Marc Newson's "Aquariva" | Clear Magazine

Images courtesy of Dom Perignon

Marc Newson’s “Aquariva”

Nov 30th, 2010 –André Balazs along with Stuart Parr (who stood in for Marc Newson) toasted the first US sea launch of the Aquariva by Marc Newson with Dom Pérignon at the dock of the Standard Miami. Guests, including Stuart Parr, Larry Gagosian, Jeffrey Dietrich, Jean Pigozzi, Tadeus Ropac, Stefano Tonchi, Bob Shaye, Ron Arad, Kyle DeWoody, Sam Keller, Nadja Swarovski, Joanne Cassullo, Jane Holzer, HRH Princess Firyal of Jordan, Todd Eberle, Sergio Beretta & Mauro Michelli, Rafael de Cardenas, Lady Liliana Cavendish, China Chow, Cyril Duval, Fred Hochberg & Tom Healy, Wendy Stark Morrissey, Oskar Metsavaht, Chad Oppenheim, Sante D’Orazio, Jose Antonio Parla, and Andre Saraiva, kicked off Miami Art Basel by sipping Dom Pérignon while the evening’s host André Balazs along with Stuart Parr made a grand arrival to the party by driving up on the celebrated Aquariva by Marc Newson speedboat to great applause after a few drive byes to showoff the beauty and speed of the vessel.

The Aquariva by Marc Newson was designed in partnership with Riva and their official designers, Officina Italiana Design. The boat, which launched as a limited edition of 22 units in September 2010, until this evening had yet to make its on water debut in the United State. With the support of Riva and Dom Pérignon, who has been partnering with Newson over the last five years resulting in 4 special designs for the champagne house, the speedboat docked at the Standard Miami for guests to get an up-close look at Newson’s celebrated design.

Marc Newson approaches design as an experimental exercise in extreme structure and advanced technologies, combined with a highly tactile and exacting exploration of materials, processes, and skills. As an industrial designer, his reach is broad and diverse, from concept jets and cars to watches, footwear, jewelry, restaurants, and aircraft interiors – including his four Dom Pérignon collaborations. Since the outset of his career, he has also produced beautifully crafted, limited-edition furniture, including the iconic Lockheed Lounge (1986). In a world where the distinctions between art and design are becoming increasingly blurred Newson is a trailblazer, having pursued parallel activities in exclusive and mass production for more than twenty years.