions such as “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.
Sarah Shellman, one of the violinists, said they had been preparing for this event over the summer. Shellman has been playing with the Florida Orchestra since 2002. “We were asked to stick to an ‘80s theme, so I found arrangements meeting the theme,” said Shellman. The quartet was never alone. There was always a group of people resting their legs and listening to the music. Megan Cheever, Tampa, listened to the orchestra for a while. “I really enjoyed the quartet from the Florida Orchastra playing pop tunes,” said Cheever, “It was different.”
Another unique event that went on at the International Mall’s FNO was the Morean Arts Center venue. The event paid tribute to the work of Dale Chihuly, one of the Morean Arts Center’s many collections.
Patrons carried painted shoes while walking around the mall. One of the volunteers, Emily Badzul, a sophomore at the University of South Florida, was holding her own shoes.
“You can design the pair of shoes anyway you want,” she said. Many people standing at the venue were splattering their new shoes with paint. “Dale Chihuly is actually the inspiration for this idea,” said Wayne Atherholt, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Morean Arts Center. Atherholt said, “Chihuly uses acrylics when designing his glass ideas on paper and the paint would go on his shoes when doing it.” To literally live in this artist’s shoes for the day, all the participant had to do was bring a pair of shoes they bought that night and they could decorate it with the paint that was there. Two Winter Haven residents, Janice C. and her daughter Michelle also created their own pair of shoes. While Janice had flats, her daughter had pumps from Forever 21. “We both had a fabulous time,” said Janice, “the shoe painting was lots of fun!”
The party didn’t stop when the doors closed, however. It continued on into the wee hours of the morning around the world. At the International Plaza, the restaurants of Bay Street were the after party. There was live music at the Blue Martini, half-priced appetizers at Champp’s and promotions everywhere else. Hopefully, with FNO being such a huge success last week, there will be more of the high-fashion entertainment to come for the Tampa area.
Laurel Sanchez can be reached at lsanchez@spartans.ut.edu.
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