Peter Davis on Style, New York and his new SCENE
Peter Davis, one of my favorite New York City blue bloods is certainly one to watch! I was so excited to hear about the launch of SCENE, his own society glossy backed by Jared Kushner of The New York Observer. The former Editor in Chief of Avenue Magazine and born and bred Manhattanite (he is related to the Mortimer family and his great grandfather founded The Davis Cup) gives us an inside look at NYC’s old and new elite–SCENE is unique because it is not just a magazine about them, but by them. In the first issue, biting features like Where in the World is John Galliano and The Socialite/The Shopping Site/The Scandal! are sure to ruffle a few feathers. I caught up with the stylish literati where he shares some of his insider secrets and the scoop on SCENE.
Melissa Meyers: Congratulations on the launch of SCENE. What can we expect from the publication?
Peter Davis: SCENE is all about insiders taking you inside every corner of New York. Next month, Carson Griffith’s monthly column “Haute Spot” for example gives you all the secret scoop on Super Linda, the boite of the moment – from where to sit and who to know and when to go. We also have three investigative features every month that are long and in depth – very Vanity Fair and though some are set in New York, they appeal to people all over the globe. They can be a tad scandalous and the hardest part of my job is that I by nature truly strive to be nice to everyone and I’ve had to make some hard decisions. I know that some of the articles I publish will rile people up, some of them friends, but I am an Editor in Chief and when I question how far I should push the envelope, I think of my hero Graydon Carter and say to myself, ‘Graydon would publish this story because it’s a great article and wouldn’t worry about pissing off the subjects.’ These are news stories – we are not a tabloid who goes through people’s trash, but when rich people behave badly, they need to be called out, especially when they break the law. And in addition to great features, there are plenty of party pictures, fashion, amazing things to crave and a great Pop Art influenced palate. The sharp eyes of our Creative Director Cricket Burns and Art Director Dean Quigley always blow me away. All of the covers will be supermodels (the next issue is my friend Hilary Rhoda). Celebrity covers and the puff pieces about them bore me. We will cover celebrities that fascinate us, people like the mysterious and talented Justin Theroux, but not just giving them pages as a platform to promote a movie and talk about how great they are.
Where in the World is John Galliano
MM: How did you come up with the idea of SCENE and then make it happen?
PD: Avenue was a great EIC training experience, but I grew frustrated with the creative handcuffs I was forced to wear. The magazine aimed to be best friends with everyone and that is fine and dandy, but doesn’t exactly make for compelling reading 12 months a year. I did skew younger with the magazine, putting Hannah Bronfman on one cover (dubbing her “Girl of the Year”) and Alexandra Richards on another cover with all the other hot DJ girls like Chelsea Leyland on the inside. But Avenue’s longtime publisher Julie Dannenberg and Cricket and I knew there was room for something bigger and better than Avenue. And also so-called “society” isn’t just limited to the Upper East Side, which is the only neighborhood Avenue is delivered. People who are social and interesting and innovators are all over the city from Harlem to Tribeca to the West Village and SCENE is distributed to every corner of the city as well as news stands. And it isn’t a magazine only for rich, but for everyone who loves New York, great writing (sharing offices and being able to use the amazing writers from The New York Observer is a huge plus) and beautiful, stylish visuals.
How-to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: Tips from Exhale Spa’s Nutrition Intuition
In the health and wellness world, March is the month dedicated to nutrition awareness and at exhale we decided to celebrate with a day of awareness entitled NUTRITION INTUITION.
I was joined by two of exhale’s healers: Laura Benge, our National Spa Director and Rachel Lustgarten, R.D. nutritionist, Keri Glassman, nationally recognized nutrition expert, Katie Lee, Cookbook author and lifestyle expert, and Jeremy Bearman, Executive Michelin- starred Chef of Rouge Tomate NYC for a panel discussion on how to incorporate good nutrition, simple cooking and tasty food into your life on a daily basis.
We spoke on the difficulties of maintaining a healthy lifestyle day to day and some takeaways on solving those challenges; tips like how to cook a nutritious meal in less time than ordering delivery! Prepare raw foods as soon as you bring them home from the market: clean the greens, wash the lettuce, chop the vegetables and store them in containers to be used during the week as dedicated meals or reliable sides for chicken or fish.
Keri made the point that a holistic lifestyle is key to a lean, sexy, happy body. And that it’s not just the food that you eat but your sleep, stress reduction techniques and peacefulness of your home space will all factor in to maximizing health and wellness. According to Keri, a spritz of lavender in the bedroom is a great start to a sleep worthy space! Katie suggested to start your week with a good nutrition plan and if you cheat a little on the weekend, you can start again on Monday. She also shared that preparing foods in advance, like boiling a pot of rice, quinoa or lentils, or steaming a bunch of broccoli and refrigerating are easy ways to stay on track.
A Run/Walk to Remember: The 14th Annual EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women
By Colleen Hagerty
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying there are very few things that can get me out before 8 A.M. on a Saturday morning. However, when I heard about the 14th Annual Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk for Women, I knew I had found something worth waking up early for!
The event—which takes place in both New York and California—raises funds and awareness for women’s cancers with a 5k run/walk and regularly boasts some of today’s hottest celebrities as hosts. The star-studded April 30th Run/Walk in New York City did not disappoint, with Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jimmy Fallon, Nate Berkus, and Dr. Mehmet Oz all coming out as early as 7 A.M. to host the event in Times Square. Despite the early hour, both Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba looked enviably flawless as the Revlon Global Brand Ambassadors, with Alba sporting a chic, short hairstyle and baby bump!
A crowd of 20,000 gathered in the closed-off Times Square to watch them take the stage for a pre-run celebration, which included a soulful performance by Grammy-nominated artist Keyshia Cole. Then, after a countdown from Jimmy Fallon and a shower of confetti, the run was off! The crowd was led by Matt Bomer, who was given the honor of driving the Toyota Pace Car in front of the run—a smart choice, as the White Collar heartthrob is undoubtedly used to being chased by women!
Participants could choose to either run or walk from Times Square to Central Park, where there was a promise of swag and treats at the finish line. Having been almost able to keep up with the super-charged Nate Berkus on the run, I rewarded myself at the finish line with a delicious cupcake courtesy of the bakery behind TLC’s D.C. Cupcakes.
Check out the video above to see the stars and the incredible crowd in action—not bad for an early Saturday morning!
