THE SCENE Inside FHM’s Woman of the Year party: Hot room, cold drinks, lukewarm feminism

Last night, FHM hosted its annual Halloween Party, where the magazine celebrates its list of the 100 Most Influential Women of the Year. The event took place at The Rawson in The Rocks. Or, as we now like to call it, the humid tomb masquerading as a function room.

Among the night’s “who’s who” were Ryan and Tony from the most recent MAFS season, Australia’s most famous influencer-slash-actor-slash-model-slash-author-slash-singer Suzan Mutesi, plus Lawson Mahoney, Aimee Woolley, Dean Wells, Rhiannon O’Loughlin, Ali Daher and others. The evening was hosted by none other than national treasure Nasser Sultan, who, in case you missed it, recently split from accredited journalist Karla Grant.

Compared to last year’s lube-and-perfume Chemist Warehouse gift bags, guests left empty-handed, although some left with new PR regrets. Lawson and Susan attempted (and failed) a publicity pash that felt eerily reminiscent of her Pelicanos stunt with Ryan a few months back. And a certain cancelled influencer spotted working behind the bar reportedly sparked some tension among his ex-industry peers. And no, we will not be naming names.

The night was a blur of thongs, angel wings, and enough synthetic fabric to single-handedly boost Canesten’s quarterly sales. In short: a party that probably set the feminist movement back a century, but hey, at least everyone seemed to have fun before the crowd mysteriously thinned out around 10pm, when the VIP section quietly opened its doors to the general public.

At time of publication, we’re still unsure as to who the influential women we were celebrating are.