The aesthetic ideal for Japanese women used to be one of fragility and slimness. But now, while women have thrown that out in favor of dressing for themselves and their own self-esteem, it's the men who are losing weight in hope of looking waif-like.
At Madrid's recent beauty convention, Look, the message for the image-conscious consumer this season was bolder, stronger hairdos, bright red lips and dark, matte eye shadows.
The newly restored London Transport Museum shows how - once upon a time in the 1930s - a public transport system succeeded in getting all of its design right.
Egypt is back in style, from an exhibition on Tutankhamun opening this month in London to a new version of "Aida"by the English National Opera, with designs by Zandra Rhodes. Meanwhile, the British designer Julien Macdonald has teamed up with the Cairo jeweler Azza Fahmy, whose filigree work and delicate calligraphy capture the essence of Egypt.
"Wouldn't it be nice..."is an exhibition exploring the blurred boundaries between art and design at the Centre d'Art Contemporain in Geneva. It includes works by Jürgen Bey; the London-based trio, Tony Dunne, Fiona Raby and Michael Anastassiades; Martino Gamper; and Ryan Gander.
This is the season across Europe and North America where thoughts turn to clothes in the comfort zone, especially knits as armor against the morning chill, before the full winter coat comes out of its dry-cleaning bag.
With its redesign of the lobby of the Royalton Hotel in New York, the Morgans Hotel Group has committed the woefully common corporate design crime of replacing something wonderful - the show-stopping lobby dreamt up in 1988 by Philippe Starck - with something that isn't.
Compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, the miniaturized versions of fluorescent strip lights that are are touted as energy-efficient alternatives have problems with the quality of their light. Though all of the other energy-efficient alternatives to the incandescent bulb are equally flawed.
With women finding themselves digging through their bags to unearth hidden treasures, luxury brands are coming to the rescue by creating accessories that pop in high-octane hues.
The story of Harry Gordon Selfridge is the tale of a remarkable individual who crossed the Atlantic from Chicago to found, in 1909, London's Selfridges store.
Exploring the Balenciaga store in the Chesea neighborhood of Manhattan, there was in Nicolas Ghesquière's clothes a samurai influence in the riveting designs - and also a 19th-century French sailor, a 1920s flapper, a 1960s ski chalet and others.
It's no secret that Facebook, which started as a networking playground for college kids, is graying. The influx raises questions. For example, will the loss of the campus sensibility and the youthful gestalt dilute the Facebook experience?
