You can think of Saturday night’s Eyeliner Subculture party as sort of a charm school for wayward fashion freaks…a halfway house for Rock-n-Roll runaways with an eye for outrageous style. It’s a decidedly non-conformist little shindig with a hint of ’70s glam rock edge to it.
Set in the popular Serendipity 3 restaurant where guests dine throughout the day in a gorgeous outdoor cafe setting, the 11pm-to-5am Eyeliner Subculture party transforms the restaurant every Saturday night into an intimate soiree with major flash & glam attitude.
Eyeliner Subculture creator James Recio, who along with Bonnie Calean produced the long-running CosPlay party at SushiSamba, says “it’s a little bit edgier…it’s all about being different, unique…the dress, the attire, is something that no longer happens in South Beach as it used to in the late ’90s. This is probably the last mixed party where you get gays and straights partying together. The music is very independent, not commercial, nothing you would hear on the radio. And most of the people that come to Eyeliner are subculturers themselves.”
Party regular Scott Brain (dressed tonight as Clark Kent) says “Yeah, I love this party…I come here every week. Someone invited me and I didn’t know what it was, but then every week after that I’d try to dress up as something different…I get into the spirit of it, it’s a fun time.”
Asked about his previous attire, Scott said “Last week I was Rick Grimes from Walking Dead…I was Agent Smith from the Matrix…in a separate week I was the Governor from Walking Dead…then I was a Vampire one week. I had a 3-piece suit, a fedora, and I had contacts in…I went all out. New Year’s Eve I was sort of like Justin Timberlake with a vest, fedora, and glasses…I went for some pretty cool looks.”
Scott adds this tip, “The party peaks at 1:30-2am, because that’s when people are coming over from the other places that are closing and they know this place is open late.”
Nicki Rox, former Danger Kitties dancer and current co-host of Eyeliner Subculture describes the party’s vibe as “Very artsy, very local…it’s like one of those nights when you’ve had a really rough week and you just want to go to a place where you know you’re going to have a ton of fun and just laugh your ass off. That’s all we want to do, we’re artists, we like to dress up and inspire other people. It’s a lot different than listening to top 40 at your local hip-hop club and spending $500 on a bottle and a table.”
We would have to agree with Nicki. If you’ve had it with the endless parade of surgically superior Bottle Bunnies at the big clubs and want to explore some fun on the fringe of hipness, Eyeliner Subculture is the perfect place in South Beach to make a complete spectacle of yourself. So strap on those cha-cha heels and head over to Lincoln Road next Saturday night and see for yourself.
Serendipity 3 restaurant is located at 1102 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL.