Henri Bendel, for example, has a couple new locations in Beverly Hills — and although NY designers are by no means relocating to sunny SoCal (Sophomore designer Chrissy Miller, for one, doesn’t “get all the embellished denim and crazy graphics” of LA), expect several more east coast shops to open cross-country.

Perhaps it’s the sunny climate or the hippie history, but California tends to be much more casual and thus more receptive to creative experimentation than New York: a gold-mine for high-end retail brands in a still-recovering financial market.  Whatever the case, we look forward to seeing what comes out of these new east-meets-west endeavors — and have one more reason to use up our frequent-flyer miles.

Read the full story  {LA Times}

Despite an initial tepid response from some merchants, the event proved to be much more lucrative than originally hoped for, with both shopper turnout and immediate sales figures soaring higher than expected.

Plans are to make the event next year even bigger and better than the first, with an emphasis on adding substance to the initiative to give Fashion’s Night Out some staying power after the novelty factor has worn off.

Read the full story {WWD}