Sociologist Ashley Mears Documents Global VIP Party Circuit's Ritualized Wealth Destruction
From 2011 to 2013, sociology professor Ashley Mears conducted an 18-month investigation into the global VIP party scene, which she detailed in her ethnography 'Very Important People' (Princeton University Press, 2020). Mears, who previously modeled and teaches at Boston University, gained access to this exclusive world through promoters she met while researching 'Pricing Beauty' (University of California Press, 2011). The VIP circuit features events such as Fashion Week and Art Basel Miami Beach, attracting finance and tech elites. She notes the rise of bottle service clubs in the late 1990s, extravagant displays, and notorious spenders like Jho Low. Even with pandemic challenges, Mears believes that expressions of wealth will continue in private venues, connecting elite consumption to larger economic trends.
Key facts
- Ashley Mears conducted 18 months of ethnographic research on the global VIP party circuit from 2011 to 2013
- Her book 'Very Important People' was published by Princeton University Press in 2020
- Mears is a former model turned sociology professor at Boston University
- The research documents extravagant spending in clubs from Saint-Tropez to Ibiza, Milan, London, Paris, and Cannes
- Bottle service clubs emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s alongside Wall Street booms
- Malaysian businessman Jho Low spent $1 million at a Saint-Tropez bar with Paris Hilton present
- Mears connects VIP spending to Thorstein Veblen's concept of conspicuous consumption and potlatch ceremonies
- A VIP party at Miami Beach's Nautilus Hotel was busted for COVID-19 violations during the cancelled Art Basel Miami Beach
Entities
Artists
- Ashley Mears
- Paris Hilton
- Thorstein Veblen
- Pierre Bourdieu
- Peter Bailey
- Jho Low
Institutions
- Princeton University Press
- Boston University
- New York University
- University of California Press
- Art Basel
- ArtReview
- New York Times
- Ace Nightclub
- Nautilus Hotel
Locations
- Miami Beach
- United States
- Miami
- Florida
- New York
- Saint-Tropez
- France
- Ibiza
- Spain
- Milan
- Italy
- London
- United Kingdom
- Paris
- Cannes
- St Moritz
- Switzerland
- Vegas
- Nevada
- Pacific Northwest
- Manhattan
- Hamptons