The Best Concerts at Fashion’s Night Out
Fashion’s Night Out is Thursday evening and, if last year’s musical turnout was any indication, New York City is in for a boisterous evening. There’s more free entertainment than ever crammed into the FNO agenda, so Rolling Stone has picked out the concerts that are most worth the trek across Manhattan.
MAC Cosmetics
Where: 506 Broadway
When: 7 to 10 p.m.
Music Notes: Girl of the hour Azealia Banks takes the stage for a raucous set and celebrates the launch of her debut MAC lipstick shade, Yung Rapunxel.
H&M
Where: H&M locations throughout New York
Music Notes: Controversial queen and recent H&M model Lana Del Rey was rumored to be performing for the Swedish megabrand – and she will be, but not on Thursday night. However, Fashion’s Night Out shoppers can enter for a chance to see Miss Del Rey’s mysterious, private H&M performance when she does come to town.
Rockefeller Center
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: Scottish rockers We Were Promised Jetpacks and Washington’s the Lonely Forest perform.
Supreme
Where: 75 Clarkson Street
When: 10 p.m.
Music Notes: To celebrate their t-shirt collaboration with Supreme, Three 6 Mafia will perform at the streetwear brand’s party at Westway.
Helmut Lang
Where: 93 Mercer Street
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: La Sera (the side project of Vivian Girls’ Katy Goodman) perform live at the Austrian minimalist line’s Soho store. Busy Swedish pop upstarts Icona Pop DJ a set before heading off to perform at other downtown locales.
Mulberry
Where: 134 Spring Street
When: 9 p.m.
Music Notes: Comely pop collagists Wild Belle serenade partygoers at the brand’s downtown shop while English-themed treats are served. The band will also play a Fashion Week show at Le Baron on September 10th.
Rose Bar Sessions and Haute Hippie
Where: Rose Bar at the Gramercy Hotel, 2 Lexington Avenue
When: 10 p.m.
Music Notes: Stylish R&B staple Theophilus London plays a live set at the mythical Rose Bar, infamous for its Guns N’ Roses Fashion Week show in February 2010. Supermodel Angela Lindvall spins tunes.
Urban Outfitters
Where: 628 Broadway
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: The excellent, fuzzed-out disco chanteuse Maria Minerva plays a rare New York set at UO’s downtown Manhattan headquarters, and Icona Pop make their second Fashion’s Night Out appearance. Expect chanted refrains of their hit “I Love It” to echo through the streets of Soho.
Prada
Where: 575 Broadway
When: 6 p.m.
Music Notes: Brooklyn’s sensational art-poppers Chairlift perform an intimate set at Prada’s downtown design mecca, further making a case for Soho to be the winning zone of Fashion’s Night Out.
Converse
Where: Bloomingdale’s Soho, 504 Broadway
When: 6 to 10 p.m.
Music Notes: Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. plays a set while shoppers customize Chuck Taylor shoes. Winners of the brand’s recent “Make It Black” song cover contest will be released at the event.
Rag & Bone
Where: 119 Mercer Street
When: 6 to 10 p.m.
Music Notes: The in-demand American sportswear brand ropes in indie-pop royalty for their speakeasy-themed night: the lovely and inscrutable Annie Clark of St. Vincent, who will perform a set. The store will also sell limited-edition denim (which they do better than just about anyone) and shoppers can get a 30 percent discount on purchases with a lucky roll of dice.
Manolo Blahnik
Where: 31 West 54th Street
When: 9 p.m.
Music Notes: Cyndi Lauper plays a rare free show at the sexy shoe stalwart; mega-fans should get there early. It’s a fitting co-branding maneuever for Lauper, given her new musical is called Kinky Boots.
Intermix
Where: 812 Washington Street
When: 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Music Notes: Of-the-moment NYC pop savants the Knocks spin tunes all night long and free tequila flows.
Jean Michel Cazabat
Where: 530 Bleecker Street
When: 6:30 to 10 p.m.
Music Notes: Resurgent R&B crooner Maxwell woos crowds with a live show as shoppers mull over the designer’s wondrously advanced footwear.
Topshop
Where: 478 Broadway
When: 6 to 10 p.m.
Music Notes: The promising California girl-group Haim take the stage at Topshop’s American flagship store.
Ben Sherman
Where: 96 Spring Street
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: The quintessentially British brand brings in Burial-influenced warbler Jamie Woon for a somber set of tunes. It’s an escape from the rest of the generally hedonistic Soho racket.
Saks Fifth Avenue
Where: 611 Fifth Avenue
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: Vanessa Carlton reminds us that she’s still here with a live set, while Glee star Darren Crisis will be on hand to greet fans.
Diane Von Furstenberg
Where: 145 Wooster Street
When: 6 to 11 p.m.
Music Notes: Danish electropop upstart Oh Land DJs a set, keeping up the designer’s streak of championing female singers.
Swarovski Crystallized
Where: 499 Broadway
When: 8 p.m.
Music Notes: After teaming up with Madonna, Swarovski continues its musical cultivation by collaborating with Yoko Ono, who co-designed two limited-edition crystal key cuts that will be launched on Fashion’s Night Out.