Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Left: This young patron poses at the Fetish Party held at Cuddy'z last year.   Right: Patrons in makeshift school uniforms at the Ultimate School Uniform Party. This one was held at Weekenz, Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew, in June. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Themed parties are hitting the entertainment scene with force, with new themes arising almost every weekend.

French Legion, Wild Wild West, Osmosis, Orientation are just a few of the exotic themes that promoters use to entice party goers.

Rodrick Reid, communications coordinators for ALEM and JLK Entertainment states, "Theme parties are a step away from the monotony, where people get to dress according to the theme. One problem is largely enforcing it or the practicality of them. We have found that school-themed parties work because people conform to it."

Promotion

A huge part of promoting a party is the name. According to the promoter for French Connection, "We wanted a bold name that portrayed our exuberance and what we were pushing. We are pushing the glit, glammer and fashion, the trendiest parties around, French Connection fit."

He continued, "We try to create a concept oriented to France or high fashion. For example, in December, we had our New Year's party and it was 'midnight on the French Riviera'. That was the french aspect. The first party was based on pirates back in the 1600s, so we had like french maids with dusters. Recently, we had the french foreign legions."

While some promoters look to the past for inspiration, others look at the latest trends. Reid elaborates, "In terms of names and themes, we try to examine what is current, hip and fresh. Like we may borrow a concept from a song and use that to brainstorm. Then we research it by bouncing ideas off people as to how it sounds. For example, Exotic Fridays, we wanted something premium, hip, sexy. A certain image would be conjured."

Reid further said, "For Mellow Vibes, we were chilling and we said we wanted a party where people can enjoy themselves, creating a mellow feeling. Mellow incorporates the party by its nature the retro taking you back kind of thing. For future Mellow Vibes, we want to enhance that by putting up images of the past such as scenes from old movies."

All around, the theme party seems to be a huge success, as even the sponsors are happy to support them. Safia Cooper, brand manager for Smirnoff states, "We sponsor themed parties like that of High Society, Smirnoff Exclusive and Smirnoff Experience, Osmosis, just to name a few." She continues, "We basically take our response based on the consumer. Consumers get more from themed events when they overlay the theme. Like Wild Wild West the whole decor goes along with the theme. We try to market with the theme. So for Wild Wild West we are co-branding the outfits for the hostesses on the night, to integrate the brand. Most events have themes whether it be colours, carnival or more."

Wacky themes

Patrons enjoy the wacky themes that promoters invent, as they agree that it is enticing in a variety of ways. According to party-goer Annaliese Chambers, "Themed parties are fun, it's a chance to dress outside the box without people looking at you strangely because everyone else is doing the same thing. It's something outside of the norm, the same boring norm, so this is more innovative. I would still go to a party regardless if there was no theme, if I was interested enough. It is actually the name of the party that draws you to go to it. I'm drawn to names or parties like 'Halloween Fetish', 'Insane' or anything with'Pimps and Hoes'.