Snuggling up to Sweden

Ikea celebrates the change of season by launching new collections of textiles covering everything from pillows and bed sheets to curtains, carpets and sofas.

The collections come in many choices of colours in vivid and pastel shades and they’re all available at Ikea, Mega Bangna.

Check it out at www.Ikea.com.

 

A Central celebration

One hundred luxury brands say happy 65th birthday to Central by offering exclusive items and one-off limited-edition collections

 Highlights include Diane von Furstenberg’s Tonda Large Striped Snake clutch, Tory Burch’s bright red Amanda Logo clutch and Vivienne Tam’s Chinese Opera Girl tote bag. Thai designer Anchalee Vicksitnakakul from Anchavika has designed the exclusive Lace & Grace collection mixing quilt silk crochet blouses with red rose embroidery and rose-printed skirts in red and grey. They are inspired by the roses on Central’s bags.

 

Ai Weiwei style

Badboy Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has hopped onto the “Gangnam Style” bandwagon, posting a parody of the South Korean viral hit song.

The 55-year-old dissident artist, banned from travelling abroad, joins the likes of hipsters, flash mobs, prison convicts, wedding parties, Thai teen gangsters and even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in mimicking the South Korean rapper Psy's “horse dance”.

In his own video, Ai appears in a bright pink T-shirt and satin-lapel black jacket from which he pulls out, about a minute into the YouTube clip, a pair of handcuffs – an unmistakable symbol of Beijing’s efforts to silence his outspoken views.

Last year, Ai spent 81 days in detention amid a roundup of Chinese activists. He has been prosecuted for tax evasion, a charge he denies, and is under investigation for posting “pornography” on the Internet.

A major exhibition of his photographs, videos, sculptures and installations opened earlier this month at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, but Ai was unable to attend as the Chinese authorities withheld his passport.