On Wednesday morning in Paris, the art world elite streamed into the Grand Palais, uttering the same word again and again: “Wow.” Under the Palais’s monumental glass dome, the sun was bright, the air was warm, and the very first edition of Art Basel Paris had just opened for business.
The inaugural French spin-off of the powerhouse Swiss art fair wouldn’t open to the public until October 18, but select visitors were able to take a sneak peek two days early during First Choice, an event reserved for “essentially, our top-tier VIPs,” explained Fair Director Clément Delépine. The attendees included those positioned to acquire multi-million-dollar works of art—international billionaires, major museum directors, art advisors, and consultants—but also a strong contingent of artists, writers, and curators. The exclusive guest list spanned five continents, novice and veteran fairgoers, and both the high-net-worth and creative classes alike. “Think of it as a good party, you need a good mix of people,” Delépine added. Even covert art collector Owen Wilson made a surprise appearance in the afternoon, eliciting a few of his own iconic “Wows.”
Naturally, a premiere event in such a visually-oriented industry produced some great street style. So, this First Choice, we asked a cross-section of the bustling crowd a straightforward, but vital question: What are you supposed to wear to an art fair?
From left: Lauren Halsey wears a thrifted shirt; Balenciaga jeans; necklace from the Slauson swap meet. Tschabalala Self wears a Miu Miu blazer; Maison Margiela boots; Celine bag; top from Ssense; skirt unknown.
“You know there’s going to be so many people here, so you wear something that’s going to be comfortable, but also make a bit of a statement. I got this knockoff designer skirt online somewhere. I forget where, but it’s a good dupe.” —Tschabalala Self, artist, New York
“I just gotta put something on.” —Lauren Halsey, artist, Los Angeles
From left: Beñat Moreno wears a Yoshi Yamamoto jacket; vintage skirt and top; New Rock boots; Guess bag. ORLAN wears a Gucci jacket and glasses; Issey Miyake pants; sweater and belt unknown.
“For us, it’s always important to dress well and to create a look—to tell a story with clothes, with makeup, with hair. It’s like a business card, you know? It’s the first thing someone sees of us, and it’s important to be confident and say something with it.” —Beñat Moreno, artist and studio manager, Paris
“For me, life is a permanent party. In my art, it’s very important to have a construction of myself and my aesthetic—to be against the stereotype of normal fashion—because the body is politique and the private is politique.” —ORLAN, artist, Paris
Details of Moreno and ORLAN’s looks.
“I prefer the contrast of well-known brands with very small and normal things. I don’t know where the boots are from. I got them on the Internet.” —ORLAN
Miles Greenberg wears a White Volcom tank top; vintage Margiela trousers; Marni combat boots; Balenciaga bag; Margiela x Gentle Monster sunglasses.
“Getting dressed for an art fair is about functionality and sex, but I think that, in my life as an artist, the more I’ve done, the less I dress. These are essentially the only trousers I own, and they’ve lost several buttons and had several little holes in them. I fix them to the best of my ability every few weeks. I buy Volcom tank tops on Amazon because, when I was growing up in and around Montreal, I always thought the skater boys wearing them were the hottest.” —Miles Greenberg, artist, New York
Ernest Dükü wears a scarf, shirt, and jacket from the Ivory Coast.
“Le look is important. We come to the fair to see, but at the same time to be seen.” —Ernest Dükü, artist, Paris and Abidjan
Kibum Kim wears an Adair suit; Jacquemus top; Spinelli Kilcollin jewelry; Bottega Veneta boots.
“At art fairs, you need comfort and versatility, which means mixing and matching simpler, more monochrome things with a few statement pieces. As a gallerist, I like playing around with looking professional with a little bit of something extra. Adair is a Korean brand that I love; they do classics with a twist. The Jacquemus cycling top is for a pop of color and because we’re in France, and Spinelli Kilcollin, a friend’s jewelry brand from Los Angeles, brings a little bit of home with me.” —Kibum Kim, partner at Commonwealth & Council gallery, Los Angeles
Farhad Manouchehri wears a Saint Laurent suit and earrings; Bethany Evans shirt.
“There’s a feeling you get in the morning where you’re just excited to dress well. [Working in a gallery], you don’t really have to wear a suit, but the first days of the fair are usually the more exciting ones, so bring out the more exciting outfits first.” —Farhad Manouchehri, sales and artist liaison at Hollybush Gardens gallery, London
From left: Asher Norberg wears a Roberto Cavalli sweater; vintage Kenzo pants; Onitsuka Tiger shoes. Antwaun Sargent wears a Miu Miu shirt and sneakers; Bottega Veneta pants; The Row jacket; Acne hat; Gucci sunglasses.
“I’m not working a booth today, so I just needed to look somewhat presentable…just a bit more casual. I forced Gucci to give me these sunglasses. I’m not even joking. After a show, I emailed them and said I need to have them.” —Antwaun Sargent, a director at Gagosian gallery, New York
“I’m kind of dressed how I always dress. I probably would have worn a short sleeve today.” —Asher Norberg, model, New York
Anna Clivio wears a Yoshi Yamamoto dress; Louis Vuitton shoes; Hermès bag.
“I’m 80 years old, and my hair has been this color for 60 years.” —Anna Clivio, art collector, Zurich
From left: Marta Giani wears a Marni top and shoes; Prada skirt; Celine bag. Isobel Gooder wears a Bottega Veneta dress; M&S boots.
“I spent the whole of last week setting up an outfit for every day. At an art fair, I think it’s important to be actually quite invisible. From our standpoint, you want to be able to slip in and out. Whenever you’re going in for a marathon art week, flat shoes are absolutely essential, but finding stylish comfortable shoes is hard, as you can see [laughs].” —Isobel Gooder, a deputy director at Sotheby’s, Paris
Marievic wears a Black by Comme des Garcons jacket; Illesteva glasses; Junya Wantanabe sneakers.
“I was thinking about the weather. It was bright and sunny, and I’ve been wearing whites all summer, so I went with my color palette. The chain is a gift from my mom, and I stole this bracelet from my best friend’s daughter.” —Marievic, artist, New York
Barbara Huffman wears Issey Miyake pants and bag; Margiela x Salomon shoes; Kuboraum glasses.
“I wear suits sometimes, but I’m known for pushing the limit. I wear a lot of Issey Miyake because I travel a lot and only take carry-on luggage, and it travels well. I recently found out people don’t wear hiking boots anymore, but hiking shoes, so I found these online.” —Barbara Huffman, art lawyer, New York
“The coat is old English, a very traditional British brand. He has no idea where his shoes are from. My father is not really into fashion. He just came out of the gym.” —Delphine Giraud Monroe, curator, on behalf of her father, Henri Giraud, art collector, Paris
From left: Alain Servais wears a vintage jacket; Levi’s jeans; Puma sneakers; ascot unknown. Khadija Hamd wears unknown brands.
“I’ve been wearing ascots for the last 20 years, which many people might find kind of snobbish, but it’s nothing besides a cynical wink at the idea of personal branding. I must have had 30 different ascots over the years and none of them cost more than 25 or 30 euros. Dressing is a power move, and it’s about what you want to express. I always say that to be elegant with 5,000 euros is easy, and being elegant with 200 euros is a real talent.” —Alain Servais, art collector, Brussels
“People think I’m a brand woman, but I’m actually a no-brand woman.” —Khadija Hamdi, art advisor, Barcelona
Jonas Wood wears a Shepshop shirt; Carhartt pants; New Balance shoes; Prada belt.
“I’m wearing a hat that I made for my 20-year drawing show at Karma, this awesome gallery in New York and LA. I just want to be comfortable. I literally just smoked weed and now I’m listening to Kraftwerk and trying not to make eye contact.”—Jonas Wood, artist, Los Angeles