by Kelly Wetherille

Last year fashion fanatics from across Tokyo descended upon Omotesando for a night of shopping, drinking, music, prizes and special events. This September, Vogue magazine’s attempt to increase fashion spending in the face of a slow economy once again hits cities around the world, including our own.

The Tokyo installment of Fashion’s Night Out will feature over five hours of events, kicking off with an opening ceremony at Omotesando Hills at 5:30pm, and continuing until the stores close their doors at 11pm. Over 350 stores will be participating, with many offering discounted prices, limited-edition items, gifts with purchase, free food and drinks, and chances to win some fantastic merchandise. Being Japan, there will also be a ‘stamp rally,’ which will offer additional opportunities to win prizes. Shoppers will be able to collect stamps from the participating stores on a stamp card (one stamp for each ¥5,000 spent), and then use this to enter a prize drawing at Omotesando Hills (every two stamps equal one chance to win).

Select events happening during Fashion’s Night Out include goody bags for those who make a purchase and free makeovers at Marc by Marc Jacobs; a hand stitching demonstration at Fendi; the opportunity to have professional photos taken at Gucci; free tote bags to those who visit Diesel; and DJ performances at stores such as United Arrows.

For a full list of participating stores and a calendar of events, see www.fashionsnightout.jp (Japanese only).

photos by ngader