The Best Parties at Miami Art Basel 2021

It seemed that everyone at Chanel’s dinner on Friday in the Design District was a star of some caliber, but the two that shone the brightest that night were “Five Echoes,” an immersive sculptural installation created by artist Es Devlin inspired by the very molecular structure of N°5, and Rosalía, who came out at the of the night to perform in the middle of it.

Venus Williams and Maluma, both with their own interpretations of class Chanel, met up.

Rosalía mingled earlier in the evening in a Chanel suit that was both very on-trend with its wide-legged pants and vaguely reminiscent of the trademark outfit of the late singer Klaus Nomi. What more appropriate vibe to channel when celebration the intersection of art, music and fashion?

Joe Jonas further proved the wide appeal of a classic Chanel tweed jacket.

South Beach’s iconic gay club Twist has been around long enough that Gianni Versace himself used to be a semi-regular, and had maintained a reputation as an unofficial Art Basel after-party hotspot for years. In retrospect, it’s actually amazing that it took so long for someone to throw an official Art Week party at Twist. Thankfully, Jonathan Anderson and Loewe finally put one together in honor of the release of artists Florian Krewer’s new book.The Crown star Josh O’Connor wasn’t far from Anderson’s all night.

Some in the crowd might have wound up at Twist at least once or twice through the week without the promise of an open bar, but spotting stars like Josh O’Connor roaming the maze-like club was a bit of a surprise.

Model Deon Hinton perched up in Twist’s main room.

Gayletter founders Tom Jackson and Abi Benitez posing in the bar’s video room, which you can tell from Lady Gaga’s eyes peering down at them from the monitors.

The party also featured a variety of Loewe-branded party favors, including drink coasters, lollypops, condom and lighters. Though it wasn’t captured by official photographers, the bar’s Go Go Dancers were also fitted out in swim briefs featuring Loewe’s trademark anagram.

Playboy is reemerging into the world as a digital-first lifestyle brand mixing its brand of sexual liberation with culture and luxury, and what better place to celebrate that than at Art Basel Miami Beach? On Friday night, Cardi B, the brand’s first Creative Director in Residence, turned out with husband Offset for an afterparty affair at Casa Tua, the exclusive South Beach eatery houses in a historic villa.

The party, which celebrated the return of Playboy’s private Big Bunny jet, also brought out Brooke Candy, a be-wigged Charli XCX, and Richie Shazam. The new version of Big Bunny is reportedly set to host all sort of exclusive events high in the sky, though clearly there’s still fun to have on the ground as well.

It’s quite possible this photo of Willow Smith and Michèle Lamy, arms adorned with seemingly half the wristband one could collect over the week, chilling together on a coach may go down in iconic ABMB party photo history.

Lizzo made herself at home upstairs at Casa Tua.

Jeremy O. Harris and Janicza Bravo just collaborated on the definitively Floridian film, Zola, but, mind you, the events of that story took place in Tampa Bay. Here, with Miles Greenberg and Jordan Barrett, they prove a fun night in Florida can be a bit more glamorous as well.

At Cipriani in Downtown Miami, photographer Sebastian Faena continued his recent debut as a musician with a special performance in front of guests like Gossip Girl’s Whitney Peak, Jeremy O. Harris, Chloe Wise and Moses Sumney.

Faena recently released an e.p. with Gray Sorrenti.

Guests Elliott Brakebill and Bobby Dempsey attended.

High-end audio equipment house Mark Levinson put the emphasis on music for its Saturday night shindig in the Wynwood neighborhood. They’re launching their first wireless headphones in January after all. Adriana Lima came out in a sparkly, silver jumpsuit.

Grammy nominee and songwriting superstar Julia Michaels came out to performer her first full set in years and played some songs from her debut album Not In Chronological Order live for the first time. For her last songs she saved a big surprise for the audience: boyfriend JP Saxe joined her on stage to perform their hit duet “If The World Was Ending.”

You don’t often see many members of Bachelor nation out and about during Basel, but Matt James and Tyler Cameron proved the exception.

Even the New York restaurants come down to celebrate Basel. Manhattan restaurant Marea held a pop-up dinner at Osteria Morini in Miami Beach at Thursday hosted by Jean Pignozzi. Guests like Michael and Vanessa Chow, Sam Keller and James Fitz James Stewart attended.

Playboy kept the party going on Saturday night for the official launch of their new creator-powered digital platform, Centerfold, with a late night dance party in Miami’s Design District. Charli XCX helped DJ part of the night, and spun Sophie’s remix of Basside’s “NYC2MIA,” which might as well have been the theme song for the week.

Of course, it wouldn’t have felt like NYC have fully invaded M.I.A. unless Julia Fox was in attendance.

As a culture we’ve overused the term “understood the assignment,” but how else do you describe Brooke Candy’s attire?

Chanel toasted the opening of their brand new boutique in Miami’s Design District on Thursday, and brought out members of the Chanel family, including Pharrell Williams, seen here with architect Peter Merino.

Evan Mock is the latest addition to the “Boys in Chanel” club wearing a sheer top with a bag slung from his jeans like a chain wallet. It was ladies who lunch meets ‘90s skaters, and it works.

Camila Mendes and Alisha Boe buddied up.

Valentino’s “The Party Collection” celebrates our gradual return to social life, so what better way to celebrate it than a Miami gathering? Guests like Winston Duke joined the house at the Rubell Museum to take in an installation inspired by the collection then headed to lunch at Strawberry Moon, the restaurant at Pharrell William’s new pastel-saturated South Beach hotel, Goodtime.

Guests Sarah Hoover and Leigh Lezark came perfectly prepared for a Miami lunch.

Ruinart toasted British artist David Shrigley at the Unconventional Bubbles party that brought out Jacob Bixenman, Vanessa Traina, Caroline de Maigret, and Pritika Swarup.

Hari Nef appeared in this daring sheer dress.

With the Basel bashes on Wednesday falling on World AIDS Day, Balmain partnered with (RED) and Live Nation for a celebration in front of the Scope Art Fair.

TikTok star Olivia Ponton appeared.

Unfortunately Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler suffered an on-court injury that kept him away from the dinner celebrating his partnership with TAG Heuer (he did, however, send a special video message), but that didn’t keep the rest of the VIPs away. Hosted by TAG’s 26-year-old CEO Frédéric Arnault at a private residence, guests diner atop a plexiglass floor erected over a pool.

Clad in a light blue jumpsuit, Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline was in light spirits for the night. Latin Music superstar Luis Fonsi was also in attendance. Guest dined on a multi-course meal from Zuma, and tasted a free flowing selection of Krug champagnes. As special edition of the Carrera Heuer 02T Tourbillon co-designed by Butler was also on display. The mostly all-black watch featured a subtle pop of pink, which he explained in his video message was a tribute to his daughter.

Taking over the new Superblue space in the Wynwood neighborhood, Dior held a cocktail heralding the American debut of its Medallion Chair project. The house asked over a dozen artists, including Sam Baron, Nacho Carbonell, and Pierre Charpin to reinterpret the iconic chair. Guests including Karlie Kloss, Ricky Martin, and Venus Williams provided the star power, while DJ Mia Moretti provided the music.

Venus Williams looked statuesque with blunt bangs and a chic and simple all-black outfit with a Dior saddle bag.

Ricky Martin, wearing Dior Men, and husband Jwan Yosef coupled up for the evening.

Emma Mannswirth, Eric Jess, Tanner Reese, and Liv Solo grouped up for the party.

Celebrating both the 50th anniversary of BMW’s cultural engagement and its high-performance M line, the German car company took over South Beach’s iconic 1111 Parking Garage for a party that featured a performance by the rapper Nas. While also offering a tribute to the late Virgil Abloh, Nas performed a string of his hits, including “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)” and “Hate Me Now.”

Brooklyn-based artist Kennedy Yanko, who donned some choice vintage Jean Paul Gaultier, also debuted a new sculpture, “Intrinsic Sage,” specifically designed for the event. “This moment of co-creation between visual art and music by Kennedy Yanko and Nas brings together two cultural fields that have inspired each other for many decades and are two main areas of BMW brand cooperations,” said Stefan Ponikva, Head of BMW Brand Communication and Experience, in a statement. “It all started with a dialogue with our designers around the BMW Concept XM and this exchange on eye-level is what makes our collaborations authentic.”

Guests like Luka Sabbat took in the event.

Nas’s fellow hip hop legend Timbaland also stopped by for the party.

Of course, BMW had a creation of its own to unveil as well in the form of the new Concept XM model, which will also be displayed at the main Art Basel Miami Beach fair later in the week. The plug-in hybrid crossover also represents a new stylistic direction for BMW, and a version of the model will go into commercial production sometime next year.

Olivia Rodrigo, Hailey Bieber, Zoë Kravitz, and more stars joined Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello in Miami Beach for a dinner to kick off 2021 Art Basel and celebrate the brand’s latest collection. Unlike Vaccarello’s other project’s for Saint Laurent, however, this one is a little different. As part of the brand’s Rive Droite Ephemeral Gallery project, Vaccarello erected an exhibition space on the beachfront in order to display 55 works by New York-based artist Sho Shibuya—a special number, as this year is the 55th anniversary of the opening of the brand’s first ready-to-wear boutique in Paris. Each one of Shibuya’s pieces depicts a sunrise over the past year, painted on the front page of the New York Times. Two of the paintings, commissioned by Vaccarello, feature the red and pink of Saint Laurent’s original logo.

Olivia Rodrigo and Talia Ryder, who co-starred in the “Good 4 U” music video, buddied up.

Zoë Kravitz at the Saint Laurent Rive Droite Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 party.

Amber Valletta at the Saint Laurent Rive Droite Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 party.

At the Miami Beach home of local power couple Jackie Soffer and Craig Robins, Kering, Phaidon, Christie’s, and Saint Heron celebrated the release of the new book WOMAN MADE: Great Women Designers, which celebrates female designers’ contributions to everything from furniture to lighting.

Designer Raul Lopez and friends huddled between the palm fronds at the Kering dinner.

Many of the designers featured in the book were in attendance.

Supermodel Elle Macpherson, Soffer’s sister-in-law, also made an appearance.