Paris Hilton brings Platinum Rush to Dubai

While preparing for this interview I was stuck on exactly how and where to start. Paris Hilton was in Dubai yesterday to launch her 24th perfume Platinum Rush in collaboration with Concept Brands Group at Dubai Festival City. I was stuck, or maybe the more apt word to use here is confused, as to how to approach the few minutes I would have with one of the world's most famous women. This might sound off to some but, personally, I find Paris Hilton a little confusing.
Paris Hilton started being Paris Hilton in the year 2000 when she broke the mould of expected decorum and style of what the world thought of when you heard the word socialite. First it was by her slightly outrageous outfits (we aren't talking Lady Gaga outrageous but more like Von Dutch hats and less than modest sparkling numbers).
It was obvious from her red carpet looks and poses that Paris was a party girl with a very famous last name. She was a quirk. But then in 2003 the quirk starred in her own reality show with her BFF at the time, another socialite, with a famous last name, Nicole Richie.
After that everyone knew Paris Hilton. And of course, a few scandals later she was cemented as the ultimate It Girl. But since the early 2000s the world has changed. Paris Hilton was the precursor, she was the first to set the trend of young women with famous last names turning themselves into walking talking caricatures of themselves - into self realised brands.
Except Paris did it without social media. Love them or hate them, we have Paris to thank for the influx of influencers and sort of celebrities and reality TV madness, a world that Paris doesn't necessary want to be associated with anymore. Ironic, given the fact that it was Paris who introduced Kim Kardashian to the world.
Paris started building her brand before the days of social media. And that by today's standards is quite the feat. So what is Paris Hilton's brand? Everything it seems. Perfumes, hair extensions, handbags, books, jewellery, music (she's also a DJ, by the way) a few more reality shows and other consumer products. Her empire includes 50 stores, 19 product lines, and sales from 23 different fragrances exceeding $2.5 billion.
It might be natural for us to compare Paris Hilton to the woman who was her protégé (many of us first met Kim K when she was literally taking orders from Paris to clean her closet) but there are many things that make Paris more interesting to me. Paris isn't as relevant as Kim K may appear to be at the moment, but Paris is still winning - in fact I would go as far as to say that she's doing much better.
Well, to start off, Paris's bread and butter isn't based on a reality show. Paris' personal life, although sometimes discussed in the media, doesn't necessary break the Internet. In fact, a few hours before meeting her, media outlets were reporting that Paris and fiancé Chris Zylka have gone their separate ways. Apparently he wants his 2 million dollar engagement ring back.
Expecting to meet a Paris Hilton who might not be in the mood to talk to reporters on the same day that news of her third engagement breaking off hit the headlines, we were pleasantly surprised that Paris arrived to greet fans and the media in a very. Paris way. It was like nothing had changed.
In the short moments I had with her (one minute and thirty one seconds to be exact), I decided to ask her three questions that seem to be consistent in the Paris Hilton ethos - her work ethic.
What is some practical advice you can give to young female entrepreneurs in the region who are trying to follow in your footsteps?
It's really about hard work and figuring out what your passion is and what you love to do, and really working at it and building a brand. I did all this before there was social media and now technology has completely changed the whole landscape. And you can really promote and become a brand just off your social media channels and so I think it's really important to use your platforms.
You never needed to work technically, and I would assume that you don't really need to work now - I'm interested to know what drives you to keep working on so many different projects all the time?
Since I was a little girl I always wanted to make my family proud, my father, my grandfather and to live up to the Hilton name and become my own so I can be known as just Paris. I love being successful, I love being a businesswoman, it's something that really drives me in life. And also just making beautiful products for all my fans and just getting to see them all around the world and see how happy I make people, it's just an incredible feeling inside.
At any point was the Hilton name daunting to you, knowing that you had big shoes to fill?
Definitely, it's a lot to live up to but my grandfather and father are so proud of me that I'm carrying on this legacy and taking it to the next level.
 
 
maan@khaleejtimes.com