vanity project
Narcissistic creative pursuit
A vanity project is an undertaking pursued primarily to gratify the creator's ego rather than to meet genuine demand or artistic necessity.
The term is usually disparaging, implying self-indulgence and questionable merit: The film was dismissed as a vanity project—he directed, starred in, and financed it himself.
Vanity projects often involve someone wealthy or powerful bypassing normal gatekeepers who might otherwise say no.
- egoOne's self-image
- ego tripSelf-serving indulgence
- self-indulgentYielding to one's desires
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- narcissismExcessive admiration of oneself
folly · extravagance · monument · legacy · white elephant · money pit · boondoggle · director's cut · art house · prestige · grandiose · showpiece · trophy · trophy wife · masturbatory · personal branding · indulgence · bloated
- folliesfolly, foolishness, stupidity, idiocy, lunacy
- impracticalitiesimpracticality, pipe dream, pie in the sky, castle in the air, fool's errand
- star vehiclesstar turn, one-man show, one-woman show, biopic, leading role
- wastetrash, garbage, rubbish, refuse, debris
- album typesstudio album, live album, debut album, sophomore album, EP
- financial failuresbankruptcy, insolvency, foreclosure, liquidation, default
vanity projectlabor of love
Work done for fulfillment, not payment
public service · community project · passion project · charitable work · necessity
vanity projectmoney-maker
Source of profit
cash cow · sure thing · bread and butter · blockbuster · profit center
vanity projectnecessity
Indispensable requirement
critical infrastructure · bare necessity · day job · meat and potatoes · grunt work
vanity, project, vainly, vainness, vainglory, vainglorious, projects, projected, projecting