Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

Birthdays for millions of dollars, yachts on the French Riviera, and bottles of champagne for $40,000. In today’s new gilded age, conspicuous consumption has been taken to new extremes. To understand this phenomenon, sociologist and former fashion model Ashley Mears dives deep into the hyperconsumption universe that is closed to most people, showing how beautiful, ambitious, and young girls enter a world of luxury only to become just another decoration in the circle of super-rich men. “Very Important People” is a story about extreme gender inequality in a world of temptation.