FNO to hit Hattiesburg runway

The boys have done it again. The co-owners of Click Boutique & Gallery Jason Le Viere and Adam Myrick are hosting the single largest shopping event of the year, Fashion’s Night Out, right here in Hattiesburg.

Myrick and Le Viere consider the FNO celebration a way to give back to the Hattiesburg community, and this Thursday will mark a night that has been a year in the making.

“It would change the way it feels here,” Le Viere said. “It would change whether people want to leave or stay after graduation. We hope our participation in this event will help reshape perceptions of Hattiesburg. It would change whether people want to leave or stay after graduation. This is for you, and you need to come.”

On Thursday, Hattiesburg fashionistas will join forces with the world of fashion in celebration of Fashion’s Night Out, sponsored by Vogue and Council of Fashion Designers of America. FNO was created as a global initiative to boost the economy, an event honoring the cause of full-price retails across the globe, and owners of Click are hosting the event at Oddfellows Gallery downtown.

“Oddfellows will be perfect because it gives the event an artsy feel, and fashion is art,” Le Viere said. “It is also a venue that is spacious enough to fit the amount of people that will be in attendance.”

The event includes a do-it-yourself nail station, a cocktail bar, art showcased by Jackson’s Anthony Di Fatta and a meet-and-greet with Mississippi’s Miss Hospitality Chandler Llana.

“It’s a free party; the great thing is that it doesn’t cost a dime,” Le Viere said. “It’s open to the public and anybody can come. The essence of the event is that you can pull that dress from the back of your closet that you’ve wanted to wear but never had a place to wear it.”

The main objective of Fashion’s Night Out is to bring people downtown who usually don’t spend a lot of time in this area of Hattiesburg. Even though the party ends at 10 p.m., Le Viere hopes people will linger and make a night of it.

“That’s what downtown is all about,” Le Viere said. “It’s going to multiple places in one night. If you get off work at five, make reservations somewhere and grab dinner before FNO at a restaurant downtown or make your way over to the Skylight Lounge, 206 Front Street or Brownstone’s for drinks afterwards.”

Even though FNO 2012 is a one-night-only party, Le Viere and Myrick hope the event will promote dressing up and putting oneself out there.

“It’s all about how you put yourself out there,” Le Viere said. “An event like this reinforces the idea that it doesn’t have to be a state dinner at the White House for you to get dressed up. You can go out with your girlfriends any night of the week and have your own FNO, because guess what? If four of you dress up and go out one night, you’re not going to feel out of place.”

Le Viere said that American culture has moved away from dressing up and that FNO celebrates beauty that comes in all shapes and sizes. He wants everyone to kick it up a notch by being fashionable.

Although FNO is an event that attracts scores of women all over the world, it appeals to an even larger demographic.

“I think the beautiful thing about FNO is that it is reaching so many different genres and demographics of people,” Le Viere said. “Young girls are going with their moms, young professionals are going to be in attendance, students have RSVP’d, women will be there for a fun night out, and couples are coming as a date night.”

It’s a night when retailers open their doors to have free parties, and it gets people out of the house by making them feel comfortable in fashion.

Oddfellows is located across the street from Bianchi’s Pizzeria and two doors down from Brownstone’s.

Models will be showcasing outfits from Click’s fall collection, along with a few holiday pieces.

For more information about Fashion’s Night Out, visit www.fashionsnightout.com or follow @FNO on Twitter.