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Michele Narov

By Michele Narov 8/10/12 3:14pm

fashion fitness

Michael Carl, mid-spin. (Photo by Justin Bishop for Vanity Fair.)

A Vanity Fair Fashion Editor Brings Fleetwood Mac to a Spin Class

Why would anyone opt to gather in a sweaty room on 21st Street between 5th and 6th avenues on a Thursday night while people were lined up on the sidewalk to get in to the plethora of neighboring bars?

Why, to attend Vanity Fair fashion market director Michael Carl’s Fleetwood Mac-themed spin cycle class, of course!

Last night, close to 40 fashion and PR industry types gathered at Flywheel Sports, the popular spinning gym and notorious SoulCycle rival, to pedal furiously while an instructor in a cut-off shirt at the front of the room yelled at them not to use their towel — “Sweat is sexy!” — in a harshly Brooklyn-twanged accent.

If you are wondering how a seventies band like Fleetwood Mac could possibly have been sucked into this sweaty spin class, you’re not alone. “I’m obsessed with Fleetwood Mac,” said Mr. Carl, by way of an explanation. “It’s all I listen to, it’s all I care about.” Read More

By Michele Narov 7/25/12 11:23am

Film premieres

Susan Sarandon and director Alison Klayman. (Andrew Toth/PatrickMcMullan.com)

Susan Sarandon on the Perils of Censorship at the Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Premiere

New Yorkers who walked by the Pulitzer Fountain outside the Plaza Hotel last summer might have been familiar with the artist Ai Weiwei, or at least with his work. His large, striking bronze sculptures, an interpretation of the Chinese zodiac, were impossible to miss on the walk across town on 59th Street.

But what they may not have known was that the installation went on without the artist: he was missing, detained by the Chinese government, supposedly for tax evasion, after many his acts of protest against censorship.

Alison Klayman wants to fill in these gaps of knowledge. Her new documentary, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry premiered last night at a Peggy Siegal Company screening at the Chelsea Clearview Cinema, hosted by Susan Sarandon, to a crowd mostly of New York City artists and film makers.

“I think whenever anyone sees censorship of any kind that the only way [censorship] can continue is if everyone is silent,” Ms. Sarandon told The Observer. “They used to say silence equals death.” Read More

By Michele Narov 7/24/12 1:50pm

Nonsociety

Amy Laurent, Julia Allison and Emily Morse attend the Miss Advised viewing party at Scarlet Lounge. (Steve Mack/Getty Images)

Stars and Fans of Bravo’s Miss Advised Enable Each Other in Narcissistic Echo Chamber/Viewing Party

“They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and that’s how I feel,” Emily Morse, “sex expert” and star of the new Bravo show Miss Advised shouted at The Observer over the DJ at the Scarlet Lounge last night, at a viewing party for the new series.

She was referring to the process of agreeing to star in a reality show, only to be met by the inevitable onslaught of criticism. The show, which follows Ms. Morse, relationship columnist Julia Allison and professional matchmaker Amy Laurent as they struggle in their dating lives, has been, like most Bravo Television, an easy target for bloggers and reviewers who call the girls everything from “self-absorbed” to “boring.”

But despite the obvious talent Bravo’s editors have for making the women look as shallow as possible and the pervasive negative press that surrounds each episode, Ms. Morse had words of encouragement for aspiring reality television stars. “We got such a good response from the viewers that I feel like [the experience] has been really positive,” she told us. Read More

By Michele Narov 7/19/12 11:00am

puppy love

10 Photos

Post-Nuptials

Dogs Say “I Do” at Guinness Record-Breaking Wedding

What exactly does one wear to a dog wedding?

We arrived at the Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park South last Thursday (after deciding on a purple cocktail dress) and we found out the answer was sequins and peacock feathers — if you’re a dog, that is.

While their owners were clad in traditional wedding-going attire, Shih Tzus and Labradoodles alike wore sparkled costumes of every variety. As a pair of tiny Chihuahuas in top hats passed by in the arms of their owners, Caroline Lieberman told us that her dog, named Maharaja Mumbai, was wearing a costume that was specially made for him in India. “I go there a lot, and this is a copy of a little boy’s outfit,” she told The Observer, before she adjusted his sparkly turban and strode off.

Wendy Diamond, founder and editor of Animal Fair magazine, originally intended the wedding to be her dog Lucky’s last hurrah, as the pup was suffering from terminal cancer. Lucky, a rescue dog, often appeared with Ms. Diamond at philanthropy events to raise awareness for pet rescue. Ms. Diamond’s new dog Hope, also a rescue, took Lucky’s place as bride for the affair, with the money raised from the event being donated to the Humane Society. Read More

By Michele Narov 7/18/12 4:10pm

Paris Opera Ballet

Olivia Flatto at the Paris Opera Ballet Summer Soiree at Lincoln Center. (Amber De Vos/ PatrickMcMullan.com)

After 16 Years, an Elite French Ballet Company Returns to Lincoln Center

At 6 p.m. last Wednesday, a gaggle of elegant ballet fans crowding out onto the balcony of the David H. Koch Theater murmured excitedly about the return of the Paris Opera Ballet to New York City for the first time in 16 years.

These were the attendees of the Lincoln Center’s summer soiree, a fundraising gala that featured cocktails and appetizers before the company’s performance and a late dinner. One ballet enthusiast told The Observer that he and his wife had seen the company several times before in Paris. “For dance fans of both traditional ballet and contemporary ballet, this is as good as it gets,” said Steve Pesner. “And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see them in New York.” Read More

By Michele Narov 7/03/12 10:45am

Exhibition openings

The inked-up crowd at the exhibit's opening.

Photographer Nate “Igor” Smith Gets into All Kinds of Trouble on “These New York Streets”

Just when it seemed Mishka NYC—a gaudy streetwear brand with a flagship alit in pink neon in between its drab neighbors under the elevated JMZ tracks in Williamsburg—couldn’t scream for attention any louder, they went and hosted party photographer Nate “Igor” Smith’s “These New York Streets,” a small exhibit of emotionally charged city scenes shot with a 35 millimeter camera.

On Friday, friends and admirers of Mr. Smith crowded into the small store to check out the prints on display. The scenes included a fire hydrant explosion, a man splayed out on the street with his nose bloodied, gothic nightlife entertainers still dressed in black glitter and angel wings getting into a cab the next morning and other intense New York City moments. Read More

By Lindsey Cherner, Michele Narov, Margaret Nickens, Sarah Sassoon and Jess Schiewe 6/22/12 4:15pm

Music Events

elec guitar

Five Mini-Profiles of the Music Makers of Make Music New York

Yesterday saw over one thousand concerts in the greater New York area, organized under the umbrella of Make Music NY, a rambling participatory music festival that spills over into this weekend. The sheer number of concerts means it’s more than any one news organization could ever hope to cover (and, in fact, interest in MMNY was so great that their website crashed yesterday due to too many visitors), but we did our best. We sent correspondents to four single-instrument “Mass Appeal” events, where musicians of any level could be involved in a group performance. Below the cut, we chat with players of the guitar, drums, bagpipes (complete with a dude in a kilt!) and the ukulele–the event for which was held in Williamsburg, natch. Read More

By Michele Narov 6/21/12 2:30pm

galas

Drummers inviting guests into (the much-needed air conditioning of) Cipriani.

Impressive Funds Raised (and Oppressive Heat Noted!) at the Nature Conservancy Global Gala

“If we succeed, more New Yorkers will know about the Nature Conservancy,” Bill Ulfelder, the New York director of the conservation nonprofit, told The Observer yesterday.

The deafening drum circle dressed in bright colors that greeted suit-clad supporters of the Nature Conservancy as they entered Cipriani and caught the attention of passerby on the usually quiet corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue was definitely hard to ignore.

Outside New Yorkers panted their way through the 96-degree heat, but behind the doors of the famed venue, supporters of the Nature Conservancy found sweet refuge in cold drinks, good food and, most important, central air-conditioning. Close to 70 tables decorated the restaurant floor as about 620 guests filed into the organization’s Global Gala, hosted by Meredith Vieira, honoring Robert W. Wilson and spotlighting the Nature Conservancy’s recent partnership with the Dow Chemical Company. Read More