Tom Sachs Recreated Chanel’s Paris Flagship Out of Plywood and Paint in Chinatown
Walking through the installation with Observer, the artist cited Duchamp, Sol LeWitt and On Kawara as touchstones, while insisting his attachment to the physical act of making keeps him from veering too far into conceptualism.
John Ternus Opens His Apple Era With the Foldable iPhone Duo
Apple’s new CEO kicks off his tenure with the foldable iPhone Duo. The $1,999 iPhone Duo leads Apple’s fall launch, joined by the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 and AirPods 5.
The Bellini Was Built on White Peaches, Prosecco and Venetian Summer
Long before bottled mixes and year-round menus, the Bellini was a fleeting Venetian pleasure built around ripe white peaches.
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25 Years Later, 9/11’s Artifacts Still Call for a Different Level of Curatorial Care
Aaron Noble of the New York State Museum described a post-attack scene in which recovery crews and the institution’s staff developed a cooperative relationship, with workers setting aside materials that might be of interest to the museum, serving as de facto curators on the ground.
The Insider’s Guide to Venice, Beyond the Tourist Circuit
The restaurants, wine bars, workshops and cultural spaces that reveal a more local, less polished side of Venice.
Scott W Mason Sketches Fashion’s Biggest Moments
His client list reads like a roster of fashion royalty: Gucci, Dior, Rabanne and Louis Vuitton among them.
At New York Fashion Week, Fashion’s Next Status Symbol Is Proof
Quince’s Dakota Kate Isaacs unpacks how fashion’s traditional relationship between status, price and brand mythology is changing. Isaacs argues that fashion’s next status symbol will be proof: the ability to understand what a product is made of, how it was made, why it costs what it costs and whether the story around it can withstand scrutiny.
Where to Eat and Drink in Toronto During TIFF
The culinary scene in The 6ix has never been better, especially around the downtown core, where most of the film festival’s screenings take place.
Business
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How the U.S. Open Turned a Cocktail Into Cultural Shorthand
The Wall Street Hotel’s Valeria Gonzalez examines what the Honey Deuce’s rise at the U.S. Open reveals about the making of an event drink. Gonzalez explores how how hospitality can extend an event far beyond its official footprint.
Chanel CEO Leena Nair on Keeping Luxury Human in the A.I. Era
Chanel CEO Leena Nair says human connection, craftsmanship and people-first leadership will matter more as A.I. reshapes luxury.
Winston Weinberg’s Harvey Courts Customers With a Growing Sports Sponsorship Push
Harvey’s U.S. Open sponsorship is part of a broader sports push designed to court executives, corporate lawyers and prospective clients.
Burning Man’s Billionaire Paradox Is Part of the Appeal
For wealthy founders, Burning Man offers a rare social experiment where money matters less than contribution—even if wealth still shapes the experience.
Lululemon and Canada Goose Have an American Gen Z Problem
Lululemon and Canada Goose face falling U.S. sales, tougher rivals and younger shoppers increasingly resistant to status brands. The brands that dressed millennials in leggings and parkas now have to persuade Gen Z that familiarity can still feel aspirational.
Art
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Seoul’s ParkSeoBo Museum Isn’t a Temple to Its Namesake
Director Sam Seung-ho says the institution will be a platform for younger, emerging artists rather than a static tribute to the late Dansaekhwa master.
Screening at Venice: Halkawt Mustafa’s ‘No Paradise If You Are Killed By a Woman’
It’s one of the most immaculately designed war films you’re likely to see this year, with an enveloping use of environment and atmosphere. But when it comes to filling that space with dynamic drama, sadly, it misses its mark.
Sales at Tokyo Gendai Reflect an Evolving Market Surprisingly Resistant to Trend-Chasing
A new generation of Japanese collectors, often guided by curiosity rather than long-term investment thinking, is beginning to reshape who buys and why.
Screening at Venice: Nicolas Pariser’s ‘One Minute to Midnight’
Its self-reflexivity reveals a riveting feminist tome about the winds of cultural change and the difficulty of de-centering yourself from your own story.
How Gayane Umerova Is Shepherding Uzbekistan’s Cultural Transformation
As the country pours resources into museums, biennials, residencies and international cultural diplomacy, she is focused on ensuring that those investments translate into the development of a self-sustaining, globally visible cultural ecosystem.
Lifestyle
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Brooke Korine Miller On Pretty With Purpose and “the Worst Club With the Best Members”
Her new nonprofit, launched over Labor Day weekend, helps women with cancer pay for cold capping, microblading, skincare and other treatments that can help them feel like themselves again.
Can ChatGPT Wear Prada? When Generative A.I. Meets High Fashion
The fashion industry is beginning to discover what A.I. can do inside the design studio. The more interesting question may be what remains beyond its reach. Sheldon Fernandez, A.I. executive, strategist and thought leader, explores both the possibilities and limitations of A.I. in high fashion.
Observer’s Fall Restaurant Preview: The Most Anticipated Openings of the Season
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for anyone who loves dining out.
6 Timepieces From Geneva Watch Days Worth a Closer Look
From Daniel Roth’s gilt-dial Extra Plat to Bulgari and Vianney Halter’s unconventional dual-time watch, this year’s introductions spanned the quietly classical and the genuinely eccentric.
Where the Front Row Drinks and Dines During New York Fashion Week
The 15 restaurants that matter after the shows, including a piano bar modeled on Diana Vreeland’s living room and Fashion Week’s likeliest new uptown power table.
Interviews
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Caterpillar’s Digital Chief Ogi Redzic on How A.I. Is Redefining Construction Work
After unifying Caterpillar’s digital infrastructure, Ogi Redzic is now using that foundation to accelerate A.I. across construction. Caterpillar is using A.I. to coach operators, automate equipment and coordinate job sites as the construction industry faces a labor crunch.
Iris van Herpen Has No Flagship Store, No Diffusion Line and No Plans to Change
Dior makes beautiful clothes. So does Chanel and every house at the top of the fashion pyramid. But Van Herpen is operating on a different set of criteria entirely.
Daisy Dixon’s “Depraved” Grapples With the Art of Problematic Artists
Observer spoke to the author about controversial figures in the art world, dealing with woke dismissiveness and whether artists can effectively skewer the cultural signifiers that have defined them.
Why Japan’s Art Market Is Growing Steadily Even as Other Markets Stall
A new generation of galleries, now roughly a fifth of the market, is drawing international attention even as domestic collectors remain the market’s foundation.
Collector Emma Menell Is Rethinking How African Artists Are Supported Abroad
Her foundation’s approach is a direct response to what she saw and learned while running a commercial gallery.
Power Lists
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Observer’s 2026 A.I. Power Index: Who Controls the Capital Flow in A.I
Power in artificial intelligence no longer moves through the channels everyone learned to watch.
Observer New Media Power List: Call for Submissions
Nominations are open for Observer’s 2026 New Media Power List
The 50 Most Powerful PR Firms of 2026
This year’s honorees are emblematic of a notable shift in public relations from responsive publicity to proactive leadership in the moments that matter most.
Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer’s Art Power Index Party
Under the dim lights of the Lower East Side’s Maison Nur, art world luminaries gathered to celebrate Observer’s Art Power Index—and each other. From the impassioned speeches to the sharp tailoring and Damien Hirst over the bar, the evening embodied our legacy of chronicling power with style.
2025 Nightlife & Dining Power Index
Humanity is still the most vital ingredient in hospitality, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
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An Insider’s Indictment of an Isolated Art World
The issue at hand, says New York dealer Georges Bergès, is not the public’s taste nor the supply of talent but rather that the industry can no longer survive if it remains exclusionary toward the very people it claims to reflect.
Screening at Venice: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s ‘The Burning Giants’
The movie takes wildly unexpected turns, but all of these are in service of an extensive dramatic exploration of the ways in which religion, political demonization and economic exploitation become intrinsically linked.
Chinese Porcelain’s Value Rests on Who Made It and For Whom
Collectors hoping to find the perfect piece at the upcoming Asia Week New York auctions should understand the factors separating a modest porcelain plate from a museum-caliber one.
Nvidia’s Hugging Face Deal Is a Bid for A.I.’s Next Control Point
Nvidia already controls a critical A.I. resource in compute. By acquiring Hugging Face, argues A.I. strategy and enterprise-wide adoption expert René Bohnsack, it is positioning itself around another potential control point: the place where developers discover, evaluate and deploy models.
Lance Oppenheim On Venice’s Most Uncomfortable Premiere
His ‘Primetime’ revisits Chris Hansen and his ‘To Catch a Predator’s heyday, when audiences were so riveted by the hit reality television show that NBC pitted it against ratings juggernaut ‘Lost.’
Intentionally Smaller and Slower, the 16th Gwangju Biennale Traces a Path of Change
Artistic director Ho Tzu Nyen argues that art’s influence operates on a longer timescale than the political controversies that dominated the opening press conference.
Apple’s New CEO Has One Job: Make Apple Surprising Again
Tim Cook succeeded precisely because he wasn’t Steve Jobs. Now John Ternus has to figure out what only he can give Apple—and it probably isn’t another season of ‘Shrinking.’
The Most Exciting Red Carpet Fashion Moments at the 2026 Venice Film Festival
Venice’s biggest names are making the case for old-school red carpet glamour.
Why the New York Art World Runs on the European Cultural Calendar
“New York may receive enormous attention because of its market influence, but nearly every major cultural capital operates according to the seasonal cycle. What distinguishes New York is the concentration of influence.”
Nvidia Didn’t Buy Hugging Face for the Models
The Nvidia-Hugging Face deal points to a shift in A.I. economics, argues A.I. expert Mike Pino: as models become more accessible, the competitive advantage may lie in the ecosystems and workflow surfaces that turn capability into adoption.
Fashion’s Next Front Row Is the A.I. Shopping Interface
As A.I. increasingly mediates product discovery, fashion brands face a new question: who controls the interaction between shopper and storefront? Swap’s Sam Atkinson contends that fashion brands have an opportunity to make digital shopping more bespoke without sacrificing the curation and intelligence they have spent years building.
Venice’s Most Enticing Luxury Hotels, From Gilded Palazzi to Lagoon Retreats
These standout hotels pair historic grandeur with smart design, waterfront access and some of the city’s most desirable addresses.
