By Benjamin-Emile Le Hay 9/11/12 12:00pm

A Brush with a Brant

Harry Brant strikes a pose for the cameras at Emporio Armani's flagship store opening

Harry Brant Is a “Modern-Day Hannah Montana”: Balances Fashion Shows, Parties and School Field Trips

Despite that Harry Brant has barely cleared puberty, the social-buzzing, babygay spawn of model Stephanie Seymour and billionaire media/art/real estate tycoon Peter Brant, has a busy schedule that rivals those of Paris Hilton and Olivier Zahm. This past Friday at Emporio Armani’s 601 Madison Avenue boutique opening, we approached the 16-year-old high school sophomore to find why is he out socializing with Roberta Armani, Luigi Tadini, Ms. Hilton, Ricky Martin, Ryan Lochte, artist Rashaad Newsome, Anna dello Russo and Kate Lanphear, when he should probably be cracking those Algebra books.

“What have you been up to today?” we asked.

“I went to Rag & Bone. I liked it,” replied Mr. Brant, smiling profoundly. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 9/05/12 12:35pm

The Eight-Day Week

Brants

To Do Wednesday: Fashion Week Begins

It’s Fashion Week! The twice-yearly celebration of the best and most outré garments you almost certainly won’t be wearing come fall opens today with the Couture Council Luncheon at Lincoln Center. Oscar de la Renta is to accept an “Artistry of Fashion Award” from Mayor Bloomberg—hey, the man gave himself a third term, he can Read More

By Drew Grant 8/07/12 9:30am

Shindigger

Madame Mayhem. (Patrick McMullan/PatrickMcMullan.com)

Is There a Donor in the House?: The Paulson Emergency Department Gala at Southampton Hospital

“This is insane…it’s like a Fellini film,” The Observer overheard one guest murmur as we arrived at the Southampton Hospital gala last Saturday evening. The theme of the evening was Grand Prix Monaco, though many of the high-paying donors didn’t seem to have gotten the memo—or known what it meant, perhaps. Women wore colorful dresses in every conceivable hue and style, while the men ranged from casual checkered shirts to top hats and tails.

Though this was a charity event, there was a measure of self-interest on the part of the attendees: after all, the Jenny and John Paulson Emergency Department of Southampton Hospital is the only emergency room facility for 50 miles. As opposed to say, giving money to Haiti, this was clearly a cause that could potentially affect donors directly.

“This benefit is considered sort of the social benefit of the season,” gala chair Laura Lofaro Freeman told The Observer. “It’s really to update and upgrade the equipment in the emergency room, make sure it’s cutting-edge…et cetera.” Read More

By Foster Kamer 6/20/12 5:57pm

Wow

The Brant Brothers

The Ten Best Lines from the Thursday Styles Profile of the Brant Brothers, ‘The New Princes of the City’

Peter Brant is the owner of Brant Publications, which makes him the publisher of Interview Magazine, which was started by Andy Warhol. He also makes lots of money doing other things, like collecting art. His wife—who he almost got a divorce with, and then, reconciled with—is supermodel Stephanie Seymour, who was in the “November Rain” video. He had three children with her. Two of them were profiled by the New York Times for tomorrow’s Thursday Styles section.

Without further ado, here are the ten best lines, removed from their context, without commentary*: Read More

By Daniel Geiger 1/03/12 3:00pm

power broker

Baxter, Richard NEW 6 31 11

Richard Baxter Dishes on the Drama Behind the Deals at Casa Lever

It was lunchtime at Casa Lever, the high-end restaurant in the iconic Lever House, and Richard Baxter was on his BlackBerry negotiating.

It was a busy year for Mr. Baxter and his colleagues at Jones Lang LaSalle. His four-man team comprised some of the city’s most prominent brokers of large-scale commercial office buildings, and as the Manhattan sales market’s post-recessionary thaw continues, Mr. Baxter estimated that the group had tallied an impressive $1.3 billion in deals this year.

Three days before Christmas, however, it wasn’t one particular skyscraper Mr. Baxter was bargaining over from his plum seat at Casa Lever. In a year-end rush, his group had loose ends to tie up, deals to close and transactions still in the works. And so, on this particular Thursday amid a bustling lunch crowd, Mr. Baxter was not negotiating with a buyer or a building owner, but rather one of his own assistants, whom he was asking to stay late to receive critical documents and to help get the team through the rest of the day. Read More

By Nate Freeman 9/28/10 10:02pm

Art and Sculpture

Art Star Gives Milan The Finger — In Statue Form

Thanks to artist Maurizio Cattelan — the prankster artist and sculpter who splits his time between the East Village and Italy — an 11-meter installation of a severed hand with its middle finger firmly raised is currently placed in front of the Milan Stock Exchange. The bird-flipping effigy is called “L.O.V.E.”

The decision to direct such a Read More