It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone and that we find ourselves back in South Beach for Art Basel Miami Beach already. We could have sworn we said that last year was the last time we’d go, as we flew back to New York completely exhausted and maybe just a tad hungover. But how quickly we forget, and how appealing an art-filled (and now, more than ever, fashion- and luxury-filled) week in sunny Miami seems as it starts to get dark at around 4:00 p.m.
Another ABMB also means that it’s time for our annual Luxury Issue. While setting up this year’s edition, we found several of the old-guard fashion and lifestyle houses taking some chances, heading in unexpected directions.
We were impressed by Louis Vuitton’s choice of Charlotte Perriand as the inspiration behind their Spring/Summer 2014 “Icones” collection. And we were practically bowled over when the fashion house told us they’d be building her La Maison au Bord de l’Eau in Miami this year, as part of Design Miami/. Perriand was really the first female designer and architect, working with Le Corbusier. She was a free spirit who traveled the world, experiencing it. We share a few photographs from her travels in our story on her collaboration with Louis Vuitton that are a lovely window into her life.
We saw new engagements with contemporary artists from brands such as J. Mendel, Bottega Veneta, and Hermès. Gilles Mendel and the artist Enoc Perez struck up a friendship over the past year, connecting over their appreciation of each other’s work and status as an outsider in New York. The new pals ended up creating a book that launches this winter at J. Mendel’s new boutique in New York. We also spoke with Tomas Maier, the creative director of Bottega Veneta, who for the second year played a key role in selecting a national and international winner of the “New Exposure 2013” fashion photography competition. Hermès, a longtime collaborator with contemporary artists, created a pretty wild event and installation in Miami over the summer, put together with menswear creative director Véronique Nichanian and multimedia artist Leandro Erlich and entitled “A Man’s World.”
You’ll also see a bit of our very own innovation in the feature entitled “SuperNature.” Our creative director Guillaume Wolf found himself inspired by this year’s breakout perfumes and created a wildly imaginative spread that offers a scent to the scentless—fragrance-free orchids.
Each Luxury Issue we usually like to ask key players in the lifestyle industry what their definition of “luxury” is. We found over and over that the two most common answers were “quality” and “time.” Well, our studio visit and interviews with Julia Chiang, Barry McGee, and Zhang Huan certainly offer some much needed QT with the artists we are most excited about this winter.
Also in our pages you’ll find not one but two conversations with collectors: Eva Chow and Jim Murren. Chow talks to us about her previous work in fashion, film, and her current involvement with LACMA’s growing film program. And Murren, the CEO of MGM, opens up his Las Vegas home to us, showing off his personal James Turrell Skyspace (the year of Turrell may have ended, but we’re still mesmerized).
That’s enough of an introduction, we think. See you in Miami!
