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PHOTOGRAPHY KIM COFFMAN MAY | PAGE 42 | 2014 Gives Lesson on Style H ouston's fashionable gathered at River Oaks Country Club, eager to sponsor the next generation of design. The annual Passion for Fashion luncheon, chaired by Kelli Cohen Fein and Mary Ann McKeithan, showcased the best new collections created by Houston Community College's fashion and interior design department. When guest fashion designer Zang Toi's flight was canceled, Saks Fifth Avenue's GM Bobby Dees and CultureMap's Clifford Pugh saved the day. After Dees extended invitations to all for a future cocktail party with the designer, Pugh ushered the day's honoree — Phoebe Tudor, winner of the HCC Design Society Fashion Icon Award — back to the stage to serve as assistant emcee for a runway show of Zang Toi's elegant designs. Fashion-forward: luncheon founder Julia Frankel, Janet Gurwitch, Sheridan Williams, Becca Cason Thrash, Diane Lokey Farb, Lucinda Loya, Martha Turner, Kay King, and Judith Oudt. Erin Oppenheim Passion for Fashion Bobby Dees Clifford Pugh Fady Armanious Roz Pactor Janet Gurwitch Wendy O'Hanna Donna Josey Chapman Claire Wilkins Roseann Rogers Bob Bibb Julia Frankel Martha Turner Albert Rubio Kay King Anne Hooper Alissa Maples Virginia Steppe Sheridan Williams Chairman Mary Ann McKeithan Karina Barbieri Ceron Becca Cason Thrash Chairman Kelli Cohen Fein Bobby Tudor Zang Toi's exuberant designs take the runway. Honoree Phoebe Tudor Lucinda Loya Jana Arnoldy Diane Lokey Farb Estela Cockrell T he ninth edition of Design Miami took place this past winter, and those who made the trek were treated to an immersive experience. While this is a recap of the fair, I would be remiss to not make note that Art Basel Miami and, by extension, Design Miami are no longer simply a collection of venues to view art and design. Much more than a week celebrating some of the world's most creative artists and designers, the event has become a cultural phenomenon that attracts high-powered collectors and curiosity seekers from around the globe, owing its popularity to the colossal presence of the Art Basel fair. Witness famed architect Jacques Herzog lecturing with rapper Kanye West, or Leonardo DiCaprio making his way through the fair's main tent, or singer Pharrell taking in the work at the Design Miami tent, and you realize this is unlike any other art week or fair in the Americas. While many came solely for the parties, Miami Basel's large and varied collection of fairs, satellite fairs and off-site exhibitions offer an important view of the art and design communities. Five things of note from fall's Design Miami/Art Basel. 1. Tent Pile. Sited just across the street from the Miami Beach Convention Center (home to Art Basel Miami), Design Miami continued its tradition of strong installation-based work. Visitors were greeted by Tent Pile, an interactive architectural "intervention" by design team Formlessfinder. The work, designed by partners Garrett Ricciardi and Julian Rose, is a multifaceted structure that stays true to the designers' goal of prioritizing local materials. In this case, the duo utilized sand to perfect effect, as both a symbolic marker and a pyramid of sand to be sat upon, played in, examined and enjoyed. 2. The work of Jean Prouvé. Pioneering architect Prouvé was featured by Galerie Patrick Seguin at the Design Miami tent. The prefab house Maison Démontable 8x8 is one of only two surviving examples of Prouvé's prefab experiment designed to help overcome the housing shortage faced by France after World War II. Made from timber panels with a portable steel frame, the experimental home could be assembled by three people in less than a day and remains an important piece in the career of the influential architect. 3. Continued focus on the natural world. This has been a recurring theme in recent years. David Wiseman created a bronze gate utilizing decorative branching forms with delicate porcelain flowers for R 20th Century. Brooklyn- based designer Nao Tamura's Flow(t) chandelier was inspired by colors of a Venetian lagoon and features freely arranged lights that create the effect of looking across water to a rising or setting sun. Swarovski chose the work of Brazilian artist Guilherme Torres for its Crystal Palace installation: Mangue Groove paired glittery wooden organic forms with blazing imagery of sunsets to focus on conservation efforts of mangrove ecosystems. Also of note was the work of Dutch artist Simon Heijdens, who presented Phare No.1-9, a gorgeous minimal installation of mouth-blown glass vessels filled with colored water that create 3-D "drawings" when illuminated. The project, commissioned by Perrier-Jouët, pairs data taken from outdoor sensors with beautifully rendered glasswork evocative of the Art Nouveau movement. 4. Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The week marked the formal opening of PAMM to the public. Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning firm Herzog & de Meuron — known, among other projects, for its design of Beijing National Stadium (or the Olympic Bird's Nest) — PAMM connects the city to its roots of water and sky. Its towering 50-foot totems are actually watering pipes housing local and South American fauna on tiered levels. The museum is both a monument to fine art and a reminder that while Miami has become synonymous with shiny things, it is rooted in its proximity to Gulf lagoons and sandy beaches. 5. Colette x Alchemist. Concept shop Alchemist paired with well-known French retailer Colette and National AIA winner Rene Gonzalez Architect to create a pop-up Art Drive-Thru on the top floor of the striking Herzog & de Meuron-designed concrete parking structure. Featuring Colette's intriguing mix of pop art and design items, the experimental space let patrons choose from a large menu mounted overhead; the chosen work was then delivered by hosts on roller blades. DESIGN MIAMI'S EDIFICATION BY STEVEN HEMPEL Tent Pile, the Design Miami installation by Formlessfinder Colette x Alchemist pop-up Art Drive-Thru, Miami Beach Bayside view of Pérez Art Museum Miami Swarovski Crystal Palace installation Mangue Groove by designer Guilherme Torres Nao Tamura's Flow(t) chandelier Maison Démontable 8x8 prefab house by Jean Prouvé JAMES HARRIS STEVEN HEMPEL