The luxurious new Faena Hotel on Miami Beach set the stage for Haute Living’s annual Haute 100 dinner party. The prestigious list honors the most influential and philanthropic people in the city and is released every April in Haute Living Miami’s April-May print edition. Partners for the big night included Hublot, Prestige Imports, Dom Pérignon, Douglas Elliman, VULT, and Jet Smarter.
A sleek, black Lamborghini Aventador Roadster and grey Huracan Spyder from North Miami’s Prestige Imports greeted Haute Living’s Haute 100 list members and their guests upon arrival at the hotel.
After passing through “the cathedral,” the Faena’s splendid lobby with murals evoking imagery from Alan Faena’s Argentina, guests arrived at the Art Deco-inspired Saxony Bar. The intimate bar featuring elegant Art Deco-style etchings is a private area of the hotel reserved for special gatherings and social members. Dom Pérignon flowed freely and delicious canapés like caviar and lobster rolls were passed.
The pre-dinner cocktail gave guests the chance to experience the U.S. introduction of the Hublot Big Bang Sapphire, a stunning timepiece revealed during BaselWorld 2016 that is completely transparent. The edition is extra special because the case middle, bezel and back of the timepiece is cut from blocks of sapphire, a material almost as hard as the diamonds in Vult’s diamond cases that were also on display. The slim cases contain up to 8 high-quality, GIA-graded diamonds creating a commodity much like a gold bar that can be used for equitably buying, selling and gifting diamonds as well as preserving and securing wealth.
Coco Simone sang standards as guests such as Sean Wolfington, Howard Lorber, Edgardo and Ana DeFortuna, Riccardo Silva, Romero Britto, Russell Galbut, Scottie Pippen, Al and Nancy Malnik, Swanee DiMare, Jeff and Yolanda Berkowitz, Gabrielle Anwar, Shareef Malnik, Jean-Francois Sberro, Miky Grendene, Wayne Boich, Marc Roberts, Michael Comras and Daniela Swaebe filed into the theater. For many it was their first time in the velvet and crystalline theater, which had been outfitted with glowing images of the new Hublot Sapphire projected on the walls and table centerpieces.
After the first of a sumptuous, four-course dinner, Anthony Shriver took to the stage to talk up friend and Outstanding Achievement award recipient (and afterparty host) Hollywood director and producer, Brett Ratner. They played a celeb-heavy highlight reel featuring his achievements and praise from heavyweights like Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayek.
“Whenever I ask for his help, he says ‘yes’,” explained Shriver emotionally. “It’s just amazing that someone like this —in the middle of the action in Hollywood— would take time to help some of the most disenfranchised people in our country.”
With the help of Rick de la Croix of Myconian Luxury Group and Haute Living publisher Kamal Hotchandani, the three presented Ratner with a limited edition Best Buddies Hublot timepiece. The watch is built as a Classic Fusion Chrono Aero Carbon, and is one of only 100, features lightweight carbon fiber.
Following the Hublot presentation, Miami’s renowned neo-pop artist Romero Britto took the stage to present Ratner with a special painting of Marilyn Monroe.
Visibly touched, Ratner thanked everyone and explained how much Miami meant to him and that it had taken him 18 hours to get to the event. “It’s in my heart,” said Ratner who grew up in Miami Beach. “The coolest people in the world come from Miami,” said the director who picked the moment to share some fun memories from his childhood. He grew up very close to the Malnik family. “Shareef was like my big brother, and was coolest guy I knew. Back then everyone had a red Ferrari, but Shareef had a black one,” said Ratner. “I always looked up to him and they always took care of me,” he added before describing idols Al Malnik as the Jewish Al Pacino and Don Soffer as the Jewish Robert Redford.
“Meyer Lansky lived next door at the Imperial House and I would talk to him for an hour every day while he walked his dog,” said Ratner who said he’d be coming home from the Hebrew Academy on his Huffy purchased at Sears Roebuck. Other fun revelations included that he was roommates with his great-grandmother until he was Bar Mitzvah’d at the Eden Roc, hanging with Mickey Rourke, never wanting to leave the Malnik-owned Cricket Club night club at age 12 and eating over 5,000 chocolate soufflés at The Forge when Shareef took over from Al.
Owner of Prestige Imports and one of the evening’s sponsors, Brett David, took the stage to express his gratitude for the annual gathering. “Russell Galbut, Keith Menin, Robert Zarco, Gil Dezer and Sean Wolfington—these are amazing mentors that—after hours—are the gentlemen that I call upon for advice and to discuss business ideas. These are people that I met here, at the Haute 100 dinner. After my father passed, they came to us about doing a small story on me—and that story has turned into an amazing partnership. It’s hard enough to get everyone together for a wedding let alone on a random Wednesday night when it’s monsooning outside. We’re here because of one man’s vision—Kamal Hotchandani,” said David before passing the mic to Hotchandani who led a Dom Pérignon toast to the room and the evening’s sponsors.
Rather’s speech was rich with history about the city that spawned him, a perfect segue to the evening’s after party, which was hosted by Ratner in support of his new whiskey launch, The Hilhaven Lodge. The whiskey is named for Ratner’s residence in Beverly Hills, which has it’s own rich history as a playground for Hollywood’s elite since it was built in 1927.
At 11pm, guests got gift bags featuring goodies like Diptyque candles, JetSmarter and VULT Swag, and Haute Living magazines, and headed to the cozy Living Room for Ratner’s The Hilhaven Lodge whiskey tasting. The Art Deco-inspired bottles were on each table and on display behind the bar. Aficionados who tasted the whiskey were impressed, just like the judges at a recent spirits competition.
Photos by World Red Eye
