AFTER HOURS

Art Basel Miami Beach

By the Thursday of Art Basel Miami Beach, visitors had spent enough time tent-hopping at the various fairs all week and were ready to let their hair down with a weekend of non-stop parties.


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By the Thursday of Art Basel Miami Beach, visitors had spent enough time tent-hopping at the various fairs all week and were ready to let their hair down with a weekend of non-stop parties. The calm before the storm was palpable on the roof of the Soho Beach House where Stefano Tonchi and Chopard Co-President and Artistic Director, Caroline Scheufele, hosted a luncheon for the jeweler’s Marilyn Forever Collection. Over a lunch of cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres, guests admired (and dared to try on) the rare haute jewelry pieces on display, and browsed the series of unpublished photos of Marilyn Monroe by Milton Greene that graced the walls.

The night continued at Soho Beach House later that evening with Lacoste’s party in honor of the Brazilian artist-duo, Fernando and Humberto Campana. In true Floridian spirit, the “Campana Brothers” (as they have been dubbed) partnered with Lacoste to launch a limited edition t-shirt benefiting the Everglades Foundation. Leigh Lezark spun at the DJ booth, while Kellan Lutz and Russell Simmons were spotted mingling around the hotel pool.

The next stop on nearly every A-list fair-goer’s lists was the W Hotel where Aby Rosen and Samantha Boardman Rosen hosted dinner at The Dutch for guests like Owen Wilson, Vera Wang, Alex Rodriguez and Lauren Santo Domingo. The night culminated with a late-night after-party at the WALL, the hotel’s in-house nightclub, hosted by Alex Dellal, Stavros Niarchos, and Vito Schnabel. What has now become the trio’s annual fête was the natural final stop for Basel revelers; those lucky enough to make it past not one, but three rope-and-stanchion checkpoints joined a crowd which included Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, and art world fixtures like Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and Eva Chow.

Come Saturday, DJ Tiesto arrived in Miami to celebrate the launch of his capsule collection for Guess. After hosting a cocktail at their Lincoln Road boutique, he took his act to LIV (reportedly his favorite venue of any across the globe) for a late-night concert, performing for guests like Harry and Peter Brant II. Meanwhile, André Saraiva of Le Baron kept things interesting at the beach with his “Where is Le Baron?” campaign, a series of late-night pop-up parties whose secret locations were disclosed only hours in advance. Taking residence at Nikki Beach Miami, Le Baron welcomed guests like Riccardo Tisci, Emma Stone, and Pharrell Williams at their Friday night pop-up, and when Jay-Z and Beyoncé appeared just after midnight Saturday, even the most jaded Basel revelers couldn’t help but be impressed.

Click here for more from Art Basel Miami Beach 2012

Photos: Getty Images; BFAnyc.com/Joe Schildhorn; Julio Gamboa