Think of Miami and what probably springs to mind aside from catchy 90’s pop songs and the glittering Atlantic shoreline is the Neapolitan-hued Art Deco architecture – most certainly worth seeing via a walking tour with the Miami Beach Preservation League – and the vibrant, glitzy nightlife of South Beach. But beyond the sun and sand, thanks in part to Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach there’s a thriving cultural and international arts scene all year-round.
Where To Stay
Miami’s Brickell neighbourhood is booming and it’s in this buzzy location you’ll find the city’s first outpost of the Dutch design hotel citizenM. As with its sister properties, the space is packed with art and contemporary design with commissioned works by Theresa Chromati and Lakwena Maciver as well as a colourful façade featuring a totem by Miami-based artist Jen Stark. Ten local artists selected via an open call have also created dynamic, colourful pieces that can be found throughout the rooms. Going forward, citizenM World Center, a larger property located directly opposite Biscayne Bay is due to open in January 2023.
What's everyone reading?
For some vibey South Beach action, head towards the coast and check yourself in to The Goodtime Hotel on Washington Avenue. Owned by multi-hyphenate Pharrell Williams and Miami-based entrepreneur David Grutman, the 266-room property, which swung its doors open in April this year has interiors created by American designer Ken Fulk. Laid back pastels, scallops and stripes reign supreme in reimagined Art Deco spaces that draw on the optimism of the era without being kitschy, while Havana and Acapulco were the inspiration for Strawberry Moon, the high-energy restaurant and pool club. Good times indeed.
Eating out
If gloriously OTT Miami glam combined with high-end art is what you’re after, then head to Sexy Fish in Brickell, where unsurprisingly, Drake is a regular. Launched in February 2022, through the velvet ropes you’ll find not only an Asian-inspired menu by Michelin starred Chef Director Björn Weissgerber but also a truly incredible, under-the-sea themed interior by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio and over $20 million worth of artwork including 10 pieces by the UK’s own Damien Hirst, as well as a swirling shoal of 26 fish lamps by renowned architect Frank Gehry.
Alternatively, brand new to the scene and set to be a hit is Sofia, the first outpost of the popular Toronto-based restaurant. Based in the Design District, the indoor-outdoor space offers nostalgic Italian fine dining in an ice cream hued space decked out with flamingo pink umbrellas, an abundance of rosy marble, mirrored columns and custom Italian-imported chandeliers, all curated by award-winning design collective Studio Munge.
In complete contrast to the pizazz of most Miami eateries, the family run Mandolin Aegean Bistro is a Mediterranean escape in the heart of the Design District. At the restored 1940’s home, the patio is the place to be for a laid-back, unpretentious experience where the grilled octopus and chocolate cake are a taste sensation. Meanwhile, their onsite lifestyle store Mrs Mandolin offers a curated selection of homewares, pantry and apothecary goods, also available online and at Soho Beach House.
Art & Culture
Fancy being completely immersed in experiential works by some of the most renowned art creators in the world? Trust us, the answer is yes, so head to Superblue, a 50,000-square-foot industrial space in Miami’s Allapattah neighbourhood. Launched in May 2021, the groundbreaking art destination specialises in large-scale installations that include a breathtaking mirrored labyrinth by British set designer Es Devlin, an all-encompassing light-based work by American light artist James Turrell and a transcendent digital experience by international art collective teamLab. If all that interaction has fired your appetite, the venue’s Blue Rider café offers dopamine fuelled dining with interiors by multidisciplinary artist Yinka Ilori.
Directly opposite in a warehouse space formerly used to house banned goods confiscated by the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Annabelle Selldorf–designed Rubell Museum’s private collection includes works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Martha Jungwirth and Jeff Koons to name but a few. Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Room and Narcissus Garden is a permanent fixture and an obvious highlight.
Other must visits are Wynwood Walls, a globally renowned street art museum near the Design District, the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA Miami), a pillar of the Miami scene showing work from emerging artists as well as renowned contemporary masters and the Herzog & de Meuron designed Pérez Art Museum on Biscayne Boulevard, a bastion of 20th- and 21st-century international art.
Shopping
Spanning 18 square blocks, the Miami Design District, once a pineapple farm, is now home to more than 150 luxury brands including Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dior, Fendi Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Off White and Louis Vuitton, all of which sit cheek to cheek with galleries, restaurants and bars and public installations. When you’ve maxed out your credit card, relax in Netscape, a web of hanging chairs by German designer Konstantin Grcic, or venture into a prototype of Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye dome. Other highlights include Nuage, an organic pergola by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Dash Fence, a 100-ft installation by Marc Newson and Dollar A Gallon III, a sculpture by Virgil Abloh.
For a quintessential Miami shopping experience with a great range of fashion and homewares, head to The Webster. First opened in South beach in 2009, the Art Deco building was built in 1939 by architect Henry Hohauser as the Webster Hotel. Founder Laure Heriard Dubreuil, who grew up in Paris and worked as a merchandiser for Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, kept the name but reimagined the three-story interior as a multi-brand store designed to resemble a residential space.
More pocket friendly design-led items can be found at Frangipani, an independently owned lifestyle store next to the Wynwood Walls, who source cheerful, handmade and sustainable products from all over the world.
Escape The City
Situated south of the city among almost 84 acres of lush rainforests, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables is one of the most stunning botanic gardens in the US. Founded in 1938 by famed plant explorer Dr. David Fairchild, it boasts more than 3,400 species including tropical fruits and orchids, magical butterflies and world-class native and exotic plants, some of which can't survive anywhere else in America apart from in South Florida.
