Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - November 15, 2007
Eric Wilson
The amount of time and energy that goes into the making of 7th on Sale, a three-week superheated sample sale that begins with a gala tonight, might be roughly equivalent to that of opening a new designer flagship in a week. The event, a fund-raiser for AIDS charities that was revived by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue two years ago, has expanded to include three days of public shopping at the 69th Regiment Armory, at 68 Lexington Avenue (tickets are $20 and available at www.7thonsale.ebay.com). Another 10,000 items will be sold on eBay through Dec. 6. The goal is to raise $4.2 million.
"We wanted to triple our sales, so we decided to triple the product," said Steven Kolb, the executive director of the council, as a team of 60 volunteers in the warehouse took clothes from their boxes, tagged them at 70 percent off and passed them over to be wrapped in plastic bags for delivery to the armory. The clothes, 37,000 items donated by designers, were divided on rolling racks by classification: black gowns, navy gowns, neutral gowns, printed gowns; menÆs black coats, menÆs brown coats, etc. There were 3,500 cashmere sweaters. An entire table was covered with handbags, dominated by a pink crocodile Balenciaga bag, discounted from $22,000 to $7,000.
"That one is going to go fast," said Filipa Fino, the senior accessories editor of Vogue, who was accessorized with a baseball cap.
Meanwhile, Charles Fagan, an executive vice president at Polo Ralph Lauren, was visualizing how the clothes (now hanging on 8,000 polished mahogany hangers) would be displayed. Inside the armory, another team was building a stage to make it appear as if guests were shopping in a medieval castle, with 30-foot faux stone walls, which will remain in place throughout the public sale. This is not Century 21.
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