Scene setting: Creative director Glenn Martens is a whizz when it comes to historical references, and his collections have brought the world of bygone couture into the cool of the Zeitgeist. For S/S 2020, the designer took an underground excursion into the cool, cavernous arches beneath the Pont Alexandre III Bridge, a Beaux-Arts style design, festooned with nymphs and winged horses, designed by Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin between 1896 and 1900. ‘It was all about opulence and the Belle Époque,’ Martens said backstage. His show was accompanied by Johann Strauss’s The Blue Danube, which was distorted and fast-forwarded as if played on a malfunctioning tape machine, shrill, squeaky and barely audible. ‘It’s like 19th century Paris on acid’, he explained.
Mood board: Marten’s aesthetic acid trip was a fusion of genres and styles, that sublimely demonstrated his street-meets-couture sensibility. ‘I like a bit of flamboyance’ he added. For spring, this meant deconstructed sport knitwear, worn ruched, pulled and turned upside down, denim streaked with gold paint, seductive 30s gowns with cleavage revealing draping and oversized 80s tailoring. Medieval silhouettes, mini skirts and mind-bending Art deco prints, were all part of his on-acid opulence.
Finishing touches: XL accessories are all part of Y/Project’s aesthetic agenda. For spring, earrings were enormous and resembled heart-shaped springs, vintagey leather handbags were long like musical instrument cases and gold heels wrapped around the ankle like a Slinky.
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At the Royal Academy summer show, architecture and art combine as never beforeThe Royal Academy summer show is about to open in London; we toured the iconic annual exhibition and spoke to its curator for architecture, Farshid Moussavi
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This surreal new seafood restaurant in LA is the stuff of mermaid's dreamsAt Cento Raw Bar, delectable fare is complemented by playful, oceanic interiors by Brandon Miradi
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What’s new in the wearable world of smart glasses, and extended and augmented realityAre you ready for AR? Meta, Google, Snap and more are gearing up to compete with Apple and deliver frames-based communications devices – complete with AI integration
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Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
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Horace’s new men’s scent is the linen shirt of the fragrance closetVetiver Primavera, the new fragrance from men’s grooming brand Horace, is casual but elegant, says Wallpaper’s Mary Cleary – a citrussy scent for summer
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‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfumePublished exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
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French skincare brand PERS doesn’t believe in overcomplicated routinesFrench skincare brand PERS – an acronym for ‘protect, enhance, repair, and stimulate’ – has recently arrived in the UK. The mastermind behind it, Dr Antoni Calmon, tells Wallpaper* about his protocol
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What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
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Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrastThe Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
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This perfume bottle archive was nearly lost. Now, it offers a rare whiff of fragrance historyFifty blueprints from a forgotten French crystal manufacturer will be for sale as part of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
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How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion WeekDrawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
