Seeing the Light:  Bianca the Delano

On Thursday night, the highly anticipated Italian restaurant, Bianca opened at the Delano Hotel to the delight of over a thousand guests who made their way across the eternal lobby into the restaurant and braved the limestone along the pool for the indoor/outdoor celebration.

While celebrities and VIPs dined inside the restaurant and on the terrace, partygoers enjoyed bites, libations and musical performances by Chris Botti and Little Louie Vega, (strange bedfellows indeed) out by the pool.  Vega’s dance tunes were abruptly halted by Botti’s intoxicating trumpet, which was accompanied by a gorgeous violinist who played in the pool, yes, IN the pool.  The music was captivating, especially when Botti played the theme from Cinema Paradiso, one of our favorite movies of all time.  The performance brought on a melancholy mood which was quickly interrupted by the site of a group of drunken models traipsing through the pool- there are just certain elements of this iconic hotel that will never change.  After which, Little Louie Vega took over again and was joined by Michelle Rodriguez for his second live set.

Celebrities spotted at the party included: Mickey Rourke, Alex Rodriguez, Selita Ebanks, Jessica Stam, Entourage’s “E”, Kevin

Connolly, Evan Ross and Sammy Sosa, who dined alongside VIPs including: Jonathan Cheban, Ingrid Casares, Michael Capponi, Linley Edwards, Michael Gross, Courtland Lantaff, Andy Masi, Carlos Betancourt, Fernando Wong, Richie Akiva, Wayne Boich, Cynthia Marin, Mark Lehmkuhl, Antonio Martucci, Jason Odio, Bert Hedaya, Richard and Shelley Golden, Jorge and Darlene Perez, George Lindemann, Suzy Buckley, Jonathan and Criselda Breene, Daniela Swaebe, Michael Comras, Iran Issa-Kahn, Sam Robin, Suzy and Walid Wahab, Michael Gongora, Nicola Siervo, JP Oliver, James Cruz, Michael Drieling, Lisa Petrillo, David Grutman and Athina and Eduardo Marturet, to name a few.

Bianca is operated by Las Vegas’ Light Group which is helmed by the fabulously British Andrew Sasson.  Those of you who have been around for a while may remember shouting out his name at Velvet and or Groove Jet back in the day, where Sasson manned the velvet ropes. Since then, Sasson and the Light Group own and operate a slew of venues in Las Vegas. 

The Morgan’s Hotel Group, who owns the Delano, had a brainstorm in involving the Light Group for the hotel’s much needed revamp. The brightest spark of the brainstorm bulb was the recruitment of South Beach alum, Chris Paciello who co-owned (along with Ingrid Casares) two of South Beach’s greatest and most famous nightclubs during the 1990s:  Liquid and Bar Room- hands-down, the best club of our time (somewhat biased opinion-but many would concur). No doubt, Paciello was responsible for much of the celebrity sparkle at Bianca’s opening; which he is sure to also bring to the soon-to-open FDR lounge in the former Florida Room underground space.  Incidentally, FDR stands for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for whom the Delano was named.

In setting out to change the image of the Delano’s restaurants, bars and food, seeking a sexier, more glamorous décor the Light Group hired Sam Robin, world-renowned designer and Miami sweetheart, one of whose past projects was South Beach landmark and celebrity magnet, Joia Restaurant, one of our favorite haunts of all time, owned by Casares and Paciello in the late 90s (coincidence…we think not!).  Hailed by Travel Muse as a place where “Beautiful people enjoyed exquisite Tuscan cuisine in a chic South Beach setting” (thanks), Joia was “a place to see, be seen, and have an incredible Italian meal.”  It seems like the Light Group was spot-on in hiring Robin for the job.  Bianca offers the same casually-elegant vibe with an emphasis on workmanship and detail-right down to the engraved napkin rings, which is at the cornerstone of Robin’s designs- a key element in ensuring that Bianca becomes the celeb and pretty people “sandbox” that Joia once was.

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St. Regis Bal Harbour Opens

The posh St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort & Residences officially opened on Thursday, January 19, with markedly less fanfare. In lieu of a splashy party, guests enjoyed a daytime ribbon cutting ceremony and champagne-sabering, a tradition of the St. Regis brand. The ritual dates back to the time of Napoleon – tres cool.

St. Regis Global brand leader, Paul James, CEO of Starwood Vacation Ownership, Sergio Rivera and General Manager, Marco Selva were joined by notables including Bal Harbour Village Mayor, Jean Rosenfield, Christina Getty-Maercks, Susanne Birbragher, Executive Director of Tourism for Bal Harbour, Carolyn Travis, Lea Black and designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, who gathered for the unveiling of the 28th property in the St. Regis portfolio where butlers lined the grand entrance of the resort and residential property that soars above a 1,000 foot stretch of pristine shoreline as Mayor Rosenfield presented Selva with the Key to the Village.

Afterwards, the pair joined James and Rivera to cut the ribbon and welcome the noteworthy roster of attendees inside for a first look. Guests were given the opportunity to tour the landmark oasis that represents one of the most significant openings in the brand’s history. The St. Regis Bar was buzzing while guests enjoyed a selection of delicious hors d’oeuvres, the signature St. Regis Red Snapper Bloody Mary, and a live jazz band.

Absolut Vodka Miami Launch

Last week Absolut vodka, a crowd pleaser for decades, celebrated its own revamp of sorts with the launch of its sixth limited edition, city-inspired flavor—ABSOLUT MIAMI which comes in a gorgeous Art Deco designed bottle and tastes of passion fruit. Thousands of party people gathered on the lawn of the Fontainebleau to celebrate with free-flowing cocktails and terrific dance music while experiencing this key ingredient of Miami nightlife- Absolut vodka (responsible in part for certain club-goers’ progeny- TMI!).

The Absolut Miami launch party featured a special guest performance by singer/songwriter SANTIGOLD- who performed atop a custom designed Lucite stage and display case. Her indie songs and energy worked the crowd into a frenzy, especially when she invited guests to join her on-stage.

Mansion 360

Miami’s elite turned out en masse on January 21 to celebrate Mansion nightclub’s mega revamp and grand reopening. The “new” Mansion includes outrageous lighting and sounds, which drew throngs of fans for two nights of special performances by Deadmau5, who reportedly charged over $200k. The opening was a cross between Walt Disney World’s Electrical Parade, The Wizard of Oz and a South Park episode- with psychedelic robots, “little people” in silver futuristic suits and Deadmau5’s deformed Mickey Mouse-esque logo-characters, who entertained Miami’s VIPs on the opening night of Mansion’s rebirth.

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Athina Marturet, Maestro Marturet, and Christian Meischel

The Adrienne Arsht Center was packed to the rafters on Saturday January 21 for the Miami Symphony Orchestra’s (MISO) annual gala concert, An Evening in Vienna, where more than 3,000 of Miami’s social elite gathered to witness an unprecedented occasion.  On this special evening, the House of Swarovski presented MISO’s Music Director and Conductor Eduardo Marturet, with a one-of-a-kind crystal baton.   Christian Meischel, Swarovski’s project manager, flew in from Austria especially for this momentous occasion, as the baton is the first-ever of its kind.   

Throughout the evening, the charismatic and energetic Marturet, wearing royal blue crystallized Donald Pliner loafers to match the stage lights, encouraged the audience to share in his enthusiasm, which even resulted in a broken baton! Fortunately, said baton was not the Swarovski baton, which had yet to be presented.  The crowd obliged, clapping to the Polka, and dancing to the upbeat tempos, and delighting to the waltzes, and great overtures. 

Towards the end of the concert, with the pomp and circumstance of the prince and the Grand Duke from the Cinderella fairytale, MISO’s Chairman, Rafael Diaz-Balart and Meischel, ceremoniously carried the Swarovski baton to the stage on a black velvet cushion.  The Venezuelan conductor, in turn used the baton to direct the orchestra in the final piece, the Radetsky March, after which the audience went wild with applause.   

Model, Athina Marturet, wife/biggest fan of Maestro Marturet shared the following, “The night was wonderful, full of thousands of emotions and with such a special ending.  Marturet was amazing, continuously turning around to direct and animate the crowd, encouraging them to move to the beats of the music.  It was too much!  What made the evening even happier was the company of such illustrious friends and international personalities, such as Silvia Tcherassi and Iran Issa-Khan.” Other fabulous friends in attendance included MISO’s Advisory Board, comprised of Barbara Becker, Terry Cohen, Ali Mahalati, Sam Robin, Terry Schechter, and the aforementioned, Iran Issa-Khan.

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We fully expected to be smitten on Saturday night at the YoungArts “An Affair of the Arts” Gala, where one of our favorite actors of all-time, Robert Redford, was honored with the Arison Award.  What we didn’t expect was that we would have the honor of meeting the Sundance Kid and gushing, shamelessly, about the fact that we are lifelong, card-carrying members of the Robert Redford fan club.  The still-gorgeous-as-ever, septuagenarian actor, director, activist and founder of Sundance Institute+ Film Festival humbly listened and even indulged us in a photo- a privilege reserved to very few on that stellar evening.   

Prior to the gala, more than 800 A-list guests, including prominent artists, community leaders, philanthropists and celebrities, gathered for the performance and awards presentation at the historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts where visual artist and 1986 YoungArts winner Doug Aitken was presented with the Alumni Award; and arts administrator Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, received the YoungArts Leadership Award. 

Guests enjoyed an interdisciplinary performance by YoungArts alumni from around the nation, including X Factor favorite, Marcus Canty, 2009 YoungArts Finalist in Voice in his first live performance since the show. 

The J.W. Marriott Marquis Hotel was the perfect setting for the party that ensued after the performance, during which the dance floor was packed even before dinner was served and remained that way throughout the night.  Notable guests included Robert Redford and his wife of two years and longtime companion, Sibylle Szaggars Redford; Entourage’s, Debi Mazar; Jacques d’Amboise; Bill T. Jones; Bruce Weber and Nan Bush; Lin Arison; Sarah Arison; J.W. “Bill” and Donna Marriott, Jr.; Rocco and Debby Landesman; Angelica Maria, Angelica Vale and Otto Padrón; Shelly Berg; Facundo and Elizabeth Bacardi, among others.  Thanks to the support of sponsors, Grey Goose® vodka, the J.W. Marriott Marquis, presenting sponsor, SunTrust, and the support of MIAMI magazine and The Collection, the event raised nearly $1,000,000 to support student artists at both the regional and national levels.

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