And it has been for a while, at least here in our offices. For months, telltale little green coolers have been making appearances in the fridges at W and WWD. Their contents: the Blueprint Cleanse, which, for those unfamiliar, is a ready-made juice cleanse -- six drinks a day for one, three, five, or, for the incredibly masochistic, seven days. More than ten of us, including Roxanne Robinson-Escriout, Priya Rao, Garrett Munce, Beitressa Mandelbaum, Nick Axelrod and Julee Kaplan, have now tried the cleanse and the response has been mostly positive. Or at least, our participants were willing to take the good with the bad. As Garrett, a fashion assistant at W put it, "Toward the end of day three I just really wanted to chew something. But once it was over, people told me my skin looked amazing and radiant -- something I'd never heard before." (Lest anyone dismiss us as a pack of cliched fashion editors in search of a pre-packaged eating disorder, it should be noted that we're not alone in our purist pursuits: the company's sales have more than doubled in the past year.)

I cleansed out of curiosity for the first time in June, at which point the idea of avoiding salt, caffeine, alcohol and solid food seemed exotic and experimental. Driven by visions of vibrant skin and detoxed organs, I forked over $195 for the three-day option and led the monastic life Monday through Wednesday -- a time that included watching friends consume spicy pina coladas at the Rusty Knot while I solemnly sipped a concoction of kale, spinach, green apple, celery and cucumber juice ("It goes down easier with a straw," noted Nick, a WWD fashion assistant). By Thursday, the results were in: I didn't lose any real weight, but I felt lighter. No magic there; I hadn't eaten for three days. And as a person prone to puff, the dramatic de-bloating effect was priceless. On the downside, the cleanse killed my social life -- so on Thursday I broke the post-cleanse rules and had two glasses of champagne at a Jil Sander party. Friday morning found me prostrate on my bathroom floor after paying homage to the porcelain god (Roxanne, WWD's accessories director, reports she had a similar post-cleanse experience when she had a peppered-tuna steak). Still, I was satisfied enough to sign up for a sequel with Sarah Taylor, W senior fashion features editor, earlier this month.  

The results the second time around proved less thrilling than the first, although Taylor says her skinny jeans felt a little less skinny afterwards. Maybe I'm just not in the same shape I was during the summer, but this time, I felt less dramatically detoxed post-cleanse. Of course, I don't have any scientific evidence to prove a difference and it could have been all mental. After all, my cheekbones hadn't looked that chiseled since June.

Its no-man's-land location of 29th and Broadway notwithstanding, the Ace Hotel New York (see our story in the new issue) set to open this February, is on track to attract a fashionable foodie crowd.  April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman of The Spotted Pig fame will be opening a 150-seat restaurant adjoining the hotel where diners can expect "rib roasts, racks of veal, lots of potted meat and some terrines," says Bloomfield, adding that offal will also be offered. "It's going to be kind of rustic, almost medieval."


A model room in the Ace Hotel.

According to Friedman, in the past few years he and Bloomfield (who also just opened The John Dory) have been approached by  "dozens of hotel people to do new hotels," including W Hotels and Morgans Hotel Group. The Ace won out, he says, because of Friedman's long-time ties with Ace founder Alex Calderwood.  In the Nineties, Calderwood, then based in Seattle, was known for throwing "legendary parties" explains Friedman, who had a previous career as an exec at London Records. "I'd always see him when I'd go out to Seattle or Portland to check out bands." 

Design firm Roman and Williams (they did Kate Hudson's LA house) will be giving the restaurant a turn-of-the century pub feel with an oak floor reclaimed from two different barns, a massive vintage bar and curtain-enclosed booths which, according to the firm's Robin Standefer, are a riff on Irish snugs (once used to shield ladies whilst they imbibed). There's still no word on their restaurant's moniker, though. "We've had a name for about six months and then I decided that I hated it," said Friedman.

Tipped off by our creative director Dennis Freedman, who's a big fan of the stunning East Side flower shop Zeze Flowers, my colleague Catherine Hong and I immediately hopped over for lunch at Ze Cafe, which opened just this week. Located in the former carriage house that was home to the original Zeze for close to two decades, the casually chic eatery features an eclectic French, Italian and Brazilian menu and a died-and-gone-to-heaven selection of pastries and desserts. Of course it's no mystery why the food is so delicious; owners Zeze and Peggy O'Dea partnered with two Le Cirque alumni--Roberto and Monica Bellissimo--to steer the culinary ship. (Cute story: Roberto and Monica met at Le Cirque when he was the sous chef and she was the pastry sous chef; they got married, went into business together and are now expecting a baby.) Over impossibly tasty tomato soup, a gruyere-topped veggie burger, a killer tuna sandwich that rivals the one across town at Bouchon Bakery and a pecan tart with homemade creme fraiche ice cream--we surveyed the ultra-coiffed crowd, many of whom no doubt reside in the fabled River House, just around the corner. It seems they've already claimed the beautiful new boite as their own.   

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A bevy of ladies sporting "No Fur!" heart-shaped pins greeted guests at the "Cool vs. Cruel" party last night at the Bowery Hotel. Organized by The Humane Society of the United States, the event drew a solid fashion crowd, among them Agyness Deyn (who was billed as the night's DJ), Tallulah Harlech (below right,daughter of Lady Amanda Harlech) and downtown auteur-ette Arden Wohl (below, left). Not everyone heeded the anti-fur message to the T, however. Wohl, for one, showed up in leggings, a teal cableknit turtleneck ... and, slung across her arm, a tan vintage shearling coat. "That's okay, if it's vintage," a companion quickly reassured her.

Arden Wohl sans shearling; Tallulah Harlech strikes a pose

Meanwhile, the young Harlech--dressed in a black vintage Ossie Clark dress borrowed from her mom and Prada heels--discussed her acting aspirations. Having recently appeared in a silent film directed by Karl Lagerfeld (granted, the man is practically her uncle), she is now hoping to find a new project. "Point me to any directors!" she quipped as she eyed the room. Deyn (below), who was accompanied by fiance Albert Hammond Jr., was operating on a slightly lower voltage. At one point she took a break from her post at the turntables (it should be noted, most of the music seemed to be coming straight from her ipod) to make a rather pained photo-op on the red carpet. When asked to pose with fashion designer Charlotte Ronson she declined, saying she had to get back to her DJ post.

Agyness Deyn and Albert Hammond Jr., djaying

Other party attendees included Paul Marlow and Alex Galan (below) from men's line Loden Dager as well as Project Runway's first-ever winner Jay McCarroll, who was wearing a Mardi Gras-esque cacophony of necklaces, including a pendant of a scorpion suspended in resin. "I shouldn't be wearing it because it's a bug!" he shouted, basking in the flashbulbs' glow. Midway through the soiree, fashion photog Nigel Barker (best known as a judge on America's Next Top Model), spokesperson for the Protect Seals campaign for The Humane Society of the
United States, gave a speech about the cruelty of fur. Although most of the guests seemed more tuned in to the open bar, he did elicit some sympathetic nods. "It's not chic," sniffed a coiffed guest. It's just not chic."

Loden Dager designers Paul Marlow and Alex Galan

All photos Donald Bowers/WIREIMAGE.

Fashion ads and editorials are dominated by 5' 11" glamazons who weigh 135 pounds. But when photographers need subjects who don't fit the usual bill, they call Jennifer Venditti. The New York casting director is known in the industry for her rare eye for finding the imperfect, but captivating, beauty in everyday people. For the past ten years, she's cast her vibrantly strange characters in innumerable advertisements (including the current Dolce & Gabbana campaign, above) and editorials (many for W).

Last year, Venditti took her talent for embracing the unique to filmmaking. Her first directorial effort, Billy the Kid, which just came out on DVD, follows the lovably eccentric Maine teenager Billy Price through a week of his sophomore year, complete with lunch periods spent alone, KISS-inspired guitar freak-outs, and his first brush with love.  "I'm attracted to someone with a strong sense of self and a unique spirit," she says. "Someone who isn't willing to conform and has a story, of course."

Most recently, Venditti (pictured below) helped cast Spike Jonze's adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, slated for a 2009 release. And she's currently mapping out a script for her next film (a feature inspired by, among other things, "women, survival instincts, madness") and casting an art project for fellow downtown fixture photographer Ryan McGinley.

The DVD is available through Zeitgeist films; it's also, of course on Netflix.

Portrait courtesy of Jennifer Venditti.

Despite the fact that he's no longer with us, Ian Fleming is about to have his very own Willard Scott moment. To celebrate the centenary of Fleming's birth, Asprey is introducing limited-edition collections of the author's complete works, published by Queen Anne Press. There are 18 volumes in all and his literary range is pretty impressive, from the entire James Bond oeuvre to the kids' classic Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. (Fun fact: Fleming was managing director at the publishing house from 1952 to his death in 1964.) And true to the Asprey company roots, each set is luxed-up to the hilt, clothbound and with gilt edges ($4,000) or with vellum spines, individual slipcases and handmade stamped endpapers ($12,000). For the truly reckless, there's the leather-bound set priced at $28,000, bedecked with gold leaf and diamonds. 

Having been obsessed with both design and motorcycles all my life, one exhibit I was not going to miss was "Chicara Liquid Chrome,"  a show by Japanese graphic designer-turned-motorcycle master Chicara Nagata of four of the most beautifully crafted pieces of design on two wheels ever created.

Upon entering Chelsea's Ippodo Gallery for the opening last week, my friends and I were immediately greeted with Asahi beer and traditional Japanese snacks -- but my only interest was to see these moving metal sculptures that Chicara has created, which meld both the futuristic and traditional worlds of design. Each (totally functioning) Chicara motorcycle is comprised of almost 500 individual parts and took the artist approximately 7,500 painstaking hours to create. The end result is some of the most exquisite and tasteful pieces of industrial design I have ever seen. This is the first time Mr. Nagata's machines have seen in the U.S. and they will be on view at  until the January 31.

The price, you ask? $1.5 million each. Enjoy!

Top left: Hiromi Yoshida, President Dentsu USA (left), with Chicara Nagata. Top right: Spectators marvel at the craftsmanship.

Photographs by Rena Ohashi

When I interviewed Blake Lively for our December cover, our chat covered the waterfront from whipped creme "carburetors" (a total foodie, she actually owns one) to the fact that she's now being tapped for indie films alongside the likes of Alan Arkin and Julianne Moore.

Though Blake's obviously got a lot going on, I couldn't resist asking about my favorite Gossip guy: Ed Westwick, aka the sinister Chuck Bass. Sliming his way through every episode in one insane, prep-run-amok ensemble after another, he's emerged as the show's true fashion scene-stealer.

"It's so much fun," Blake said, chuckling over Westwick's out-there get-ups. "This is when I knew it had hit an all-time high level of craziness: Something happened with my outfit for the White Party episode. We were on location and it was five in the morning, so we couldn't go to any local stores. We were trying to find different pants because something was happening with the seams on mine. And they pulled out a pair of Chuck's shorts to try to get me to wear those. It was summer time, and they were these tiny, tiny little shorts. And they actually kind of fit me, which was the sad part."

According to GG executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, Chuck's peacock persona draws on input from costume designer Eric Daman and Westwick himself. "Peacock is the operative word--he's strutting with the brightest feathers," said Schwartz. "It's a great fusion of Eric Daman's sensibilities and Stephanie's incredible supervision, combined with Ed Westwick's utter fearlessnesss. The man will rock a headband and a crazy basketball jersey, or like a bowtie and a seersucker suit, without one ounce of self-awareness. Or fear." 

All photos courtesy of CW.

Yesterday, the W magazine-commissioned portrait of Michelle and Sasha Obama by Elizabeth Peyton was put on view at the New Museum as part of Peyton's retrospective, "Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton." Laura Hoptman, the curator of the show (which opened October 8) eyed the portrait after its completion and decided that, as a nonpartisan institution, the museum would show the painting only if Barack Obama won the election.

Hoptman says that Peyton's portrait, which depicts Michelle seated at the Democratic National Convention with Sasha resting on her lap, has "particular significance." Explains Hoptman, "Elizabeth is such a current artist, a contemporary artist. She tells us about the world as it is at this moment." Hoptman describes the work as a "wonderful painting" of a worthy subject, adding that the newly elected first lady will become "an icon for women" in the years to come.

The show is on view in New York until January 11, after which it will move to the
Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.

Above: Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008 2008 Oil on MDF 14 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches

The eminent photographer William Eggleston celebrated his first major New York museum show since 1976 with an intimate dinner at the Whitney Museum of American Art last night. Looking dapper in a bright green bow tie, Eggleston, legendary almost as much for his partying as for his spare, off-kilter images, imbibed as fans like Juergen Teller, Dennis Hopper (below left) and Patti Smith (below right) paid tribute. Brooke Garber Neidich, co-chairman of the Whitney's board of trustees, was tickled that when introduced to Eggleston, who was raised on the Mississippi Delta and lives in Memphis, Tennessee, he called her "darlin'" and asked her to get him a drink.

The show itself is no less charming. Large but well edited, it hits all the high points of Eggleston's career. One guest was overheard telling Hopper with ironic understatement, "There are some nice pictures here."

Read the William Eggleston feature from our 2008 Art Issue here.


All photos by Steve Eichner.