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Katie Rosseinsky

Katie Rosseinsky

Katie Rosseinsky is Time Out's former London Style Assistant.

Articles (47)

London’s best at-home beauty services

London’s best at-home beauty services

Got a swanky event to prepare for but can’t find the time for a salon appointment? Fancy setting up a spa in the comfort of your own living room? Thanks to an influx of mobile beauty services dispatching therapists to every corner of the capital, you can do just that. Recommended: London's best bargain beauty salons This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

The best luxury spas in London

The best luxury spas in London

Feel like a princess or prince for the day and treat yourself to a few hours at one of London’s most luxurious spas. Sleeping pods, vitamin pools and 360-degree saunas – splurge on a trip to one of the spas below and you’ll leave feeling a million dollars. CHECK THIS OUT: London’s best day spas

The ten best shops on Regent Street

The ten best shops on Regent Street

Home to national institutions like Hamleys and Liberty, Regent Street has to be one of London's best shopping locations. Get ready to splash some cash and use our guide to the street's best shops, from Burberry's tech-savvy flagship to Penhaligon's bespoke perfumery.  CHECK THIS OUT: London's best new shops

Four of the best bespoke suit services in London

Four of the best bespoke suit services in London

A bespoke suit can be a serious investment. Time Out's dapper chaps have scouted out some of the capital's best tailoring services that'll have you looking sharp in no time (well, in about three to six weeks, if you're being particular). If you fancy upgrading the rest of your wardrobe too, check out our guide to the best menswear shops in London, or have a rummage at one of the capital's top vintage shops. 

The top ten events at London Fashion Week

The top ten events at London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week 2016 (Friday September 16 - Tuesday September 20 2016) is awash with stylish events, although lots of them aren't open to the public – unless you're Kate Moss, you ain't getting in. For us mere plebs, however, there's still lots on the LFW agenda. Here's our pick of the best London Fashion Week events open to all and check out our round up of London's best shopping events to keep you looking good all year round.   RECOMMENDED: Read the full London Fashion Week guide    We'll be updating this page with great fashion events as they are announced

Five ones to watch at London Fashion Week

Five ones to watch at London Fashion Week

The bounty of shows taking place at London Fashion Week can be dizzying. With a full line-up of London Fashion Week events to decipher and a new venue in Brewer Street Car Park to figure out, be sure not to miss the biggest fashion moments and keep your eyes peeled for our pick of these AW16 spectacles.  RECOMMENDED: Read the full London Fashion Week guide We'll be updating this page with more events as they are announced

Close up on London Fashion Week

Close up on London Fashion Week

Our capital's best dressed were out in force for the last season's London Fashion Week', posing up a storm in outfits that ranged from the chic and understated to the weird and wonderful. We teamed up with blogger Isabella Thordsen to snap the coolest close-up details that'll provide you with style inspiration all the way into next season. If you fancy gawping at more immaculately turned-out types, check out our round-up of Instagram's most stylish Londoners. Photos: Isabella Thordsen 

2016 in style: London's most stylish happenings

2016 in style: London's most stylish happenings

From a celebration of the world's best-known fashion bible to cheap-as-chips bridal gowns and some covetable designer collaborations, there's plenty for the fashion-conscious to look forward to in 2016. Here's our pick of the best. For more style inspiration, check out our guide to sample sales in London and our Buy This Today series.  RECOMMENDED: London Fashion Week 2016: the guide

Talking Shop with Jeremy Scott

Talking Shop with Jeremy Scott

Moschino's creative director Jeremy Scott is fêted for his larger than life, cartoonish styles. Now, he's joined forces with design-conscious buggy brand Cybex to produce a line of chic car seats and strollers. We met the designer in Milan to talk about his design process, social media and high street collaborations. RECOMMENDED: Talking Shop with Will.i.am What was the inspiration behind your second collaboration with Cybex?'I wanted to do something totally different from the first one, which was really colourful and playful, so I went for something all black, with gold rims on the wheels. Really, it’s ‘Pimp My Stroller’ – I made it look a bit gangster, to show my hiphop side. I return to the wing motif in my work a lot – it’s uplifting, a sign of endless possibilities.' Is the creative process of designing buggies different to making a high-end fashion line?'Honestly, I don’t really think it differs at all. I look at creativity like water flowing into a vessel – I could pour it in a glass, or a vase, or a swimming pool and it would still fill up. The way I approach it is always to ask 'How I can make this the most exciting, the most fun, the most unique?' ‘I had style rules about what I would and wouldn’t do from when I was very young. I think it was a little surprising for my mom…’ You’ve done buggies and smartcars - Is there any other household object that you’d like to re-invent?'I just love designing, so if there was a super cool vacuum cleaner company with an amazin

Ten charitable Christmas gift ideas

Ten charitable Christmas gift ideas

It's the season of goodwill to all men (and women, obviously) so why not swap your run-of-the-mill high street prezzies for something a little more charitable? We've rounded up ten of the best gifts that give back, so you can help raise money for some very good causes as you spread tidings of comfort and joy. Still stumped by Christmas shopping? Take a look at the best personalised Christmas present options, or peruse our bumper round-up of the 100 best shops in London. RECOMMENDED: More Christmas fun in London

Eleven cool Star Wars style collaborations

Eleven cool Star Wars style collaborations

The long-awaited seventh Star Wars film, 'The Force Awakens', doesn't arrive in cinemas until December 17, but the shops are already full of tie-in products. We've sifted through the tat to bring you a definitive list of intergalatic merch that you can find on a high street not so far, far away. For more film fashion, check out where James Bond buys his clothes.  RECOMMENDED: Love Star Wars? Check out of our film guide

Ten of the best alternative advent calendars

Ten of the best alternative advent calendars

Whether you're a teeny tot or a big kid, advent calendars are one of the highlights of the festive season. You can make the countdown to Christmas that bit more exciting by investing in one of these cool calendars, which cover everything from beautification to boozing. For more festive shopping inspiration, check out our bumper Christmas gift guide and try one of London's best Christmas markets. RECOMMENDED: More Christmas fun in London

Listings and reviews (13)

Kit & Ace

Kit & Ace

Wardrobe basics that last longer than the average spin cycle are depressingly hard to come by. T-shirts fall apart, knitwear shrinks to Sylvanian Family proportions and leggings look see-through in natural light. That’s where Canadian brand Kit & Ace comes in. Its ‘Technical Luxury’ apparel uses smart fibres to retain the shape, colour and sleek finish – think perfectly draped V-neck T-shirts, cosy knits in neutral hues and smart tailored trousers. The real ace is the Technical Cashmere, which can be chucked in the washing machine without disaster. The first store opened on Redchurch Street this summer; the new Regent Street outpost is part of a masterplan which involves opening eight more branches across the capital. It’s safe to say that the Canadians have landed! From £40.

Paul & Joe

Paul & Joe

This lovely French label is now 20. Rather than marking the occasion like a proper twenty-something, with flourescent alcohol and bad decisions, it’s opened a distinctly grown-up flagship store in Mayfair. The neighbourhood may be posh, but the shop shows how high-end shopping doesn’t have to feel stuffier than a society wedding. Trademark pieces – embellished separates, delicate print dresses and more Peter Pan collars than Alexa Chung’s wardrobe – hang freely from copper frames, and the cheery staff are refreshingly un-Parisian in demeanour. Your salary might not stretch to a gown fresh from the catwalk, but the exquisitely packaged Beauté line sells for pocket-money prices, and the back room stocks bolder styles from Paul & Joe Sister, a playful (and more affordable) alternative to its older sibling.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan

3 out of 5 stars

The New Wimbledon Theatre’s annual yuletide offering is a ruthlessly calculated crowd pleaser: big, brash and packed with the starriest B-listers that money can buy. ‘Peter Pan’ boasts turns from comedians Marcus Brigstocke and the festively named Jarred Christmas, while Verne Troyer (best known as Dr Evil’s sidekick Mini Me in time-travelling camp-fes t‘Austin Powers’) tops the bill as Lofty, an ironically named pirate.   From the grandiose, ‘X-Factor’ style opening countdown to the pyrotechnics and boisterous ‘behind you’s, ‘Peter Pan’ is a traditional panto on steroids. Big, slickly executed musical numbers - including the obligatory prance through ‘Uptown Funk’ - are interspersed with surreal set pieces like Troyer lip-syncing his way through Beyoncé’s ‘Single Ladies.’ TV dance troupe Flawless put in a commendable performance as a swaggering, street-dancing pirate crew, but Brigstocke’s gleefully venomous Hook is the real star of the show. Boasting a luxuriant wig that’s reminiscent of Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, his rip-roaring schtick involves bitchy asides and snarky references to everything from PPI insurance to Cameron’s ‘pig-gate’.   As Hook’s endearingly dim-witted sidekick Smee, Jarred Christmas puts his stand-up skills to good use - his sharp back-and-forth with the audience helps glue the production together. But while the odd pop culture reference and dodgy innuendo will keep parents chuckling, the production stays too close to JM Barrie’s original tale.  Wendy,

Paola's Body Barre

Paola's Body Barre

If you think that a ballet-based workout must be all prancing, pointing and posing, one of Aussie powerhouse Paola Di Lanzo’s 50 minute sessions will soon change your mind. A mix of pilates, cardio and dance-based moves, her ‘Body Barre’ method is sweatier than the average barre class, and you’ll use a series of weights, resistance bands and other less conventional bits of exercise paraphernalia. It’s tough going, but Di Lanzo’s cheery encouragement slightly diminishes the pain of holding a plank for 60 seconds. We tried Paola's signature work out; also on the menu are cardio-heavy variants like Body Barre Blast and the 45 minute Thrasher, as well as TRX classes, yoga sessions and workouts targeted to blast specific 'problem' areas. Our only gripe is that the changing space is minimal and the shower facilities non-existant – not so great for pre-work workouts.

Jo Malone London

Jo Malone London

Patron saint of last-minute-but-lovely Mother’s Day prezzies Jo Malone expands her fragrant empire with the arrival of this beautifully turned-out Regent Street boutique. It’s slap bang between the twin hells of Oxford and Piccadilly Circus, but thanks to gentle wafts of scent, rows of mesmerizingly pretty perfume bottles and charming staff, this is one of the most relaxing shops we’ve ever shopped in. If you’re dreaming of a spa break, drop in on your lunch break – you can opt for a free hand and arm massage which takes about ten minutes. And while JM is more glossy mega-brand than quirky indie perfumer, this new flagship has plenty of thoughtful touches: the artisan studio, set back from the rest of the store, offers bottle engraving, nattily coloured lids and personalised packaging, while Regent Street is also the only place to get your nose around the archive collection – nine discontinued scents that have been resurrected.

& Other Stories

& Other Stories

It’s nearly two years since & Other Stories arrived in the capital, and we’ve been noticeably better dressed ever since. Now, H&M’s cooler sister has headed up town to Chelsea to open a second UK branch, housed in a stylishly converted Victorian boozer with a blooming lovely floral shop front which celebrates the brand’s ‘botanical love.’ We’re not entirely sure what that means, but it definitely looks pretty. Set across three floors, the store feels like the ultimate Scandi-chic townhouse – it’s easy to imagine one of those impossibly picture-perfect bloggers you love to hate-read living out a photogenic existence here. Especially worth a browse is the artfully arranged shoe gallery upstairs, which stocks a considered edit of the brand’s ace footwear line: cool loafers, chunky heels and (appropriately) Chelsea boots. Can we move in now, please?

Oasis

Oasis

Oasis has long been a dependable stop-off for party dresses and office-appropriate attire, but has never really gone in for all-singing, all-dancing retail ‘experiences’ in the way of some of its rivals on the high street. Until now, that is. The brand has just upped its game and opened a new concept store on Tottenham Court Road, styled to resemble a cute townhouse. Just in time for office party season, the ground floor is awash with tasteful spangles, with staples like cosy knits and well-cut denim stashed towards the back. So far, so Oasis – but totter up the white-washed stairs and you’ll find a rather swish café which dishes up healthy fare during the day and swaps coffee cups for wine glasses come 3pm. There’s also a beauty bar tucked at the back, so you can get a fancy hairdo to match your new finery, with a nail station headed up by Sophy Robson, the stylist behind jaw-dropping nail art Tumblr The Illustrated Nail. 

Thethestore

Thethestore

East End resident Meryl Fernandes has owned this tiny square of a shop for about 8 years. Its first incarnation was a vintage showroom; now, it’s been treated to a Scandi-style redesign complete with whitewashed walls, minimal fittings and a new, spellcheck-baiting name. What it lacks in square feet, it makes up for in Instagram potential. A painstakingly curated edit of geometric-print stationery, stylish beauty products and tiny vases line the walls, and the central table resembles a blogger’s flat-lay come to life. Some of the brands on offer are local labels, from just down the road; others, like Korean snail-slime skincare brand Mizon and Cosette Jewellery from Japan, are completely new to London. In this corner of the capital, prettily turned-out boutiques are ten-a-penny, but this one has style and substance.

Showroom Shoreditch

Showroom Shoreditch

On a street populated largely by glass-fronted design agencies and white-washed, sparsely-stocked boutiques, Showroom Shoreditch stands out like a sparkly neon-yellow thumb. A seven-foot, disco-goth coffin looms by the front door. ‘It’s an infinity coffin – it used to be in the Tate,’ explains designer Kelly Jackson, showroom curator and designer behind cool jewellery label Only Child. Her scene-stealing statement baubles lie next to a massive ram’s skull decked out in Hirst-style bling and are fashioned from aqua quartz crystals, those glittering, colourful bits of rock last seen in a museum gift shop. Kelly has selected over thirty established and up-coming brands to sit alongside her own, which share a bold, brash, pop-art aesthetic. There’s printed swimwear from Auria, sequin-drenched separates from Rosa Bloom and mad glittery clutches by Etsy seller Luna on the Moon. It’s catnip for fashion bloggers. If you like your fashion to be tastefully minimalist, neutrally-hued and lacking any art-student fripperies (spoil sport), then look out for the more classic jewellery designs towards the back of the store. But if you’re brave enough to sport a bag shaped like a fried egg, or a dress covered in crocodile eyes, Showroom Shoreditch is the stuff of technicolour dreams. As featured in the 100 best shops in London

MAC Carnaby

MAC Carnaby

The already impressive Carnaby outpost of beauty heavyweight Mac has packed up the kaleidoscopic make-up counters and upsized to a massive new shop. It’s a canny move: the new building sits in one of London’s premier tourist thoroughfares. Inside, the brand’s ever-popular collaborations and tongue-in-cheek limited edition lines (the latest, Haute Dogs features lippies inspired by pedigree pooches) take pride of place. There are also nine make-up stations, for quick drop-in demos or longer,  bookable lessons. Upstairs is dedicated to Mac’s Pro line, beloved of make-up artists and drag queens alike. With an exhaustive selection of products, it’s shopping nirvana for slap-happy amateurs and serious professionals.

John Bell & Croyden

John Bell & Croyden

After two centuries of dishing out cures to Londoners’ maladies, age started to wither this venerable pharmacy: cue a multimillion-pound revamp that balances an imposing heritage with a new range of products. Intriguing bits of antique paraphernalia are dotted among of-the-moment wellness fads – JB&C houses a royal prescription book, so you can gawp at Queen Victoria’s beauty secrets (cold cream and Coraline toothpaste, FYI). The store is also home to a globetrotting selection of fancy brands, from French cult favourites including Embryolisse and La Roche Posay to under-the-radar Antipodean suncare. You might come in looking for blister plasters, but you’ll leave with a bathroom-cabinet’s worth of loot. As featured in the 100 best shops in London

Heartcore Fulham

Heartcore Fulham

The capital has seriously upped its fitness game in recent years. No longer making do with a half-arsed half-hour on the cross trainer and a worn-out Davina workout tape, Londoners are opting for niche – but farmore effective – exercise options. Over on the Fulham Road, you can’t move for upmarket spin studios, yoga hotspots and ambitiously priced juice bars. It’s a natural location for the south-west outpost of Heartcore, a chain of super-swish boutique gyms dealing in super-charged fitness classes, from ballet-inspired barre workouts to reformer pilates sessions. Before I’d even tiptoed en pointe into the basement exercise studio, I was immediately won over by the changing rooms (which - trust me - isn’t exactly a phrase I trot out regularly). The feel is more high-end spa than sports centre, thanks to mood lighting, luxe fixtures and a styling space that’s stocked with hair dryers, straighteners and – crucially – hair ties.   The 55-minute barre class is a killer, mixing conditioning work on the matt with classic ballet-inspired moves at the barre. Thanks to the varied programme – not to mention the friendliness and enthusiasm of instructor Natalie – the session flies by. The compact class size means that posture and form receives plenty of attention, too – a real plus point for absolute beginners lacking in natural grace. Upstairs, you can book in for an equally demanding session on the pilates reformer – a machine that’s unnervingly akin to a medieval torture device, but

News (11)

Fashion your own festive jumper at We Built This City

Fashion your own festive jumper at We Built This City

Whether it’s a kitschy knit, a hilarious slogan sweater or something actually, y'know, tasteful, a Christmas jumper is a perennial festive fashion staple – and a great talking point for devastatingly awkward office party scenarios. Our pals over at We Built This City (the capital’s coolest gift shop, found in a pop-up space on Carnaby Street) have teamed up with design duo RUDE to offer Londoners the chance to fashion their own bespoke Christmassy creations. Simply pop in, choose your favourite coloured jumper and pick from one of 12 tongue-in-cheek designs: WBTC’s team of helpful elves will then bring your design to life in a matter of minutes. The service costs £35, but if you bring your own jumper, printing costs just a tenner.   While you’re in store, have a look at the creative Co-op, which currently houses a collection of handcrafted gifts from a gang of London designer-makers. A cool Yule, indeed. We Built This City, 56 Carnaby St, W1F 9QF 12 of the best Christmas jumpers

Get the chop for charity at Blue Tit salons

Get the chop for charity at Blue Tit salons

It’s the season of goodwill and good hair. Lovely indie hairdressing chain Blue Tit is helping to spread tidings of comfort and joy by donating a whole day of proceeds to local charities. On Tuesday, Blue Tit’s team of coiffeurs in Dalston, Peckham, Clapton, Brockley and Stratford will be donating every penny earned to a cause of their choice. The East London contingent will be supporting Hackney Migrant Centre, which provides asylum seekers with legal advice, health services and general support. Across the river, Peckham’s profits will go to Great Ormond Street Hospital while the Brockley salon is championing U-Turn’s work with vulnerable women. If you’re a Scrooge who needs another incentive to book in and sort out your split ends, you’ll be pleased to know that the salons are offering 10 percent off all services, from blowdries to balayage. You’ll do your bit for a deserving local cause, and you’ll glide into 2016 looking like you’ve stepped out of an annoying L’Oreal advert. Win-win. Feeling generous? Take a look at these ten charitable Christmas gift ideas. Or check out our Christmas gift guide for more festive inspiration.

Carnaby Street's Christmas lights are being switched on tonight

Carnaby Street's Christmas lights are being switched on tonight

Whether you’re a complete scrooge or the sort of person who gets teary eyed thinking about John Lewis adverts, you need to hot foot it to Carnaby Street’s annual festive knees up, which takes place tonight. Over 120 of the shopping haven’s bars, restaurants and style brands (including the likes of Monki, Lazy Oaf, Benefit and Skinnydip) are offering 20 percent off everything in store, making it the perfect night to get cracking on your prezzie shopping (or just treat yourself to a couple of early Xmas gifts). There’s also a host of (mostly boozy) freebies on offer if you know where to look: head to Senor Ceviche to nab a complimentary Pisco Sour, pick up some mulled cider on Kingly Street and head to Dahlia, Lazy Oaf and Illamasqua for unspecified ‘complimentary drinks.’ The evening also marks the unveiling of Carnaby’s larger-than-life Christmas lights – the ultimate festive Instagram opportunity. Want in? Head to www.carnaby.co.uk to register for a free ticket. Carnaby St, W1F 5pm-9pm.  Read more about the Carnaby Christmas lights switch on. Or see the Oxford Street Christmas lights switch on in pictures.

Seven sweet sample sales happening this month

Seven sweet sample sales happening this month

From discounted denim to cut-price pieces by cult designers, get these sample sale dates in your diary to pick up some amazing high-end bargains at prices that won't make your eyes water. MiH Sample Sale Fashion editor favourite MiH are cutting prices on their dreamy denim for one day only. Head along to their Shepherds Bush studio to bag discounts of up to 75 percent on past season pieces. 186 Shepherd’s Bush Rd, W6 7NL. Wed Nov 4. 8am-8pm. Holly Fulton Sample Sale Holly Fulton has long been one of our fashion week favourites. Head along to the Shoreditch branch of Beach Blanket Babylon to pick up pieces from past season collections by the Scottish-born, East London-based designer, with discounts of up to 80 percent. 19-23 Bethnal Green Rd, E1 6LA. Wed Nov 4. 1pm-9pm. LC:M Sample Sale There’ll be plenty to please style-conscious blokes at this one-day sample sale, hosted at Shoreditch PR agency Sane. Expect discounts of up to 70 percent on pieces by LC:M designers like Matthew Miller, Kit Neale and Casely-Hayford, to name a few. 43-45 Mitchell St, EC1V 3QD. Sat Nov 7. 10am-7pm. Hostem Sample Sale Cult Shoreditch boutique Hostem is hosting its first ever stock sale. Expect impressive discounts of up to 80 percent on an equally impressive array of high-end international designers, like Rick Owens, Dries Van Noten and Junya Watanabe. 28 Old Nichol St, E2 7HR. Sat Nov 7 – Sun Nov 8. 11am-7pm. Mary Benson Sample Sale Rising Star and Fashion East alumnus Mary Benson is having a s

The shopping list: this week's hottest London fashion tip offs

The shopping list: this week's hottest London fashion tip offs

From swanky sweatshirts to bespoke beauty and embellished frocks, we round up this week's most stylish launches. KNITWEAR: Eudon Choi x Brora Design powerhouse Eudon Choi has buddied up with luxe-cashmere label Brora to create this season's most covetable collection of cosy knits. There's a definite apres-ski feel to the 15-piece range, which comprises colour-block jumpers, stripy scarves and cheerily nostalgic bobble hats, but we reckon you'll want to snap it all up even if you're spending snow-season in Vauxhall not Verbier. From £85. www.brora.co.uk MENSWEAR: Harrods Contemporary Collection Last year London's swankiest shop launched Contemporary Collections in its menswear department. To celebrate, a handful of Harrods' favourite designers have created an exclusive line of very fancy sweatshirts. There's something for all tastes, from attention-seeking Versus by Versace to an understated number by 3.1 Phillip Lim. From £300. www.harrods.com       BEAUTY: Palette London It's a first-class solution to a first-world problem - instead of hunting fruitlessly for a very specific shade of nail polish, send Palette London a swatch of colour (anything from a lipstick to a paint chart to an odd sock). They'll then create a bespoke lacquer in an identical hue for £5-; for a cheaper fix, pick up a starter kit (£25) and DIY at home. www.palettelondon.com COLLABORATION: Asos Black x Amie Victoria Robertson We hate the use the C-word, but the sartorial minefield that is Christmas party

Four ways to celebrate London Fashion Week

Four ways to celebrate London Fashion Week

The most eagerly anticipated date in our Anya Hindmarch diaries is finally upon us: the London Fashion Week circus is back in town, with a snazzy new venue (okay, it’s a car park, but still) and a stunning line-up of catwalk shows. From Friday, Soho will be awash with stylish events – and you don’t need to be a minor Kardashian or flamboyant fashion blogger to get in on the action. Channel Ab Fab and knock back the cocktails How do fashion people kill time in between shows? By getting drunk and dishing out brutally offensive insults, of course. The Riding House Café’s London Fashion Week cocktail menu neatly combines these two pastimes, offering up four concoctions christened after biting one-liners from fashion’s it-crowd. We've tried and tested each one, and you can read our progressively befuddled reviews here. Investigative journalism at its finest. Riding House Café, 43-51 Great Titchfield St, W1W 7PQ. Fri Sep 18 – Tue Sep 22. ridinghousecafe.co.uk. Oxford Circus. £8 each. Learn from a fashion expert It’s a fashion week first: the BFC has mined its enviable contact book to host a series of free talks for the public, touching on everything from fashion photography to career advice. Confirmed speakers include Peter Pilotto and Zandra Rhodes. The finer details remain under their chapeaux, but follow @BFC and @LondonFashionWk on Twitter for ticket announcements on Tuesday. Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design, 16-17 Greek St, W1D 4DR. Tube: Leicester Square. Fri Sept 18

Four reasons to move to Croydon

Four reasons to move to Croydon

It's famous for the scraped-back ponytail and the world's naughtiest supermodel, but Croydon has more to give, says Katie Rosseinsky. 1. A massive mall's coming It's been the butt of jokes for years, but Croydon could have the last laugh thanks to extensive regeneration plans. Mall king Westfield and retail developer Hammerson have coughed up around £1 billion to transform the old Whitgift Centre into a Stratfordesque shopping destination. Set to open in 2019/2020, it promises 1.5 million square feet of retail space, a multiplex, a bowling alley and 600 'affordable residential units.' It's a clear vote of confidence for the area. 2. Where tech leads, we follow Give it a few years and CR could be the coolest postcode in Greater London. The suburb's been quietly reinventing itself as a tech hotspot, and now rivals Silicon Roundabout as an incubator for digital start-ups. The summer has also seen the arrival of The Lost Format Society, a pop-up cinema club hosting screenings on the roof of a multi-storey car park. And Shoreditch's premier pop-up mall, Boxpark, will open a second outpost in Croydon next year, providing a new home for some of the capital's best street food. 3. There's plenty of culture Croydon's seen an unexpected cultural renaissance in the past few years: no longer a byword for dull, grey suburbia, you'll find plenty to keep your grey matter occupied. While the ëPeep Show' location tour has sadly been suspended until further notice, the David Lean Cinema regular

Life’s a Bleach: London’s coolest salon heads to Soho

Life’s a Bleach: London’s coolest salon heads to Soho

Get ready to paint the town pink, blue and every shade of the rainbow. Bleach London, the Dalston salon that launched a thousand pastel dip dyes, is bringing its trademark directional cuts and Instagrammable colours to Soho’s Berwick Street. As well as offering dye-jobs in uncompromising hues ranging from Day-Glo to Disney mermaid (prices start at £55 for a light pastel wash), the salon will be offering a £1-per-minute styling service for partygoers, and will sell Bleach’s cult off-beat product range. The West-End outpost will stay open until 11pm, and can be booked out for private shindigs – though we’re guessing you’ll have to fight off the fashion crowd with a statement shoe in order to secure a slot. Throw in an in-house dye dispensary that doubles up as a bar when the sun goes down and you have all the makings of London’s premier party salon.  2 Berwick St, W1F 0DR. www.bleachlondon.co.uk. Oxford Circus tube. In need of a chop? Here are London's best hair salons.

Chanel comes to Chelsea: ‘Mademoiselle Prive’ exhibition to open at the Saatchi Gallery

Chanel comes to Chelsea: ‘Mademoiselle Prive’ exhibition to open at the Saatchi Gallery

Good news, fashion fans. Legendary couture house Chanel is crossing the, erm, channel for a magical retrospective exhibition, which will open at the Saatchi Gallery in October. Titled 'Mademoiselle Privé', the exhibition promises an ‘enchanted journey’ through the brand’s haute couture history. Set across three floors of the gallery, there’ll also be a chance to gawp at the ‘Bijoux de Diamants,’ the first and only fine jewellery collection to be designed by Coco Chanel herself. Chanel pulls no punches when it comes to showmanship – over the past years, the fashion house has set its fashion shows in winter wonderlands, an own-brand supermarket and a casino staffed by A-listers – so we’re holding out for something pretty spectacular. What’s more, it’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to sitting on the front row at Couture Week. Oct 13–Nov 1. Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Rd, SW3 4RY. Free. Take a look at the best new shops in London.

Night at the museum: the V&A will stay open 24/7 for the final weekends of Savage Beauty

Night at the museum: the V&A will stay open 24/7 for the final weekends of Savage Beauty

If you’ve not yet gawped in wonder at the V&A’s Alexander McQueen retrospective (and if not, why not? It’s bloody brilliant) then you’re in luck. With just one month to go before Savage Beauty closes, every single pre-bookable ticket has already been snapped up. Thankfully, the museum has released 12,000 extra tickets to accommodate the massive demand for McQueen. Most excitingly, for the first time in its 163 year history, the V&A will stay open around the clock throughout the final two weekends of the exhibition: from July 24 until 10pm on July 26, then from July 31 until the show closes for good at 11pm on August 2. Around 345,000 people have visited Savage Beauty so far, making it the V&A’s most visited exhibition in the last decade. Throughout both weekends, there’ll be food and drink available from 10pm right through to 6.30am to keep flagging fashion fans caffeinated, along with a bar and music until 10pm (just like at the V&A’s monthly lates). Seriously, if you’ve not already caught this once-in-a-lifetime show, get your act together. It’s more than worth losing a little shut-eye for. And after all, what could be a better swan song for McQueen, the designer who famously described the museum as ‘the sort of place I’d like to be shut in overnight’? Sun Aug 2. Book online here. £16 Still not convinced? Take a look at our review.

Bag yourself a bargain at the Science Museum Poundshop

Bag yourself a bargain at the Science Museum Poundshop

  This week, cheap-as-chips design pop-up The Poundshop heads to the Science Museum’s gift shop. Unlike its high street namesake, you won’t find any dubiously scented celeb fragrances or suspiciously cheap biscuits. Instead, you’ll be able to rummage through a curated selection of top-notch science themed gifts, keepsakes and other general bits and pieces made by emerging design talent. It’s a pleasingly eclectic (and nerdy) line-up: look out for crayons shaped as brains, ‘stitch-it-yourself’ constellation tote bags and paper Lego spaceships. Okay, so it’s not quite the authentic poundshop experience – the prices are a little steeper than your average high street bargain bin, ranging from £1 up to £20 – but when the stock’s as good as this, who are we to complain?   The pop-up opens this evening, just in time for ‘The Next Big Thing,’ the latest ‘lates’ event. So once you’re all shopped out, you can listen to Royal Society research fellows discussing the latest advancements in science and tech, watch a levitating train or build your own Lego organism. You don’t find that sort of intellectual stimulus at your local 99p shop. Science Museum, Exhibition Rd, SW7 2DD. Wed Jun 24, 6.45pm-10pm; Thu Jun 25–Wed Jul 1, 10am-6pm.