The court of creativity in Miami

From 3 to 8 December Miami becomes a hub of art and design, featuring installations, events and grand openings in the various districts of the city: from lively South Beach to the exclusive Design District, in a fascinating circuit of experiences

The creative ferment in Miami during the week on unique creations, with Art Basel and Design Miami/, spreads from the magnificence of the Art Deco District all the way to the epicenter of luxury lifestyle, the Design District. Galleries reveal their limited-edition treasures, unprecedented collaborations between important brands and acclaimed designers, openings of new showrooms, like those of Molteni and Rimadesio, and site-specific installations. The city shows its artistic side, with an eye on fashion and design culture.

Among the events not to be missed outside the fair, the Garden of Beauty by Visionnaire: for the brand’s 15th anniversary, the showroom in Miami has been transformed into a lush garden, thanks to the imagination of Marc Ange. The protagonist is the peacock, a majestic, elegant animal that is the stimulus for the Pavone capsule collection. The magnificence of the bird’s legendary tail is conveyed by five armchairs and a dramatic throne made in camel leather with fabrics that embody the vibrant colors of the peacock, in bright green and blue. Wrapped in the splendor of an installation that leads visitors into a magical world.

Walking through the elegance of the Design District, visitors are enchanted and surprised by the pop-up installations or permanent works in the luxury zone of Miami. Artistic site-specific works like the sculpture “Dollar a Gallon” made by Virgil Abloh, creative director and founder of Off-White™ and current artistic director for men’s products of Louis Vuitton, investigating the effects of advertising. Nuage by the Bouroullec Brothers is an organic pergola to offer seated shelter from the sun, in a harmonious relationship between nature and architecture thanks to the structure in colored glass and steel that imitates the moment when the clouds disperse to let the rays of Miami sunlight shine through. Among the public installations, the fascinating Fly’s Eye Dome – designed by Buckminster Fuller at the end of the 1970s – stands majestically in the Palm Court; the web of 24 suspended chairs Netscape has been created by Konstantin Grcic; and the DASH Fence by Marc Newson can be seen at the Design & Architecture High School, with a ‘dynamic’ slim metal frame.

Design verve is also seen in the elegant flagship stores of haute de gamme brands that set the pace in the design court: from Louis Vuitton to Perrier-Jouët, Thom Browne to Cuyana, with a particular pop-up installation created with Lego bricks, all the way to Balenciaga, which in collaboration with artist-designer Harry Nuriev presents a functional work of art made with the brand’s discarded apparel. The result is an ecocompatible divan that translates clothing into furniture, inspired by classic upholstery with a special focus on environmental responsibility and the idea of a zero-impact circular economy.

The creative flair of Sasha Bikoff stands out in a new exhibition at Versace: South Beach Stories pays tribute to the volume published by the Versace family in 1993, drawing on the remarkable legacy of the fashion brand. “Like the book – Sasha says – the exhibition shares the life of a family of true artists that came to this city and had a cultural and creative impact of such power as to remain imprinted in our minds and our hearts.” For the exhibition, the interior designer has invented furnishings inspired by the iconic looks of the Maison, shown with the various types of garments ‘captured’ in the capsule.

While the Bulthaup company presents an interactive art installation in its showroom, imagined by Luis Pons Design Lab / Gaia & Gino Collection – a series of three-dimensional habitat spaces in which to experience harmony, balance and peace – the brand Luminaire explores the work of three influential designers, who have made their mark in the world of design and fashion: on view, The Uncollected Collection by Piero Lissoni for Living Divani, the Noctambule lamps by Konstantin Grcic for Flos, and the American debut of the first design work by fashion stylist Ann Demeulemeester for the world of the dining table.