Art Wednesday

Where on earth do we start, when trying to sum up Art Basel Miami? It’s almost impossible because you need to see it to believe it. It’s hands down the biggest cultural gathering of that otherwise very elusive 1% .

First up there was absolutely no shortage of rich folk, art collectors and celebrities who all had about twenty art fairs to look around, including a couple of design fairs.

Secondly the fashion world had firmly embraced this gathering too. Armani, Christian Louboutin, DSQUARED2, Pringle of Scotland, Prism London, Maison Martin Margiela and Gareth Pugh to name but a few, were all collaborating or hosting private dinners, drinks reception or full on parties – even the nightclubs were in on the action with Le Baron and Westway, who opened pop-up clubs in the grounds of Delano and Shore Club hotels.

So, to the questions:
Q1. Is anyone interested in the art?
Q2. Which event did Naomi Campbell actually show up to?
Q3. Did people get tired of talking to each other?
Q4. Were we offended we weren’t invited to that party?

And the answers:
A1. Are you daft? Of course they are. We’ve never seen so many VIP cars ferrying people about.
A2. Surprisingly, she went to quite a few of them. In fact all the world’s most beautiful, rich and famous seemed to be out and about in force.
A3. In most cases, straight away but we had some incredible conversations with all sorts of amazing people, all willing to conduct a grown-up conversation rather than the 30 second ‘London power chat’.
A4. It must have been an oversight but who cares because a British accent got us access to pretty much any party!

In it’s purest form, this is where fashion and art collide to create what we’ve named ‘FART’: fashion + art!

As we emerged from the blur that was Art Basel Miami, we can now reflect on what kept us going until the wee hours of the morning.

Prism did a little ‘art happening’ at Art Basel Miami Public Art space on South Beach in collaboration with Art Wednesday to introduce AWE magazine and showcase the swimwear and eyewear in an amazing and creative setting – Helmut Newton inspired girls shot by Danielle Levitt, surrounded by sculptures from the likes of Anish Kapoor, Anthony Gormley and Damian Hirst.

Tilda Swinton hosted an intimate Pringle of Scotland and Serpentine Gallery dinner in the Design District to celebrate the pop-up shop the two had collaborated on, with a limited edition collection of twinsets based on the classic Pringle argyle.  Tilda said ‘I love the brand, Pringle and the re-boot of the brand. Liam Gillick was in conversation with Alistair for a while, then they played together and came up with a real material to work with, which ended up being a pop up store and a range of accessories.’ Then ended with… ‘There’s something loose and evolving about Miami Art Basel.’ We couldn’t agree more.

Gareth Pugh was also in town having a slap up meal at Bâoli Vita co-hosted by Byrdie Bell. And another Brit showing her support was supermodel Lily Donaldson.

Emporio Armani and Cardi Black Box Gallery celebrated Art Miami Basel in a rather elaborate star-studded black tie pool party at W-Hotel. Georgie May Jagger looked stunning and was hanging with what appeared to be friends. On the flip side Paris and Niki Hilton blasted their way into the VIP area with an entourage in tow, who then proceeded to make themselves comfortable, on the sofas, and ordered shots and copious amounts of champagne. Others in attendance were: Ana Beatriz Barros, Lady Victoria Hervey and Barbara Berlusconi. A stone’s throw away at Mr Chow’s, Sean “Diddy” Comb, Pharrell Williams and Will Smith were all partying after a day at the fair.

The place to hang out with all the cool kids, chat, share stories with the option to recharge ones batteries with a 30min spa session – The Standard Miami.

To summarise Art Basel Miami – it’s a social and sensory overload.

Not that this is all that interesting but here’s a quick list of all that was going on, who was there and the parties that were thrown.

Fashion brands
DSQUARED2
Emporio Armani
Pringle of Scotland
Prism London
Maison Martin Margiela

Magazines
VMAN
Art Wednesday
AWE
NOWNESS

Faces
Paris Hilton
Nicky Hilton
Georgia May Jagger
Ana Beatriz Barros
Lady Victoria Hervey
Nicolo Cardi
Barbara Berlusconi
Sean “Diddy” Comb
Pharrell Williams
Will Smith
Adrian Brody
Roberto Cavalli
Johan Lindeberg
Russel Simmons
Naomi Campbell
Dan Caten
Dean Caten
Lily Donaldson
Lady Victoria Hervey
Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters
Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters
Rico Love
Mary J. Blige
Cee Lo Green
Usher
Dasha Zhukova
Daphne Guiness
Ivana Trump
Nadja Swarovski
Becca Cason Thrash
Erin Wasson
Mark “Cobra Snake” Hunter
Camila Alves
Colbie Caillat
Eva Green
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Michael Douglas
Tilda Swinton

Artists
Damien Hirst
Marina Abramovic
Marc Quinn
Eva and Adele

Parties
Emporio Armani and Cardi Black Box Gallery celebrate Art Basel
DSQUARED2 Designers Dean & Dan Caten and VMAN Magazine Host Exclusive Cocktail and Dinner at The Webster Miami
Chrome Hearts + Design Miami Hosts Designer of the Year Dinner at Art Basel
Maison Martin Margiela Celebrates The Installation Of “Love, etc.”
NOWNESS Presents A World Premier Preview Of “Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present”
Playing Around With The World Of Dior Accessories With Camille Miceli
FABIOLA BERACASA Celebrates Anselm Reyle For Dior With Celebrity NailStylist Tracy Lee andDJ Jack Donoghue
Phillips de Pury Dinner At Cecconi’s Soho Beach House Miami To Celebrate Art Basel
Jesse Jo Stark Performs at The Alchemist for Art Basel
Tiffany & Co. Dinner At The AD Oasis at The Raleigh
Montblanc Presents The Montblanc De La Culture Arts Patronage Award To Craig Robins

Yes going to a party is fun and exciting, but you can do that pretty much any day of the week now. Seeing the world’s best art on display is a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially with all the collectors circling and snapping them all up never to be seen again, here’s what caught out eye…

Alex Katz