A photo, as they say, is worth a thousand words. Give or take: There have been at least a million words wasted on that Miley Cyrus snap in the current Vanity Fair, and about all those camera phone shots of your weekend in Tijuana, well, the less said the better. At any rate, there will be plenty to talk about, and deservedly so, at the first edition of the New York Photo Festival, which kicks off today in DUMBO. Spearheaded by powerHouse Books impresario Daniel Power and VII Photo Agency’s Frank Evers, the festival comprises four curated pavilions and a host of satellite gallery exhibitions, and will also feature interactive photo fun along the lines of seminars, book signings, and workshops. The aim, according to organizers, is to give New York City—long a breeding ground for great photography—a photo festival worthy of the town, one that can eventually rival the annual standard-bearing one in Arles. About 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the inaugural event, which continues through the weekend. For more information, go to www.nyphotofestival.com.—Maya Singer

Photo: Catherine Lutes

George Balanchine’s impact on contemporary ballet can’t be overestimated, but the rigidity of his teaching is often criticized. Israeli-born and Los Angeles-based artist Elad Lassry’s untitled super 16mm film, which goes on view at John Connelly Presents in New York today, joins the debate on whether Mr. B liberated the medium, exploited his dancers, or did both. In Lassry’s video, New York City Ballet dancers Megan LeCrone and Ask La Cour perform the pas de deux from Balanchine’s 1957 “Agon.” The cameras remain fixed at specific points stipulated in dancer and choreographer Doris Humphrey’s diary of observations, which was published after her death in 1958, as “The Art of Making Dances.” As the two dancers move in and out of the frame, it seems as if Humphrey were a ghost watching the progression of dance under Balanchine.—Ana Finel Honigman

Photo: Elad Lassry, still from “Untitled,” courtesy of John Connelly Presents

Now that Resort’s a full-fledged season, model agents are seizing the opportunity to launch new faces. Here are three that caught our eye this week:

Nineteen-year-old Sam Rayner hails from a tiny town in Saskatchewan. We spotted her at Burberry, but watch out for upcoming appearances in Russian Vogue, V, and Teen Vogue. The fair-haired Canuck, who’s signed with New York Models, has what’s been called one of the best walks in the biz.

Yesterday’s Prada presentation put two fresh faces on our radar: New York Models’ Sigrid and Next’s Myf (for now, both are using their first names only). Sigrid grew up in Martinique and won an Elite modeling contest on the island when she was just 13. Now 16, the ballet dancer is making catwalking her full-time gig.

Myf was discovered just three months ago in her hometown of Cairns, Australia. After walking a full schedule of shows at Australian fashion week last month, the statuesque 17-year-old landed in New York just seven days ago and swiftly booked Prada Resort. Look for her in an upcoming Numéro editorial—and then, we predict, pretty much everywhere come the Spring ‘09 shows.—Romney Leader

Photo: Burberry: Don Ashby. Prada: Kevin Sturman

As we reported earlier, couture was supposed to have an unconventional attendant this season: New York Rangers left wing Sean Avery, a fashion fan who spent the first part of his summer interning at Vogue. But Avery has been nowhere in sight. Turns out he was forced to cool his skates moments before leaving for Paris, as he was still in negotiations to renew his contract with the team. It seems, after all, he did still have a day job. “I’m sad,” the Ranger told us from New York. “I spent three days packing.”—Derek Blasberg

Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

You could say designer Cho Cheng is a sartorial old soul. The 22-year-old first started out designing couture, favors bespoke tailoring and custom-made buttons, and looks to his grandmother’s elegance—she was a couturier to Madame Chiang Kai-shek—for inspiration. For his debut ready-to-wear collection, shown last night at the St. Regis Hotel, he translated Grandma’s influence into his signature look of military-inspired jackets with British tailoring over updated versions of Chinese cheongsam dresses. “They’re like sheaths with mandarin collars,” he explained. His ideal client base is similarly polished: Off the top of his head he named Tinsley Mortimer (for whom he once designed a gown), Fabiola Beracasa, and the actress Maggie Cheung. Cho, whom Chinese Modern Weekly has named one of the most promising Chinese fashion designers alongside Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Phillip Lim, told us that he spends time in both New York and China. He illuminated the differences between Chinese and New York women’s styles. In Hong Kong, “people jump on big brands and dress like the runway. Whatever they see, they dress exactly like that. In New York, they’re more personal. They digest the trends before they buy anything.”—Blythe Sheldon

Photo: Courtesy of Cho Cheng

While some art fair-goers dutifully nursed their hangovers, others of us trudged up to Pier 94 early Thursday morning for round two of the Armory Show. One hundred and sixty exhibitors presented a daunting task, indeed, but the high caliber of the artwork more than compensated. Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris, displayed a small but impressive arsenal of works, among them Takashi Murakami’s Louis Vuitton homage “Monogram Sphere.” At the nearby Deitch Projects stall, wunderkind Ryan McGinniss’ “Master of Reality” warranted a veritable queue. Another New York gallery, Matthew Marks, also impressed with works by high-profile artists such as Andreas Gursky and Katarina Fritsch. Hot off the Gursky trail, I subsequently made a beeline for London’s fêted White Cube gallery, but none other than Mary-Kate Olsen was in my way. Survey says: New York is still the reigning queen of contemporary art.—Karen Bookatz

Ryan McGinness, “Master of Reality,” 2008. Photo: Tom Powel Imaging. Courtesy of Deitch Projects.

Riding on the coattails of its Art Basel Miami success, the auxiliary art fair PULSE New York earned itself a larger and more comfy venue at Pier 40 for this, its third year at the Armory. And those willing to dodge the sometimes obstructive large-scale sculptures and installations will find some lovely hidden gems. The Nathan Larramendy Gallery showcases eerily beautiful images from photographer Richard Ross’ new book, “Architecture of Authority.” “Leaves,” a photograph of one of Andy Goldsworthy’s site-specific works found at the Springer & Winckler Galerie, Berlin, stall, is breathtaking. And in a completely different vein, the award for the most conceptual and downright weird “piece” at PULSE goes to multimedia laboratory Arts Corporation New York, whose self-proclaimed “specialists”—three Heidi Klum-sounding Amazons—offer to burn your initials onto a piece of toast as you watch.—Karen Bookatz

Hope Atherton, whose show went up at the Bortolami gallery in Chelsea this weekend, wasn’t the only Atherton lady celebrating at The Inn LW12 on Saturday evening. Hope’s younger sister Lily, who moved to London from New York two years ago, revealed that she’s been doing a little creative expression herself lately. Working with her friend Matthew Earnest, a former New York-based men’s and womenswear designer who moved back to his native Texas last year, she has started her own fashion line, called Sartel (that’s her middle name). Their first store will open in Dallas this year. Although it might not seem like the easiest arrangement, Atherton claims that the six-hour time difference between her and Earnest’s locations hasn’t been an obstacle. “Actually, it’s not as hard as you might think,” says Atherton, who had her first child 15 months ago. “I play with the baby all day, and when I put him to bed I get to work. Let’s just say there’s a LOT of e-mailing.” It looks like all the time online is paying off: She was wearing one of her very first samples at her sister’s opening.—Derek Blasberg

Photo: PatrickMcMullan.com

“Frankly, I never really liked New York that much,” Paris-based designer Rick Owens told Style.com on a recent tour of his first-ever Manhattan boutique, scheduled to open on the northern fringes of Tribeca this summer. “I was really messy in New York years ago, and I think I have bad memories of my personal experiences here.” But, Owens said, his attitude changed during a recent visit, his first in five years. “New York was so graphic, so kind of precise, sharp, compared to living in Europe, where everything is more cracked and curly and charming. I was thinking, ‘God, I could kind of live here now.’ I’m really enjoying myself here.” For more on Owens and his new store—which comes complete with its own fog machine—see our exclusive video tour.

Red and green are so over. As specified on the invitation, white and gold will be the in colors tonight at the Park for the party hosted by Opening Ceremony, Rodarte, and “Fanzine137.” All of them have something to celebrate: a five-year anniversary; inclusion in “blog.mode addressing fashion,” the upcoming Costume Institute exhibition; and a new issue, respectively. Before the big bash, we sat down—over e-mail—with Luis Venegas, the Madrid-based mastermind behind the cultish pub to talk about the numbers, X-Men, and his dream masthead.

What’s the significance of the number 137?

I’ve always loved odd numbers, maybe because I was born on March 13. I was also very into the Marvel comic book “Uncanny X-Men #137.” My favorite character was Dark Phoenix. I use number 137 for many things, and each time it has crossed my life I’ve taken it as a good-luck sign. It seems it’s also working with my magazine.

How do you solicit contributors?

By always trying to be as proper and respectful as possible. That’s the only secret. Usually the magazine itself is the best weapon of seduction.

Who’s on your wish list?

The good news is that little by little people I dreamed of being in “Fanzine137″ are contributing, so I feel like everything is possible! The endless list would include Irving Penn, Barbra Streisand, Julio Iglesias, Olivia Newton-John, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Naty Abascal, Tina Brown, Lindsay Lohan…

“Fanzine137″ is “made in Spain.” What significance does that have?

I love my country. I am very Spanish and my magazine is very me, so I guess it shows somehow. I have been mad about magazines since I was a child. There have been so many times that I felt my hands and my eyes and my mind burning when holding a good issue that I wanted to try to make my own magazine and share it with the rest of the world. At the very end, I guess the final reason for me to do “Fanzine137″ is to be loved, which I think is the main reason for everybody who’s involved on a creative field.

What’s the subject of the current issue?

The brand-new issue is called “We Are the World”—like the song. It’s about personal geography, and collects some of the many worlds planet Earth holds within our reach. I asked contributors to send me landscapes images as a representation of themselves. It also includes interviews with Linda Evangelista, Bruce Weber, Juergen Teller, Grace Coddington, Carolina Herrera, Jake Shears, Harry Benson, and Elias Comfort. Each of them are very different people who for me represent somehow very different worlds.

What’s your take on New York?

I was in New York City for the first time last year. I came to see Barbra Streisand at Madison Square Garden in October. New York is as amazing as it was in movies I saw as a child.—Laird Borrelli-Persson