Afterpay’s newfound partnership with New York Fashion Week (NYFW) now has a clear-cut agenda.
The “buy now, pay later” provider, which was recently acquired by Square, released its New York Fashion Week (NYFW): The Shows events calendar for the week of Sept. 7-10, which includes a series of live shopping and interactive events and social takeovers, to bring the NYFW experience to New Yorkers and Americans nationwide.
On Sept. 7-8, the week’s festivities kick off at a Times Square popup location with Afterpay’s The Dropshop, a platform offering access to limited-edition merchandise, offers and experiences. In partnership with Snapchat, The Dropshop enables passersby to try on the exclusive drops virtually via a Snapchat augmented reality (AR) lens. With the technology, this effectively allows Afterpay to bring drop culture to a public setting with an in-person drop-style, immersive shopping event.
Afterpay is bringing the party to 875 Washington Street to launch on Sept. 8 the House of Afterpay popup shopping destination, which will feature retail experiences, additional item exclusives, insider talks, educational programming and In-Real-Life Styling sessions. Additionally, House of Afterpay will include a Small Business Showcase, giving shoppers a chance to discover smaller indie brands that don’t typically showcase their wares during NYFW.
House of Afterpay will host designers with a shopping event hosted by Zanna Roberts Rassi, and will last run from Sept. 8-18.
Two events will take place Sept. 9, with the installment payments provider and NYFW collaborating to launch the See Now, Buy Now show starring luxury fashion designer LaQuan Smith. Smith’s show offers consumers a front-row seat to shop collections from their own home. As part of the show, the Empire State Building will turn “Bondi Mint”—Afterpay’s signature hue—courtesy of co-founding co-CEO Nick Molnar and additional contributors.
See Now, Buy Now will take place from Sept. 9-12, enabling consumers to shop iconic pieces and pay via Afterpay over six weeks.
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The four days of See Now, Buy Now coincide with Afterpay’s own bi-annual event, Afterpay Day, which drives deals and promotions from more than 3,000 fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands. Brands traditionally have unveiled deals of as much as 60 percent off throughout Afterpay Day. The shopping event was brought into brick-and-mortar stores for the first time during the last iteration in March. The Australian-based payments company works with partner merchants to promote in-person discounts, even plastering signage across malls.
The March sale drove a 35 percent increase in new active U.S.-based customers to the platform. Traffic to Afterpay’s brand partners was also strong, as the company sent nearly 6 million referrals to global merchants from its Shop Directory during the sale’s duration, with approximately 30 percent of referrals going to SMB partners.
The final day of NYFW, Sept. 10, includes the fashion week’s ShopsNY “shop-a-thon” across local stores in popular Manhattan shopping districts, from Soho to the Meatpacking District. Consumers can enter a sweepstakes to win a $1,000 shopping spree for the day.
Throughout the day, NYFW and Afterpay will host an online styling session with celebrity stylist Kate Young and Roberts Rassi, featuring the best looks from Revolve for NYFW21.
Additionally, the BNPL company is hosting a block party on 14th and Washington Street where shoppers are invited to celebrate NYFW and New York retail. Activities at the “Afterpay Quarter” include DJ sets, a roller rink, treat giveaways, cafe seating, a merchandise shop with tote bags hand painted by NYC artist Queen Andrea, and more.
When the day concludes, Afterpay is offering a surprise popup afterparty at an undisclosed location. Afterpay has yet to reveal details of the event, including the musical artist involved.
“This September, Afterpay is championing the city that never sleeps, igniting New York City retail and opening fashion to the consumer in a way that has never been done before,” said Molnar in a statement. “With a week of interactive events, Afterpay is proud to support New York City’s economy and jumpstart a fresh future for the fashion industry across the globe.”