‘Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto’ Exhibit Opens At V&A Museum London

A multi-stop itinerary from London to Barcelona – via Paris and the Pyrenees – is a train lover’s dream.

The V&A’s new blockbuster exhibition is the first in the UK dedicated to the French couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel – and it is selling out fast. The show is fully booked until Christmas, but at the time of writing there was still plenty of availability in January and February. The exhibition charts the history of the House of Chanel, from the opening of Coco’s first millinery shop in Paris in 1910 to her final collection in 1971, and her legacy today. There are almost 200 looks on show, including a piece from 1916 and outfits designed for Lauren Bacall and Marlene Dietrich, plus accessories, jewellery and perfume. Until 25 February, £24 adults/£16 children/under-12s free, vam.ac.uk

An iconic cornerstone of London’s landscape, the city’s Old War Office building is set to settle into a brand-new identity this month. Sold to the Hinduja group in 2016, the building is opening its doors to the public once again, this time revamped into the Raffles London at The OWO. This will be Raffles Hotels & Resorts’ first location in the United Kingdom. Rаffles’ hotels are known for bringing together impeccable hospitality, design, and exclusive environments, and The OWO is no exception. Storytelling and preservation are the focus here, and Raffles properties allow guests to spend their trip basking in history.

As the world’s major fashion weeks take place this month, we ask five boutique-brand designers to open their ‘little black books’ and reveal some of their much-loved addresses in their favourite places around the world.

The butcher was the only place in the Auvergne village of Courpière that showed any signs of life when I visited on an August afternoon. A handful of half-timbered houses and shuttered windows, this sleepy little place was allegedly once home to one of the world's most famous fashion designers: Coco, née Gabrielle, Chanel. Tracking down anything concrete was proving difficult, however, and records of her early life were no more substantial than a whiff of her No. 5 in the breeze. 

One of the fruits of getting on a train is that it makes me want to chat. So instead of gazing at Kent as we proceed to Paris from London, I talk to my neighbour. Martha grew up in San Francisco, studied in Oregon, and puts syrup on everything. When we part ways on the concourse of Gare du Nord – she to lunch with a friend from Wisconsin, me to amble around before continuing towards Turkey – she says the best things about the US are Taylor Swift and meatloaf. It’s good to talk.

For Europeans, fall in America looks like the stuff of wanderlust, with fiery trees and pumpkin spice lattes à la Gilmore Girls. 

It’s been hidden from public eyes for more than a hundred years. But in a few weeks time, the former Old War Office in London, Whitehall will finally open its doors after a multi-million-dollar transformation.

One day in 2021, Megan Clawson was walking home from a night out when she was inspired to record a video on her phone.

London is a vibrant, culturally diverse and perpetually evolving city made up of a series of interconnected, but independent, neighborhoods. In all, London is broken up into 32 boroughs that make up what is known as Greater London. Within those 32 boroughs there are roughly 48 neighborhoods as some straddle between two boroughs.

Raffles London at The OWO is set to open in London on Friday 29th September, the first hotel in the UK for Raffles Hotels & Resorts.

London has a reputation as one of the most eye-wateringly expensive cities to visit in Europe. Its fame and global appeal have long made it a top ‘bucket list’ destination, with jacked-up accommodation prices and exorbitantly priced experiences, from swanky fine dining to designer shopping.