pep rallies

Mayor Bloomberg Teams Up With Vogue for Fashion’s Night Out

With Vera Wang and Anna Wintour by his side, Mayor Bloomberg held a pep rally for the fashion industry today, announcing that on September 10, 2009 — the first night of spring fashion week — over 100 stores in all five boroughs will stay open until 11 p.m. and host in-store events. Bloomberg said he was pleased to see fashion journalists at the City Hall press conference (and he seemed it), adding that he sometimes prefers them to political press. Flattery will get you everywhere with the fashion press, Mr. Mayor.

“Fashion is vital to New York’s economy,” Bloomberg said, adding that more than 800 fashion companies are located in New York City — double that of Paris, the closest competitor — and that the industry generates $10 billion per year in New York. It also “does a fantastic job projecting an exciting and attractive image of New York City to the world,” he added. Wintour, sans sunglasses, kept mum and smiled at the floor, donning a turquoise cardigan with elbow pads. She was joined by Jason Wu and Tommy Hilfiger, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, and other industry insiders. Vera Wang, dressed in all black, spoke after the mayor: “Fashion is an outlet for creativity and self-expression. New York City inspires designers of all ilk — not just Calvin Klein and Carolina Herrera, but the young seamstress in Williamsburg.”

Fashion’s Night Out will coordinate promotional T-shirts that benefit a 9/11 memorial (the event takes place on 9/10, after all) and drop-off locations for clothes to benefit HIV/AIDS organizations. Sponsored by NYC & Company, Vogue, and CFDA, the event already has Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, and the Gap lined up. After the press conference, the fashion set hightailed it out of there before the mayor held a presser on swine flu.

Mayor Bloomberg Teams Up With Vogue for Fashion’s Night Out