Pharrell brings California surf culture to Paris Men’s Fashion Week
Pharrell Williams opened Paris Men’s Fashion Week on Tuesday with a Louis Vuitton spring 2027 collection built around California surf and skate culture, staged beneath an artificial waterfall outside the Cité Universitaire. Models walked across sand carrying surfboards, wearing denim, hoodies, and jackets alongside tiny monogram bags and low-cut sneakers whose white rubber soles drew visible comparisons to Vans. The collection balanced its surf-inflected energy with more classic tailoring: dark green suits, leather-patched pullovers, and structured coats.
Creative Director Julien Dossena exits Rabanne after 13 years
Designer Julien Dossena is leaving Rabanne. The French house confirmed Wednesday that its creative director of 13 years is stepping down, closing a quietly transformative tenure in contemporary fashion. Dossena joined Rabanne fresh from a stint under Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, and spent the following decade modernizing the house’s iconic chainmail aesthetic for a new generation, attracting celebrity fans including Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus.
Marc Dalessio wins the National Portrait Gallery’s 2026 Portrait Award
Los Angeles–born artist now based in southwest France, Marc Dalessio, has won first prize in the Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 at the National Portrait Gallery in London. His winning work, Jean-Denis (2025), is a portrait of his neighbor, painted in natural light across six sittings at his restored studio, that the judges praised for its restrained handling, emotional immediacy, and quiet compositional authority. The award, one of the most prestigious portrait painting competitions in the world, drew 1,474 submissions from artists across 63 countries. Fifty-one shortlisted works go on public display at the National Portrait Gallery from June 25 through October 7, before traveling to Derby Museum and Art Gallery and The Gallery at The Arc in Winchester.
The Guggenheim is displaying Jordyn Woods’ lucky Knicks bag
Jordyn Woods’ orange clutch, the handbag that went viral as the New York Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years, is now on view at the Guggenheim Museum for five days. Woods, a designer and fiancée of Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, carried the bag courtside throughout the team’s historic 13-game winning streak and at the game 5 championship clincher against the San Antonio Spurs. Fans credited it as a good luck charm. Towns made it official on Instagram after game 4, writing: “We’ve got to put this in the Whitney or the Guggenheim.” The Guggenheim obliged. The display marks a rare crossover between sports culture, fashion, and fine art institutions. The bag most recently appeared at the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade, where New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani held it during the procession through Lower Manhattan.
France’s ‘Train of Wonders’ returns after an $84 million upgrade
France’s Train de Merveilles, the scenic railway that winds from the Côte d’Azur through the French Alps, is back in service this summer following a 15-month closure and a 74-million-euro modernization that included new track, rail bridge sections, and reinforced tunnel vaults. The route, which reopened in December 2025, returns for its first full summer season since the overhaul. The journey takes roughly two hours and covers over 60 miles of southeastern France, climbing more than 3,000 feet from the Mediterranean coast to the mountains. The route passes through more than 100 bridges and viaducts and nearly as many tunnels, threading through medieval villages including Sospel and La Brigue.
Today’s attractive distractions:
A 48-piece art collection could fetch over £200 million at Sotheby’s.
Holly Guertin pulls animals and ornaments from wool, one fiber at a time.
The geometric design system Peruvian painter Sara Flores learned from her mother is now reshaping the art world.
Elewana Collection debuts Little Elephant Pepper Camp, designed by Jan Allan of byDesign, in Kenya.
