
"A quick guide to all the musical performances planned for Fashion’s Night Out.
On September 10, the city of New York will rock. From the spacious sidewalks of upper Fifth to the cobblestones of Bond Street to the tree-lined streets of Brooklyn, every kind of music imaginable—house, hip-hop, rap, Latin, opera, jazz, and show tunes—will be spilling out of the 700-plus stores that have signed up to participate in this monumental evening, which is now the single largest shopping event in NYC history. Herewith, a guide to hitting the high notes:
Let’s start on Madison Avenue. At Donna Karan’s flagship store, located at 819, we have rock-jazz pianist Eric Lewis (ELEW)—who played during her fall 2009 runway show—performing live while shoppers sift through Karan’s jersey shirts and pencil skirts. Across the street at 806, Giuseppe Zanotti will be guest-deejaying house music at his flagship among his S&M-inspired studded heels. At 772, Oscar de la Renta himself will serenade his top clients and friends with opera songs. Over on Fifth Avenue, Juan Carlos Obando will be giving salsa lessons at Bergdorf Goodman while Zac Posen paints in the store windows. Also at Bergdorf’s? Annie Leibovitz and Steven Klein exhibit their photographs on the third floor while deejays Andrew Andrew, Johnny Dynell, and Jon Jon Battle spin. Isaac Mizrahi will stop by at nine to talk to shoppers, accompanied by the Ben Waltzer trio (piano, bass, drums).
A few blocks down the way, kate spade new york will be offering cha-cha lessons and serving up Havana highballs on the sidewalk (make sure to get a limited-edition Fashion’s Night Out tote). Over on Lexington at Bloomingdale’s, indie sensation Howie Day will be singing his “Collide” (while shoppers swoon, no doubt), and jazz-quartet tunes will emanate from the Carolee counter.
Continuing on downtown to SoHo, Pharrell Williams will be behind the cash register at his Billionaire Boys Club & Ice Cream shop (don’t you have to grin picturing this visual?) and debuting a few of his new songs. At the Adidas store on Wooster, a live deejay will spin while shoppers check out the fall line and have their sneakers customized by a local artist. Over on Bleecker Street at Juicy Couture, there will be a So-Cal party, and FNOers can play with surf simulators and skateboards while feasting on enchiladas and margaritas while a surprise musical guest and our own Hamish Bowles (more on this in The Hamishphere) keep the crowd entertained. SO-CAL? So cool.
At the Billy Reid store at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre on Bond Street, the Greg Spaidlin outfit will perform their bluesy brand of acoustic-guitar Southern rock (perfect for Billy’s down-home designs) while shoppers sip Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Woodford Reserve. We are told that Billy Reid himself may even join in for good measure to cap off the performance. And that’s just a sampling.
Who ever thought a night of shopping could sound so good?"
—Genevieve Bahrenburg
vogue.com