Even heavy rain, thunder and lightning couldn’t stop D.C. fashion-lovers from heading to Georgetown Sept. 8 to shop on Fashion’s Night Out.
FNO is a global celebration of fashion that originated in New York City in 2009. Vogue Magazine, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company and the City of New York created the event to boost the fashion industry during the recession.
The event has since spread across the globe to 15 countries and within the U.S. as well. Georgetown celebrated FNO for the second time this year, but for the first time, Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda also featured Fashion’s Night Out events.
Over 90 Georgetown businesses hosted Fashion’s Night Out festivities. To entice customers into buying items, stores offered perks including refreshments, styling, discounts, makeovers, giveaways and live models in-store. There was even a flash mob in one parking lot, and a competition for engaged couples to win a wedding sponsored by more than 20 different Georgetown businesses.
To appeal to customers, Stephanie Fornash Kennedy served refreshments, hosted a raffle and offered discounts to FNO shoppers at her store Fornash, an accessory store in the Georgetown Park mall.
“It’s a fun event,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t participate. I’ve been in the business for nine years, and I love to support the community. We wouldn’t want to miss out.”
Shopper Donna Rico was excited about Fashion’s Night Out discounts, and she said she had fun finding deals on designer clothes she would not normally be unable to afford.
“(I got) a $400 sweater, and it went down to $100,” Rico said. “It’s completely different. I know no one else will have it.”
Rico, like many others at FNO, was out with a friend to indulge her love of shopping and fashion.
“It’s an addiction,” she said.
