Billy Joel, Kardashians, Diplo descend on Miami for Art Basel
Gallerists and collectors attended the prestigious art fair by day
As gallerists and collectors descend on Miami’s most prestigious art fair by day, the Hollywood crowd knows it’s all about the exclusive after parties. Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Pharrell were in town while DJ Khaled and rappers Travis Scott and Gucci Mane held court late night.
Early in the week, fashion was front and centre where Kate Moss, Bella Hadid and Winnie Harlow attended the it event of the week — Christian Dior’s first fashion show in the US for the iconic Parisian fashion house. Designer Kim Jones called the December 3 show the perfect precursor to Art Basel Miami, which officially opened on December 5, but the parties and satellite art shows surrounding it started on December 2.
At the Ocean Drive magazine party celebrating Bad Bunny’s cover on Tuesday, guests in the VIP area smoked a hookah while the Latin singer’s ‘Pasame La Hookah’ played. Later in the week, the reggaeton singer covered his face with a diamond encrusted mask and emerald chandelier earrings to accessorise his green Gucci suit for a performance at LIV nightclub.
On Wednesday, model Kendall Jenner took a turn at the DJ booth at LIV nightclub to debut her Apple Music radio station. She showed up around 2am in a hot pink zebra-striped mini dress with models Bella Hadid, Joan Smalls and Luke Sabbat. They moved onto the VIP party pit to join Basel regular Leonardo DiCaprio at 24-hour Miami club E11even where Jenner and Hadid snapped selfies.
At hotelier Alan Faena’s home, celebs including Tommy Hilfiger, Sean Penn, Rosario Dawson, ‘Cool Girl’ singer Tove Lo and Paris Hilton came out to support Lenny Kravitz’s limited-edition Dom Perignon collection at a dinner that included a DJ set by Diplo.
Also Wednesday, Joan Smalls and Karolina Kurkova helped House of Ruinart raise money for the Amazon rainforest with a champagne fete from Chef Daniel Boulud.
Across town, Serena Williams hosted a party to celebrate her fashion brand before heading over to the legendary karaoke night at Casa Tua, which has become a mainstay during Miami’s art week.
Billy Joel sat at the piano for a live Q&A broadcast on his SiriusXM channel, performing songs and sharing stories behind his hits. Nearby, Brooke Shields and former supermodel Helena Christensen attended an Art Miami party to curate an exhibition with The New York Academy of Art.
Diplo, wearing a cowboy hat and suede fringe jacket stopped by a posthumous album release party for slain rapper XXXTentacion before headlining a show at E11even. Rapper Gucci Mane performed at Rockwell x 1 Oak and local DJ Khaled hosted a private party at the Delano for Jay Z’s streaming service Tidal.
The Grammy-Award nominated Khaled, who will be performing at the Super Bowl, performed ‘I’m on One’ and yelled to the crowd, “We the Best, Art Basel, DJ Khaled, sing it.”
In the Miami Design District on Thursday night, Pharrell and A$AP Rocky dined at Swan restaurant; Pharrell is a co-owner. Black Coffee surprised guests with a special DJ set. Kim Kardashian West, Kourtney Kardashian, Bella Hadid, Bad Bunny and Christian Acosta were also spotted at the restaurant this week.