PAPERMAG: Rogan Gregory Gives PAPERMAG The Story Behind Bond Street's "Black Carnival"

We already told you a little about the Bond Street "black carnival" block party that went on last night, complete with sword swallowers, fire-breathers, contortionists, and everyone's favorite carnival games (from the looks of it, ring toss is even harder after a few cocktails). We spoke to one of the masterminds behind the event, Rogan Gregory, whose store sits on the corner of Bowery and Bond, about his neighborhood pride and his creepy circus memories.

How involved were you in the planning of the "Black Carnival" event? What's the idea behind it?

I have a healthy imagination. Most of the time the ideas I have complicate peoples lives around here, but sometimes there is a benefit to the sheer amount of ideas we have. We wanted to benefit the neighborhood as well as the brand, so we got as many people on our block involved as we could. The black tents are sort of a response to the Bryant Park white tents, and since the Bowery has a bit of an underworld vibe, it seemed appropriate.

Do you have any fun carnival memories from when you were a kid?

I have circus memories that are more scary than fun. Some vivid, dark memories. I remember being really freaked out by clowns. The stuff that kids are into is super weird - they don't know what "reality" is yet, and what's considered to be "normal."

As a designer, why do you think Fashion's Night Out is important?

I think that Fashion Week in general is kind of exclusionary, and I don't love the idea of it because not everyone's invited. The beauty of our event is that it's not in a confined space, so we could have thousands of people -- I like the democratic aspect of it. Fashion's Night Out raises awareness of what's happening in fashion, and from a cultural perspective it's really good thing. It's great for the industry because it gets people more excited and involved with Fashion Week -- I mean, I've never really done much for Fashion Week with my brand, so it's gotten me more involved.

What do you want shoppers to take away from FNO?

I hope it gets people more engaged in what's going on in whatever neighborhood they choose to go to. I also think that the party vibe is really healthy, since going into stores can sometimes be a bit ho-hum. It will definitely get the lifeblood of the city flowing, which is great.