

Cheban’s businesses might now ensure his status on the celebrity social circuit, but he planted those roots a long time ago, when he was, well, just another kid from the ‘burbs. The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie chirped about the line in the September issue of Vogue. Cheban wisely gave his wares to high-profile friends like Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton. “When I saw that episode, I was like, ‘We just had a 20-minute ad!'” said Mr. Cheban’s T-shirt line when she tugged on one of his tees to get her eyes Lasiked on Newlyweds. Jessica Simpson inadvertently kicked off Mr. “My palate is very sensitive with food,” he explained when the waiter left. “I’ll check that one for you,” the waiter replied.

“I’d like the tuna sashimi salad, but with the dressing from the soft-shell crab salad,” he said at one point. Cheban launched into an ordering campaign that put Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally to shame.

uptown was walking around wearing one and it was like, ‘Uh, uh!'” When everyone eating at Houston’s is wearing a Rolex, you know you gotta take it up, and the Audemar is definitely the next step up.” “The Rolex got a little boring,” he said, shrugging. He used to wear a Rolex that he’d had custom-painted chocolate brown with diamond numerals. You know, you don’t want to be just an average person.” An onyx Audemar Piguet watch straddled his other wrist. “I always need bling to light it up a bit. It sat incongruously on his chest next to the Polo rider on his shirt. On his right arm, a white-and-black diamond bracelet spelled out “YOLO.” “It stands for ‘You Only Live Once,'” he explained, then pulled out a Harry Winston necklace featuring his interlocked initials. “A lot of publicists out there want to be the celebrity, and he’s not like that at all. Cheban, has known him for 10 years and counts him among her best friends. “He’s not star-struck he’s not affected,” said Lizzie Grubman, the accident-prone publicist who spent the summer handling publicity for the Hamptons hangout Star Room with Mr.
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While he’s not making any headlines himself, he gets to reap plenty of the benefits of fame.īut who would even know how to go about befriending a celebrity? It’s all about the approach. Cheban is one of those Zelig-like creatures, a friend of the famous, who’s somehow managed to break into the most celebrated echelon of our social caste system. Who is Jonathan Cheban? He’s not famous, he’s not a celebrity assistant, and he’s not anyone’s lover. “The guest list was everyone who’s anyone: Lenny Kravitz, Puff Daddy, Carmen Kass, Jay-Z ….” “I will always remember that party as one of the best nights of the whole year,” Mr. Nightlife impresario Noah Tepperberg, who was managing Eugene at the time, counts the event as one of his all-time favorites. It was ‘WITH Paris Hilton,'” he said, poking the air with his chopsticks for emphasis. “I still remember how, on the invite, my name was first and Paris was second. Cheban proudly described how he and Paris share a birthday, and when the pair turned 28 and 20, respectively, their party at Eugene was sponsored by Playboy. Cheban is often seen with the likes of Scarlett Johansson, the Olsen twins, Kelly Osbourne, the Hilton sisters and Nicole Ritchie. At the front rows of Fashion Week, in banquettes at Butter and even as an escort on the red carpet, Mr. Maybe they recognized the 31-year-old New Jersey native from the glossy pages of Us Weekly or Star magazine, where he’s one of those anonymous types in the background of all the flash-heavy paparazzi shots, partying with Paris, snacking on sushi with Mischa. (“They’re like butter!”) Fellow diners nodded in his direction or shot him a curious glance. He was casual but stylish in Levi’s, a long-sleeved gray T-shirt peeping out from under a collared navy Polo, his feet encased in black Louis Vuitton shoes. Biting on rock shrimp tempura, he absently ran a hand through his longish dark hair. Jonathan Cheban looks familiar-too familiar. And I’ve been friends with Paris and Nicky since they were kids.” “I mean, back in the day when Ozzy would play Madison Square Garden, I was sneaking Kelly and Jack into Suite 16. “It’s really weird, because I do have a lot of friends who are famous, but I always knew them way before,” said Jonathan Cheban on a recent evening at Nobu.
