Vogue’s Fashion Night Out in Florence {#VFNO2013} can be summed up using a few words – free cocktails, crazy outfits, plenty of shoes with no socks and the most traffic stores on lonely via tornabuoni received in one day (from … non-rich tourists).  Basically its a chance for your average person (me) to wear a fun blazer, put on too much lipstick and wander into stores where you could never actually buy anything.

One of the funniest moments of the night happened as I was walking to meet my friends in Piazza Strozzi. Goldenpoint (stores that sells tights and swimwear) was handing out plastic bags emblazoned with their logos to a large crowd outside and you would have thought those bags contained Leonardo da Vinci’s lost painting with the way people were clawing at each other to grab at one. The irony  was that there wasn’t anything inside any of the bags and you could see the acute disappointment on people’s faces when they discovered this, a big grazie tanto {fanculo) goldenpoint.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the night but I just planned on wandering. I did happen to run across the famed Yamamay flash mob in Piazza della Signoria. When I caught up with my friends, we ended up heading over to Space store on via tornabuoni for a free martini & prosecco cocktail to start the night’s adventure. They have a really neat outdoor space that is very beach-like {high-end of course} and we lounged on the chairs to properly people-watched since everyone had their fancypants outfits on.

High high heels, colorful loafers, a lack of smiles, so many hipster glasses I lost count – oh and yes there were some skanky outfits as well — it was a bit like Halloween where in theory you could pretty much get away with wearing anything via the assumption that it was, ‘fashion.’ We loved every moment. 

I knew the Ferragamo museum was granting free entry during the event, so we headed over to take a trip back in time in the wonderful world of artisan shoes. Momentarily distracted by the free prosecco and beautiful store displays in the shop, we gazed at pictures featuring famous film stars covering the walls among the pricey shoes, bags and accessories.

The Ferragamo museum itself was a really fun experience. We spotted shoes featured in famous films such as Dorothy’s ruby-red shoes from the Wizard of Oz or on the other extreme, really creep-tacular ones with skeletons and dinosaur eggs used in what was surely a Scandinavian production. It was neat to check out and if you are looking for a break from Renaissance art — it’s a good place to visit {6 euro entry fee}.

The biggest highlight of our night was the magical Tommy Hilfiger store. You remember Tommy Hilfiger right? Me and my friend Gianna reminisced about the one-time realty show featuring the famous fashion designer’s whiny daughter complain about being too rich. I would love that problem! The store was open to the public and had a really awesome smiling DJ playing fantastic music along with a fun step-and-repeat area in the store where you could take paparazzi-like photos while sipping spritz’s and trying on clothes.

I have to say, we spent not even one euro and had an absolute blast. I really like this event even more so than notte bianca if I am 100% honest. Mainly because it is a lot less crazy, you can actually walk around and not feel the body heat of 100,000 people — and it’s a chance to pretend like you are a V.I.P shopper even if just for a nanosecond.

You can reach about the success of this night in Florence in Italian here.

Were you there? What events did you participate in and What did you think about the VFNO this year?

Related articles

• September events in Florence, Italy (girlinflorence.com)