Guests explored intimate new works from the artist’s centennial series, celebrating Monroe’s enduring cultural legacy through art, memory, and spectacle.
Haute Living and Authentic Live kicked off the countdown to Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday with MM100, an invite-only evening at SOFIA during Art Week Miami on December 5, 2025. At the heart of the event was British American artist Russell Young, presenting his newest works from the MARILYN 100 series. Guests got a first in-person look at the portraits that will anchor the global centennial program, alongside select nostalgic Monroe pieces that underscored her lasting cultural influence.
Collectors, gallery owners, cultural insiders, and familiar Miami faces, including Real Housewives of Miami stars Kiki Barth and Alexia Nepola, moved through the space, pausing over Young’s diamond-dusted silk screen paintings. Each work captured Monroe’s iconic presence while reflecting the turbulence of the era that shaped her, revealing why she continues to captivate nearly a century later.
Young’s practice has long explored fame, image-making, and the way cultural icons become mirrors of their time. Working from a printmaking press once used by Andy Warhol, he channels that Pop Art legacy while creating something entirely contemporary. In Miami, the new works felt direct and immediate, a rare chance to experience Monroe through Young’s lens in person.
Velocity Black, the evening’s presenting partner, welcomed a select group of guests to an intimate pre-event dinner that opened the evening with understated elegance, while Piper Heidsieck contributed a sophisticated, artistic flourish with limited-edition charity bottles created in collaboration with Young. As the official champagne partner for both the Miami debut and Monroe’s centennial, the House turned champagne service into performance: a performer circulated through the room wearing a sculptural gown that unfolded into a living installation, transforming a simple toast into a memorable artistic moment.
Support from Genesis, Aurate, Barbie/Mattel, SharkNinja, Pantone, and Caviar Co. enhanced the celebration without drawing attention from the art or the evening’s intimate atmosphere.
Russell Young’s MARILYN 100 program will travel globally throughout 2026, including appearances at every Formula One race, major exhibitions, and collaborative projects created with full access to Monroe’s archives. During Art Miami, Taglialatella Galleries will present a wall of twenty-eight Marilyn Crying paintings alongside new additions to the series.
MM100 at SOFIA offered a thoughtful and artful prelude to the centennial year, showcasing how Russell Young continues to reinterpret Marilyn Monroe for a new generation while honoring the enduring appeal of an icon whose presence remains unforgettable.
