Inside Art Basel: The People, The Places And The Parties

Every year the annual Art Basel art has been becoming more exclusive, generating more money and attracting more and more A-list clientele.

Indeed, this year there are even A-listers exhibiting: Lenny Kravitz and Mr Sylvester Stallone, whom we actually bumped into at the VIP opening of the fair and he admitted he was ‘daunted’ to be showing his paintings. (We thought they were very impressive Sly. And we caught Elle McPherson checking them out too.)

Leonardo Di Caprio is here. He comes every year and splashes serious cash on art. We spied him by the pool at the Edition hotel chilling with Stallone. There is also a rumour going around that if Mr DiCaprio wants to attend your party (and there are an heck of a lot of parties in this town this week) then not only are you not allowed to know he will be coming, but also you cannot take his picture if he does come or indeed acknowledge his presence. Talk about Catch Him if You Can.

And so to parties. If you can’t afford the art (like us) then you better be good at sipping champagne on the beach or by the pool (like us) – for there are parties going on at almost every hour of the day. (Shoes are a nightmare, wedges a must, as most parties involve sand.)

Our favourite so far? Well without a doubt the goings on at the ex-pats favourite home away from home, Soho Beach House Miami. It fell to Mr Nick Jones and Brit art dealer extraordinaire, Jay Jopling to host the Art Basel kick-off party on Tuesday. No sooner had we walked through the front door of the tent, Bombay Saphhire G&T in hand, than Tracey Emin (who had kicked off her shoes) resplendent in Vivienne Westwood grabbed our hand and introduced us to all the movers and shakers in the industry. Later we caught up with how to dress in the tropical heat with Roksanda Illinic (it’s seriously humid out here) and chatted disco hits with the Felder and Felder sisters. Because fashion has got a heavy presence at Art Basel too and we also swung by the Jonathan Saunders dinner last night, hosted by our great pals at Spotify (Jonathan had curated a Spotify playlist) and bumped into *Paris Hilton, ravishing in red sequins but, like us, looking a little sweaty. *

W Magazine hosted the most marvellous roller disco on the beach and the lovely Stephen Webster and his fabulous wife Assia hosted another lovely soiree at Soho Beach House to promote Stephen’s new book, Gold Struck.

Katie Holmes was spotted at the Edition hotel, where we went to a Dazed and Confused party last night only to discover that the Basement VIP area had not only a bowling alley, but an ice rink with the amazing neon art instillation, ‘I think I had too much to dream last night.’

The rain is now pouring down in this tropical city, so the streets are gridlock, only one thing for it – to call UberBoat. Following on from the genius Uber-copters during the Cannes Film Festival, here in Miami you can Uber-pool your own yacht to avoid traffic. See ya.

- By Emily Maddick