There is no Free Party

What celebs acknowledge are the sponsored bashes. It is not just designers who get to have their pre- or post-show party sponsored during fashion weeks, even C-list, page-three types get to throw parties for free. So a new lounge bar will invite socialites or stars to throw a party, with everything from canapés to champagne on the house. They will in turn invite their friends and there you have it — the page-three party the city will read about the next day. Industry insiders euphemistically call it brand synergy. The fact, though, is that there is no such thing as a free party. It is the celeb’s guest list that is being bartered.

Brands like Louis Vuitton choose celebs with care. “If popular icons use our products, people will notice, but we do it in a discreet manner. And we educate the stars about our brand,” says Tikka Shatrujit Singh, brand advisor of LVMH. So Zinta, Simi Garewal and Parmeshwar Godrej are invited to its museum in Paris and given a tour. The next time they are in the city, they can inform Singh who will alert the store and the stars get a VIP treatment.

Verve has been invited by Omega and Burberry to host events for them. Anuradha Mahindra, editor and publisher, says, “In the West, this trend is so organised that a PR person with contacts is hired to bring in the right crowd. Similarly with Verve, the brands know we have access to such personalities.”

Pooja Bedi, who endorses Botox treatment at Kaya Skin Clinic, admits perks are guaranteed. “A brand ambassador does get certain privileges,” she says. “I can tell the Country Club that I endorse that I would like to stay on one of their properties and they’ll take care of my kids and me.”

Shobhaa De hosted a party at her son Aditya Kilachand’s new restaurant Tetsuma in Mumbai and her guest list included the Godrejs, the Ambanis and the Birlas. While this was a case of a prominent local celebrity hosting a launch party of her own restaurant and can be termed cashing in on one’s own brand, there are minor celebs who get invited to throw anything from a birthday party to a fancy-dress party at restaurants. In this case, there is no connection between the sponsor and the host, and the venue cashes in on the host’s guest list. Fashion designer Nikasha Tawadey, who was invited by Provogue Lounge and Tetsuma in Mumbai when they launched their ladies’ night, calls herself a brand driver. “They are basically investing in us,” she says.

Shobhaa De says the practice is cheaper than buying spots on television or newspapers. “It’s like a free ad,” she says. “The press, which endorses and publishes such events, is their oxygen.”

A lounge bar, however, is no Louis Vuitton and cannot afford A-list stars. Often TV stars are roped in. Like Rohit and Mansi Roy who threw a party at Eleven Echoes, a new resto club in Juhu. Restaurateur AD Singh thinks it is a fine strategy: “If the party gets publicity, the venue gets recognised.”

Set Max and Mandira Bedi, who has always been open about her endorsers — “My wardrobe is completely taken care of. Satya Paul gifts me clothes from new lines and most of my saris are gifted by a store called Dabiri in Delhi” — recently hosted a do. The venue — Taxi at Cuffe Parade that was being relaunched — was provided by friend Prashant Chowdhary, while Italian brand Peroni paid for everything else. For Chowdhary, it worked like advertising: “If you don’t know the celebs, you pay them. Otherwise, it depends on your rapport.” Bedi admits: “When I throw a party, I choose a venue where I have friends.”

Kishin Mulchandani, page-three regular, has seen the changes through the years. “Earlier a party used to be a private affair friends were invited and given a round of drinks on the house and then word of mouth created the hype about the place,” he says. “Now it is a game and the bigger the game, the bigger the money.”

For celebs it is about fun. “It is our chance to party without a reason,” says Rakshanda Khan, who had a do at Vie Lounge. But there are many who ask the question: it may be fun and it may be free, but should your private guest list be up for sale?