The buzz surrounding the Conde Nast building used to reek of money, beauty, and success. Right now, the biggest news centers around two things: the great advertising depression and, surprisingly, the gays.
Cathy Horyn managed to pin down a couple of Conde editors and get them to admit things were souring at the notoriously high-brow publishing giant. One even admitted that the consumers might (gasp) not be interested in the culture of excess anymore.
"Everybody thought they had to spend money. They thought it was a new way of life. Now they’re rubbing the dust out of their eyes. ‘I don’t need that handbag. What was I doing?' ”
Others find themselves reeling from the news that Conde is hiring consultants to evaluate the company's finances. “'It’s the fear of the great unknown," one editor remarked. "What if their consultants really question the culture we live in at Condé Nast?”
Um, "what if"?
On the other hand, however, it seems there are still big winners to be had at 4 Times Square -- if you're gay, that is. "The Majority," Conde Nast's ultra-secret club for gays only, has apparently been meeting in secret and just ... being fabulous. Even Anna, apparently, would not be invited.
