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The only freebie some brands hand out to socialites are invites!

The one thing that does pop into the head the moment a new luxury or premium brand is mentioned are the freebies - will Louis Vuitton be handing out anniversary edition bags, Will the socialites be given free Jimmy Choos so they can come and twirl around at the press day? Naah!

Well, the life of a socialite isn’t as rosy as you thought, yes they do get everything from designer threads to grub free of cost, but the botox-injected husband-swapping social butterflies of the circuit weren’t discreetly handed out a pair of Jimmy Choos.
A select few (five we’re told) were handed out Jimmy Choos, but not golden tipped Jimmy Choo stilettos but shoe horns!

Now, now, don’t blame the brand for not loosening their purse strings - do you even know how much a pair costs? Their pre-fall range started at about 485 USD (around Rs 23,000) adds to this the import duty and it would have meant that Jimmy Choo was giving away more than your and my salary for the sake of publicity.

In fact, this has pretty much been the case throughout, when CK launched in India, the swish set landed with a bottle of CK perfume while the front row hacks landed FCUK survival kits when the brand launched in Mumbai.

And, even though other brands namely Moschino (when the brand launched at the Taj Palace everyone from Priya Sachdev to Ameta Seth to Queenie Dhody landed in ‘gifted’ threads from Moschino!), Ferre when it opened shop at the Grand Hyatt Santacruz saw people taking back a pair of sunglasses each. Their sunglass range we’re told starts at around Rs 11,000 - a big price to pay for publicity?

Well, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. With more and more luxury brands coming in, we’re establishing two different genres, even on the social set. Even on the social set, not everyone is equal. For instance it’s also becoming important for the brand to maintain its own image. Can you imagine what it would do to Jimmy Choo if they gave away free shoes and someone like say Chesz Shetty was photographed in them?

The people at the Oscars might be getting goodie bags with five figure price tags, closer home, brands hand out goodie bags to socialites only when there isn’t enough buzz about them in the market anyway. Those like Choo or Gucci or Gaultier don’t need the buzz, brands like Nautica and Ferre do, its as simple as that.

So, if you’re one of those who’d burn a dent in your platinum credit card (if you haven’t already done that buying Louis Vuitton tissue paper), just so you’re well decked for the freebie bag, heh heh.

Here’s a rule to live by, just to avoid embarrassment - the gifts are handed out only according to brand profile

So when the Sachdev’s brought in Tommy everyone got something. But when they bring down Gaultier and Pollini - forget a freebie thank your stars, if you even get an invite!

Oh, and by the way, don’t attach too much hopes to the Gucci launch either, odds are they’ll give you an anniversary button in a cuff-link box, if you land the invite that is!