if you live in london, new york, sydney, seoul, miami, madrid, or a whole host of other cities across the globe, you may have noticed that your town was taken over by incredibly well-dressed ladies (and gentlemen) last night, running in and out of designer stores, sipping champagne, enjoying manis and makeovers and clutching goodie bags.

vogue fashion’s night out is basically christmas day for stylish types: a global annual event where all the biggest stores throw open their doors after hours, welcoming one and all with the promise of booze, discounts, special goodies, entertainment and general merriment. some of the most in-demand designers throw invite-only parties but the majority is a free-for-all. sarah and i mapped out our plan of attack, starting out early at covent garden, where the chanel beauty and opening ceremony pop-ups had opened their doors.

cute chanel (human-manned) vending machines greeted us in the piazza, dispensing the new line of exclusive les vernis nail colours by peter philips and their matching rouge allure velvet lipsticks. inside the store, nail artist extraordinaire sophy robson was doing manicures. (check out next week’s tuesday talons post to see sophy work her magic on sarah’s hands!) next we stopped by opening ceremony, which we heard was one of the top parties of the night, and we weren’t disappointed.

a korean-themed feast of vibrant colours greeted us on king street, with cherry blossoms lining the pavement, multi-coloured lanterns and girls made up head-to-toe in cartoon k-pop style mingling with guests. cucumber and pomegranate cocktails were going down a treat as brave ladies lined up to have their own manga makeover done in the trailer parked outside. hot pink streaks, bauble hair-ties, and glittery lashes were abound. a fabulous dj decked out in sequins and platforms bounced away behind the decks while we ogled the clothes.

next to burberry, where we sipped on champagne served by very dapper waiters. we ooh’d and aah’d over our ideal trench coat as girls who wore their own down posed for pictures.

bond street was buzzing with a carnival atmosphere as the sun set. the entire road was closed to traffic, leaving us free to wander amongst the stages set up for performances and street food vendors dishing up treats (ice cream at missoni, popcorn at daks and street eats truck at tory burch, yum!) – and funnily enough, there were longer lines for the food than some of the stores… who ever said fashionable types don’t eat?

each brand tried to outdo the next with the most fabulous parties – hermes had swing dancing in the street, tiffany&co had a graffiti wall, topshop handed out gift vouchers every half hour as delilah sang, while armani invited labrinth to perform at their secret garden party. the lines were particularly insane outside hermes, alexander mcqueen and the official vogue-hosted mulberry party.

we were invited to the moschino party, hosted by ketel one vodka, where kelly brook and pixie lott were holding court. cocktails and blaring music greeted us inside the conduit street store and there were some seriously fun outfits to ogle on the guests.  finally we stopped by the all saints party on regent st, where there was little room to move, but great dj’s and drinks to be enjoyed – how none of the cocktails ended up all over the pristine wares, i’ll never know. i spied a winter coat that is firmly on my new season wish list, before we hobbled, feet sore and thoroughly exhausted, back to the tube.

fashion’s night out is such a fun evening, even if you’re not a shopping lover. with the streets closed down, music playing and everyone generally enjoying the fun, it is a fantastic atmosphere and last night’s gorgeous weather was just the cherry on top. if you’ve never been, make sure you save the date next year in whichever city you live in.

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