The red carpets and VIP areas of the world’s glitziest events have always been a matter of interest to us at LLM – Luxury Lifestyle Magazine. The perfectly complementary combination of glamour, flashbulbs and celebrities suits the luxury environment our readers are used to. However, unlike many other luxury things, these events offer one key distinction, they cannot be bought into.
The key-holders to these events typically make the guest lists behind closed doors with their PRs and invite the friends of the brands they are celebrating. Recognisable faces from the worlds of music, film, art, society and fashion attend whilst onlookers crane their necks for a chance to see them enter. So, how did we manage to break through? We discovered a secret – an underground society that operates behind the scenes at some of the glitziest parties in London and New York.
The covert members club is known as ‘Don’t Die Wondering (DDW)’. Running in the background of the celebrity scene for years, this elite network opens access to all of the top exclusive PR events for luxury brands, private gigs, film red carpets and intimate dinners with the stars. Membership is coveted and includes high-net-worth individuals, actors and recording artists with a flair for living life to the fullest.
With a discreet nature at its core, alongside utter exclusivity – a person can only become a member when an existing one deems it necessary to give up their spot – this luxury concierge service is reserved for those truly keen on mingling with movers and shakers across the music, fashion art and lifestyle scene.
Bringing guests together in the same space by invitation only, members are handpicked by a specialist committee in order to facilitate the right connections. The high-net-worth concierge and society membership has become both respected and coveted in recent years – and it certainly isn’t hard to see why.
The company is headed up by entrepreneur and investor Antoin Commane. In order to secure members with their golden tickets, DDW leverages international connections to open the doors to elite events happening every day in London and New York City, with high quality and widespread coverage of these influential events causing a regular stir across the media.
Commane can be found attending at events also – with over 215k Instagram followers himself, he has become known as something of an icon on social media. With features in Tatler, the Evening Standard and the BBC News for his ventures, his is a name that everyone recognises in the right circles – allowing for direct access to the best PRs and brands.
Commane has been an entrepreneur for decades, starting his journey at the tender age of sixteen, when he created a web hosting company which was later sold for a generous profit. Later he moved into the nightlife business with nightclubs in well-to-do Kensington, one of London’s most affluent boroughs, housing the young royals in the neighbouring palace. His venues saw the likes of Prince Harry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Rita Ora enjoy many nights out over the years, attracting the attention of international gossip columns and later, paving the way for Don’t Die Wondering.
There is no question that Commane has been successful in the past and DDW is yet another thriving project, with a vibrant membership society and magazine that is making a considerable amount of impact across an industry starved for new ideas. Years after launching, prospective members still send applications in droves, waiting to be lucky enough to occupy the space of a leaving member and be handpicked by the specialist committee.
As applicants to the society we can only hope to be in the lucky few.
For more information on Don’t Die Wondering, visit dontdiewondering.com.
