Ambra Medda, the absurdly young and glamorous director of Design Miami Basel, the world’s top contemporary design fair which kicks off today in Florida, is having trouble adjusting her thinking to the harsh new realities of the global economy: “Design collectors are getting younger simply because there is a lot more money around,” she says, before correcting herself: “At least there was.”

Design Miami Basel launched in 2005 as a sibling to Art Basel, the biannual showcase for contemporary art that hops between Switzerland and Miami and which has become, in recent years, the melting pot for the art market boom.