By: Dr. Mary Jo Almeida-Shore Haute Living magazine kicked off Art Basel with an event Vogue called one of the most anticipated of the week. The dinner party hosted by Daphne Guinness, Dom Pérignon and Roger Dubuis in celebration of Guinness’ collaboration with Swiss watchmaker Roger Dubuis called The Velvet Collection, which was Haute Living’s Basel Issue Cover story. Sixty guests gathered in the courtyard of the posh Villa Azur restaurant on December 5, at a table covered with violet roses to matched Guinness’ Haute Living cover shot taken by Nick Knight. Even Martha Stewart could resist snapping a few photos of the table. The elegant party was crawling with celebrities, VIPs and A listers as guests included Martha Stewart, Karolina Kurkova, Russell Simmons, Ray Allen, Lea Black, Marysol Patton, Stephen Dorff, IWC President Gianfranco D’Attis,street artist, Alec Monopoly, DJ Irie and, of course,Ms. Guinness herself. Dom Pérignon showed off a bottle with a glowing label by fellow creative soul, David Lynch. Earlier in the day, Diane von Furstenberg’s launched her limited edition Evian bottle at a lunch at Soho Beach House alongside guests Russell Simmons, Chelsea Handler and Andre Balazs.
McMullan. Also, actor Lou Ferrigno dined at Toro Toro two nights in a row during Basel “week.”On December 6, Krug hosted a private Champagne dinner for actor-filmmaker Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer, co-founders of SHFT.com, after a silent auction of Sam Haskins photographs benefiting their SHFT Mobile Kitchen Classroom. A group of 20 guests, including film producer and philanthropist, Sarah Arison, owner of CURVE Nevena Borissova, gallerist Kana Manglapus and R. Adam Smith of Vintage & Modern gathered over endless pours of Krug Grande Cuveé and dinner at the new Gale Hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. Grenier was also spotted at the Soho Beach House throughout the week, at the Alchemist party at the Herzog & De Muron building on December 7, and was on-hand for the screening and exhibition of his documentary Teenage Paparazzo at the YoungArts building.
Donna Karan hosted a book-signing brunch at Delano hotel on Friday, December 7, for the debut of the book- Stephan Weiss: Connecting the Dotswith a moving introduction by Karan, the book is a tribute to her late husband and tells the story of his art and legacy. Proceeds from book sales benefit The Urban Zen Foundation. On Friday, December 7, Hublot, Haute Living and The Collection Ferrari hosted expressionist artist, Domingo Zapata’s private art unveiling and installation at Hublot’s Bal Harbour boutique, followed by a party at the SLS Hotel. Notable guests included: Rico Love; actors Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier, Simon Rex and Jordi Molla; Jennifer Williams from VH1’s Basketball Wives; Jill Zarin; former NSync member, Lance Bass and artist Damien Hirst.
The same night, Russell Simmons co-hosted a dinner to benefit Penn Medicine at the home of Allison & Chip Brady in Coconut Grove, alongside his new supermodel girlfriend Hana Nitsche, whose gorgeous photographs had been displayed at an event earlier in the evening. Joining the couple for the elegant gathering, were Real Houswives of Miami star, cookbook author, Ana Quincoces and Jill Zarin of the Real Housewives of New York. Following the dinner, Simmons and Nitsche headed to the Moore Building for Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation event: the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, where Jay-Z purchased a beautiful piece of art by Chicago artist Hebru Brantley for $20,000. Also on Thursday, Aby Rosen and wife Samantha Boardman hosted their annual Art Basel dinner at The Dutch at the W Hotel South Beach. Invited guests included: Owen Wilson, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Stavros Niarchos & Jessica Hart, Chelsea Handler & Andre Balazs, Stephen Dorff and Peter & Harry Brant to name a few. At the after party at WALL lounge, hosted by Niarchos, Alex Dellal, and Vito Schnabel, several of the dinner guests were joined by Kanye West, Carmelo Anthony, Gavin DeGraw, and Kellan Lutz, who enjoyed free-flowing Dom Perignon Luminous Rose.
Andre Balazs, Glenda Bailey, Demi Moore, and Terry Richardson
OHWOW and HTC hosted a book signing and after party to celebrate the launch of Terry Richardson’s latest book TERRYWOOD, published by OHWOW and Damiani Editore, at The Standard Spa, Miami Beach on Friday December 7. Partygoers included: Waris Ahluwalia, Joseph Altuzarra, Brian Atwood, Daniel Arsham, Glenda Bailey, Andre Balazs, Azealia Banks, Tim Barber, Anastasia Barbieri, Aaron Bondaroff, Scott Campbell, Julia Chiang, Dan Colen, Danny Comden, Esteban Cortazar, Paz de La Huerta, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Claire Distenfeld, Brian Donnelly (“KAWS”), Chelsea Handler, Laure Heriard Dubreuil, Suzanne Geiss, Adrian Grenier, Matt Johnson, Stacy Keibler, Matt Kliegman, Lily Kwong, Jenné Lombardo, Ryan McGinley, Leandra Medine, Demi Moore, Al Moran, Mia Moretti, Kelly Osbourne, José Parlá, Carlos Quirarte, Terry Richardson, Bert Rodriguez, Darren Romanelli, Andre Saraiva, Kim Schifino, Aurel Schmidt, Dana Schutz, Stefan Simchowitz, David Simkins, Lucien Smith, Casey Spooner, Riccardo Tisci, Kon Trubkovich, Nick van Woert, Pharrell Williams, and Aaron Young.
Jay- Z and Beyoncé were spotted at the Standard Hotel sipping Cuban coffee at the David’s Café pop-up restaurant, Café 
Neptuno on December 8. The couple also attended music producer, Rico Love’s birthday party at the SLS Hotel and partied late into the morning with a group of friends at Le Baron, the Parisian nightclub’s Miami incarnation, which was held at Nikki Beach on Friday and Saturday nights. Also spotted at the SLS for Love’s birthday were: P. Diddy, Kelly Rowland, Eva Cavalli, Fat Joe, Pharrell, Russell Simmons, and Janice Combs. Twilight actor, Kellan Lutz, was spotted at the Soho Beach House following the Chanel/Art.sy barbecue on December 5 and spent time with Best Buddies participants and students of Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, on December 7. Internationally renowned Chinese artist, Simon Ma, hosted a private party at the exclusive Soho Beach House on December 8, which drew VIPs including Julian Lennon, who enjoyed a live artistic and musical performance by Ma accompanied by Grammy award winning saxophonist Alto Reed. Will Smith, dined with his all three of his children at Bâoli Miami on December 8 in celebration of his son Trey’s, aka DJ AcE, debut on the turntables. The high-end Webster boutique, hosted several celebrity-studded events, which drew visits from Owen Wilson, Olga Kurylenko, Danny Huston, Kayne West, Marcia Cross, Stella McCartney, Kelly and Calvin Klein, and Martha Stewart. Raul de Molina, Univision host and Art Basel Host Committee member welcomed over 250 guests to his private residence in Key Biscayne. Guests included artists, curators, collectors and celebrities such as baseball legend Sammy Sosa; Art Basel Head of VIP Services Harry Guhl; Internationally-known Cuban artist Jose Bedia; Miami Art Museum curator, Tobias Osterhaus; Cuban Art expert Eli Klein of Bravo’s Gallery Girls, and Univision stars Lily Estefan and Maria Salinas, Co-Anchor of Noticiero Univision.
