Experience The Shopping Block at Houston Premium Outlets, the first-ever collaboration between Refinery29 and Simon on Saturday, October 11 from 12 – 5 p.m. Inspired by the millennial approach to shopping, the fashion and retail powerhouses have joined forces bringing Refinery29 into the physical world of retail to create custom fashion activations available at Houston Premium Outlets. Free and open to the public, The Shopping Block will offer consumer touch-points around fashion, discovery, and community. The event design, inspired by modernist artists such as Donald Judd and Dan Flavin, as well as the art and architecture of Marfa, Texas, will provide a variety of features that appeal to the millennial audience, including: Indie Boutiques + National Brands: Refinery29 and Simon will invite indie boutiques with local reach and relevance to participate in The Shopping Block. This will create an interplay between the native, in-market shopping experiences and the very best national retail brands, all within the mall landscape. Local participating vendors include:
Height of Vintage is Houston’s first Vintage Mobile Shop, offering hand selected vintage fashion, accessories and more. www.heightofvintage.com
Hatton Henry is a line of handmade bags and accessories, all items are made one at a time in at a workshop in the Houston Heights. As often as possible, raw materials are sourced from other small businesses within the USA. http://hattonhenry.myshopify.com
Sun Child is an online shop celebrating a creative lifestyle with well-crafted, everyday objects. Based in Texas, they offer a mix of items that add warmth and meaning to the simple things in our everyday lives. www.shopsunchild.com
Vida Antigua Vintage, “Vintage Life”, grew from the passion and love of fashion. The shop aims to bring back the original styles of the ages. With an eclectic array of items they carry everything from 1940s – early 1990s. www.facebook.com/VidaAntigua fLuxe Jewelry flirts with a balance between soft and edgy forms and is inspired by many styles, including art deco, Aztec pottery and modern graphic design.
fLuxe Jewelry is a line made from copper sheet metal and patina chemicals. Soft, playful colors compliment the sharp, geometric edges. The jewelry is hand crafted by Kristen Kramlich. www.fluxejewelry.com
Sal Miel is a unisex jewelry line of mixed metals and textures utilized to create a raw and contrasting aesthetic. Sal Miel caters to both contemporary and traditional lifestyles. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted, and is therefore unique. www.salmiel.com
Busy-Being + Solid Gold offers art that was previously not available in the Austin market. In the Fall of 2012, Busy-Being launched its community workshop program, offering courses led by local and visiting artists to the local community. www.busy-being.com
Settlement Goods is a boutique located in Houston, TX specializing in selling emerging and independent designers manufacturing in the United States. www.settlementgoods.com
Stylist Concierge: The Shopping Block attendees will receive curated style guides that highlight fall’s biggest trends, and where to shop them at Simon retailers.
Guest Hosts: At each event, city insiders—chosen from local tastemakers in style, fashion and lifestyle industries—will act as hosts. Siblings Hanna Anderson, Sophia Anderson and Joshua Anderson have been selected to host The Shopping Block at Houston Premium Outlets.
Sweepstakes: Shoppers can enter to win a Simon shopping spree in the form of Simon Giftcards valued at $1,500. A “virtual closet” made up of the hottest items from Simon retailers and curated by Refinery29 editors will be on display during The Shopping Block event to serve as inspiration for what the winner could buy.
Beauty Bars: Makeup artists will be on-hand at pop-up beauty bars to give shoppers mini makeovers, and share the latest beauty tips from the experts at Refinery29.
DIY Station: The Shopping Block guests will have an opportunity to personalize tote bags, taking inspiration from two fall 2014 runway trends – Sporty and Embellished. Each trend will have its own moodboard of inspiration pictures posted with a brief description and example of that tote. Guests will be given materials to create their own version of the tote.
Brand Ambassadors will be on hand to help guests and explain the activation.
The Shopping Block experience will be enhanced by editorial posts on Refinery29, including a “Found at the Mall” photo series showcasing the street style sensibility of shoppers who visit The Shopping Block. The events will be supported through co-branded banners on Refinery29 and promotions on Refinery29 and Simon social channels, Simon’s style blog at stylesetter.simon.com and at simon.com/shoppingblock. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to share their Shopping Block experiences and discoveries using the hashtags #TheShoppingBlock and #FoundAtSimon. Anyone who posts their style on Instagram or Twitter using #FoundAtSimon #Contest will be entered to win a $500 gift card from Simon. Refinery29 editors will select the best Shopping Block inspired entry in October. Visit www.simon.com/shoppingblock, www.twitter.com/HOUPremOutlets or www.facebook.com/houstonpremiumoutlets for the latest event updates.
