Can Conde Nast cut costs and keep the luster?

Everybody loves a good party. And in the publishing world, Conde Nast is as skilled at throwing memorable fetes as it is in churning out glossy magazines.

When the now defunct Conde Nast Portfolio, where I used to work, first opened over two years ago, bottles of Perrier-Jouet champagne were given to all Portfolio staff along with a rager on Wall Street complete with male model waiters. (Other than the joltingly hot guys floating trays of hors d'oeuvres and free booze, there was also a masseuse in the corner giving out neck and back massages. If it were an earlier decade, the scene would have been hedonistic.)