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Ana de Armas 1
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Venom Queen / Barbara Palvin
BARBARA PALVIN
Born in Budapest, Hungary, on October 8, 1993, Barbara Palvin emerged as one of the most captivating figures in modern fashion. Discovered at the age of 13 while walking the streets of Budapest, her journey from a local schoolgirl to an international supermodel is a story of remarkable determination and charisma. By 2006, she had already appeared in editorials for Spur Magazine, leading to her debut on the global runway for Prada in Milan Fashion Week in 2010. Her fresh beauty and confident presence soon caught the attention of industry giants, with brands like Chanel, Miu Miu, and Louis Vuitton placing her at the forefront of high-fashion campaigns.
Venom Queen / Angie Dickinson
ANGIE DICKINSON
Angie Dickinson emerged as one of Hollywood’s most captivating actresses during the golden age of cinema, with her career flourishing notably in the 1960s and 1970s. Born in 1931 in Kulm, North Dakota, Dickinson’s early foray into acting led her to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where she quickly garnered attention for her striking presence and versatile talent. Circa 1964, Dickinson solidified her status with a critically acclaimed role in Rio Conchos, a western that showcased her ability to command the screen alongside stars like Richard Boone. Her versatility shone brightly again in the iconic 1967 film Point Blank, directed by John Boorman, where she played the complex character Lynne, further cementing her reputation in Hollywood’s evolving landscape.
Saturday, August 30, 2025
‘Literature can be a form of resistance’: Lea Ypi talks to Elif Shafak about writing in the age of demagogues
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Interview
‘Literature can be a form of resistance’: Lea Ypi talks to Elif Shafak about writing in the age of demagogues
The Albanian author of Free and the Turkish novelist discuss the rise of populism, censorship – and how today’s conflicts all come from the unresolved trauma of the past
Alex Clark
Saturday 30 August 2025
Daniel Jackson / Natasha Poly
Natasha Poly
by Daniel Jackson
Harper’s Bazaar US September 2014
Photographer: Daniel Jackson
Stylist: Clare Richardson
Model: Natasha Poly
Two Weeks in Quarentine with Wing Shya
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Quarantine in Shanghai, snapshots courtesy of Wing Shya – (lower right) Wing Shya’s work currently exhibited at Kyotographie, courtesy of Wing Shya |
TWO WEEKS IN QUARANTINE WITH PHOTOGRAPHER WING SHYA
CHRISTOPHER DEWOLFOCTOBER 9, 2020
It’s nine o’clock in the evening when Wing Shya answers the phone. The time is no bother for the acclaimed photographer, who has worked with just about every Hong Kong celebrity in existence. “I usually stay up very late,” he says. Besides, there isn’t much else to do: he is on day eleven of a two-week quarantine in Shanghai.
Friday, August 29, 2025
Venom Queen / The Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra
THE VICTORIA’S SECRET FANTASY BRA
The Victoria’s Secret Fantasy Bra has long been the pinnacle of luxury and glamour within the fashion world, captivating audiences with its breathtaking craftsmanship and celebrity allure. Circa 1996, the first Fantasy Bra was introduced, worn by model Stephanie Seymour and valued at $1 million. This groundbreaking moment set the stage for what would become an annual tradition, showcasing extravagantly designed bras adorned with precious gems like diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. Over the decades, the Fantasy Bra has become a symbol of opulence, worn by legendary Angels such as Gisele Bündchen, Heidi Klum, and Adriana Lima during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows held in iconic locations including New York City, London, and Shanghai.
Each Fantasy Bra carries a unique story, reflecting the creativity and vision of master jewelers and designers. Circa 2005, Heidi Klum stunned audiences with the $12.5 million “Heavenly Star” bra, encrusted with diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, showcasing an extraordinary level of artistry and detail. These pieces are not just lingerie but wearable art, blending fashion and fine jewelry in a way that epitomizes Victoria’s Secret’s lavish aesthetic. The selection of the model to wear the Fantasy Bra is a coveted honor, symbolizing her status as a leading figure within the brand and the fashion industry at large. This tradition continues to generate excitement and anticipation each year, as fans debate which bra they would choose to wear.
As the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show evolves, the Fantasy Bra remains a timeless highlight, representing both innovation and heritage. Whether opting for a classic diamond-studded design or a bold, colorful gemstone creation, the Fantasy Bra symbolizes the fusion of glamour, craftsmanship, and storytelling. Its enduring appeal lies in its ability to inspire dreams of luxury and elegance, captivating generations of fashion enthusiasts around the world. This iconic piece continues to define the mystique and allure of Victoria’s Secret’s runway legacy.
Venom Queen / Hailey Bieber
HAILEY BIEBER
Hailey Bieber, born Hailey Rhode Baldwin on November 22, 1996, in Tucson, Arizona, is a prominent figure in contemporary fashion and entertainment. Emerging from a family deeply rooted in the arts and modeling—her father, Stephen Baldwin, being part of the famed Baldwin acting dynasty—Hailey’s path into modeling began circa 2014 when she signed with IMG Models. Her early career was marked by campaigns for major brands like Ralph Lauren and Guess, establishing her as a fresh face with a distinct blend of elegance and youthful energy. By 2016, Hailey was walking the runway at New York Fashion Week and gaining international attention, showcasing collections for designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana.
Pink Floyd were my landscape. I was a hippy’ Pierce Brosnan revisits his old London haunts
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| Pink Floyd were my landscape. I was a hippy’ Pierce Brosnan revisits his old London haunts |
The former 007 and current star of The Thursday Murder Club goes for a stroll in London’s Camden Town and Primrose Hill. Can he get past the security guard at the Roundhouse, where he once walked a tipsy Tennessee Williams to his car?
By Ryan Gilbey
Friday 29 August 2025
It is a weekday morning and I am standing beside Pierce Brosnan on a deserted backstreet, watching a woman in a hairnet and white wellies hosing down the entrance to a fishmarket. The former James Bond is in full flow. “You know the scene in MobLand where I’ve got my foot on that guy’s throat and Tom Hardy is shooting the shit out of everyone?” He is talking in his rich, buttery burr about the recent series in which he and Helen Mirren play the heads of an Irish crime family. “We shot that right here!” He waves at the woman, who silences her hose temporarily. “Hi, hello,” he calls out. “I shot a television show here called MobLand.” She smiles back at him. “Yes,” she replies sweetly, as though indulging a confused uncle. “No idea, has she?” he chuckles. The hose springs back to life with a hiss.
Rebecca F Kuang / ‘A Tale of Two Cities is deeply silly camp – I love it!’
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| Rebecca F Kuang Mike Streep |
| The |
Books
0f my
life
Rebecca F Kuang: ‘A Tale of Two Cities is deeply silly camp – I love it!’
The US writer on being switched on to romance by Sally Rooney, the magic of David Mitchell and the joy of Jean-Paul Sartre
My favourite book growing up
Brian Jacques’s Redwall (and all its sequels). All I wanted was to be a squirrel in the Mossflower Woods!
The books that changed me as a teenager
I read China Miéville’s Perdido Street Station and The City & the City when I was in college. I had been falling out of love with fantasy – I felt too old for Redwall, and I thought I’d outgrown the genre – but Miéville’s work opened the door to the enormous world of adult fantasy literature that grappled with the problems I was now interested in.
The writers who changed my mind
I had never been wildly interested in books that are primarily or even largely about romantic relationships, but in the past few years, works by Sally Rooney, Banana Yoshimoto and Mieko Kawakami have changed my mind. They have opened my eyes to the potential in describing the subtle shifts in any interpersonal encounter, and I’m working out how to do that in my own writing now.
The authors I came back to
It took me a while to understand Vladimir Nabokov’s brand of humour. I tried Pnin when I was in college and it just didn’t work. I gave it another try last month and I couldn’t stop giggling. It also took me a while to find the charm in Victor Hugo’s bloviating. In high school, I only read the bits of Les Misérables about the Friends of the ABC (I had a crush on Enjolras, just like everyone else.) Recently I read the unabridged edition, and I’m old enough now to enjoy every rabbit-hole sentence about Waterloo, argot and the Parisian sewer system.
The book I reread
David Mitchell was my favourite author at college – I raved about The Bone Clocks to everyone I met. Cloud Atlas didn’t work so well for me, but I recently reread both, and this time I was stunned. Cloud Atlas (and its woefully underappreciated film adaptation) is so gorgeous and life-affirming. It was nice to find Mitchell’s writing is just as magical for me now as it was back then.
The book I could never read again
I’ve just bought a copy of Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends for my friend’s toddler’s birthday party. But who am I kidding? I still love those books!
The book I discovered later in life
It took me a long time to get around to Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, which I only finished this summer despite my love of his other work. It is overwritten, melodramatic, deeply silly camp. I love it.
The book I am currently reading
Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Time of the Hero, on the recommendation of my French translator. He lives in Spain and also does Spanish to French translations – we bonded over our love of Borges, and he insisted I read Vargas Llosa too. I’m also on an existentialism kick, so Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Gabriel Marcel and Albert Camus are high on my list. I’ve only now found out that the animated film character Marcel the Shell is a joke about Gabriel Marcel’s concept of the hard shell that closes us off to new possibilities.
My comfort read
Anything by Ray Bradbury.
Thursday, August 28, 2025
I Don’t Need Anything from Here by László Krasznahorkai
I Don’t Need
Anything
From Here
by László Krasznahorkai
I would leave everything here: the valleys, the hills, the paths, and the jaybirds from the gardens, I would leave here the petcocks and the padres, heaven and earth, spring and fall, I would leave here the exit routes, the evenings in the kitchen, the last amorous gaze, and all of the city-bound directions that make you shudder, I would leave here the thick twilight falling upon the land, gravity, hope, enchantment, and tranquillity, I would leave here those beloved and those close to me, everything that touched me, everything that shocked me, fascinated and uplifted me, I would leave here the noble, the benevolent, the pleasant, and the demonically beautiful, I would leave here the budding sprout, every birth and existence, I would leave here incantation, enigma, distances, inexhaustibility, and the intoxication of eternity; for here I would leave this earth and these stars, because I would take nothing with me from here, because I’ve looked into what’s coming, and I don’t need anything from here.
Translated, from the Hungarian, by Ottilie Mulzet.
László Krasznahorkai is the author of “Seiobo There Below,” “Satantango,” and the collection of stories “The World Goes On.” In 2015, he won the Man Booker International Prize.
THE NEW YORKER
The Door Between Us By Mieko Kawakami
My apartment’s in an old wooden building, built who knows how many years ago, just one story, with two separate units, side by side, stuck between dilapidated houses no one lives in anymore. Imagine three old shacks that would have fallen down already if they weren’t holding one another up, and you’ll get the idea. My living space consists of one tatami room, a tiny kitchen with a single-burner stove, a leaky shower. There’s no storage. Out back, the space for drying clothes is all but taken up by the A.C., and it feels as though the wall of the house behind me is closing in.
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