Inside The A List’s Annual Party Celebrating Hollywood Assistants

In Hollywood, a party is rarely just a party.

But rather than throw a bash to launch a brand, celebrate a new project or honor a boldfaced name, Ashlee Margolis and her team at The A List hosted a soirée Friday simply to say “thank you.” The invitees on the receiving end of that gesture just so happened to be a group of Hollywood insiders that are more commonly associated with grunt work than gratitude: Assistants.

“It’s a way to say thank you to the assistants that help us all year long,” explained Margolis to The Hollywood Reporter about the origins of the fourth annual young Hollywood mixer, which took place inside and around the property of her Beverly Hills headquarters on Civic Center Drive. “The energy is raging. So many of these kids, it’s their first opportunity to leave work early for Summer Fridays so we’re celebrating that and them. The weather’s gorgeous, everyone’s having a lot of fun, they’re schmoozing and some of them are meeting each other for the first time after exchanging calls and emails for months if not years.”

The A List, a celebrity, influencer and entertainment marketing, events and special projects firm, invited 450 talent assistants from top companies across town including CAA, UTA, WME, Untitled Entertainment, Gersh, Entertainment 360, IDPR, 42 West, Lede Company, Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, Range Media Partners, Mosaic and many others. Several hundred were on the scene to sip, snack, shake hands, schmooze and take tours of The A List’s showroom.

Other party activities included hair and make-up touch-ups courtesy of Glamsquad and a raffle featuring prizes from event sponsors LOFT, Fly by Jing, Grove Collaborative and Glamsquad. Sweetfin offered poke bowls, rideshare credits were doled out by Uber and pours came courtesy of Aspen Vodka, Flecha Tequila and Unusual Wines. Attendees went home with gift bags that included products by Fly by Jing, Clarins, Bloom Nutrition, Magic Mind, FORM, Dirty Cookie, Glamnetic and comped classes from Barry’s. Additional sponsorship came from RepBets, Bloom Nutrition, Magic Mind, Saint James Iced Tea, Dirty Cookie, Prince St. Pizza and VOSS.

Speaking of name-checking, Margolis also said one thing is key to curating a great party for assistants: Name tags. “It’s crucial so they can identify who’s who, where they work and all of that,” she said. “It’s great to make connections that way because many of the people who are here today are most likely going to be in the entertainment industry for years to come, so they will know each other forever after meeting here today.”