4 d. ago Pammy’s Baywatch showstopper, exploding bikinis and Nasa’s banned recordbreaker – Splash! review

Design Museum, LondonThis illuminating exhibition about all things swimming charts the birth of the bikini, its rapid shrinkage, lovely lidos – and the costumes that went too farFour days after a nuclear bomb was first detonated over the Pacific islands of Bikini Atoll in July 1946, the French designer Louis Réard launched a provocative two-piece swimsuit at a poolside party in Paris. The two events might not seem to be connected. But Réard, who had been looking for a name for his design that would embody the tiniest garment imaginable, combined with the most explosive impact possible, hit on the almighty atomic blast as the ideal symbol. And so the modern bikini was born.The world’s first bikini now hangs on a mannequin in the Design Museum in London, looking decidedly less earth-shattering than it did back then. Formed from baggy triangles of pink fabric, printed with a newspaper pattern and tied together with string, it looks a bit like someone has fashioned a quick cossie out of...

Events

4 d. ago Kate Middleton's best bargain buys revealed: From £15.99 dress to £2 earrings in the sale

We take a deep dive into some of the Princess of Wales' best high street bargains, highlighting the brands and pieces that have become integral parts of her wardrobe.

Economics

4 d. ago London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming | Cultural trips

London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming | Cultural trips  The Guardian

Culture

4 d. ago London’s Design Museum takes a deep dive into our love affair with swimming

From art deco lidos to 1980s Speedos, the curator of a new exhibition on swimming and style talks about the inspiration behind it‘The first thing to say is that I’m a terrible swimmer,” says Amber Butchart, curator of a new exhibition on swimming that opens at the Design Museum in London this week. Growing up, school swimming lessons were “horrible, traumatic” – the cold water, the humiliation, the scrutiny from teenage boys. But something shifted when she moved to Margate 10 years ago and discovered the joy of swimming in the resort’s huge tidal pool, which was built in the 1930s. “This sounds quite pretentious, but it’s this idea of becoming one with the horizon,” says Butchart. “It’s almost like an existential feeling of the vastness of the world and being physically a part of that when you’re immersed in water. It’s transformational.”Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style explores our enduring love affair with swimming, from Britain’s lido boom of the 1920s and 30s to the Merma...

Politics

8 d. ago 'Olympic boxing decision would have been madness – just ask Anthony Joshua'

FRANK WARREN COLUMN:The hall-of-fame promoter takes a deep dive into the Olympics decisions this week which was a huge boost for the sport of boxing ahead of LA2028

Sport

2 w. ago 'You can't help but notice there are a lot of people walking around with missing limbs'

Maria Romanenko and her partner Jez Myers are now running their second trip to Lviv in Ukraine to show Mancunians the rich culture and history of the city

Events

2 w. ago Lewis Hamilton is a driver ‘reborn’ at Ferrari – so can he make history with an eighth title?

Speaking to ex-Ferrari drivers and personnel ahead of Hamilton’s Scuderia debut in Australia this weekend, Kieran Jackson takes a deep dive into the biggest transfer in F1 history and asks: is an eighth title possible?

Politics

2 w. ago Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari F1 are a ‘perfect match’ – but will results live up to the hype?

Speaking to ex-Ferrari drivers and personnel ahead of Hamilton’s Scuderia debut in Australia this weekend, Kieran Jackson takes a deep dive into the biggest transfer in F1 history and asks: is an eighth title possible?

Politics

3 w. ago Like Tears in Rain review – Rutger Hauer portrait takes deep dive into the archive

Likable enough documentary by the actor’s goddaughter recalls an actor who never quite fitted in Hollywood, without adding much to what we already knewThe late Dutch actor Rutger Hauer is probably still best known for his extraordinary turn as rebel replicant Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, but that’s not where the focus lies in this amiable but mostly unsurprising curio from his goddaughter Sanna Fabery de Jonge. Using the actor’s own home movie footage, shot on lovely 16mm, plus new interviews with those close to him, including director Paul Verhoeven, actor Whoopi Goldberg, and his second wife Ineke ten Kate, a portrait emerges of a talented no-bullshit actor who fell slightly short of his potential due to Hollywood not being sure quite what to do with him. To be honest, that’s more or less what most people who are aware of Hauer thought of him already, so it’s not the case that this adds all that much to the narrative.The home movie archive is previously unseen, and th...

Politics

3 w. ago London exhibition explores design based on needs of nature and animals

Curator of Design Museum show says ‘human-centric’ approach to design needs overhaul amid climate crisisDesigners need to “fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world”, according to the curator of a new exhibition which argues the needs of nature and animals should be considered when creating homes, buildings and products.Justin McGuirk, the curator of the upcoming More Than Human exhibition at the Design Museum in London, said our current “human-centric” approach to design needs to be radically overhauled as the world adapts to the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Politics