Wednesday's Basel Bashes
(MIAMI) Moscow came to Miami on Wednesday night. Fur-clad women lined Collins Avenue until the wee hours of the morning for the next round of parties at Art Basel Miami Beach. Atop the Gansevoort Hotel, "The Russian Party" was a vodka-soaked soirée for the new owners of Phillips de Pury. Dasha Zhukova was perched by the bar before heading downstairs to the rowdy Rolling Stone-sponsored bash for Takashi Murakami and his Gesai fair.
"I've been coming for the last four years," said Kelly Klein, who expressed her love of the younger emerging artists like photographer Ryan McGinley. Klein kicked off the night with a party for her new book, Horse, at the Raleigh Ballroom with Andre Balazs, who transformed the landmark hotel from "completely moribund" to the epicenter of the Art Basel elite. Balazs likes to hit up Design Miami and focuses his collecting on architecture including a Jean Prouve prefab structure that was exhibited recently at the Tate in London. Across Miami Beach, the Morgans Hotel Group threw a party for Marcel Wanders at their newest Mondrian property. Nate Lowman and Mary Kate Olsen mingled in the lobby while Jeffrey Chodorow held court at the newest outpost of Asia de Cuba. Guests enjoyed raspberry cocktails, but were equally transfixed by a vending machine that sold everything from video games to luxury vehicles.
For a music fix, crowds flocked to the Raleigh Oasis for a concert by The Gossip sponsored by Deitch Projects. The band donned outlandish costumes and performed a medley of songs by the likes of Beyonce to Dolly Parton, in front of gargantuan sculptures of bedazzled lips. 'The lips would be perfect in a fabulous Manhattan loft," remarked a Nadine Johnson flak.
Silvia Venturini Fendi hosted a more intimate affair: a private dinner toasting the beginning of the relationship between Fendi and Design Miami and honoring Design Miami's Design Talk speakers. Franca and Carla Sozzani, Becca Cason Thrash, Yvonne Force-Villareal, Fendi CEO Michael Burke, and Fernando and Humberto Campana were among the chic guests who scored serious swag--a limited edition bag from Fendi's Selleria line, complete with a special Design Miami tag.
The late-night destination was Paris' Le Baron nightclub, which this year took over the Delano's Florida Room. The door was so tight that even gallerist Andrew Kreps was left waiting before being swept in by a French-speaking publicist. Kreps partied inside with gallerist Stefania Bortolami whose booth is not to be missed at Art Basel Miami Beach. The booth includes a gold plated wire fence by artist Aaron Young. Young was also present at a table where Olsen held court with paramour Lowman, Interview's Chris Bollen, and curator Shamim Momin. Kirsten Dunst stopped into say hello, and at the next table over a newly single Marilyn Manson enjoyed the company of several ladies.
ADAM P. SCHNEIDER
