Haute couture / Where craft, fantasy, and luxury collide

 

Behind all the glamour, the quiet truth: the atelier is where a small army of skilled hands safeguards irreplaceable techniques

Haute couture: where craft, fantasy, and luxury collide 

An entertaining deep dive into the history, importance, critiques, and evolution of fashion’s most exclusive universe 

23 FEBRUARY 2026, 

LUCAS FRADE

Haute couture’s story begins long before the red carpets and celebrity headlines, but certainly after humans realized clothes could be more than an attempt to avoid hypothermia. In the 19th century, Charles Frederick Worth—an Englishman bold enough to move to Paris and tell the French how to dress—became known as the father of haute couture. He turned sewing into spectacle, stitched artistic ambition into every seam, and pioneered the radical act of placing a designer’s name on the label. From there, Paris crowned itself the global capital of luxury craftsmanship, becoming the place where tulle, silk, and ambition meet to form wearable dreams. 

Howl and Sophie, a scene from the movie that was then used on a bag design by Loewe © Studio Ghibli, 2004

How Studio Ghibli enchanted the world of style

From luxury collaborations to quiet nostalgia, exploring how Ghibli’s universe shaped the language of contemporary fashion

23 MARCH 2026, 

LUCAS FRADE

The influence of Studio Ghibli goes far beyond cinema. The Japanese studio, founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, is celebrated for its poetic storytelling, stunning visuals, and ability to merge fantasy with the deeply human. In recent years, however, Ghibli’s universe has also become a powerful force in the fashion world. More than just commercial collaborations, the meeting between Ghibli and fashion reveals a profound exchange between art, craftsmanship, and cultural identity.

Traditional Japanese fashion up to the 20th century

Women dressed in traditional Japanese attire: elegant kimonos with vibrant colors and intricate floral patterns are present in Japan's streets even nowadays

Traditional Japanese fashion up to the 20th century

From ancestral ritual to modern aesthetic identity

23 APRIL 2026, 

LUCAS FRADE

Traditional Japanese fashion is the result of a complex historical process shaped by cultural isolation, rigid social hierarchies, deep spirituality, and a unique relationship between the body and nature. Unlike the Western world, where fashion changes rapidly under the influence of markets and consumption, Japanese clothing evolved gradually, prioritizing function and symbolism. Each garment carries social, religious, and philosophical meanings that go far beyond aesthetics, revealing ways of life, values, and structures of power.

Lucian Freud (1922-2011), the Freud Museum stages its first ever exhibition of the great artist’s work.

 

Lucian (left) with his father Ernst Freud and brothers Clement and Stephen Gabriel, c. 1930. © The Lucian Freud Archive. All Rights Reserved 2022 / Bridgeman Images. Collection of the Freud Museum London

6 July 2022 to 29 January 2023

In the centenary year of British painter Lucian Freud (1922-2011), the Freud Museum stages its first ever exhibition of the great artist’s work.

Lucian Freud: The Painter and His Family is the first exhibition of Lucian Freud’s work in the home of his grandfather, Sigmund Freud, and aunt, Anna Freud. The exhibition features paintings, drawings, family photographs, books and letters. These works are drawn from galleries and private collections, the Museum’s archives and members of Lucian Freud’s family. Some of the items have never, or very rarely, been seen in public before.

Lucian Freud / Mother

 

MOTHER

by Lucian Freud

 

Portrait of a Young Man, 1944 (black crayon & white chalk on paper) © The Lucian Freud Archive. All Rights Reserved 2025 / Bridgeman Images. Private Collection

Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting

Due to popular demand, we are extending our exhibition opening hours to release more Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting tickets. In its final 2 weeks, see the exhibition until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and until 20:00 on the final Sunday.

Friday 24 and Saturday 25 April, until 22.00
Friday 1 and Saturday 2 May, until 22.00
Sunday 3 May, until 20.00

An 1856 lithograph of the Selimiye barracks at Scutari as a hospital during the Crimean War where Florence Nightingale worked, by William Simpson

The evolution of hospital design: from past to future

Tracing the evolution from ancient care facilities to modern healing environments

26 JULY 2025, 

OGUZ ATAKAN GUL

Hospital design has undergone a remarkable transformation over the centuries. Once focused solely on function and efficiency, healthcare architecture now prioritizes patient experience, healing, and community integration. As the healthcare industry adapts to new challenges and innovations, hospitals have shifted from sterile, institutional environments to vibrant, patient-centric facilities. This article explores the evolution of hospital design, highlighting key historical milestones, modern trends, and the role of technology in shaping the hospitals of tomorrow.

Biophilic design / A symphony of nature in architecture

 

Biophilic design architecture, Singapore, Changi Airport

Biophilic design

A symphony of nature in architecture 

26 AUGUST 2025, 

OGUZ ATAKAN GUL

In the heart of our bustling cities, where skyscrapers scrape the heavens and concrete jungles stretch to the horizon, a silent revolution is taking root. It's a movement that beckons us to rediscover our connection with the natural world—a phenomenon known as "biophilic design." As we step into these architecturally reimagined spaces, we embark on a journey where the boundaries between the built and the natural blur, creating harmonious sanctuaries that inspire awe and introspection.

Innovative architectural / Designing healthcare solutions for rural communities

 

Yves Marre's péniche, serving as a floating clinic in Bangladesh

Designing healthcare solutions for rural communities

Innovative architectural approaches to improve access, efficiency, and sustainability in remote areas

26 SEPTEMBER 2025, 

OGUZ ATAKAN GUL

Access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right, yet rural areas worldwide often struggle with limited medical facilities and resources. Bridging the accessibility gap in rural healthcare requires innovative architectural solutions tailored to the unique challenges of these regions. From modular clinics to community-driven healthcare hubs, the design of rural medical facilities can profoundly impact the well-being of underserved populations. Beyond addressing medical needs, these structures can serve as community anchors, promoting education, social interaction, and economic growth.

The rise of brain-responsive architecture

 

Modern office lobby with floor-to-ceiling windows, green chairs around round tables, and ribbed planters holding lush indoor plants. Bright and airy with a contemporary feel

The rise of brain-responsive architecture

A speculative but grounded vision of an architectural future where buildings don’t just shelter us

26 OCTOBER 2025, 

OGUZ ATAKAN GUL

Consider if your office could tell that you were losing focus and adjusted the lighting to revive you. Or if your home could notice tension in your body and muted its acoustics and temperature to relax you. This is the new universe of brain-sensitive design—a union of neuroscience, AI, biometric monitoring, and adaptive systems that has the potential to redefine our relationship with the built environment.

Biophilic design and the brain / Why we thrive in nature-inspired spaces

 

Fallingwater is a house museum in Stewart Township in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Biophilic design and the brain

Why we thrive in nature-inspired spaces

26 APRIL 2026, 

OGUZ ATAKAN GUL

As we become increasingly urbanized, spending nearly 90% of our lives indoors, the divide between human beings and the natural world grows more pronounced. Yet, neuroscience tells us that our brains are still wired for nature. This is the premise behind biophilic design — a design philosophy that seeks to reconnect people with the natural environment through architecture. Far more than a passing aesthetic trend, biophilic design draws from evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and environmental psychology to create spaces that support mental, physical, and emotional health. It is one of the most potent tools in the emerging field of neuroarchitecture.

The new flesh / Modern body horror beyond gore

 

Margaret Qualley as Sue in Substance, the younger, polished alter ego that turns beauty into a haunting split identity

The new flesh: modern body horror beyond gore

How Substance, The Ugly Stepsister, and Together redefine the genre

23 OCTOBER 2025, 

ALENA LYSIAKOVA

It begins with a body that doesn’t behave, and not in a cute “I tripped on my way to the bar” way. In Substance, skin glistens like a luxury product fresh from its packaging, promising perfection at a cost you won’t see on the label. In The Ugly Step-sister, the Cinderella fairy tale you thought you knew gets warped until limbs and features reshape into something unrecognisable, yet painfully human. In Together, love becomes an act of merging so complete it erases the border between “me” and “you”, a relationship goal only if your idea of romance involves shared internal organs.

Game over for bad adaptations / Why "The Last of Us" and "Fallout" finally broke the curse

 

Fallout, an American post-apocalyptic drama television series, was created for Amazon Prime Video by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dwore

Game over for bad adaptations

Why "The Last of Us" and "Fallout" finally broke the curse

23 NOVEMBER 2025, 

ALENA LYSIAKOVA

For decades, video game adaptations had one job: disappoint everyone. Studios would slap a recognizable title on a film (Super Mario Bros. 1993, Prince of Persia 2010, Uncharted 2022) and hope nostalgia alone would cover the plot holes. It didn’t. What they served up wasn’t the thrill of gameplay; it was like being forced to watch your older cousin hog the controller and then narrate his moves badly.

Laughing through the apocalypse / The rise of existential comedy

 

Set in a future, post-apocalyptic Los Angeles devastated by nuclear fallout, Fallout follows citizens forced to live in underground bunkers to survive radiation, mutants, and roaming bandits

Laughing through the apocalypse 

The rise of existential comedy

23 APRIL 2026, 

ALENA LYSIAKOVA

From The White Lotus to Don’t Look Up, Hazbin Hotel, and Fallout, we’re no longer crying about the end: we’re cracking jokes.

 

A silent crowd gathers beneath an illuminated cross, their candlelight flickering under the watch of cameras and drones, capturing the uneasy convergence of faith, surveillance, and collective power in the modern age

21st-century fascism and the antichrist

Apocalyptic politics, religious extremism, and the transformation of fascism in the age of technological power

13 APRIL 2026, 

BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS

 

Pieter Brueghel the Elder: The Triumph of Death 

A two-headed Hitler

War and peace as dual strategies of domination in contemporary global politics

20 APRIL 2026, 

BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS

In what is perhaps the best book on Hitler, Allan Bullock wrote in Hitler: A Study in Tyranny that Hitler’s philosophy is the natural philosophy of the doss-house, the philosophy of homeless shelters – a philosophy he learned while living in those shelters in Vienna for some time. Of course, Bullock forgot to apologize to the homeless because among them there is more than one philosophy, and above all there are philosophies contrary to the one he identifies. But the one he identifies is no less true for that. As evident in Mein Kampf and Hitler’s subsequent speeches and practices, the main elements of this philosophy are as follows: