Fashion's Night Out Is Canceled; How Will This Affect Boston?

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Fashion's Night Out 2013 has been officially canceled resulting in a slew of emotions around the fashion community ranging from relieved to frustrated and even sentimental. Of course, the decision was made in New York and based off particular experiences with the sponsors and retailers there—but its nationwide mandate affects other markets in a myriad of ways. For example, Boston put on quite a show for its second FNO celebration this past September which encouraged shopping and promoted the city as a fashion hub with our offically approved event. Hey, Menino even shut down Newbury Street for the first time in fifteen years.

On the flipside, the argument is made that this undertaking of major event planning and the one-upmanship toward neighboring stores results in a needless financial burden for individual retail businesses. Plus, with most of FNO's activity anchored on Newbury, many consumer dollars spent (if they are spent at all) go to big national and international companies, not the local ones FNO is meant to support.

Boston will likely be in a conflicted state, considering we were just gaining momentum in FNO's large-scale international fashion celebration. Do you think local players will do something unofficially? Are you heartbroken about Boston losing its FNO? What do you think this means for cities nationwide who throw the event both officially and unofficially? Sound off in the comments.
· Breaking: Fashion's Night Out Has Been Canceled for 2013 [Racked]
· Boston Celebrates Shopping With Fashion's Night Out [Boston Globe]
· Fashion's Night Out on Hiatus in U.S. [WWD]