From Ye to Wong Kar-wai: a week in culture

Meanwhile, in London: ticket sales for the three-day Wireless Festival were expected to launch today, with Ye announced as the sole headliner. The reaction has been immediate. Keir Starmer publicly criticised the move, Pepsi reportedly pulled sponsorship, and attempts to smooth things over (including outreach to Jewish community leaders) haven’t landed.

Which brings us back to an old, unresolved question: can (or should) we separate the artist from their views? If the answer were strictly no, large parts of cultural history would be difficult to engage with.

Personally, I was curious to see the staging live. The scale and scenography Ye has been building into his US shows looks insane. For now, it seems the discourse might overshadow the production itself.

I saved money, at least.

Hasbro X The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Monopoly had dozens of different designs and collaborations, though it’s the same classic board game to fight with your family and friends about. Hasbro just unveiled a new design, just to the launch of the new film about the red-capped plumber and his team. New rules, new board, new cool tokens, and very bright cards. Just a perfect gift to a fan of this universe.

“Museum Girlfriend Spring” is trending.

The idea is simple: pick the “right” outfit to match a painting (oversized blazer, polka dot midi skirt, ballet flats) and become part of the aesthetic. Or cultural vibe :)

From quiet luxury to what I’d call quiet curiosity. It’s easy to roll your eyes at this. Another TikTok wave. Another aesthetic! But the debate itself isn’t new. And I still think: if someone comes for the photo, but stays for the art, it works. So maybe this isn’t about outfits at all. It’s about access, entry points, and new rituals of engaging with art.

Is this superficial, or just a new way of building a relationship with culture?

China Airways X Pokémon

What if you could travel with Pokémon literally by your side? Now you can do it, since China Airlines launched its new Airbus with a colorful design. The new plane is decorated with 13 different Pokémon, and it also contains traditional decorative motifs. What’s more, people will receive specially designed exclusive merch such as ballpoint pens and sticky notes. We need a ticket to wherever we can go to fly with this plane now!

Miranda Priestly made it to Vogue and Anna is also there

Anna Wintour and Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) share the May cover of Vogue. Apparently the line between fiction and reality has officially clocked out.

Shot by Annie Leibovitz, styled by Grace Coddington — which means no one involved was going to let this be subtle. They’re in Prada, obviously. Also Dolce & Gabbana, Loro Piana, Chanel.

We’ve spent years saying Miranda was inspired by Anna. Was it ever satire, or just movie promotion?

McDonalds X Toyota

Maybe we’d fly to Tokyo in our collaboration hunt to get a new McDonalds toy in Happy Meal, made as a team with Toyota Gazoo Racing. From April 10, you have an opportunity to get your own GR GT3. What a cool gift from your trip.

A make-up artist from Yakutsk going viral on Dazed

Dina (@topblrrfc) creates looks that sit somewhere between painting, provocation and fever dream. Mouldy bread, worms, dolls, the maximalist women of the 2000s — all of it ends up on a face somehow. The references are absurd. The execution is precise. The combination is completely her own.

Worth following.

Prada didn’t hire an interior designer for their restaurant. They hired Wong Kar-wai.

Mi Shang Prada Rong Zhai opens in Shanghai inside the early 20th-century Rong Zhai Mansion — and the entire concept was developed by the director of In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express. Mirrors, light, archive works on the walls, rare Chinese antiques, an exhibition of woodblock prints in the Shanghai style that Prada Group has already partially acquired for its permanent collection. Italian and Chinese cuisines.

Luxury brands have been doing artist collaborations for decades — but handing the spatial narrative of your first Asian restaurant to a filmmaker who works in longing and memory is a different kind of move. We’re not selling you a meal; we’re selling you an atmosphere, and it’s priced accordingly.

Does this kind of cultural casting still surprise you or has it become the expected playbook for luxury in 2025?