Controversy over influencer's company dinner at Braidense. She: "I paid for the location."

Is it right for one ofItaly’s most important historical libraries , the Braidense Library in Milan, to turn its most significant room, the Sala Teresiana, the 18th-century hall with Giuseppe Piermarini’s spectacular shelving, into an event venue for corporate celebrations? That’s what many are wondering today, after Veralab, the cosmetics company founded by influencer Estetista Cinica, held an invitation-only dinner in the very Sala Teresiana last Thursday. Braidense Library closed all day to allow the organization of the event: until the day before yesterday, however, nothing was known about it, and the controversy flared up after the company posted on its social profiles a video with footage of the event, which was held not only in the library but also in the Cortile d’Onore of Brera.

Fuchsia lights shot over the architecture of the Braidense complex (Canova’s Napoleon included), a table set in the hall a short distance from the books, a private party to promote the brand and celebrate its launch in Spain, a DJset, and even takeaway pizzas delivered by Vespa.

Interestingly enough, this time the controversy did not originate outside the influencer’s circle of admirers, but it was her own base that addressed her with resounding criticism. In fact, one cannot count the negative comments read under the video posted on social:

“What a fall in style,” writes one user. “Just from you, art lover, I did not expect this carelessness and bullying: I can pay for it so I can do it. Get your feet back on the ground. Contrary to what you say in your stories, flash was used, just look at this video. Also, in that room the large presence of guests cannot have benefited the treasures it holds, because of the moisture produced by those present and the gestures of those who touched the bookcase to take pictures of themselves. I do not believe that they imposed rules on you to follow because otherwise I imagine you would have gone out of your way to enforce them. Instead, I think you only need to pay to do what you want and that’s what you not so veiledly said in the stories.” Again, another user: “A private company rents a public property and organizes a closed-door wind in it, complete with dinner inside a room of the Braidense National Library. If this seems fair to you: a commodified public cultural asset, debased to a location for private events.” Another: “I am a simple person and I ask myself: but why don’t you use things for what they are ? Dinners are had in restaurants ( or related ) and in libraries you go to read !” And he cuts short at the end of the comment, “Everything else is a tad insulting braggadocio.”

Then there are those who put it on the level of the new awareness of the followers, now no longer willing to buy everything that comes from their favorites: “Too much. All too much. I don’t think a lot of influencers are realizing that something has changed in the sensibility of followers. If before this golden world aroused admiration, a desire to emulate, today it sounds tremendously out of tune. These are terrible years in all respects this brazen display of luxury comes across as really vulgar and ignorant. As a marketing operation I don’t think it has fully worked.” So much so that some people decide to abandon the brand: “This video really makes sense to me, it looks like a dystopia. I won’t give a penny more to either Overskin or Veralab,” says one user. And then, there are those who remember that inside the Braidense “you can’t even drink water” and you must “touch books and shelves strictly with white gloves.” Instead, in the video, shots of guests are seen posing touching the shelves.

Of course, there are also those who defend Cynical Beautician and her company, but the general atmosphere seems to be strongly negative. And of course her response was not long in coming: “I organized an event inside Brera myself, as other people have organized it before me,” she allegedly said through some Instagram stories reported by Corriere della Sera. “The location was wanted by me because the alternative was another hotel. There were ten very big Spanish influencers, in their stories they first did a tour inside Brera showing our Pinacoteca to millions of people in Spain. The event had the necessary permissions: the candles on the tables were fake and no flash photos were taken. Organizing events in these settings is very complicated because there are very strict rules. The caterers are chosen by the museums. I paid to be in a location. I always paid for everything I did, just like any other brand does. Let’s stop the mystification of cultural venues. The works you see inside Brera were made thanks to private patronage. I have been called a ’Parvenu,’ but good thing there are people who get rich from their work. What I have I have earned it all. I am not rich from my family.” How much would the company have spent on the evening? According to reports in the Italian newspaper Fatto Quotidiano, the Braidense collected 80 thousand euros from the Veralab dinner, in addition to 15 thousand paid to the custodians.

Controversy over influencer's company dinner at Braidense. She: "I paid for the location."

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