Crowds swelled outside the Balenciaga Chelsea flagship store. But would they recognize the real Cindy Sherman? Because all of the brand's stores are designed by artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Fashion's Night Out turned the white interior into something of an installation inside an artwork. On view was Balenciaga's Fall-Winter 2010 collection, inspired aesthetically and conceptually by the work of Cindy Sherman. The store's upstairs showroom featured the US debut of "Untitled (Balenciaga) Series"—six Sherman photographs in which the notoriously fashion- and press-skeptical artist wore the brand's clothes for one of her identity-defying photo shoots. These prints were on loan from the Francois Pinault collection.

Sherman described the series as being "inspired by the idea of party photos seen so often in the magazines where people, desperate to show off their status and connections, excitedly pose to have their picture taken with larger-than-life-sized smiles and personalities." Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière chatted with friends before positioning himself by the stage, next to Grace Coddington, to watch a performance by Kate Elson. A featured face in this season's Balenciaga ad campaign shot by Steven Meisel, Elson sang a few country gothic tunes off her debut album. After the show, Elson breathlessly told us, "Of course Nicolas is incredible. I've known him for years as a friend more than anything else. He's so sympathetic to the girls he works with—so particular and heartfelt. We always have an amazing connection; in Paris we were having drinks at the Ritz Hotel. He's unbelievably talented, but also just a really good guy. That's a rare thing to say in this business!" Laughing, she continued, "What an honor to perform tonight. Because really, this is the top of the top!"