Shanghai’s new Grand Opera House is Snøhetta’s most ambitious yet.
Snøhetta has completed the Shanghai Grand Opera House, a dramatic new cultural landmark on the banks of the Huangpu River, developed with East China Architectural Design & Research Institute, Theatre Projects, and Nagata Acoustics. Finished in June 2026 and set to open to the public later this year, the building anchors Shanghai’s Houtan neighborhood, a district rebuilt around ecological principles since the 2010 World Expo. Its defining feature is a sweeping helical roof, inspired by the fluidity of dance and the human body, with a spiraling staircase leading to an observation deck open to the public around the clock. Inside, three venues, a 2,000-seat main auditorium, a 1,200-seat secondary hall, and a 1,000-seat flexible theater, are lined in oak and dark-stained wood, developed with Nagata Acoustics to meet international acoustic standards. Snøhetta founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen has called the project a culmination of the firm’s performing arts work, following the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and South Korea’s Busan Opera House.
RH named design curator for Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team.
RH has been named the global interior design and luxury furnishings curator of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team, under a new multi-year agreement announced on July 7. The deal puts RH in charge of redesigning the team’s hospitality environments across its global footprint, including trackside venues, clubs, and its Executive Headquarters in the U.K. Rollout begins in late 2026 in Abu Dhabi, followed by Miami, Monaco, Silverstone, and other races on the 2027 calendar. RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman said the partnership pairs two organizations built around precision and design excellence, while team principal Toto Wolff pointed to Mercedes’ broader push to align with brands that lead in their respective fields. The agreement marks RH’s first move into motorsport and extends the reach of RH Interior Design, one of the largest residential design firms in the world, beyond its traditional home-furnishings base.
Courtesy of Hamptons Fine Art Fair.…
The Hamptons Fine Art Fair celebrates 20 years with Marilyn Monroe and David Hockney tributes.
Running from July 9–12 at the Southampton Fairgrounds, The Hamptons Fine Art Fair celebrates its 20th anniversary edition. Among the highlights is a rare 10-foot bronze sculpture, one of only 12 artists’ proofs cast from Bartholdi’s original plaster model of the Statue of Liberty, priced at $1 million. The fair will also present “Marilyn @ 100: The Hamptons Marilyn Monroe Centennial Tribute — The Last Sitting,” featuring work from the Trust of Bert Stern, who photographed Monroe for Vogue five weeks before her death. This year’s Hamptons Artists Hall of Fame inductees include Carol Hunt, Giancarlo Impiglia, Roy Nicholson, and Helen A. Harrison, who will also receive the fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A special tribute to David Hockney is scheduled for July 10, featuring an interview between fair executive director Rick Friedman and gallerist Phillip Blond. More than 140 galleries and 500 artists will be on view, spanning mid-20th-century to contemporary work.
Kayla Wong’s retail concept Lang opens a bigger home for AAPI fashion in Los Angeles.
Lang is opening a new chapter in Downtown Los Angeles. Two years after debuting in Chinatown Central Plaza, founder Kayla Wong’s retail concept has moved into a 2,000-square-foot flagship at Row DTLA, designed by L.A.-based Studio Paul Chan. The space reflects Wong’s dual identity as a Hong Kong native building a life in California: custom furnishings by textile studio Suay reference Hong Kong’s woven bags through Southern California’s surf-inspired tie-dye, while a hand-painted lantern installation nods to Hong Kong’s Da Jiu festival. Wong built Lang to spotlight AAPI-founded labels, citing a lack of representation for Asian designers in the industry; the new store carries brands including Plumfloor, Find Me Now, Class Trip, and Affection Blvd.
Helen Marden’s new show at Gagosian captures light and landscape in resin.
Helen Marden’s “Interlude of Joy,” an exhibition that takes its title from a poem by George Seferis, unfolds as an exuberant meditation on the natural world. Marden builds her surfaces from resin, powdered pigment, and shells, striking a balance between liquid and solid that mirrors the fleeting qualities of light and landscape. The show marks a first for the artist: her debut into large-scale triptychs, shown alongside a set of intimate, lively watercolors. In pieces like Spring, translucent pours of acrylic and resin move across massive linen panels, suspending shells and glass fragments in glossy layers that catch the gallery light like objects washed up on a shoreline.
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.…
Multimedia artist Alex Israel reunites with Louis Vuitton for a limited-edition cologne collection.
Hemingway’s favorite Venetian retreat, Locanda Cipriani, reopens on Torcello.
Zendaya steps out in Schiaparelli’s newest couture, straight off the Fall 2026 runway, at The Odyssey premiere.
The World Travel and Tourism Council launches a campaign to crown the seven contemporary Wonders of the World.
