It can be hard to know where to turn during Milan Design Week, with events sprawling from the central Brera neighbourhood to the far reaches of the city’s Isola district. To help you navigate the week, here’s a guide to 50 events that are worth visiting.
6:AM Glassworks
In the basement of the Piscina Romano, the Milanese firm presents Over and Over and Over and Over, an exploration of repetition as a source of creativity.
Via Ampère, 24
Acqua di Parma
The Italian perfume brand will celebrate the launch of a new series of fragrances, Buongiorno La Collezione, with an installation in the courtyard of the publishing house ERG Media.
Via Bernardino Luini, 12
Alcova
This popular design showcase takes place in a former military hospital and a rationalist residence by Franco Albini.
– Baggio Military Hospital Complex,Via Giovanni Labus, 10
– Villa Pestarini, Via Mogadiscio, 2/4
Alessi
The design brand, which was founded in 1921, has put together an ode to the inimitable postmodern Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, in an installation titled “La Bella Tavola”.
Palazzo Stampa di Soncino, Via Soncino, 2
Alphabet
A retrospective on the work of UK design duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby over the past 30 years, on display at the Triennale.
Triennale Milano, Viale Alemagna, 6
Arclinea
New work by Antonio Citterio, the architect and artistic director of Italian kitchen company Arclinea, will be presented in the brand’s showroom.
Via Durini, 7
Artemest
The historic Palazzo Donizetti provides a theatrical setting for the fourth edition of L’Appartamento, the design retailer’s annual showcase of Italian design.
Via Gaetano Donizetti, 48
Baccarat
Marseille-based artist and scenographer Emmanuelle Luciani presents “Crystal Crypt”, an installation with a cyberpunk and science-fiction influence, for French glass manufacturer Baccarat.
Centro Brera, Via Marco Formentini, 10
Bocci
Light, as a medium in and of itself, is the subject of this year’s exhibition from Bocci, interrogating the theme through the lens of design gallerist David Alhadeff.
Via Giuseppe Rovani, 20
Buccellati
With an installation titled “Aquae Mirabiles”, the Italian silverware specialist presents Caviar, its latest collection for the table.
Piazza Tomasi di Lampedusa
CC-Tapis 3 Fornasetti
Surrealist patterns from 1958 by Piero and Barnaba Fornasetti are reimagined as rugs by Italian brand CC-Tapis.
Piazza Santo Stefano, 10
Convey
More than 20 brands are taking part in the fourth edition of this design showcase, which will occupy five storeys of a building.
Via San Senatore, 10
Dedar
Custom textiles, including chair upholstery, curtains and more, form the subject of the Italian experts’ exhibition, Versi Liberi.
Via Lazzaretto, 15
Design Singapore Council
Is Singapore the ultimate prototype nation? This exhibition explores this idea, reimagining the Asian city-state as a centre for optimisation and future-proofing.
Foro Buonaparte, 54
Dropcity
What are the key challenges of the near future? This is the question that Dropcity posed to students of London’s Central Saint Martins for this year’s showcase.
Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, 40
Geberit
The Swiss leader in sanitary products, founded in 1874, stages a site-specific installation titled “Form. Flow. Function.” in collaboration with Atelier Oï.
Opificio 31, Via Tortona, 31
Giorgetti
High-end Italian furniture maker Giorgetti unveils its latest wares in its showroom, as well as through an immersive experience staged at the Teatro Manzoni.
– Via Della Spiga, 31
– Via Alessandro Manzoni, 42
H&M Home x Kelly Wearstler
The US designer joins forces with H&M Home for a capsule collection that spans large-scale furniture as well as smaller design objects.
Palazzo Acerbi, Corso di Porta Romana, 3
Hermès
The French luxury fashion house returns to its usual Milan Design Week address at La Pelota, a former 1940s sports court, to unveil its latest collection of homeware.
Via Palermo, 10
Humbert & Poyet
The French duo present a limited-edition version of their Hug chair – rendered in lacquered aluminium, polished brass and garnet velvet – for gallery Maison Pouenat.
Via Borgonuovo, 5
Interni Venosta
A private apartment opens to the public, displaying objects by the furniture brand founded by Dimorestudio.
Via Bigli, 21
Jil Sander
Simone Bellotti, the creative director of Hamburg-founded, Milan-based fashion brand Jil Sander, invites guests to peruse a selection of 60 books chosen by 60 different creatives as part of its “Reference Library” installation.
Via Luca Beltrami, 5
Kaldewei
The work of Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi forms the central theme of German bathroom experts Kaldewei’s exhibition, staged in a palazzo designed by Portaluppi himself.
Palazzo Crespi, Corso Giacomo Matteotti, 1
Kettal
To celebrate its 60th year in business, Kettal is staging collaborations with design luminaries, such as Verner Panton and Jasper Morrison, at its Milan showroom. Over at the Triennale, the Eames House Exhibition revisits the US architects’ flat-packed house.
– Via Broletto, 44
– Triennale Milano, Viale Alemagna, 6
Kohler
Can design aid personal wellness? Lifestyle brand Flamingo Estate teams up with Kohler to create a brutalist bathhouse and delve deeper into the topic.
Via Palestro, 14
Laboratorio Paravicini
Milan workshop Laboratorio Paravicini presents a new collection exploring the contrast between ceramics and metal, created in collaboration with Colombian-born designer Natalia Criado.
Via Nerino, 8
Lina Ghotmeh
The Lebanese architect presents a Pepto-Bismol-pink labyrinth for visitors to explore within the courtyard of the Palazzo Litta.
Corso Magenta, 24
Loro Piana
Plaid takes centre stage at the luxury Italian house’s headquarters. The display pays homage to different weaving techniques and patterns through focused case studies.
Cortile della Seta,Via Moscova, 33
Louis Vuitton Objets Nomades
The French luxury fashion house unveils new designs for the home, including works by São Paulo firm Estúdio Campana and Parisian paper sculptor Géraldine Gonzalez.
Palazzo Serbelloni, Corso Venezia, 16
Marni x Cucchi
The Milanese social ritual of the morning espresso (and later an aperitivo) is reimagined by fashion brand Marni at a café, in collaboration with design studio Redduo.
Pasticceria Cucchi, Corso Genova, 1
Monument Magazzino Archive
London gallery Monument teams up with French design expert Harold Mollet to present a collection of rare functional art, exhibited at the Mulino Factory.
Via Aosta, 2
Muuto Apartment
The colourful Danish brand takes over an apartment in San Marco with an installation titled “The Art of Belonging”, which unites new lighting and furniture designs in a distinctive and tactile environment.
Via Solferino, 11
Nilufar
Nina Yashar’s gallery is putting on two showcases. The first, at her depot, is conceived as a fictional luxury hotel; the second, “La Casa Magica”, explores the house as a symbolic and ritual space.
– Nilufar Spiga, Via della Spiga, 32
– Nilufar Depot, Viale Lancetti, 34
Objects Are By
The Milan-based design studio launches a tea brand called Cromo with a temporary teahouse on the 25th floor of a Milanese brutalist landmark.
Torre Velasca, Piazza Velasca, 5
Poltrona Frau
What does it mean for design to be timeless? For Poltrona Frau, the answer is in materials that develop patina, a central theme of its “True Over Time” presentation.
Via Alessandro Manzoni, 30
Prada Frames
The fashion powerhouse returns for the fifth edition of Prada Frames, a series of talks curated by Formafantasma. This year’s topic of conversation is the role of image-making in contemporary culture.
Complesso Santa Maria delle Grazie, Via Caradosso, 1
Pro Helvetia
In partnership with Presence Switzerland, the Swiss Arts Council presents “Shared Matter”, a showcase on emerging design voices from the Alpine nation.
Via Pinamonte da Vimercate, 4
Range Rover
After making its debut last year, the UK carmaker is back with “Traces”, an installation that explores personalised luxury, materiality and sensory design.
Galleria Meravigli, Via Gaetano Negri, 6
RH Gallery
The US design behemoth marks its Italian arrival with the opening of its Milan outpost, which comprises a shop, a library, a restaurant, a bar and a lounge.
Corso Venezia, 56
Rimadesio
The Palazzo Isimbardi provides the site for an exhibition of Rimadesio’s furniture by Swiss firm Encor Studio.
Corso Monforte, 35
Rosewood
The legacy of Andrea Branzi, one of the leaders of the 1960s Italian Radical Design movement, is honoured by hotel group Rosewood with a large-scale display of the designer’s rice-paper lamps.
Via Carlo de Cristoforis, 1
Technogym
The Technogym Unica, the gym-equipment company’s all-in-one machine designed for at-home strength training, celebrates its fourth decade with a high-energy installation at the brand’s showroom.
Via Durini, 1
The Lucia Eames Rug Collection
A new rug collection centred on the work of Lucia Eames, the only child of design duo Charles and Ray Eames, makes its debut, in collaboration with Barcelona’s Nanimarquina.
Via Statuto, 13
Tod’s
The visual language of 20th-century Italian design provides the inspiration for a limited-edition collection of the Italian fashion brand’s signature Gommino shoe.
Via Savona, 56
USM x Snøhetta
Multisensory installation “Renaissance of the Real” invites visitors to explore the Swiss brand’s metal modular system through a spatial journey.
Corso Venezia, 52
Visteria Foundation
This group showcase, entitled Polish Modernism: A Struggle for Beauty, covers the impact of modernist ideas and the movement’s symbolism as an act of resistance in Poland.
Torre Velasca, Piazza Velasca, 3-5, 16th floor
Warsaw, São Paulo, Milan
Jorge Zalszupin’s emigration from Poland to Brazil – and his contributions to the latter country’s modernist architecture – is told for the first time in Milan.
Torre Velasca, Piazza Velasca, 3-5, 16th floor
Zaha Hadid Architects x Audi
The German carmaker presents “The Origin”, a titanium-hued fibreglass portal, in partnership with the acclaimed London-based architecture firm.
Corso Venezia, 11
Zucchetti
The evolution of the Italian brand’s Octo faucet collection, designed by David Lopez Quincoces, is presented in stainless steel, as well as in several new configurations.
Corso Venezia, 29
After a drive down the highway I’m sitting in my hotel’s courtyard. A cool, late-afternoon breeze is making the palm trees dance. Squawking mynah birds are cruising the decking, in search of food. Meanwhile, people are working on laptops and having meetings at the tables around me. It’s a normal close of day in Dubai. Except, well, there’s a war in the region, currently on pause, that’s proving to be a distraction.
Monocle Radio has been in the UAE all week, reporting from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai (listen to the special episodes of The Globalist and The Briefing that we have made in each of these emirates). We came here to explore the nuances of a story that’s affecting the whole world and to find out what’ll come next. We have spoken to ministers, business leaders, designers and media folk about events that have caused oil prices to soar, airlines to cancel flights and questions to be raised about a country that some are always too quick to write off.
As with most stories, when you speak to the people at the heart of the narrative, it turns out that the headlines and op-eds, often written in London and New York, don’t always reflect the mood on the ground. The war is undoubtedly causing pain. While restaurants might be busy, the hotels that we have stayed in have been quiet. We have been told about projects put on hold and staff let go. While property prices have held, the velocity of sales is down. Yet something more interesting strikes you in interview after interview: a focus not on a moment of crisis but on the bigger vision.
Whether it’s Issam Kazim, the CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Noura al-Kaabi, the minister of state at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or Mohamed Khalifa al-Mubarak, the chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, our guests have turned up to speak to us smiling, unflustered and engaged. Their vision remains the same. They are nation builders and will not let this moment deter them. They have a plan.
During times of crisis, it’s not unusual to see people rallying around their flag and reaffirming the values that give them strength, wherever you are in the world. But it’s fascinating to watch this happening in a nation of 11.5 million people, where only 11 per cent of the population is Emirati. Yes, some residents did leave when the first rockets and drones targeted the country but many more stayed – not just because they like the tax system but because they also feel loyalty to a place where they have lived for 10, 20 or 30 years. Some were even born here.
Again, there has been a lot of strange reporting about the UAE in the media, with some journalists suggesting that such attachment is misguided. Why don’t we let the people who moved here decide how they feel? In the UK, we’re often suspicious of anyone who is proud of where they live but that’s not something for residents of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai and beyond to worry about.
On our drive to our hotel, we passed billboards decorated with patriotic messages. Others carried slogans underlining how the people of this country have found common cause: “One nation, one community”, “In the UAE, everyone is Emirati”, “Proud of who we are”. Judging by what people have told us this week, these express something genuine.
Countries change in the face of crises, moments that force people to reflect on who they are and what they stand for. What seems likely to emerge from this episode is a place that knows how to stand up for itself and is clear about who its friends are. Meanwhile, there’s a final team dinner – and I’m as hungry as a pacing mynah bird.
To read more from Andrew Tuck, click here.
In recent months the culinary world has been rocked by reports of abuse inflicted on staff members at Noma, the restaurant often considered one of the world’s most influential. Though volatility in professional kitchens has long been documented, the details that have surfaced – of violence, public shaming and threats; the type of horrors common in food-centric dramas such as The Bear – have taken on extra significance given that Noma and its chef, René Redzepi, had the authority to stamp out these toxic behaviours rather than uphold them.
At their worst, restaurants are maelstroms of flames and chaos. But at their best, they can be a centre of community and creativity, and produce transcendent moments for their diners. Here, Monocle speaks to forward-thinking chefs and restaurateurs from five institutions about their efforts in striking the right balance between ambition, passion and creating safe, supportive environments in which their employees can thrive.
These conversations have been edited for clarity and length.
Kwang Uh and Mina Park
Co-owners, Baroo
Partners Uh and Park are revered in Los Angeles not only for their ambitious, fermentation-driven Korean menu but also for their progressive work practices.
What measures have you introduced [in your kitchen] to create an equitable, supportive workplace?
Mina Park: We offer good pay for the kitchen [staff] due to how big the tipping system is [for front of house] in the US. Our cooks make a higher-than-average hourly pay and we provide top-ups for our managers [to ensure] they’re never behind an employee who earns tips. What’s equally important is that our cooks work 40 hours a week.
Kwang Uh: I won’t ask my team to do anything I’m not willing to do myself. I set clear expectations and will follow up to make sure that things are on track. But I also want my cooks to feel a sense of responsibility for their work and that what they do here is helping them develop. I have frequent one-on-ones to see how they’re doing.
Kwang, you once considered becoming a monk. Do you operate the kitchen with a monk’s mindset?
KU: Being aware of every moment really helps with clear communication and focus. Buddhist ideas of compassion also help me be open to others and try to understand people from their own perspective, rather than be stuck on my own point of view.
Ben Shewry
Chef and owner, Attica
Attica, co-managed by Shewry, was one of the first restaurants to bring native Australian ingredients to global attention. Shewry’s 2024 book, ‘Uses for Obsession: A Chef’s Memoir’, calls out the industry’s toxic attitudes.
Why do you want Attica to be seen as one of the world’s best small businesses rather than as one of the world’s best restaurants?
The world’s best restaurants often have some of the world’s worst business practices. I will never allow the abhorrent things that have happened to me – bullying, harassment, verbal and physical assault – to occur under my ownership. When I took over, I wanted to draw a line in the sand, so I looked to companies in other fields for inspiration, including Patagonia [which is known for its fair labour practices and commitment to sustainability]. I couldn’t get around the idea that a culture of fear is somehow linked to elite performance. There are many performance advantages when you have employees who are supported, paid properly and know they’re not [just] a number.
How do you encourage staffers to take ownership of their mistakes – and how does doing so allow for better work?
Our workplace grants people the freedom to express opinions without fear [of being] made to feel stupid for doing so. If they can’t do this, it’s very hard for them to feel secure when they actually fuck up, which we all do. [When] people feel comfortable enough to make their managers immediately aware of any issues, problems are addressed quickly.
Why do your staffers do weekly speeches?
The front of house and kitchen used to be at odds and it would get fiery during service. The issue was that the teams didn’t know each other. We would never [reach] high performance unless we addressed this. Staff speeches were introduced [about] 15 years ago. Everyone gathers for 20 minutes on Wednesdays and a different person presents to the group. Our head chef has spoken about his love of Richmond, the local AFL football team, and we’ve also heard about much harder things. The day that someone told us about their experience of being bipolar was really touching. Standing in front of an audience and receiving positive reinforcement is empowering and being vulnerable builds empathy – and that passes over to our diners.
Norma Listman and Saqib Keval
Chefs and co-owners, Masala y Maíz
The Mexico City restaurant bridges the cuisines of Mexico, South Asia and East Africa. The duo behind the establishment is equally known for championing sustainability, social justice and better working conditions in the industry.
What measurements have you put in place to create a fair work environment?
Saqib Keval: We have humane working hours – the first guests arrive at 12.00 and the last staff member leaves at about 21.00. We hire more employees so that we don’t have to ask people at the last minute to stay late. We have open-book financial management [which allows our] staff to see the restaurant’s expenditures. There’s profit-sharing and the team shares tips, which applies even to those who are on leave.
Norma Listman: We decentralise our power. There’s an annual general assembly with our staff, during which we make addendums to the rules of the restaurant. We also have someone who does group coaching and provides one-on-one growth plans – for example, if there’s a worker who wants to eventually open a restaurant, then they’re going to sit in on our operations meetings.
The notion of the ‘genius’ chef has long been problematic. How do you combat that?
NL: When someone makes a dish that’s served in the restaurant, the menu and our servers will credit that person. It’s their creative and intellectual right to have their name attached to their work.
Unpaid kitchen interns have long propped up the industry. What are your opinions on their role?
NL: We [hire] one stagiaire [an intern] every few months and it’s a paid position. If you’re doing a trial with us, you’re paid for it. We don’t believe in free labour.
J Kenji López-Alt
Chef and author
Before a career in cookbook writing, López-Alt spent years climbing the kitchen ladder. Between 2018 to 2022 he operated Wursthall, a beerhall-inspired space in California.
Other than the obvious rules, such as no violence, what are your non-negotiables in the kitchen?
You can raise your voice to be heard but you can’t do so in anger. There are no public put-downs; if there’s something that needs correcting immediately – a safety issue, for example – you can address it but anything else must wait for when you can talk privately. And it’s always about addressing the issue, not the person. No sarcasm. No gender, race, sexuality and appearance-based comments. No cursing in any language. And make sure that camaraderie extends to everyone.
How did you make sure that your kitchen ran efficiently?
We made the space accessible for everyone. Many restaurants are designed around an average male frame. We adjusted shelf heights and made sure that step stools and ladders were within easy access.
Can you provide an example of good leadership that you have witnessed?
You have to let your staff know what the priorities are but you need to also understand that they’re there to learn. When I had questions, my old boss Jason Bond would say, ‘I hear you; right now is not the time but I’ll get back to you.’ After service, we would discuss my queries.
Good leadership is also not just about being prepared for a busy night but making sure that there’s a contingency plan – such as notifying the bar staff to send free drinks to tables that have been waiting a while for food – and that you’re mentally prepared if something goes wrong. You want people to respect you because you respect them, not because they fear you.
Asma Khan
Chef and owner, Darjeeling Express
The kitchen at Darjeeling Express, Asma Khan’s Indian restaurant in London’s Soho neighbourhood, is run exclusively by South Asian women, including several grandmothers.
How have you made your kitchen a safe space for women?
I have a flat system regarding leadership and payment: everyone has the same rate, including [myself] when I’m in the kitchen. It’s important to recognise that the kitchen porter is no less skilled than the person cooking the korma. It also prevents us from using the brigade [the traditional Western system for organising hierarchy in the kitchen], which is a system set up to feed individuals who thrive on power. The perfect kitchen is where there is no fear.
How are duties assigned?
The cooks decide what to do on the day. Those who are good at certain tasks will do them. Those who aren’t in the mood to, say, make koftas and want to do the garnishing [instead] will negotiate – this is about communication. The staff [many of whom are second daughters, a family position traditionally subject to discrimination in India] are survivors of a patriarchal system, so they know that shouting leads to a zero per cent chance of co-operation.
How can hiring practices [in the industry] be improved?
Those in charge are choosing people who they can relate to and hang out with or they want the stereotypical chef – a young, volatile person with tattoos and piercings. Instead, they should [use their] imagination; hire women and train older women.
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“This is the place where makers have sought refuge and inspiration,” says Gus Casely-Hayford, director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, of the area in which London’s newest cultural destination has just opened its doors. V&A East Museum (V&A East), which opens to the public on 18 April, is the latest addition to what was once the site of the London 2012 Olympics and is now a buzzing cultural hotspot in the borough of Newham. “It feels both like we’ve come home and that we’ve been welcomed by east Londoners,” adds Casely-Hayford.
Visitors are greeted at the museum’s entrance by a striking, five-metre-tall statue by British sculptor Thomas J Price. An unlikely sentinel, the bronze figure of a young woman clad in trainers and clutching a smartphone feels right at home here. The borough has one of the youngest populations in the country and creating a museum that not only speaks to that demographic but was also made alongside them has been one of the defining novelties of this project. “Young people advised on everything from our uniforms to the food that will be served in our restaurant,” says Casely-Hayford. “It has been wonderful to reshape our operational and curatorial delivery to reflect their interests, needs and aspirations.”
The building itself was designed by architecture firm O’Donnell + Tuomey. It is angular and composed of sand-coloured triangles that tessellate to create a façade that seems to pleat. From the right angle, it has something of a spaceship look about it.
Inside, V&A East comprises three galleries, the excellent Café Jikoni, an events space, shop and terraces. The permanent galleries – named Why We Make – celebrate the creative process by bringing together more than 500 objects from the V&A collection in an eclectic, unexpected way. Local heroes are, of course, paid their dues. On display is a wispy, ethereal dress covered with an angel motif by Alexander McQueen (who grew up in Stratford). It is from McQueen’s final collection before his death in 2010, poignant and hauntingly beautiful. Less ghostly and more garish are Leigh Bowery’s ballet costumes from 1987 – bright, sculptural outfits that include floral-patterned gimp masks and pink sequined cod pieces.
Elsewhere, it is hard to miss a poofy hot-pink dress by contemporary east London designer Molly Goddard. Hanging within the same gallery is an Indian talismanic shirt inscribed with the entire text of the Qur’an from around the late 1400s and a Paimio armchair designed by Finnish modernist Alvar Aalto. This assortment, in the words of Zofia Trafas White, senior curator at V&A East, represents “a fresh and topical remix” of the museum’s collection. “Here, we’ve foregone typical displays based on chronology – displays sorted by materials or geography,” she says. “Instead, we’re looking at big ideas that we know are close to our audiences’ heart – identity, wellbeing, social justice, environmental action. It’s a thematic way to bring together objects that wouldn’t normally be displayed together and that mix of different cultures, countries and time periods is quite unique.”
The first temporary exhibition here catalogues the immense impact of Black British music on culture both in the UK and around the world. Objects tell the story – from Winifred Atwell’s piano to the Banksy-designed vest worn by Stormzy at Glastonbury – but so does the music, as motion-sensor headphones play an ever-evolving soundtrack to visitors while they move through the rooms. “This is one of the great stories of British creativity,” says Casely-Hayford. “It is uproariously inspiring and positive.” The very same could be said of this new museum itself.
Not too long ago I saw a young couple step into Shakespeare and Company, Paris’s storied English-language bookshop. After looking around, one of them turned to the other and said, “Oh. It’s just books.” Perhaps they were looking for a café. Despite their evident disappointment, I’m pretty sure that they left with one of the shop’s coveted tote bags.
No one needs another tote: our cupboards runneth over with them. They accumulate in our closets but more of us seem to be seeking them as souvenirs than ever, to serve as canvas chronicles of our tastes and travels. The tote-bag market in 2025 was worth $2.75bn (€2.33bn). They have, in effect, become the concert T-shirts of our time.
In the French capital, where I live, demand for these sacks is sky high. The trouble is that tote-seekers are warping the businesses that they claim to love. Some of my favourite shops are overrun with people who aren’t even there to buy what the establishment is known for. What they want is a branded bag that doesn’t scream “souvenir”. It simply whispers, “I shop in Paris and might even live there.” Sure, these visitors might walk out with a book, a bowl or a pair of jeans. But what they came for is visible proof of their connection to the City of Light.
At Merci, a chic shop in the Marais, you’ll find bed linens in saturated colours, fashionably lumpy pottery and luxe jumpers. It’s like the old Barneys New York if Barney had grown up in Brooklyn with French parents. But so many people now show up for its bags that the shop has now devoted a register to them and put up a blazing neon sign saying “Le Tote”. Merch seems to be eating up more and more of its space. You have to fight through an ocean of totes, banana bags and trinkets to get to the shoes and clothing.
Local customers of any shop with a coveted tote brace themselves for the summer hordes. Queueing times in the line outside Shakespeare and Company can be 30 minutes or more. (Somehow, I can’t picture the world’s next James Baldwin waiting out there in the heat.) Maybe it should set up a dedicated tote stand, like Merci. Then again, perhaps the bags serve as bait, luring customers to the books. But there must be an existential tipping point at which a business starts selling more souvenirs than anything else.
Some people go to even greater extremes to signal international-shopper status with totes. Fashionable folk in London, Tokyo and Paris are carrying bags from a US grocery chain called Trader Joe’s, a very unfancy place that many of them have never even set foot in. The bags sell in the US for less than $3 (€2.50) and the company doesn’t offer them online. Yet trend followers have paid hundreds for that elusive American cachet on Ebay and even more for rare versions.
Significantly overpaying for a canvas bag from a grocery shop might be the souvenir-tote obsession in a nutshell. I admit that I probably won’t be able to resist buying a few more of them from places that I want to be associated with or support. But there’s something a bit weird about having a cabinet stuffed with empty bags. Sure, they’re souvenirs of places that we have visited, worked or shopped. But we’ll never use them all. We buy these things for what they signal to the world but the story that truly matters is what we carry inside them: the Lewis and Clark-level survival kit that we lug to work, the gifts for the friend in hospital and the lopsided apple cake that we’re bringing over for dinner tonight.
To say that the DC media scene is saturated would be a gross understatement. Since US press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced last year that the White House was opening access to “new media” voices, hundreds of bloggers, content creators and “independent media outlets” have descended on the nation’s capital. So why are senators and congressmen quaking in their boots at the addition of three more reporters into this already eclectic mix?
Because tabloid gossip site and celebrity-baiter TMZ set up shop in Washington this week and marked its arrival with a video of a reporter chasing Republican senator Lindsey Graham down a corridor shouting questions about a bubble blower. It is hardly the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein, and yet there has been intense interest in DC media circles about the new arrivals – and whether this marks a new era of transparency or further spiralling toward the gutter for US politics.
Much like Donald Trump’s White House, the TMZ model of newsgathering breaks all the rules. Owned by the Fox Corporation and operating more like a spy network than a media outlet, TMZ launched in Los Angeles in 2005 to cover the entertainment world and invested in developing a huge web of informants. At airports, newsstands, hotels and other locations where celebrities might lurk, staff were encouraged to snap photos and videos and gather other incriminating evidence to shame the great and the good. Crucially, TMZ paid for the tips and content, considered unethical by mainstream US media and earning it a reputation among loftier titles as the lowest dirt-diggers in the business.
But for all the moral handwringing, the tactics worked, with TMZ getting scoop after scoop, from the audio of actor Mel Gibson’s drunken antisemitic rant in 2006 to the news this week that singer Britney Spears was back in rehab. So what does that mean for Washington?
TMZ happened on this rich new seam of reporting partly by accident. During the recent partial government shutdown, when airport security staff went without pay, TMZ’s network started sending in photos of politicians enjoying themselves on holidays.
The snaps of politicians at leisure – including a group of congressmen and women at a Scottish castle and Graham clutching a Little Mermaid-themed bubble blower at Disney World – aimed to highlight inequality and hypocrisy. The photos were an immediate hit on social media, where TMZ boasts millions of followers.
So, TMZ founder Harvey Levin swiftly dispatched three brash young producers to DC and promised that they would “show how pop culture and politics converge”. One of those new arrivals, Charlie Cotton, announced, “We love DC, [and] DC is going to love us.”
That is optimistic: while there were some voices on social media welcoming any greater transparency in Congress, there was also nervousness among congressional staffers. Because there is no shortage of scandals to uncover on the Hill. Just this week, two members of Congress were forced to resign over accusations of sexual misconduct. Of course, politicians engaging in inappropriate dalliances is nothing new. But levels of trust among the public towards their representatives is pitifully low, with a recent Pew Research Centre survey showing just 17 per cent trust the government to act in the interests of its people – trust in the media is equally dismal according to Gallup, hovering at around 28 per cent.
While there has been a flood of new outlets covering the White House, most of them are not the “independent journalists” that Leavitt promised but rather conservative outlets throwing softball questions at the president. Traditional networks and newspapers, meanwhile, cover the Trump White House with a po-faced sense of doom.
For all its dubious ethics, TMZ will go after anyone of any political stripe with the same ferociousness and its crowd-sourced method of newsgathering creates the veneer of authenticity. Breaking past the perceived wall separating the people from their representatives is a tantalising prospect and, so far, traditional media have struggled to do this.
Whether the TMZ approach will work remains to be seen. Covering Washington is about building trust with contacts and sources, and combative corridor encounters don’t tend to foster bonhomie.
But with an anarchic president breaking all the rules to pursue his vision for the country, an anarchic media outlet operating with a similar disregard for convention seems to be the perfect fit for the moment.
Charlotte McDonald-Gibson is Monocle’s Washington correspondent.
Further reading?
– How Karoline Leavitt became the world’s most famous White House press secretary
– ProPublica’s new pitch: Finding whistleblowers on the Washington Metro
– When it comes to Dulles airport, Trump might actually have a point
When asked a tricky question related to the US cost-of-living crisis by a reporter last year, Donald Trump knew exactly who to turn to: his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who happily obliged with a full-throttle defence of the president’s economic record. So devoted did she seem to her boss’s cause that Trump’s visiting dignitary that day – the now former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán – quipped that he would like to hire her. In the intervening months, even as Trump’s rhetoric has tipped towards the genocidal and messianic, Leavitt’s dedication to her boss has not wavered, earning her both praise and scorn.
With Maga-blonde locks and an angelic face that can instantly transform into the glare of a loyal attack dog, Leavitt has become one of the most recognisable figures of Trump’s second administration. Utterly committed to the Make America Great Again cause, the 28-year-old is the youngest person in US history to step up to the White House press podium – and is arguably one of its best. She is quick-witted with a pitch-perfect grasp of her commander-in-chief’s messaging and appears to share his deep disdain for many of the reporters who she goes into daily battle with.
White House press secretaries have always held a higher profile than their counterparts in other countries, which is unsurprising given the fact that their boss is often considered the most powerful person on the planet. But there is also something uniquely American about the performative nature of the job, with telegenic personalities relishing combative back-and-forths with an equally ego-heavy press corps. Try to name any other press secretary in the world and you might be able to conjure up Alastair Campbell – the spokesperson and communications chief of former British prime minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003 – who took a similarly combative approach. After which, you would likely be stumped.
I was a member of the Brussels press corps for five years, and the EU had a host of spokespeople, all of whom were picked for their blandness and inability to create anything resembling news. In the many other countries where I have reported as a journalist, press secretaries exist as conduits for public statements, regurgitating sound bites while keeping the media at arm’s length from those in positions of power. Trump’s approach is different. He speaks to the press regularly, whether it be in the back of Air Force One for an informal chat with travelling media or fielding questions during Oval Office sit-downs. He even picks up the phone for chats with reporters, with the roster of journalists with his personal mobile number growing by the day. So, Leavitt’s job is not so much to act as a gatekeeper for the president but as an amplifier of his message. And for that, she is the perfect pick.
A lifelong conservative, Leavitt began writing pro-Trump op-eds for a student newspaper in 2016 when she was 19, already laying into the “unjust” and “unfair” liberal media. As a university student pursuing a degree in communications and political science, she interned at Fox News and then at the White House, before joining Trump’s press team as a full-time staff member in 2019. After Trump lost the 2020 election, she unsuccessfully ran for US Congress – but her stardom in the Maga world continued to rise.
In January 2024, she was appointed as Trump’s campaign press secretary and landed the government’s top communications perch soon after his re-election. Now she has crafted an image as a highly effective operator – albeit a deeply divisive one. To conservatives, she is an icon: a whip-smart, beautiful Christian woman who is both a devoted wife and mother. (Leavitt gave birth to her first child in July 2024, three days after the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. She often brings her child to work.) To liberals, she embodies the worst of the Trump regime, spouting propaganda and parroting the president’s many false claims while bad-mouthing journalists.
She has come in for particular criticism as she seeks to justify Trump’s incendiary rhetoric over the war with Iran. When he posted on Truth Social on 7 April that, a “whole civilisation will die tonight”, if Iran didn’t reach a deal, Leavitt insisted the president, “absolutely has the moral high ground”, despite claims he was threatening a genocide. Asked about other extreme rhetoric in the past, she has insisted that the public appreciates Trump’s “frankness” and that his approach gets results. Leavitt has not commented so far on Trump’s rage-baiting (and since deleted) social media post portraying himself as Jesus, but she clearly worships the man.
And Trump? He appears equally smitten. During his first term, the president went through five press secretaries: the most famous of whom, Anthony Scaramucci, lasted only 10 days. But Trump told reporters last year that, “I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary that Karoline.” The big question now is what happens when Leavitt has her second child, a baby girl due in May. There has been no official announcement of a temporary replacement, leading to speculation that she has no intention of relinquishing her podium, and will be back on the job within days of giving birth. That would certainly suit her boss.
With a press secretary who seems to relish forging herself in his own image, it looks like he has found his perfect match.
Six years after it was formed out of the ashes of a bankrupt Alitalia, ITA Airways (ITA) commemorated its official entry into the Star Alliance network at a recent gala in Rome. From the vaulted porticos of the Villa Miani, the Italian carrier marked the occasion with lighting coloured in the brand’s royal blue, live music and a team of 23 flight attendants in uniform representing some of the global network’s roster. Also on the itinerary were a number of speeches delivered by Germans – with a few attempts at Italian to varying degrees of success.
The presentation came on the heels of a challenging few years for the airline as it struggled to find its place in the market, culminating in Lufthansa Group’s purchase of a 41 per cent stake in the company last year. At the same time, former Air Dolomiti CEO (and Lufthansa pilot) Joerg Eberhart was appointed CEO of ITA.
The German-Italian combination seems ripe for cultural clashes as far as branding goes but so far the effects have been positive. ITA’s fleet and network has been gradually growing and in 2025 the airline reported its first-ever full-year net profit of €209m. Days prior to the gala, ITA relaunched its Heathrow to Rome service, after having left the market two years ago partly due to the high price of slots at the UK airport. ITA says that with the Star Alliance link-up and Lufthansa Group membership, passengers stand to benefit.
“Our airline being now part of Star Alliance and Lufthansa Group opens so much more of the world to [our customers],” says Eberhart. Passengers will have access to more loyalty perks and 1,000-plus lounges worldwide. “And with us in the family, there’s more of Italy to be explored for the other airlines’ loyal customers,” he adds.
While recent success has been bolstered by some years of a healthy airline industry, the looming effects of the conflicts in the Middle East could dampen ITA’s momentum. This is the sort of moment where being part of a larger group, rather than an independent airline based out of a second-tier European market, can help weather any turbulence. The German carrier group can mitigate risks by shifting assets, co-ordinating schedules and streamlining the overall network according to where demand is rising or falling, or where fuel availability becomes problematic. ITA taking on two slots at Heathrow from Lufthansa is one good example. And the added Star Alliance integration will mean streamlined IT and processes, plus better chances to fill airplanes as partner airlines feed passengers to each other.
With regards to brand essence, ITA is keen to maintain its image as Italy’s carrier, even as it integrates into the middle-European Lufthansa Group. That means focusing on Italian cuisine and hospitality, and partnering exclusively with Italian labels for onboard items such as amenity kits by Italian wellness brand QC Terme and uniforms by Brunello Cucinelli. And if the gestures toward Italian food and culture come alongside increased reliability and a more streamlined passenger experience, that’s sure to be a win for both the company and its customers.
As we enter a period where carrier networks have begun to shrink, with flights cancelled and capacity constrained, it’s no small thing for passengers to have access to wider groups and alliance networks to reach their desired destinations. At the end of the gala, guests were handed traditional colomba di pasqua Easter cakes in ITA-blue boxes – a move signalling that even while ITA aims to leverage its new global partnership, it intends to hold fast to its Italian identity.
Over the past two days, the watchmaking industry has come together at Geneva’s Palexpo exhibition centre for Watches and Wonders, its most important annual gathering. In between booth tours – each brand has a dedicated space and there’s stiff competition for the most creative set design – new collection presentations and plenty of champagne receptions, journalists and buyers discussed the year’s most impressive novelties, as well as the future of the industry at a time of geopolitical tension. While Cartier’s new iteration of the Baignoire was particularly popular, much of the conversation among C-suite visitors touched on how the war in Iran is impacting consumer consumption.
One CEO told me that any hopes of the industry recovering from last year’s sales slowdown were crushed when the Iran war started. Still, executives remain convinced of the industry’s resilience and ability to bounce back over time. For many watchmakers, this means investing in the future: opening new manufacturing facilities (ahead of the fair, Audemars Piguet announced a new site in Meyrin) or kickstarting training initiatives for young watchmakers, such as Cartier’s education programme, which launched earlier this month in partnership with the King’s Foundation and involves building a new workshop in the UK.
There was also renewed attention on innovation and on highlighting the high level of handwork that goes into creating a timepiece – making it a sensible investment, even in tougher economic times. Tag Heuer presented a new in-house movement, developed over several years, while Van Cleef & Arpels offered one-of-a-kind métiers d’art watches that showcase the house’s expertise in miniature painting and enamelling.
At Vacheron Constantin the focus was the new Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin, with a movement just 2.4mm thick that still offers 80 hours of power reserve – an engineering feat. “Vacheron Constantin was founded 271 years ago – and during this long history we’ve had some good times and some difficult times,” says Christian Selmoni, the house’s style and heritage director. “Through it all, you have to stay creative, you have to stay innovative and consistent in your efforts. There’s no reason to change the way we work.”
Others made a similar point: creativity thrives in moments of challenge. Audemars Piguet’s artisans began experimenting with skeleton watches during the Great Depression, while the Royal Oak was born out of the quartz crisis of the 1970s.
Change is afoot today, too. Houses are not only renewing vintage designs and pushing the boundaries of the craft but also rethinking how they communicate – opening booths to wider audiences and hosting events across the city. Cultural relevance, increasingly, is proving to be the ultimate luxury.
Natalie Theodosi is Monocle’s fashion director. Monocle recently sat down with Piaget’s CEO, Benjamin Comar. Read the story here.
As Israel deepens its military campaign against Iran and its regional proxies, its ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Avraham Shelley, gives his first interview since the conflict began. Speaking on Monocle Radio’s The Briefing, he strikes an uncompromising tone: Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and ballistic-missile capabilities, he argues, remain an existential threat that Israel cannot afford to leave unresolved.
Yet the theatre stretches beyond Iran. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, Israeli strikes have continually hit Lebanon despite mediators, including Pakistan, suggesting the agreement extended to that front. Ambassador Shelley maintains that Lebanon constitutes a separate conflict and points to Israeli warnings issued ahead of the strikes – including text messages and leaflets – as an attempt towards mitigation.
His remarks come on the same day that Israeli and Lebanese officials were set to meet in Washington for their first high-level talks in decades, a development that signals tentative diplomatic movement even as hostilities continue across the region. For ambassador Shelley, however, any progress with Lebanon hinges on confronting the role of Hezbollah, which he describes as both a dominant force within the country’s government and a proxy for Iran. In his view, meaningful diplomacy cannot advance while Hezbollah retains military and political influence – ultimately placing Lebanon within the broader confrontation with Tehran.
The conversation also turned to the resilience of the Abraham Accords, a set of agreements signed in 2020 between several Arab states and Israel. Despite the pressures of the war, Shelley insists that ties between Israel and the Emirates are not only holding but strengthening, framing the relationship as part of a broader alignment against what he describes as destabilising forces in the region.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
There are talks taking place in Washington between Israeli and Lebanese officials – the first such discussions in decades. Are you hopeful anything will come of them?
Someone has to take responsibility. We never had a real fight with Lebanon as a country. There are no territorial issues – in 2000 we left what we call the Litani region. So we can move forward. But Hezbollah is the problem. It is a terrorist organisation and that is what prevents progress.
So are you optimistic about these talks?
We have to be optimistic. But first, we have to finish the problem with Iran. If that is resolved – if Iran is defeated or agrees to new terms – then we can move towards a different Middle East.
Where do you think things stand now with Iran? Would Israel accept the situation as it is today?
No, of course not. We didn’t start this. Iran attacked us [with] more than 400 ballistic missiles. That’s a fact. There are two major problems: one is the nuclear facilities. You cannot allow a regime that supports terrorism to have nuclear weapons – they would have immunity and could threaten everyone. The second is ballistic missiles. People don’t understand what that means. A [one tonne] ballistic missile is like throwing a bus onto your house. People cannot survive that. This is about our future. We cannot let it continue.
But negotiations were ongoing before the conflict escalated. Why act during that period?
Iran is the only country that openly says it wants to destroy Israel. This is not a normal conflict – it is an existential threat. We have problems with neighbours, yes, but those can be resolved. We have peace with Egypt and Jordan. But if someone says they want to eliminate you, you cannot just wait. You have to act.
Has Israel underestimated the strength of the Iranian regime?
I don’t agree that they are strong. This is a regime that rules by force. The potential for change is with the Iranian people. What we want is to eliminate their capability to destroy us – that is the objective.
Have you achieved that?
We have reduced their capabilities by about 60 to 70 per cent. We destroyed key nuclear-enrichment facilities, the centrifuges. That is very important. But we cannot play a cat-and-mouse game where they rebuild deeper underground. They don’t want to stop.
If you’ve achieved that much, why does the war continue?
Because this is not an attack, it’s a defence. We want one thing: for them to stop. If they say, ‘Here is the nuclear programme, we [will] stop,’ then it’s over. But why continue building missiles with a range of thousands of kilometres? That means: if you don’t obey, we will attack you. That is the threat.
A ceasefire was announced but Israel continued strikes in Lebanon. Why?
The ceasefire did not include Lebanon. Lebanon is another conflict. Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran and we cannot allow it to establish itself like that.
But civilians were killed in those strikes, [including] women and children.
If terrorists are operating from within civilian areas, that is the reality we face. Before we attack, we warn people – we send messages, flyers, telling them to leave. But Hezbollah is embedded there. That is the situation.
The Abraham Accords have held through this conflict, despite tensions. Has that surprised you?
The Abraham Accords have faced challenges from the beginning. This is another test. And you can see [that] they are holding. The UAE was attacked as well. Why? Because it is a friend of Israel. We share goals: protecting our people, growing our economies. These are strong foundations.
Do you think ties with the UAE will be stronger after this conflict?
Yes, for sure. We have mutual goals – economic growth, security, stability. Not only with the UAE but with others as well. People want to work with those who build, not those who destroy.
