Clark’s Originals, Alexanderwang, Timex, And Bentley Crash The Art Basel Miami Beach Party

Art Basel Miami Beach 2022 was home to many works of art, as it has each year since 2002. Additionally, other markets have seen the art world as a catalyst for cultural connection. Brands have found avenues among the crowded streets of Wynwood and Miami Beach for pop-up shop openings, exclusive capsule collections, and NFT drops.

Collaborations with curators, car companies, Web3 native brands, pop-up shops from Web3, and fashion brands alike, with NFTs for everyone to access, have all found their place among the galleries. The traditional art exhibits, filled with art lovers and modern hype seekers, got to experience the fashion, coming in at a more reasonable price point for purchasing.

Clarks Originals celebrated the launch of the debut collaboration “Floor Seats” Wallabee, co-designed by the Compound agency founder and creative director Set Free Richardson. The Art Basel event and drop was held at the retail and event space UNKNWN in Wynwood, where the shoe was the main attraction. The design inspiration is courtside fashion and basketball, in collaboration with Compound. The exclusive pair of “Floor Seats” was available by purchasing a carbon-neutral NFT drop with art from painter BK the Artist, only at Art Basel Miami.

“The collaboration space is really crowded with [a lot of] people – doing a lot. I went the opposite,” describes Compoun founder Set Free Richardson about the Wallabee collaboration. “I kept it really clean [like the] great detail in the perforated leather – vintage basketball, filled with perforated dots on the top and the bottom. A seven on it is minimal with matte branding on the back. I wanted people to have something that had a ‘New York state of mind.’ And comes with two [additional] pairs of shoelaces.”

He continues, “a brown shoe with green shoelaces ties us back to the ‘beef and broccoli’ [Timberland boot], what we grew up on, and on the other side is the pink lace. I wanted something people feel like they could rock if it were cold weather or light rain. And the beeswax could protect them against all that.”

Richardson has much experience working with brands and people. The nuances of his collaboration have a foundation in basketball, leading to the ethos of the “Floor Seats” shoe. “I did collaborations in the past with steel companies. I worked with [a lot of] people on collaborations – as a ‘ghost’ collaborator, like ghostwriters in the music industry. I feel like art is everything, from the way Kyrie Irving dribbles is an art, to the way Steph Carrie shoots – that’s art. Then you connect that back to hip-hop – art, period.” Richardson makes it an art to collaborate with him, presenting a gleaming new take on the Wallabee seen from a display case on the UNKNWN showroom floor.

Jadakiss also debuted the shoes during his performance at the UNKNWN basketball court, adjacent to the retail store, which turned into an event space. Jadakiss and Set Free Richardson performed the original track “Floor Seats”, a co-produced song with the hip-hop legend.

Fashion label alexanderwang unveiled a Miami Design District pop-up store with 3,700 square feet covered in red carpet, leading into the alexanderwang world of a unique shopping experience. Founder Alexander Wang takes the opportunity to launch the space during Art Basel Miami as “playing with a concept that pushes the boundaries in a community that is known for innovation and art. “

At the center of the store is a crystal-covered bed dress with matching pillowcases and stuffed animal bags reflecting some of the designs from the available collection. “I wanted to present a conversation around culture clash in a district that is – extremely – dynamic, and during a time when people from all over the globe come together to see what’s next.”

The pop-up showcases the FW22 collection and Alexander Wang’s latest endeavor into everyday essentials as the Bodywear collection, along with footwear and accessories. The Pop-Up explores the idea of a stage rather than a traditional retail layout, with the exterior painted red with a traditional Chinese hip-and-gable roof over the entrance. With wall-to-wall red carpet covering the floors and red, clear panels lining each wall, luxury exudes. The store highlights the custom-designed crystal bed installation piece.

The Web3, art, and fashion communities came together with the help of founder Rarity Jan of Dopamine, a curator for Streetwear+ for culture-creating Web3 labels and artists. A conceptualized progressive streetwear and fashion experience offering digital and physical merchandise, the Dopamine pop–up shop was an interactive art display.

The appearance of ASAP Rocky and Trippie Redd at the Dopamine “WTF IS STREETWEAR+” pop-up shop opening in Wynwood was a treat for fans of the Web3 native brand. Founder Jan and the two rap stars discussed the Streetwear+ technology and viewed the Dopamine launch collection. The all-day event featured physical and digital collaborative merchandise from partners like KidSuper, Fvckrender, ThankYouX, Nouns DAO, and Dopamine’s streetwear items.

Watch brand Timex partnered with the community behind one of the most notable NFT projects, the Bored Ape Yacht Club, on a first-of-its-kind collection of ultra-rare, one-of-one timepieces with corresponding digital twin NFTs. The offering of watch and NFT were exclusively available to members of the Bored Ape and Mutant Ape communities.

Five hundred of these Timex watches and digital twin NFTs were available exclusively to owners of the Bored Apes and Mutant Ape NFTs. Each member who purchased the NFT had a chance to get one of these ultra-rare timepieces during a BAYC community pre-sale at the invite-only launch party during Art Basel Miami Beach. Combining the art-collecting and tech communities is still work-in-progress, and Timex in Miami is a merger of two specific art disciplines in horology and graphic design.

From timepieces to luxury automobiles, part of the second phase of the bespoke design collaboration between Bentley Motors and Dominic Ciambrone, ‘The Shoe Surgeon,’ unveiled a one-of-one Bentley x The Surgeon vehicle at Art Basel Miami Beach. Previously, a November collaboration showed off ten bespoke pairs of customized sneakers, each design inspired by Bentley’s brand pillars, Speed, Azure, and Mulliner. Mulliner clients and collectors reserved each pair of shoes as part of their membership.

The Shoe Surgeon is an artist in his craft, designing customized sneakers. Last year Bentley Motors’ customization division, Mulliner, tapped Ciambrone to design these bespoke sneakers and the exclusive Art Basel special, one-of-one Bentley x The Surgeon vehicle.

The Bentley Motors Flying Spur Hybrid Mulliner by The Surgeon sold for $450,000 at the launch event during Art Basel like a work of art. The car celebrates the values of Bentley and The Surgeon – focusing on craftsmanship and refined taste for modern luxuries, cars, and shoes.

The luxury custom vehicle is inspired by The Surgeon’s iconic black and gold shoeboxes, with the exterior of the vehicle incorporating a duotone mix of Anthracite Black and Satin Anthracite Black, with Satin Bronze accents. The 22-inch wheels reflect the same color scheme, and the doors project The Surgeon’s signature skull and scalpel marque projected onto the floor.

Founder of Billionaire Boys Club, Pharrell Williams, and graffiti artist Todd James, also celebrated the BBC x Todd James capsule collection at Billionaire Boys Club’s Miami flagship store. The Miami flagship retail store opened its door in the Wynwood Arts District this past October, further solidifying the Billionaire Boys Club/Ice cream name in streetwear and the art world.

Special guests skip galleries for the evening to visit the Williams and James for the artful collaboration. Pharrell Williams and Todd James were joined by rapper Fredo Bang, artist Hebru Brantley, and streetwear founder Ben Hundreds, to name a few, for the special-edition Art Basel Miami Beach 2022 exclusive capsule.

Art Basel Miami Beach was seen throughout Miami in many different mediums through various means drawing new and younger audiences to the art world. Each pop-up and drop was an experience that engaged audiences as much as the other art forms around the town. Making a moment out of Art Basel Miami Beach, brands have found a place to unveil eclectic collaborations as elevated items for collecting.