Glitterati by Oliver K. Langmead is, in the words of Jack Edwards, chef’s kiss. This book is amazing. I want to tell everything about it, but I don’t want to give spoilers.

Simone St. Claire is one of the glitterati, the filthy rich fashion elite. He doesn’t follow trends, he sets them. His fashion rival, and co-worker, Justine, has a habit of stealing his ideas and taking credit for them. A petty fashion war of Zoolander proportions breaks out between them. Justine doesn’t play fair. She threatens his his life and family, both figuratively and literally. Simone goes to great lengths to protect his wife and adopted daughter and to prove just how unfashionable Justine really is.

Langmead’s satire explores the rich and shallow lives of leisure of billionaires and influencer culture through the world of ever changing  fashion trends. In some cases fashion means great suffering, and that makes it all the more glamorous. The glitterati take beauty in suffering to new levels. Simone creates two fashion trends quite by accident, both faux pas that normally would result in public embarrassment. Instead, they became trendy, quite literally overnight. Simone’s fashion rival, Justine, took credit for both. One of the trends is a bloody nose that drips over ones clothing. The glitterati will go to great lengths to participate in the trend, even if results in death.

Throughout the book we learn just how removed from reality the glitterati are. This draws a parallel to the 1% and how they are utterly clueless about everything not going on in their bubble of privilege. A stabs are taken at both the labour exploitation that celebrities often participate in when putting out a fashion line and how the elite are untouchable when it comes to the law. The division of social and economic classes is tackled in an unique and beautiful way. Then there is the examination of how absurd trends can be…

Through a series of events, that could only happen to members of the glitterati, Simone undergoes a huge transformation and comes out a much better person in the end. His wife chooses a different route. In the end they have their happy ever after, and the world continues to function as it always has. However, Simone changing brings about other small changes that very well could have a lasting effect on society.

The world building is amazing. The futuristic tech of the glitterati utopia are fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Langmead has created a bizarre world and done away with clichés creating a one of a kind story that reflects the world we live in. Glitterati is original and unlike anything I have ever read. It has totally blown me away.