Kate Hudson, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors and Anna Wintour made Queens the center of the fashion world for a few hours on Thursday, September 10.
The celebrities, style icons, designers, retailers, the cast of the Broadway musical “Hair” and Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the Macy’s at the Queens Center Mall for the official kick-off of Fashion Week with the citywide Fashion’s Night Out initiative aimed to boost the retail industry and boost local economies.
“We wanted to start in Queens to demonstrate that [fashion] is beyond Manhattan,” said Macy’s Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren. “Fashion’s Night Out is about celebration. It’s about bringing the entire industry together, all stores from the smallest boutiques to the largest department store in the world.”
A social component to the evening included the sale of Fashion Night Out T-shirts, of which 40 percent of the proceeds would benefit the creation of the National September 11th Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center.
The first 50 people that purchased the T-shirt had the opportunity to get them autographed by American designer Kors, also a judge on the television program “Project Runway” and Vogue magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Wintour, who the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” is rumored to be based on.
One of the lucky 50 shoppers, 18-year-old Rose Dioniso from Elmhurst, said she came because she really wanted to see Kors and thinks it’s great the fashion icons came to Queens.
“Not a lot of people know that Queens is out here or that the mall is even here. All of these people wouldn’t be here unless it was for all of these events that are happening,” said Dioniso pointing to the people trying to catch a glimpse of the celebrities. “I think it’s great.”
In addition to the star-studded affair in the Macy’s, the Queens Center Mall also had events dispersed throughout the complex.
MTV reality stars Angela and Vanessa Simmons of Run’s House, and co-creators of the Pastry Brand signed autographs at Underground Station. Other stores offered beauty makeovers and discounts.
“Retailers have really embraced this event,” said Dawn Simon, senior marketing manager at the Queens Center Mall. “This was a great opportunity to drive traffic and sales in a non-traditional way.”
The retail industry in New York City, which supports 175,000 jobs and $10 billion in wages, slid into a slump with the economic crisis which saw consumers tightening their purse strings.
But the scores of people at Macy’s and Queens Center Mall that evening appeared to prove that fashion does still matter.
“It’s the realization that fashion is everywhere in our lives,” said Glendale resident Diane Cusimano, who’s 20-year-old daughter taught her everything she knows about fashion. “I now have a huge respect for the fashion industry.”
