Philadelphia dressed to impress on September 6th for the first ever Fashion’s Night Out held in the city. Like many others, I adorned myself in my finest outfit and grabbed my camera prepared to shoot all the fabulous events I would encounter.
Autumn Kietponglert, one of the Philadelphia Fashion Incubator designers, gave me the opportunity to talk to her as we walked up to the incubator itself, which she allowed me inside to see what the designers were working on. It was incredible to walk in and be among all the drawings and fabrics, knowing these will be turned into beautiful pieces shown off later this week for Fashion Week. Kietponglert was very excited about Fashion’s Night Out and said it was an incredible event in the eyes of the fashion industry in Philadelphia.
Fashion’s Night Out was first created in 2009 by Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue, as a way to motivate people to buy clothes and invest in the industry even through the recession. Since then, the event has been hosted worldwide yet this was the first Fashion’s Night Out official event hosted by Philadelphia. Many stores were eager to participate in hopes of gaining clientele.
Walking down Chestnut Street and Walnut Street, all the stores were aglow and humming with the
soundof music and shoppers socializing with fashionistas and designers alike. Most boutiques extended their store hours and offered hors d’oeuvres and cocktails to shoppers. Customers were free to speak to stylists and browse special collections, yet not many people seemed to be buying much.
Although the event was new to Philadelphia, it was not as spectacular as most had expected or anticipated. Many people felt that it was missing something and was lack luster from the created hype. The event was set to last from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. but many people were finished with all the events they wished to attend by 9 p.m.
For next year, many Philadelphians hope to see more stores involved throughout center city as well as some actual fashion shows. Fashion’s Night Out did promote many designers and help them establish a clientele around the city; many would agree it served its purpose for the fashion industry here in Philadelphia, yet left many still unsatisfied.