Fashion's Night Out Succeeds

Last week's celebrity hijinks at Fashion's Night Out—a late-night shopping event in cities across the world that was the brainchild of Vogue editor Anna Wintour—appear to have worked. WWD reports that the Sept. 10 event galvanized a 3.4 percent nationwide traffic increase at apparel and accessories stories, with a nearly 50 percent rise in Manhattan. That the four prior Thursdays saw an average decline of 10.5 percent compared to 2008 makes the gains even more impressive. As Macy's chairman Terry Lundgren put it, "Hopefully the publicity will resonate throughout the country. Without consumption [...] the U.S. economy will not work." It remains to be seen whether the event will help boost sales throughout the fall season.