The Royal Pop marks Swatch's most ambitious collaboration to date, raising new questions about luxury accessibility, brand equity, and the future of the hype-drop model. By Harsheen Punjabi On the morning of 16 May 2026, a crowd of over 400 people had formed outside the Carrousel du Louvre before sunrise. In Tokyo's Ginza, the queue hit 300 overnight. In Mumbai and Bangkok, mall shutters stayed down as crowds jostled at Swatch store entrances. Police were deployed in Paris. By the time the...

An analysis of eight standout looks from the 2026 Met Gala and how they transformed paintings, sculpture, surrealism, and cultural history into fashion. Exploring the relationship between art, celebrity identity, and designer storytelling, the article examines why the night’s strongest looks succeeded as more than just clothing. By Harsheen Punjabi Every year, the Met Gala carpet is designed to match the theme. In 2026, that meant replacing a conventional event backdrop with a hand-painted...

How Asia and the Middle East are quietly redrawing the industry’s power map Fashion has long revolved around a familiar geography. Paris sets the tone, Milan refines it, New York commercialises it. For decades, the creative centres of the industry were also its strategic ones. But the past few seasons have suggested a quieter shift. Power is no longer concentrated in a single axis. Instead, it is spreading across a new map that runs through Seoul, Shanghai, Mumbai and, increasingly, Dubai....