The invite promised that this would be an Art Basel fête like no other and it was. Cultured and Ferragamo rolled out the red carpet at the Red Rooster Overtown in Miami for a starmix bag of guests lead by Hugh Hayden, Derrick Adams, Sarah Harrelson and Ferragamo CEO, Daniella Vitale. Step-and-repeat flashes went off all night like a strobe with late arrivals pushing through the throngs eager to catch musician Moses Sumney’s soulful set. Those already inside waited on the dance floor with big coups of sunset-colored drinks or with friends and strangers tucked into leather booths to gossip. There was a lot to discuss—the fairs, the parties, the outfits, the sales. In the thicket of personalities, we spied Venus Williams, Adam Levine, Rilley Opelka, Anastasia Karanikolaou, Venus X, Joel Lubin, Lucas Jagger, Sidra Smith, Winston Duke and Gaia Matisse. Young artist list alumni Tourmaline, Diedrick Brackens, April Bey and Awol Erizku also attended.
When Moses took to the stage for a transcendent performance, it reminded us of our summer interview with the singer and peer Caroline Polachek in which they discussed the mechanics of songwriting. “I think about color sometimes when singing,” Moses had said. “I think about temperature, warmth or what’s warm, what’s cool.” As the set went on, we wondered where his thoughts were: did the warm Miami sun make it into the song? If we captured it on iPhones all together, could we keep even of a fraction of what it felt like to be with friends again on a balmy winter night? We’ll be headed to Red Rooster New York’s gospel brunch on Sunday in case technology fails us and we need to be fed again.
