Fashion & style
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days agoStella McCartney launches sustainable collection with H&M
Stella McCartney collaborates with H&M for a sustainable fashion collection aimed at making luxury more accessible.
An engagement ring is more than a piece of jewellery, it is a symbol of commitment. Couples are moving away from mass‑produced designs, preferring rings that capture their unique journey.
Craft is often defined as skill in making things by hand, but this interpretation is being challenged by AI. Craft transcends physical interaction; historical figures like Mozart and Beethoven exemplify mastery without traditional methods.
From unassuming hunks of Carrara marble and limestone, Matthew Simmonds carves realistic, miniature gothic cathedral arches, stairwells, and colonnades. Often based on architectural details of real places, such as cities around Tuscany and Germany's Bamberg Cathedral, the sculptures portray intimate details of corners, vaulted ceilings, arcades, and stairwells that can sometimes be peeked through additional apertures.
Despite having to haul a dozen dumpster-loads of damaged goods out of the offices and the nearby Lab Store, to the tune of $1.5 million, Eileen said at the time, 'It was just stuff.' You can only imagine the emotions that might arise in a chief executive if they saw their sewage-soaked products floating by. Eileen and her staff did not linger there. They mobilized quickly-organizing carpools, impromptu meeting spaces, and arranging interest-free loans for staff needing cash during the crisis.
Working bead by bead, the artist recreates delicate blossoms that echo the organic irregularities of real flowers while shimmering with the luminosity of glass. From airy wildflower stems to full, colorful bouquets, each arrangement captures the fleeting beauty of botanical forms that remain permanently in bloom.
Each piece begins with used coffee pods collected from my community, materials that were never meant to last beyond a single use. Before any design work begins, the pods must be cleaned, sanitized, flattened, cut, folded, and shaped entirely by hand. They arrive dented, stained, and inconsistent, carrying the marks of their previous life. Learning how to work with those imperfections, rather than erasing them, was one of my first challenges.
It's long had a reputation as the city of romance, but now the French capital is supporting a growing number of businesses that will arrange an extravagant marriage proposal in a landmark setting - for a hefty fee, of course. The luxury marriage proposal business is booming in Paris with agencies charging international clients thousands of euros to pop the question in a 'romantic' setting in the City of Love.
Tons upon tons of these single-use plastics end up in landfills or even floating in the ocean. Spanish design firm PET Lamp set out give another purpose to these otherwise short-lived materials. Partnering with artisans in communities from Chile to Ethiopia to Australia, the company celebrates both Indigeneity and sustainability, drawing upon time-honored global craft traditions while supporting local economies and recycling discarded materials.
Diamonds may be forever, but popular styles come and go. Celebrities can spark interest- toi et moi rings saw a major resurgence when Megan Fox shared a picture of her diamond-and-emerald engagement ring from then-fiance Machine Gun Kelly in 2022; marquise diamonds saw a spike thanks to Selena Gomez; and more recently, Taylor Swift's vintage styles sparked a major interest in vintage.
The fashion industry agrees: 2026 is your main character era. Nearly all of this year's biggest trends encourage maximalism - including bridal style. Though timeless designs have traditionally been the go-tos, many brides-to-be are exploring ostentatious wedding dresses awash in embellishments or constructed with exaggerated silhouettes. The same can be said for engagement rings; while many will continue to opt for classic cuts and settings, there's been more of a shift toward flamboyant, statement-making styles. And Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift may be partly responsible.
It's not a multi-thousand pound handbag from Hermes that best captures the new era of It bags, but a 149 tote from John Lewis. Launched this season, it's deeper (45cm) and taller (33cm) than your average handbag, and comes loaded with good intentions. It's able to hold your packed lunch, flask and book, as well at a push as your gym kit.
What if I took my design lens and built out my essentials capsule for the Everlane customer? I felt like that would be a really amazing opportunity for me to introduce myself as a designer to an audience outside of EB Denim.