NYC Media's Kela Walker was at the FNO: The Show runway kickoff on Tuesday and was able to capture the grandeur that this year's event was serving up:
My best friend and I met up in the Meatpacking District to begin our adventure. First stop was the Tracy Reese boutique where they were hosting a dance-off. Champagne and coconut water flowed as guests were invited to dance in the windows. Sally Hansen reps were on hand to provide manicures to those willing to wait 30 minutes for their turn.
The front window of the Tracy Reese boutique
Sally Hansen manicures at Tracy Reese
Guests dancing in the windows at Tracy Reese (the woman on the left is pregnant!)
Our next stop was Catherine Malandrino, where yummy cocktails were provided by Moet & Chandon and you could get your hair touched up after braving the line to get in (which I actually appreciated because last year the store was packed to the gills.) My BFF and I entered a contest to win a $1,000 Gift Card and I purchased an "I'm Power" FFAWN tunic that I cannot wait to wear. Everyone was given an exclusive Malandrino FNO eco tote as they left the store.
The crowd waiting to get into Catherine Malandrino
The Catherine Malandrino FNO eco-tote
There were several booths set-up throughout the Meatpacking District, including an American Express Zync Zone in partnership with Gilt and a Maybelline beauty lounge for makeover and professional photos. Photography seemed to be the theme of the night as just about every store was offering photos from professional (sometimes famous) photographers for FNO.
The Maybelline beauty lounge where, surprisingly, no one was lounging
An ice sculpture dispensing (non-alcoholic) shots of Votre Vu
After braving the cobblestones, we headed to the clear party of the evening at the DVF store. Here DVF and Refinery 29 partnered to present an HP experience lounge, allowing guests to interact with new HP products, view trending FNO content online and have their photos taken and printed on the spot. The music was bumpin' and newly opened restaurant MPD (73 Gansevort Street) provided cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres.
The line waiting to get into the DVF party
The hot pink leopard print dress my BFF and I obsessed over
Guests interacting with the touch screens in the HP experience lounge
The beautiful boys serving MPD cocktails at DVF
We witnessed Diane Von Furstenberg manning the DJ booth at her party (she played Prince!) while Bravo TV's Andy Cohen looked on. Apologies my lovelies as I was unable to get pictures thanks to the hordes that swarmed them before I could get my camera out.
The amazingly gorgeous window of Alexander McQueen
After stops in Jeffrey New York, Jean Shop and Hugo Boss, we received text and tweet reports of massive crowds on 5th Avenue and the extremely long line at Bergdorfs. Not willing to battle the fashion masses, we decided to grab dinner at Pastis instead of heading uptown where we were surprisingly seated immediately ... score! Leaving dinner we ran into THE Anna Wintour, keeping balance on the cobblestones as she headed to her next appearance.
I had so much fun this year and seriously hope FNO becomes an ever present tradition for Fashion Week. I guess we'll find out once stores tally their register receipts for last night. I know I did my part!
Awesome, wish I was there in NY! Thanks for sharing :)
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