Thursday, May 21Thursday, May 21The 2026 Met Gala, held on the first Monday in May, was a prominent event in the fashion world, known for its high-concept red carpet interpretations of the theme *"fashion is art."* The dress code focused on how the dressed and undressed human body serves as a through-line in art. Kim Kardashian stood out as one of the few celebrities to directly engage with the theme, opting for an orange fibreglass breastplate instead of a traditional designer gown. The piece was created by London-based design duo Whitaker Malem, who collaborated with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen, and a car bodyshop in Kent. Kardashian’s choice sparked conversation, with Patrick Whitaker noting that she was "very clear on wanting a breastplate" and a "car body finish," though she reportedly felt nervous about the competition on the red carpet .
The Met Gala also saw political statements, such as Sarah Paulson’s protest-themed outfit—a dollar bill covering her eyes—while other celebrities, including Zendaya and Taraji P. Henson, chose not to attend. The event, sponsored by Jeff Bezos, raised funds for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute .
Separately, Sir David Attenborough celebrated his 100th birthday on May 8, 2026, marking a century of contributions to natural history and environmental advocacy. His documentaries, which have captivated global audiences since the 1960s, were highlighted in retrospectives, including a special showcase on Estonia’s streaming service Jupiter . Media outlets reflected on his legacy, emphasizing his role in bringing the beauty and fragility of the natural world to public attention . No direct connection between Attenborough and the Met Gala was reported.
Jess Cartner-Morleys May style essentials: summer totes, chic shirts and the best shoes of the year so far Whether its the Met Gala or the start of holiday dressing, May is big news in the fashion world• The best wedding guest dresses for every budgetMay starts with a bang, in fashion. The Met Gala, which happens on the first Monday in May every year, is the most outrageous, most high-concept red carpet of the year. The Met looks dont offer much in the way of real-life style, but they are a nice reminder that fashion in the summer should be fun.Bank holiday weekends are the perfect time to road test your holiday-season style, and longer evenings make a breezier kind of dressing up feel doable. There are some gems out there right now: read on for the Cos trousers that might just be your new wardrobe staple, and the high-street flats that Ive had compliments on every time Ive worn them. Continue reading...
theguardian · 12 days ago
Soft armour, pert nipples: how London design team made Kim Kardashians Met Gala breastplate Whitaker Malem worked with pop art sculptor Allen Jones, visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen and a car bodyshop in KentAt Mondays Met Gala, it inevitably fell to Kim Kardashian to deliver the evenings biggest jolt. One of the few celebrities to straightforwardly interpret the fashion is art dress code – which focused on how the dressed and undressed human body is the through-line in most works of art – she decided to forgo her usual role as a walking billboard for a major fashion house and instead arrived in an orange fibreglass breastplate created by a small east London art duo and a car bodyshop in Kent.Good art should start conversation, and Kim did exactly that, says 61-year-old Patrick Whitaker, half of the design practice Whitaker Malem, who made the breastplate just weeks before the gala. She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition. Continue reading...
theguardian · 13 days ago
Add to playlist: the magnetic, uncanny songwriting of Frances Chang and the weeks best new tracks The Brooklyn-based artists songs seem to follow private trains of thought, which shift their subtle musical colours in a way that will slink in to your head, tooFrom Brooklyn, New YorkRecommended if you like Cate Le Bon, Astrid Sonne, Julia HolterUp next New single No Avatar out nowNo, I wont take a photo / Just walking around with no avatar, Frances Chang sings on No Avatar, conversational and serene against little whorls of piano, skittish drum fizz and softly flaring synths. Like Astrid Sonnes fragmented songwriting, the Brooklyn-based musicians songs are hard to pin down, mirroring the singles desire to avoid outward definition. Her songs work to an internal logic, evoking a sort of uncanny domesticity: casual piano refrains, rainy percussion; the melty haze of a horizon at dusk; grooves slinking in at the end of a song like next doors cat making itself at home. Its a sound that shares a lot with the modern Copenhagen scene of which Sonne is a key fixture, but with more welcoming softness and warmth: Changs January single I Can Feel the Waves is a six-minute suite that starts out a little edgy, then yields with gorgeous warped piano and disarmingly intimate focus. Continue reading...
theguardian · 13 days ago
Digested week: Its Met Gala in New York – and Im thinking about who didnt attend | Emma Brockes Prominent holdouts of this years ball sponsored by Jeff Bezos included Zohran Mamdani, Zendaya and Taraji P HensonIts the Met Gala in New York on Monday and as photos stream out from the red carpet, the people I find myself thinking about most are three prominent holdouts. The annual ball, which raises money for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum, has always summoned a strong turnout from the have-your-cake-and-eat-it community, notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a few years ago in her tax-the-rich dress. This year, that role was assumed by the actor Sarah Paulson, who wore a dollar bill covering her eyes in apparent reference to the blindness of the 1, a protest she undertook while nobly taking one for the team by refusing to sit out the $100,000-a-head event. Continue reading...
theguardian · 13 days ago
A century of change: Planet Earth through David Attenboroughs eyes as global treasure turns 100 Sir David Attenborough has been highlighting environmental issues for more than seven decades, but have we listened to his advice?
euronews · 13 days ago
A life in pictures: Sir David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday Across decades of groundbreaking documentaries, Sir David Attenborough has brought the beauty and fragility of life on Earth into homes around the world. Today he turns 100.
euronews · 13 days ago
Debate: A wonder of nature: David Attenborough turns 100 Sir David Attenborough turns 100 today. His nature documentaries have captivated audiences since the early 1960s, and the charismatic Briton has inspired millions of viewers with his passion for plants, animals and the ecosystem. In the UK, he is revered as a national treasure. The press congratulates him with reflections on beauty and fragility.
eurotopics.net · 13 days ago
Jupiter carries David Attenborough documentaries to mark naturalists centenary Jupiter, ERRs streaming service, is marking the 100th birthday of British natural historian and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough by showing several of his most recent nature documentaries.
news.err · 13 days ago
Olof Dreijer: Loud Bloom review – the Knife stars debut solo album is a garden of earthly delights (DH2)On a floral-themed LP, squiggling melodies and quizzical distortion banish the winter gloom Dreijer brought to the Knife and his tracks with Fever RaySwedish producer Olof Dreijer is best known for projects with his sibling Karin: namely their duo the Knife, plus Karins solo act Fever Ray, with whom he created four brilliant tracks on 2023 album Radical Romantics. For all that his beats on these records often had African-Caribbean-Latin syncopation, they also had a Scandinavian winter gloom.Conversely, his debut solo album seems to crane upwards towards sunlight like flowers – and each of the tracks has a floral name. Dance heads will already be familiar with some of them (having appeared on EPs stretching back to 2023) but together they show quite how distinctive Dreijers own musical accent is: you can tell its him sometimes from just half a second of music. Continue reading...
theguardian · 13 days ago
Ana Roxanne: Poem 1 review | Safi Bugels experimental album of the month (Kranky) Essaying a broken heart, the New Yorker puts her voice front and centre for her most accessible work yet, though still with unexpected details – and a Schumann coverThe new album from Ana Roxanne was written after a transformative experience of heartbreak. And just as you might wake up one day after a breakup and find yourself feeling OK, theres a new clarity here. Where the New York-based musicians vocals were once stretched out and suspended among hazy ambient textures, on Poem 1 they are front and centre. For the first time, we hear Roxannes lovely, wispy voice in lucid detail, as she contemplates loss and desire over slow and stripped-back compositions.The record opens with a collection of mournful ballads which draw more on pop songwriting than Roxannes usual amorphous style. Her yearning is tangible in the simple yet evocative lyrics, but also beyond: the tense vibrato of the strings in The Age of Innocence; the sustained keys in Keepsake. There are occasional traces of the experimentalism of her first two records, in the droning synths, or the faint, granular whirr of tape looming in the background. These elements, paired with Roxannes strength as a singer, give these songs a leg-up when they risk feeling too drab or generic. Continue reading...
theguardian · 13 days ago
David Attenborough turns 100: He brought the natural world into focus for us, we owe him so much Across a century of storytelling, David Attenborough has brought us back to a world we were always part of, even as it slips tragically from our grasp, writes Lynn Ruane.
thejournal · 13 days ago