By Tess Amodeo-Vickery, Runway Passport
Fashion enthusiasts filled the streets of the Via del Corso and the area surrounding Piazza di Spagna last night for the city’s first-ever Vogue Fashion’s Night Out.
Events were held in all forms, from exclusive cocktail parties hosted by legacy stores like Fendi, Gucci and Chanel to parties held in art spaces like the Ulisse Gallery on Via dei Due Macelli. Tents and kiosks lined the streets where participants in the night’s festivities were invited to get an on-the-spot makeover or pick up the latest issue of Vogue for just 3€. Everywhere, there were special offers and sales.
Participating designers took the opportunity to dazzle their fans up-close and in-person. Designer Gianni Molaro chose to exhibit his innovative collection in front of the statuesque Caffeteria Canova Tadolini on Via del Babuino, using live models to display his facially-inspired frocks, while atelier Antonio Grimaldi presented a show at the picturesque Hotel de Russie.
The streets in between were so packed that people were forced to abandon their cars and motorcycles until the wee hours of the morning. At one particularly congested moment, Italian actor heartthrob Luca Argentero appeared in a second story window at Swarovski, appealing to the swooning crowd in a reverse Romeo and Juliet fashion.
The crowds on Via Del Corso
By midnight, the event was in its sixth hour and all issues of Vogue were sold out. Glamorous guests who had sampled clothes and complimentary concoctions like those offered at Hoss, slowly dispersed, careful not to catch their stilettos in the cobblestone streets. Rome had spent its night engrossed in the novel, and the next morning, it would return to the eternal.
Check out more from Tess at Pen in Rome
