Pucci

There were so many parties riding on the back of Art Basel Miami Beach, according to the Times, that “anyone without a crib sheet, or the power publicist Nadine Johnson on speed-dial, was lost.” So legion were the corporate-scented art-design-fashion fêtes, in fact, that Manhattan socialite Lee Schifter’s speech pattern was reduced to something akin to gibberish. “Did you Pucci or Choo?” she asked at one point, referring to a pair of concurrent parties—one given by Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon and the other by Emilio Pucci’s daughter, Laudomia.

And those who didn’t Pucci or Choo were able to Swarovski, Audi and Cartier. Oh, and a few lucky people could also Klein, if they so desired, by dining with the 65-year-old designer, Calvin, at his new, art-free, Greece-or-something manse. No lazy affair, the planning for Mr. Klein’s party reportedly took several weeks and included “casting” and “importing” actor-waiters from New York. Art for promotion’s sake? It’s safe to say that Andy Warhol would be quite pleased. [NYT]

Today, Matthew Williamson, the creative director of Pucci, is at Art Basel, where he wrote a bloggy update for The Moment, part of the Times’ new T Magazine Web site. And since he’s the head designer for a label that reminds us of fruit salad, 1960s airline stewardesses and people from Miami, what better place to scribble some thoughts! Having arrived in the tropical climate apparently turned Mr. Williamson’s creative Pucci juices on high. “[I]t’s amazing how inspired I feel in Miami,” he writes. “I really love this place. The people, the shops, the art, the bars and clubs. It’s such any energetic place.”

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