For one very special night only, fashion fans across the globe will be able to take part in a little bit of fashion history. Fashion’s Night Out is a partnership between international editions of Vogue and an enormous range of designers, boutiques, department stores and high-street chains, meaning that fashionistas can enjoy an evening celebrating the joy of shopping whatever their budget! Across Europe, boutiques will stay open late and welcome shoppers with champagne and canapés, offer styling advice and makeovers, and the opportunity to buy limited-edition items and win fabulous prizes. A huge array of special events are planned with music, dancing, art installations and fashion shows. As if that weren’t enough, many of the cities will also offer fashionistas the opportunity to give something back, by purchasing a charity t-shirt. If only shopping were like this every day!

London

Fashion tips from the Vogue staff: a gorgeous Joseph sequinned sweater

A week before the opening of Fashion Week (this year celebrating it’s 25th anniversary in the capital), London’s fashionstas are already buzzing with excitement! There are such a lot of events taking place that shoppers are getting ready to run in heels to attend as many as possible; however Vogue’s staff have already sagely made their choices of where to spend the evening and have even kindly compiled a list of AW09 on-trend items to purchase. The iconic magazine will be staging a live photoshoot at the Chanel store, styled by Kate Phelan, featuring London It-Girl du jour, Daisy Lowe. Other industry insiders will be put to work too; Brown’s will welcome designers including Henry Holland and Marios Schwab to advise customers and giftwrap purchases; Dover Street Market will have Christopher Kane and Giles Deacon (amongst others) on hand to sell their wares and Jordan Dunn will be styling fans in Topshop. The fashionista’s tipple of choice, champagne, is being served almost everywhere but if you have a sweet tooth, head to Diane von Furstenburg for brownies, Smythson for Primrose Bakery cupcakes or Tommy Hilfiger for pink chocolate truffles. For something slightly different, have your tarot cards read at Roger Vivier! All of the events planned can be found online here.

Madrid

In Madrid, Fashion’s Night Out has been simplified for the city’s fashionable folk, with three areas to choose from. A difficult decision…For fashion and music head to Zone C; at Elisa Bracci, The Blessing Dogs will be performing; Oliphant will host a violin and cello concert and for a jazz ambiance, pop along to Pez. A special night calls for some extra special items; at Yves Saint Laurent, you can personalise the brand’s new Roady bag with your initials; Missoni has an exclusive collection of just 100 bags on sale at €30 each and Gant will offer customers personalised sweeties(all in Zone B). Alternatively in Zone A, combine shopping and eating! Start with canapés at Pomellato before moving on to the sushi bar at Felipe Varela and finish off with prosecco and chocolates at Gucci. Even fashionistas need to eat… Find all of the events in this handy PDF guide.

Milan

Blumarine's limited edition t-shirt

One of the most glamorous fashion capitals has, of course, organised one of the most glamorous evenings for fashion fans; Vogue Italia has created a open air living room on Via della Spiga, complete with red carpets, parasols and comfortable seating so that fashionistas can rest tired feet between boutique-hopping!  If you’d like a memory of your serata di moda, pop along to Louis Vuitton or Giuseppe Zanotti where professional photographers will be going retro, snapping polaroids of customers. Fashion’s Night Out is history in the making and the ephemeral nature of fashion will be celebrated with designers creating limited edition items; some extra special dolls wearing the AW09 collection will be on sale at Marni; Just Cavalli has designed a colourful silk scarf and Blumarine’s Anna Molinari has some incredible floral t-shirts. However the lasting contribution of Fashion’s Night Out will be through the sale of “Adotta un Albero” t-shirts which will help finance the planting of one million trees in the city. Fashion = good. Fashion + a greener city = better! And if you still just can’t make up your mind what to buy, 40 stylists from Vogue, Glamour and other Conde Nast fashion publications will be on hand to offer advice! A list of the events is available to download here.

Berlin

Running in heels? Not in Berlin. A special shuttle service has been set up to ferry fashionistas around for Fashion’s Night Out! The German capital is a centre of culture as well as fashion and you can experience video installations at Gabrielle Strehle, a very special premiere of Marcus Tomlinson’s FOOT BALL video at Hermes, fashion shows at Jil Sander and live music and DJs at KaDeWe. If you’re looking for fashion tips, Vogue staff will be hanging out at Louis Vuitton to advise customers and if you haven’t yet invested in a winter coat, hop along to Burberry for their trenchcoat raffle! Not an unfashionable currywurst will be in sight; Moschino have created some special cocktails for the evening, the “Red Catwalk” and the “Passion Fashion” and Galleries Lafayette will be feeding its customers macarons, yum! To be washed down with champers, not a stein of beer of course… Find out all about it here.

Vogue Paris

Paris

Paris hosts an upscale Fashion’s Night Out, with events taking place around the oh-so-chi-chi Avenue Montaigne, meaning less running in heels! Vogue Paris’ impeccably dressed editor-in-chief, Carine Roitfeld will be on hand with fashion tips; if you’re not sure what to buy for AW09, this is some style advice you should definitely listen to! The Vogue staff have also compiled a list of their top fashion picks from each boutique participating in the event. Champagne will, of course, be served to Parisiennes as they peruse the shops in the Triangle d’Or, and our favourite pretty Parisian boutique, Manoush will be offering sweet treats too. Avenue Montaigne is very exclusive, as is the event, so don’t forget your invite! If you haven’t got one, you can download it online here.

Athens

Athens’ Fashion’s Night Out will offer the city’s fashionistas discounts in a huge range of stores and the chance to give something back too! If it’s time for a wardrobe clear-out, let this be the moment as special collection points have been set up for Athenians to hand over last season’s clothes and shoes which will then be distributed to the city’s homeless. If you’re reluctant to part with the contents of your closet, you can still help out, by purchasing a Fashion’s Night Out t-shirt; 50% of the profits will go to Antistigma: Athens, an organisation which helps fight discrimination against marginalised social groups such as the disabled, mentally ill, homeless and immigrants. Once you’ve done your bit for charity, head to the Ralph Lauren store for an evening of cocktails and music with the Love Affair Big Band, or if you’re attending Fashion’s Night Out with your boyfriend, he’ll certainly appreciate the body painting which will be taking place at the MAC store! See a list of all of the events here.