"She is a powerhouse," the fashion publicist Paul Wilmot said.

Jennifer Talbott, another woman driven to furtiveness, is a fashion publicist.

"Everybody loves to make that first discovery," said Deborah Hughes, a fashion publicist.

Currently Katalina has a career as a fashion publicist working with groups that inspired her while growing up.

It was created in the 1940's by Eleanor Lambert, the fashion publicist.

Karla Otto, the European fashion publicist, was the apartment's first visitor.

One fashion publicist said it made her look like Mrs. Claus.

"Susan's wanted to make the big time and she's done it better than anyone I know," says the fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert.

A fashion publicist who also requested anonymity has a different beef: reciprocity, or lack thereof.

Claude Deloffre, above, a fashion publicist who describes herself as an "amateur de cuisine," wanted to start a serious food magazine.