…or any Canadian city, for that matter. Officially, anyway. For those who don’t know, Fashion’s Night Out (FNO), which started in New York City by Vogue in 2009, has taken the United States and the world by storm. Several countries, including the UK, Australia, Spain and Taiwan take part. Stores offer discounts or specials to shoppers and many stores also host performances by various musicians. It all sounds very interesting and fun. Perhaps even encourages people to go out and shop. However, as of yet, NO CANADIAN CITY is taking part in this. This is probably because we don’t have a Vogue magazine in this country, but the retailer participation rules section on the US site includes Canada, which means that we could technically participate. Hey, maybe even allow the name to be used under licence by another publication (can this be done?).
Fashion’s Night Out PSA from 2009
FNO usually takes place on the Thursday after Labour Day – opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Now that TIFF has made its home on King Street, Yorkville has become quieter during this time of year. Not that it’s completely quiet right now – people still come to the area – but what could bring the fun back is something like FNO, especially for the shops (I find that sometimes, stores get a bit quiet after 5 pm compared to say, the Eaton Centre). And if stores can secure appearances by celebrities, all the better. And of course, FNO doesn’t only have to be about Yorkville. Include the Eaton Centre, Yorkdale and even Shops at Don Mills and Bayview Village. Heck, maybe the TTC could participate, offering discounts to people going from shopping district to shopping district (after all, the malls listed above, with the exception of Shops at Don Mills, is attached to or close to a subway stop). It’s only good for the city and its services (e.g. encouraging public transportation rather than relying on cars). Other Canadian cities can do something similar.
I realize that Toronto (and other Canadian cities) host other shop crawls at different times of the year, but to have one huge one, something that is internationally known might attract even more people to come. Perhaps next year?
