There are many reasons we really want to go to Art Basel in Miami. From (of course) the art to the beyond chic crowd and parties. And just the general fun one can have in sunny Miami because you know, “Miami, Miami, you’ve got style. Blue skies, sunshine, white sand by the mile…” (If you get that reference, we’re pretty much automatically friends.)

But I digress. We just learned about another cool thing that will be at the upcoming Art Basel: a super swanky vending machine at the Mondrian Hotel filled with special edition goodies curated by Interview magazine.

Inside you’ll find this Pringle of Scotland t-shirt (pictured) designed by artist David Shrigley, hand-drawn Vena Cava shoes, art from the Gossip Girl set, old archival issues of Interview, and even an out-of-print copy of the Fabien Baron art directed Madonna Sex book.

So much better than the Doritos and Snickers you usually find in a vending machine.

Banana Republic’s sponsoring NADA’s (NADA is the New Art Dealers Alliance) Art Fair 2008 Preview Benefit for the New Museum this year at Art Basel Miami. So, Banana Republic’s contribution (other than funding the whole thing)? Totes, of course!

BR and the New Museum chose six artists out of eighty-five to have their work splashed on the front of cotton totes to be sold at Art Basel Miami and at the New Museum store (though only three will make it to the New Museum gift shop), with 100% of the proceeds benefiting NADA and the New Museum.

The six artists whose work and signatures will be featured on the future grocery bags are Chris Caccamise from Eleven Rivington in New York, Kon Trubkovich from Museum 52 in London/New York, Slawek Pawszak from Czarna Gallery in Poland, Olivier Babin from Frank Elbaz Gallery in Paris, Shinro Ohtake from Take Ninagawa in Tokyo and William O’Brien from Shane Campbell Gallery in Chicago.

But the best part? They’ve made a special tote produced with the “Hell Yes!” catchphrase on the front of the New Museum, by artist Ugo Rondinone. We’re sure that one will have a special place in the heart of anyone who’s ever looked down to Bowery from the west, and giggled.

(Check out Caccamise’s and Babin’s tote designs, after the jump!)

Art Basel Miami Beach starts today, which means artists, dealers, and wealthy collectors are gearing up for a few days of frenzied buying, selling, and liquored-up party-hopping.

Inclusion in the event is a huge marker of one’s rank in the art world and this year, everyone is buzzing about a new photography exhibit.

Why? Because it’s not the usual snaps of naked, long-haired hipster girls in the forest. Instead, it features fashion photography straight from the pages of our favorite magazines.

The exhibit – “In Fashion ‘07” – includes 200 photos taken by 20 leading fashion photographers including Miles Aldridge, Christiane Draffehn, Matthew Brookes, and Kanjo Take — and is up through Sunday at Miami’s Doubletree Surfcomber Hotel.

The show is seen as a political statement about the status of commercial fashion photographers as artists. The curator, Marion de Beaupre, ask us to think of it , “as an art form created under restrictions.”

Do you see fashion photographers as artists? Do they provoke viewers with arresting and provocative images, or is it too commercial to pass as art?

—ALISON COOL

It’s almost time for Art Basel, the art festival where champagne replaces kerosene as the fuel of choice - next to Diet Coke and cocaine, of course.

The art fair claims to be “the most important art show on the American continent” but many in the actual art world have started sighing because of its relentless flashbulbs and commercial sponsors that turn exhibits into merely exhibitionism.

In other words, it’s become a fashion destination.

While Prada often holds exclusive parties in its Miami boutique during the week, the latest label to announce their Art Basel endeavors is Seven for All Mankind. The suburban jean label hasn’t had much luck reinventing themselves with Carolyn Murphy - though she does look great in their ads - so they’re trying a new recipe:

Get up-and-coming artists to make denim “art” for a party, then get support from major fashion players by buying new “art” ads in Vogue, W, and Vanity Fair. Mix well on December 5th.

It’s not as much fun as making your own mojitos, but it’s a neat excuse to put paint in your hair as part of your “Look.”