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Most City Talk readers probably already know that last week’s Savannah’s Fashion Night grew out of Fashion’s Night Out, the Vogue-spearheaded worldwide effort that included more than 500 cities at its peak.
Fashion’s Night Out was widely reported to be “on hiatus” beginning in 2013, but there is no convincing sign the event will be relaunched.
Fortunately, Savannah was among the cities where retailers, city governments, civic organizations, individual volunteers and a host of other groups and individuals banded together to organize a similar event on the first Thursday of September.
Savannah’s Fashion Night requires a massive amount of planning, much of which was handled by corporate folks when the event was under the umbrella of Fashion’s Night Out.
So kudos to all those who are driven to keep Savannah’s Fashion Night going. Some are doing really hard work for little clear return.
I arrived at Broughton Street close to the start, and I was immediately struck by the energy and excitement among those in attendance.
And then it rained. Not long, not all that hard, but certainly enough to impact some plans for the evening.
But the crowds were really strong all night — heavier and steadier than last year.
More retailers on Broughton stayed open, and organizers had lined up additional activity in the street — like the band Matrimony’s glorious performance in the VIP tent and Art Rise’s live drawing and painting.
Of course, there was also excitement about the runway shows at either end of Broughton and about the deals and promotions in the stores.
When you consider the reasons for Savannah’s Fashion Night’s success, it’s worth keeping in mind that SCAD’s fall quarter hasn’t even started and the city isn’t exactly brimming with tourists on the Thursday after Labor Day.
The big crowd was comprised of local folks — an impressive cross-section of the city as a whole. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other day of the year, with the possible exception of the key dates for Christmas shopping, when so many year-round residents are shopping on Broughton Street.
And not just shopping. Throughout the evening and in the days since, I’ve heard attendees comment on the simple pleasure of strolling through a pedestrian-only shopping district
Several readers and friends think we should remove cars completely from some stretch of Broughton, and I expect that the notion will be seriously considered at some point in the future.
For now, wouldn’t it be great if more events throughout the year similarly opened Broughton to so much pedestrian activity and brought so much attention to hardworking retailers who have driven the street’s resurgence over the last 15 years?
Head to Spotted for photos from Savannah's Fashion Night.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.
