South Korea’s accidental curling superstars
Reuters Skip Kim Eun-jung of South Korea and her team have wowed the public South Korean hearts have been captured at the Winter Olympics in a way no-one expected. The understated, nerdy but cool Korean women’s curlers are slaying giants and could win a medal, reports the BBC’s Stephen McDonell in Pyeongchang. Sure, there are […]
Japanese fashion designer dies aged 84
Getty Images Issey Miyake at a catwalk show in Paris in 1997 Revolutionary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has died aged 84, his company has announced. Known for his innovative styles and perfume, Miyake built a global fashion brand, which included designing Steve Jobs’ famous black turtle neck jumpers. Miyake was known to work with […]
The swimwear company selling Colombia to the world
Agua Bendita exports its swimwear to 60 countries Catalina Alvarez was visiting her father’s clothing factory when she saw a box of brightly-coloured cloth samples in a rubbish bin. The small sheets of material may have been rejected by her dad, but for Catalina they immediately sparked the idea for a business. “For me it […]
How we fell in love with the jumpsuit
Getty Images The all-in-one evokes a “powerful sense of liberation” (Credit: Getty Images) The all-in-one garment went from utilitarian necessity to glamorous fashion staple. Bel Jacobs explores the wardrobe item that brings with it ‘a sense of liberation’. In the first episode of the British TV comedy Fleabag, season two, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s unnamed character attends […]
The birth of the Black is Beautiful movement
How a photographer, a group of models and a fashion show in Harlem kick-started a cultural and political movement that still inspires today. On 28 January 1962, a large crowd formed outside Purple Manor, a nightclub in the Harlem neighbourhood of New York City. A fashion show was taking place – an event that proved […]
Why glamorous glassware is booming
It’s bold, beautiful – and is adorning tables all around the world. Dominic Lutyens speaks to the designers, brands and craftspeople behind the global glass resurgence. “Glass is often the poor relation to ceramics,” says Mark Hill, glass collector, author of several books on 20th-Century glass and a specialist on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. But, […]
Why 1970s ‘avocado green’ is back for interiors
Farrow & Ball Muted, earthy colours are re-emerging now, including smoky greens and mustard yellow (Credit: Farrow & Ball) What do our colours choices for our homes say about us? Cassidy George explores the evolution of our favourite interiors hues – and what they can tell us. “Colour is coming in and out of fashion […]
Arts and culture stars who died in 2019
Alamy BBC Culture writers and editors pay tribute to the cultural luminaries we lost this year. Alamy (Credit: Alamy) For all that he’s hardly a household name, Robert Frank was arguably one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century: an artist who redefined what documentary photography looked like, and changed our view of […]
The dress that made the world gasp
From Princess Diana’s show-stopping bridal gown to a new collection full of 80s drama, Elizabeth Emanuel has been on a ‘rollercoaster ride’. She talks to Lindsay Baker. A voluminous taffeta ballgown made an unexpected appearance at the recent Gucci Cruise show, bringing to mind 1980s style in its full, flouncy glory. “The models looked like […]
The iconic outfits that cause outrage
Netflix (Credit: Netflix) From Emily in Paris to Sex and the City, Patricia Field’s divisive costumes subvert ideas about how women “should” look. It’s all about “expressing yourself”, the designer tells Ellie Violet Bramley. Even if you have never watched Sex and the City, you probably still know that Carrie Bradshaw once wore a tutu. […]