News

Random recs: Shreeji News, Studio Nicholson, L’etiquette, Christo at Gagosian and more



Allure face lift

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ Is SHREEJI NEWS the boujiest corner shop in London? Back in pre-Covid times, I remember Shreeji News was your average newsagent. A decent selection of mags but hardly a ‘destination’. Now, since a major glow-up from Gabriel Chipperfield and associations with Chiltern Firehouse, Air Mail and all manner of fashion and luxury brands wanting to use its store as a pop up ‘space’ to launch products and brand zines, it’s become a small phenomenon in its own right (below). As entry level luxury items have become so expensive, it seems magazines themselves have become luxury products. So it makes sense that some people would rather invest in a collectible magazine – enjoying the smell, feel and time taken to enjoy it – as their indulgence of choice. The Nod has the low down (with a little input from me.)
Shreeji News

2/ Congratulations STUDIO NICHOLSON on ‘going global’ with the first runway show in Paris. “You’ve got to know when to put the pencil down!” says Nick Wakeman on her design philosophy. Read the interview and watch the show here.

3/ CHANEL opened a heritage art house cinema. We can ridicule performative reading but what’s the harm if it puts the spotlight on books? Likewise, I’m all for getting more bums on cinema seats and Chanel is helping the cause by sponsoring the renovation of Paris’s Cinéma Saint Germain des Prés. Decorated with original art deco furniture and Picasso and Cocteau artworks, it’s a subtle nod to Coco Chanel’s days of schmoozing with artists and cinema luvvies. Plot twist: France actually registered 77 million cinema ticket sales in the first five months of 2026, up 20% on last year. It’s no surprise fashion brands want to align themselves with cinema and culture – witness the (lushly-costumed) YSL-funded Father Mother Sister Brother, which I loved! – it’s a way to embed themselves in the wider pop cultural discourse outside exclusive boutiques and the runway while showing support for creative talent.

4/ We’re all better without META eyewear. People are freaking out about tastemakers selling out to META. And the dystopia of surveillance eyewear. Obviously, I don’t blame them. I get that young people don’t have the luxury of being selective about paid work, they just want to pay their bills. But in META’s case it’s not like they chose rando influencers; they’ve partnered with very successful businesswomen who are presumably not desperate for money. And yet it just goes to show, everyone has their price.

5/ Re-upping my summer beauty survival kit. The Summer Friday lip butter minis are a success! This Peep Club dry eye spray is a summer saviour. And I’ve rediscovered the Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist, with its soothing orange blossom and rose scent. Here’s the travel size*.

6/ What I watched. From the grim opening scenes of every episode to the brutal, anxiety-inducing penultimate scene of the final episode, Russell T Davies’ Tip Toe is Channel 4 at its hard-hitting-with-a-side-of-humour best. The story of male relationships and modern-day issues (Brexit! Pronouns! Only Fans!) is worth the watching-through-your-fingers moments. Meanwhile, affecting in a different way, Jon Snow: A Last Big Story starts as a documentary about TV broadcaster Jon Snow’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but ends in unexpected journalistic triumph.

7/ Oh, L’ETIQUETTE women’s magazine is launching its English language edition in September! (Thanks Fashion People for the intel, and this interview with L’étiquette’s Marc Beaugé is worth a listen.)
L'Etiquette Women's Magazine

8/ This article on what facelift recovery is really like is classic ALLURE (top). Fascinating and gruesome in equal parts – read it here.

9/ CHRISTO: AIR is being shown for the first time. No, the title doesn’t relate to the arctic air conditioning in the Gagosian’s Grosvenor Hill gallery, but to the wonderfully engineered ‘Air Package on a Ceiling’ (until August 21, below) that hovers between ceiling and just above visitors’ heads. Exploring ‘wrapped air’, the transparent, rope-knotted 16 x 10 metre polyethylene sculpture continues Christo’s (with wife Jeanne-Claude) exploration of ‘making the invisible tangible’. In the next room is a wrapped Volvo (unseen for 30 years), plus fabulous vitrines of drawings, studies, letters and prep photos.
Christo AIR at Gagosian
Christo AIR at Gagosian

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Allure; Shreeji News; L’etiquette; Christo/Disneyrollergirl x 2
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.



Shop the post: a spring wish list



Balenciaga Le City moka calf suede

The clocks just went forward, so even though it’s still freezing, it’s officially spring in my world. To mark the occasion, here are a handful of new-on-my-radar fashion and lifestyle bits …

White jeans. I’ve outgrown all my Arket Rose Cropped jeans and they don’t seem to make them any more. I’m wearing Arket Snow* as a placeholder; they’re a nice straight cut in 100% cotton but could be a heavier weight denim and a tad wider in the ankle. (I got mine shorted at Blackhorse Lane in Berwick Street. Highly recommended as they did the job in half an hour while I waited and the service is always super-friendly. ) The alternative is B Sides Plein relaxed straight jeans in Claire, which is more of an ecru. (more…)



On art, design, Schiaparelli and Collier Campbell



Schiaparelli Evening coat designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean Cocteau 1937 London, England

Two important London exhibitions have just opened, both celebrating influential female designers in fashion and textiles.

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A Museum (until 8 November 2026) is vast and brilliant, a survey of the incredible originality and collaborative spirit of Elsa Schiaparelli. Displaying clothing, fragrance, jewellery, accessories, furniture and costume design from the 1920s to the 1950s, highlights of her audacious, art-leaning designs include fur cuffs, egg minaudieres, a hat that thinks it’s a shoe (designed with Salvador Dalí) and an evening coat designed with Jean Cocteau’s illustrative facial profiles that double as a vase of pink silk roses (above).

While Schiaparelli may be famous for such surrealist statement pieces, there are also examples of more everyday wear, such as trousers for women (unusual at the time) and the early female-empowerment suits with ample ‘cash and carry pockets’ to replace the need for a handbag during wartime. (more…)



Trend report: What to wear for SS26



The Row SS26

SS26 was the now infamous ‘reset’ season of mega designers taking up residence at new houses. The result is a broom-sweep of schloopy silhouettes in lieu of sharper cuts, bold injections of colour and a menu of fashion archetypes to choose from, rather than one or two overarching directions.

1/ PALETTE CLEANSER. One thing designers did agree on: this is a season for pure primaries in abundance. It’s a look that works really well on simple, architectural silhouettes which was especially clear at Jil Sander (below), Loewe and Celine as well as The Row (top). Just one piece can energise your everyday since primaries play so well against grey, beige and denim. The Loewe ‘Sports Walkman’ yellows (below) are pure summer holiday vibes and I love a red cardigan to offset khaki, white or grey. (more…)