It’s Art Basel time, babes. For the first week in December, Miami transforms from a fun-loving clubbing city to an all-out fashion, music, and (occasionally) art-filled blowout with celebs sitting in world-renowned traffic to celebrate. Luxury brands have turned it from its humble art-fair beginnings into a must-attend week of events — not least of which is NYLON’s NYLON House party, which we’ll be recapping in full after the night winds down. Until then, here’s the cocktails, celebrations, and garden parties that went down.
Gucci’s Christmas-Market Bash
In the spirit of the holidays, Gucci is trying to bring some snow to Miami — in the form of massive snowglobes. The brand has taken over Sweet Bird North in the Design District a stone’s throw away from their boutique and decked it out with large snowglobes and a coffee and pastry truck. Friends of the brand like Eiza González and Yara Shahidi enjoyed hot chocolates and mingling with Art Basel’s best on the opening night.
Gigi Hadid & Miu Miu’s Hangout
Miu Miu Select is like the final boss of It-girl-ing: It’s a program that invites select friends of the brand to curate an edit available in boutiques worldwide. Past participants include Alexa Chung, Chloë Sevigny, and Emily Ratajkowski, and now, Gigi’s up. Her Miami edit drew friends like Camila Cabello, Kristen Noel Crawley, and Paloma Elsesser, who all showed up in their Miu Miu best to congratulate Gigi and listen to Chloé Caillat spin the decks.
Fendi Celebrates Their New Digs
Fendi is the latest in a large group of brands to set up shop in Miami’s Design District. They brought out Ella Hunt, Ella Rubin, and Olivia Ponton to their new metallic-and-silk filled store for an evening of schmoozing amongst the Fall/Winter collection and deciding who has the most edible handbag (I think Hunt wins).
Jenny Chandler’s Balmain Lounge Soirée
Tucked away at Mila MM Club is the Balmain Lounge —which is as extravagant as it sounds — that will host artist Jenny Chandler’s artwork for the month of December. To kick off a month of her residency, Chandler put on her Balmain best and enjoyed a caviar bar with lots of Miami’s best and brightest.
Cartier Goes All-Out For Trinity’s 100th Birthday
The fourth and final installation celebrating Cartier’s Trinity line descended on Miami, taking over the brand’s Design District outpost with a mirror-heavy illusionist experience that echoes Trinity’s layered design. They couldn’t celebrate alone, so Janelle Monaé came and DJed, Nicholas Alexander Chavez turned up in a dapper brown suit, and good times ensued.
Ray’s Settles Down In Miami Beach
Everyone’s favorite New York hometown bar, Ray’s, is expanding — and not to Brooklyn this time. The much-beloved not-dive dive bar chose Basel as the optimal time to set up shop with a third location and the first outside of NYC. Co-founders Carlos Quirarte, Matt Kliegman, and Matt Charles — plus Nicholas Braun and friends — were all there to break in the signature leather booths with lots of tequila and cold beers.
Margiela & Kozo Toast To Tattoos
Kozo’s tattoos are artwork in their own right — and paired with Maison Margiela’s classic White Icons pieces, it deserves a spot at Art Basel, indeed. To celebrate their collaboration, they took over the brand’s store and brought out Miles Greenberg, Sami Miró, and more Margiela-ites for a well-dressed cocktail hour.
Grey Goose & MSCHF Celebrate Smooth Vodka & Blue Boots
Grey Goose brought the art-world silly kids of MSCHF to their A.I.R. (artist in residence) Chateau for a night honoring the vodka’s new Altius edition, which claims to be “glacially smooth.” Stars like Victoria Monét and Kehlani put that to the test while perusing MSCHF’s wares, most importantly a Grey Goose-blue rendition of their Big Boots, and dancing to Diplo-spun beats.
Capital One & The Cultivist Introduce DAR MIAMI 1446
A lot of Art Basel events can feel like fill-in-the-blanks of sponsors, artists, and attendees, but Capital One actually made a room feel exciting. A great guest list including Alix Earle gathered to celebrate Hassan Hajjaj’s installation, DAR MIAMI 1446, and dance into the night with the help of Shaboozey and DJ Pee .Wee.
American Express & Delta Airlines’ Pizza Party
American Express & Delta know everyone in Miami is working late... not because they’re singers, but because it’s Art Basel, and who goes home before 4 a.m. anyways? Their Night Shift party, hosted at the Jon & Vinny’s residency at the Rubell Museum, was a late-night celebration replete with a James Blake DJ set and some piping hot pizza served up in Jon & Vinny green boxes.
Off-White™ Tees Up With Paris Hilinski
The biggest sport to be adopted by fashion in 2024 was tennis, but maybe golf is up next. Off-White™ collaborated with professional golfer Paris Hilinski on “ALL IN ONE,” a collection of golf gear and gadgets that is surely the most fashionable capsule to hit the greens. The Design District store was shut down in order to celebrate, and both Earle sisters stopped by in their very best Off-White ™.
Hublot’s Big Bang Launch
Hublot makes some of the most expensive watches on the planet, so it’s fitting their Basel bash was as opulent as it was. They celebrated the Big Bang Tourbillon Carbon SR_A by Samuel Ross, a British designer known for his workwear/high-fashion mashups. The party brought out friends of the brand like Joe Jonas, Usain Bolt, plus art-world heavyweights like Kimberly Drew.
