The Most Fashionable Art Basel Miami Beach Parties—So Far

It’s that time of year again! Miami is being swarmed by art connoisseurs and cool hunters from New York (for the week, Miami is New York City’s 6th borough), London, Los Angeles, and beyond. Call it their annual pilgrimage to Art Basel Miami Beach and the many other art fairs (like Nada and Untitled) simultaneously taking place this week.

It’s a week of art, officially. (Just one day into the fair, critics are buzzing about photographer Wolfgang Tillmans’s new works at David Zwirner, gallery 56 Henry’s Basel debut, and a sprawling showcase of Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Frank Gehry.) But after the art comes the parties and the after-parties. Basel offers a dizzying amount of options for those looking to clink cocktail classes and dance on the beach till the early hours of the night. On the docket for this year? White Cube’s annual rager at Soho House Miami Beach, a Gagosian fete cohosted with Positano hotel Le Sirenuse, and a Mickelane Thomas party with Janelle Monae at the Miami Beach Edition. Fashion-wise, Dior, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ssense x Marni, and Farfetch x Dolce & Gabbana have also joined in on the fun with parties of their own. It’s a celebratory whirlwind all in the name of art; a roundup of the most fashionable fetes, below.

Wednesday

Janelle Monáe Jumped In the Pool at a Mickalene Thomas Party

If any artist “won” the week, it would be Mickalene Thomas, who was at the center of many Art Basel Miami Beach celebrations. On Wednesday night, in partnership with Shop with Google and The Miami Beach Edition, Thomas brought out art world heavy hitters like Stephanie Horton, Frank Roberts, Isolde Brielmaier, Hank Willis Thomas, Kimberly Drew, Edvin Thompson, and more to fete her Shop with Google collection (the capsule is splashed with some of Thomas’ most-loved prints and motifs lifted from her own works). It all culminated with an electric performance by Janelle Monáe, who, in true pool-party spirit, leaped into the piscine as part of her performance—when in Miami Basel!