Fashion's Night Out Struts Down Abbot Kinney

Fashionistas unite! On Thursday, Fashion’s Night Out takes the fashion and style culture by storm in a worldwide event. In the US alone, over 250 cities will participate by featuring storewide sales, fashion shows, and parties.

This will be the third year of the event, which bills itself as an "after-hours shopping extravaganza." What started in mostly New York, Paris and Milan, has expanded to all kinds of fashion hubs, and last year, some Venice stores decided to get involved.

"We participated last year and had a great turn out. We suspect it will be even bigger this year," store owner Deborah Lashever said. "Since we support Venice artists and feature a mixture of vintage, resale, designer and fair trade items for sale, we usually draw a strong Venice crowd."

Bohemian Exchange's event will run from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m., and refreshments will be served. There will be two fashion shows featuring Bohemian Exchange's flamboyant fashions, at 8 p.m. and at 10 p.m.

Abbot Kinney jewelry store Kamofie and Co. will also be featuring local designers and offering refreshments – and free jewelry cleaning – from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"I think it’s a wonderful event. I’m glad to be a part of it," owner and designer Sofie Kaman said. She plans to work with customers to design custom pieces of jewelry during the event.

Very Venice Art and Design Gallery is also getting involved. This brand new artist collective, which just opened last month, features handcrafted jewelry, original belts and handbags, and scarvess. Thursday’s event will have artists creating the fashions and jewelry on site between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. 

"Fashion is wearable art. That’s why we got involved in Fashion’s Night Out. Our goal is to bring the average person closer to the art world," owner and artist Dary Rees said.

Other Abbot Kinney shops getting involved on Thursday include , , Minnie T’s, and Alexis Bittar.

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