The directive for autumn? Let tailoring take the lead. By day three of Milan Fashion Week, the verdict was unmistakable: suiting is the season’s prevailing language. Not that the suit ever truly left. For Boss, tailoring is not a trend, it’s a language. But this season, the suit was rearticulated with a new fluency: texture on texture, layer upon deliberate layer, rich fabrications cut with razor precision. Creative director Marco Falcioni’s vision for the house has steadily sharpened over recent seasons.

Archival silhouettes were revisited and refined; late-1980s proportions, reimagined with assertive shoulders tapering into sculpted waists. Double-breasted jackets were paired with softly pleated trousers, styled with an ease that sidestepped anything resembling corporate uniform. Fine-gauge knits replaced traditional shirting. Leather, in particular ostrich, played a pivotal role. Outerwear ran the gamut of floor-grazing overcoats to cropped bombers. There was a sensuality to the structure, expressed through fabric rather than flash. This was power dressing, liberated.

Then there is the Boss man, embodied so enduringly by David Beckham. Season after season, he remains the ultimate expression of the brand’s codes: disciplined yet relaxed, polished yet approachable (if you can actually get to him). In this collection, you could imagine Beckham in nearly every look, no matter the colour palette: ink black, midnight navy, smoky grey, olive, russet brown, terra cotta, and golden ochre. Perhaps even with a reworked boutonnière made from the offcuts.

The runway made it clear that the Boss woman stands equally at the forefront. Tailoring and layering mirrored the men’s but introduced subtle provocations: cinched waists, elongated lapels, skirt slits just high enough. Long wool coats belted tightly at the waist created strong silhouettes with hints of archival paisley skills peeking under. The collection, in its entirety, felt urban, cosmopolitan, and unapologetically ambitious.

Falcioni’s Boss is not reinventing the suit—it is refining it. Through texture, layering, and impeccable tailoring, the brand reasserts its core identity while pushing it forward. The message is clear: power dressing is not about nostalgia. It’s about evolution. And at Boss, evolution looks impeccably cut.

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The inaugural 1979 Dakar Rally, a race from Paris to Dakar (the capital of Senegal), was inspired by the mishaps of French adventurer Thierry Sabine, and the winning car, a V8 Range Rover, was driven by another Frenchman, Alain Génestier. It marked the beginning of a long relationship between the broader Land Rover brand and one of the best-known long-distance automotive races in the world.

Forty-seven years on, numerous location changes separate that first race from the current one in Saudi Arabia, but the return of Land Rover after an absence of 40 years can serve as a through line across the decades and continents. For the January 2026 running, Land Rover entered the Stock category (previously known as T2), featuring “production-based vehicles” that are allowed only minimal modifications for the rally. As Jack Lambert, head of technical integration for JLR Motorsport noted, “It is a legacy class that goes back to Dakar’s origins, with production cars and privateers racing across thousands and thousands of kilometres.” This is in contrast to the one-off, highly modified four-by-fours that now dominate the T1 category of the race. Lambert explained that while adjustments can be made to some aspects of the vehicle, such as the width or strength of the suspension, all the crucial elements, from the body to the engine and the transmission, must be identical to a car that is available for street use.

For the 2026 race, the Land Rover entry came from the Defender line, the direct successor of the original Land Rover, that returned with a major design overhaul in 2020 after its original production ceased in 2016. Specifically, the car running at Dakar, the Dakar D7X-R, was from the Octa line, the high-performance cousin of the standard Defender. The Defender Dakar D7X-R has a 4.4‑litre twin-turbo mild hybrid V8 engine capable of producing 626 horsepower. Land Rover touts the Octa as a crossover between extreme off-road credentials and the luxury expected of a vehicle that has long been a favourite of celebrities and royals.

The Dakar D7X-R, along with all other Octa models, is 28 millimetres higher and 68 millimetres wider than the standard Defender and has been kitted out with an all-new 6D Dynamics suspension system, entailing multiple hydronically linked air dampers that Land Rover says virtually eliminates pitch and roll. When it launched in 2024, Jamal Hameedi, director of special vehicle operations for Jaguar Land Rover, said, “Our high‑performance experts have achieved the impossible with Defender Octa, working tirelessly over the past three years to create the most capable Defender ever made—regardless of which surface it is enjoyed on. They have reengineered components throughout the vehicle to ensure Defender Octa is the perfect companion for epic adventures anywhere on the planet.”

The biggest mechanical challenge at Dakar is keeping the car cool. The hottest day of the race was expected to be around 45°C, and the sand can wreak havoc on radiators and intakes. The last thing you want in the middle of a crucial stage is an overheating engine, so the cooling systems were brought farther into the vehicle to protect them from the elements.

The car is clearly fit for purpose, but that is only half the picture when competing in the Dakar Rally. Land Rover entered three cars, helmed by the driver and co-driver teams of Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge, Sara Price and Sean Berriman, and Rokas Baciuška with Oriol Vidal. Price, a rally driver, motocross champion, and four‑time Dakar stage‑winner, emphasized preparation in the months leading up to the race. “It’s very key to be physically fit,” she said. “Otherwise you will mentally decline, and as everyone knows, Dakar is the toughest thing you can put yourself through mentally.”

Clearly the years of preparation, by both the drivers and the manufacturer, paid off. Out of the 13 stages of the Dakar, the Defender trio finished in the top three spots 10 times. When all was said and done on January 17, Baciuška and Vidal finished as the winners of the Stock category, Price and Berriman came in second, and Peterhansel and Metge were fourth. And for anyone feeling envious, simply head down to your local Land Rover dealership and drive away in a vehicle ready to take on the desert.

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There is something powerful about a designer coming full circle—not to revisit the past but to forge ahead with renewed purpose and quiet authority. Maria Grazia Chiuri’s fall/winter 2026/27 collection for Fendi isn’t merely a new seasonal lineup but also a creative homecoming. Chiuri returns to the heritage Italian house where she spent 10 years in the late 1980s/’90s under the guidance of the five Fendi sisters as accessories designer—and now as chief creative officer.

The “Less I, More Us” written on the floor of the show’s space at the Fendi Milan headquarters on Via Solari functioned as more than scenography—it was a manifesto. At its core, the message signalled a rejection of the cult of the singular fashion auteur. In an industry often driven by ego and spectacle, Chiuri has long positioned herself as a designer who foregrounds collaboration: artisans, historians, writers, and the community of women who inspire her work. By literally inscribing the words beneath the models’ feet, she grounded the collection in the idea that fashion is a collective act, conceived by many hands, worn by many lives.

The show opened with a chain of black looks, and Chiuri’s signature was unmistakable: an emphasis on black, an affinity for tailoring, and a belief that fashion should reflect the wearer’s real life, not just a fantasy of it. Within this framework, blazers and pants took centre stage, not as afterthoughts but as the backbone of a wardrobe that traverses genders and seasons. There were recognizable elements from her time at Dior that have been seeded into Fendi: black lace, laser-cut leather, long ballet skirts, bias-cut gowns.

This collection was very much a change for Fendi, a brand known for bold colour combinations, patterns, and monograms. And so, the debate. Critics have called the collection “wearable” and “too safe.” Some voices in the fashion press and on social media have labelled it “basic,” (a Canadian tuxedo for her and another, for him) chiding it for its near absence of vibrant colour and dramatic “wow” moments. This critique—that the collection is too wearable—is a long-standing tension in Chiuri’s work. During her tenure at Dior, she was often celebrated for translating haute couture ideas into lived-in pieces. But the very quality that brought her commercial success and broad audience appeal has repeatedly been read by some as lack of theatricality.

While this collection was not a showcase of Fendi’s traditional boldness, we must remember that a designer’s aesthetic is a brushstroke—personal and essential. A fashion house can be rebuilt; a voice cannot. And Chiuri’s is one defined by intellectual rigour, emotional resonance, and silhouettes that speak softly but with conviction. Her clothes are less about immediate shock and more about sustained presence—pieces that, once in a wardrobe, become familiar, vital, even empowering. In an industry that often celebrates spectacle, that alone feels like its own kind of rebellion.

I am very much a Maria Grazia Chiuri fan—her ability to translate conviction into craft and to weave emotion into clothes that feel both personal and wearable while championing a vision of femininity that is modern and quietly radical. The Roman designer’s debut collection for the 101-year-old Roman fashion house is a strength that doesn’t need spectacle to be seen or heard. Chiuri understands that fashion, at its best, is not armour for performance but a companion to lived experiences. In an industry enamoured with volume and virality, this Fendi collection is a reminder that conviction can be quiet. And sometimes, the most radical gesture is refinement.

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Some beauty moments are born backstage and go on to define an era. On the evening before Chanel’s autumn/winter 1994/95 ready-to-wear show in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld, alongside makeup creatives Dominique Moncourtois and Heidi Morawetz, began experimenting with nail colours. Their search led to a deep garnet shade inspired by the burgundy leather lining of a 2.55 handbag—an unexpected choice that challenged the beauty conventions of the time.

The alluring red-black hue, later named Rouge Noir, quickly became a cult nail and lip colour. (Its reach went far beyond the runway: Uma Thurman’s character, Mia Wallace, is rumoured to have sported Rouge Noir nails in Pulp Fiction.) Thirty years on, Rouge Noir remains one of Chanel’s most influential shades, now reimagined in a limited-edition makeup collection that bridges heritage, fashion, and contemporary beauty. The range expands beyond the original colour, featuring mascara and eyeshadow in Rouge Noir, a blush palette with magenta, soft pink, and grey tones, and makeup brushes finished with handles in the signature burgundy shade.

“Rouge Noir has always fascinated me. It’s sensual but never loud, elegant but with a touch of rebellion. It’s such an iconic shade in Chanel’s history, yet I wanted to look at it with fresh eyes, to see what lies beneath its surface. When I started dissecting the tone, I discovered hidden worlds inside: magentas, soft pinks, purples, and smoky greys. This discovery became the foundation of the collection,” states Ammy Drammeh, one of Chanel’s global makeup creative partners and member of Cometes Collective, the maison’s visionary makeup artist collective that has been breathing life into Chanel’s seasonal makeup collections.

More than a colour, Rouge Noir proves that a single shade can leave an indelible mark on style history. Its timeless appeal continues to inspire, and it remains a signature statement for anyone seeking to convey elegance with a hint of rebellion. Rouge Noir is both a tribute to Chanel’s enduring influence and a reminder that innovation often begins with a single stroke of colour.

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Water has long been a popular cure for the body and mind. From saunas and cold plunges to hammams and onsens, we still turn to thermal bathing for relaxation and contemplation. With its first Canadian location, Aire Ancient Baths—the Spanish-born wellness brand with Greek- and Roman-inspired bathhouses in Barcelona, London, Copenhagen, New York, and more—is bringing its restorative rituals to Toronto’s downtown core.

Located in a restored Edwardian building that once housed the offices and warehouse of a publishing company, the spa spans 23,000 square feet, with its candlelit thermal circuit set within a labyrinth of century-old wood beams and exposed-brick archways. “Honouring the building’s literary and industrial past is at the core of our design approach,” Aire CEO Amadeo Serra says of the space’s design. “Vintage books and printing presses echo its publishing history, while its new role celebrates a different kind of art, the art of relaxation.”

Beyond the pools, guests can book massages, extending the experience into deeper rest. Emerging onto the street afterward, the city feels quieter, as if Toronto itself has briefly slowed to match the rhythm of water and breath.

Photos courtesy of Aire Ancient Baths.

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In the Trastevere district in Rome, Villa Lontana invites patrons to come in for a cocktail within an immersive work of art. Open until March 14, Bar Far is a dreamlike space concocted by two British artists, sculptor Clementine Keith-Roach and painter Christopher Page. It is at once a fully functioning drinking establishment and an art installation that is deliberately disorienting to inhabit, an effect surely only enhanced by the intoxicating elixirs it serves.

Villa Lontana is a nonprofit contemporary art space founded in 2018, whose mission is to connect ancient history with modern experimental practices. Past projects have included presentations of work by historical artists such as Nancy Holt, Robert Rauschenberg, and Marcel Broodthaers, as well as collaborations with current artists working across the mediums of sculpture, film, and sound. The project grew out of the archaeological collection of the Santarelli Foundation and has produced exhibitions, publications, and screenings.

With Bar Far, which was designed by local architects Studio Strato, Villa Lontana is activating Rome’s layered history by turning an unassuming interior into a portal to the city’s ancient past. Plaster casts of human anatomy recalling classical statuary prop up furniture and serve as candelabras. The fragmented body parts are like ghostly visions of those who came before us. We know so little about these people, yet they are foundational to so many of the structures—physical and societal—that we still rely on. Both supportive and decorative, disembodied hands grip arms and breasts, truncated torsos float out from walls, and anonymous limbs behave in a manner indistinguishable from bricks, ducts, chains, and pipes.

The illusory effect is enhanced by Page’s wall paintings, which transform flat walls into trompe l’oeil arcades and windows that glow a transfixing red. Stepping through the archways would surely transport visitors to another dimension, but whether they are gates to heaven or hell remains unknown.

The artists were inspired by local ruins and notorious countercultural establishments such as Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire, the birthplace of Dadaism, and Rome’s Caffè Greco, a favourite haunt of painter Giorgio de Chirico. Such debaucherous dens of iniquity have been safe havens for the misfits and outsiders who are later regarded as the most avant-garde members of their generation.

Though it is in conversation with the past, Bar Far feels more like a vision of the future than a relic of history. While it has a hallucinatory feel, it’s a real space inhabited by living bodies who provoke new ideas with each encounter. Bar Far raises a glass to unconventional gathering spaces that make room for risk and experimentation—and reminds us that the night has only just begun.

Located at Via Garibaldi 68-69, Rome, Bar Far is open until March 14, 2026, Wednesday to Saturday, 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., or by appointment.

Photographs by Jasper Fry.

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While fashion cycles through aesthetics, eras, and attitudes, Yasmin Warsame has remained a quiet constant. The Somali Canadian model was discovered in the 1990s while strolling down Toronto’s Queen Street East, fresh out of university with a degree in psychology—and five months pregnant. From that moment, Warsame’s career became a study in quiet ascendance. She walked runways in New York, Paris, London, and Milan, moving with the poise of someone who understood fashion not as spectacle, but as dialogue. A breakthrough editorial for Vogue Italia, photographed by Steven Meisel, heralded her true arrival. Each season, in everything from Tom Ford’s Gucci and Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel to Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent and Maximilian Davis’s Ferragamo, Warsame’s presence has been a study in adaptability—bridging generations and styles while retaining her own unmistakable look.

Prada look.

Off the runway, Warsame has shaped conversations as deliberately as she has started them. She has long championed diversity in fashion, lending her voice and visage to campaigns and initiatives that elevate designers and models from African and immigrant backgrounds. Her advocacy extends beyond the industry: she supports education charities and women’s empowerment programs, channelling her influence for causes that help those whose journeys of perseverance and self-determination mirror her own.

Warsame belongs to a generation of models whose success has been earned, not engineered—built on craft and professionalism. In an age of instant visibility, her 20-plus-year career feels almost revolutionary: a reminder that elegance, resilience, and purpose are timeless.

Re-pull look.

Chanel look.

Gucci look.

Maison Margiela look.

Ashlyn clothing, Alainpaul sandals, and Clash de Cartier ring.

Hermès top and Clash de Cartier necklace.

Chloé look.

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Spring is a season of change, and this year change has been especially pronounced in the fashion industry, defined by a high-stakes game of musical chairs that sent creative directors, maisons, and insiders into a state of heightened anticipation. Long-established houses shifted direction, new voices stepped into important roles, and the ripple effects sparked intrigue well beyond the runway. In moments like these, we are reminded that fashion (much like life) is not static but a living conversation between heritage and reinvention. For this spring edition of NUVO, Issue 108, we explore what it means to reimagine tradition while remaining grounded in craft, culture, and purpose. We’ve sought out stories that reflect a thoughtful evolution.

With Yasmin Warsame, our cover talent, we are celebrating the creativity of fashion as the industry seems poised to turn the page to its next chapter. Warsame, a Somali-born Canadian supermodel, captures this momentum through the season’s defining silhouettes. Fashion houses are redefining everyday dressing, with style becoming less about formality and more about freedom. It’s a conversation we see echoed not just on the runway but also in how people are choosing to dress: fluidly, confidently, and with a sense of individuality.

NUVO editor Claudia Cusano.

Design and architecture continue to shape how we gather, and in these pages, we highlight spaces that have been carefully rethought—museums, homes, and public spaces are being reshaped to foster dialogue. Behind them are designers and architects who are creating environments that encourage connection, reflection, and a deeper sense of belonging.

Travel, too, feels newly purposeful. Whether journeying to quieter coastlines, revisiting cultural institutions through fresh eyes, or discovering destinations that reward patience and curiosity, this issue celebrates travel as a form of connection to place, history, and self.

Throughout the issue, craftsmanship remains a guiding principle. Whether expressed through watches, ceramics, food, or wine, the makers profiled approach their crafts with precision and patience, displaying along the way that skilled hands and considered processes are more relevant than ever. In a world driven by speed, there is something quietly powerful about objects and ideas made to endure. Here’s to spring and what comes next.

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Set among the trees  on a secluded peninsula in the Ontario wilderness, Long Lake Cottage was designed by Toronto-based Dubbeldam Architecture + Design with two-fold goals: creating a refuge that was intertwined with nature and was accessible for a multigenerational family. The surrounding landscape was a strong consideration, so much that the clients, an urban couple, spent their weekends camping on the property before deciding what to build.

The resulting cottage seems as if it’s receding into the landscape, with expansive, wraparound windows maximizing the views. The clients sought a living room that feels as if it “floats above the forest floor,” so Dubbeldam positioned it on the upper level to help achieve this. The open-plan living area features sweeping lake and forest views as well as features designed for gathering, such as a central hearth and built-in 17-foot window bench that provides additional seating.

“We designed the cottage with the living spaces upstairs and bedrooms below to preserve the natural contours of the site and ensure accessibility for the entire family,” says principal Heather Dubbeldam. “This slightly unorthodox arrangement emphasizes the retreat’s connection to nature, with communal spaces in the tree canopy and private areas within the forest floor.” To further promote enjoyment for the entire family, one of whom uses a wheelchair, the upper floor is also accessible via a bridge and has an accessible bedroom and bathroom.

On the lower floor, five bedrooms provide ample sleeping spaces. In each, a private exterior entrance and floor-to-ceiling windows offer a direct connection with the forested landscape outdoors. The primary bedroom includes an ensuite bathroom with an outdoor shower, another nod to the family’s love of the outdoors. Upstairs, a spacious deck further enhances the indoor-outdoor connection, while a deck on the lower floor provides welcome shade in the warm summer months.

Dubbeldam’s ethos of sustainability is exemplified in Long Lake Cottage. The home was built using sustainably harvested wood, such as greyed cedar and charcoal-stained spruce on the cabin’s exterior, as well as warm hemlock and oak in the floors and walls in the interior. The cottage itself is powered by a solar array. Sustainable design helps Long Lake Cottage remain a space to connect with family and with nature throughout every season.

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Opening the heavy door to Mason Studio on a blistering cold day in Toronto’s west end, one is enveloped in warmth and a sense of ease. Inside, dim lighting and atmospheric music set a tranquil tone, and guests receive slippers and a cup of hot tea (infused with dried pear, Chinese red date, and goji berries) before padding into a quasi-Chinese courtyard for an evening of food, light, and connection.

The Light Gathering in the Yuàn, hosted by Mason Studio founder Stanley Sun and celebrated local chef Eva Chin, with light design by Vyvyd Lighting, is in preparation for the Lunar New Year and part of DesignTO week, but its purpose extends well beyond the festival. Sun and Chin are exploring their own relationships to their Chinese heritage through their respective crafts, and the combination is exquisite.

Photo by Doublespace Photography

Photo by Doublespace Photography

In one corner of the courtyard, or yuàn, is a mahjong table, and the curved shingles of a traditional Chinese roof surround the space. Red lanterns hang from the high ceiling, and the floor is a mass of pebbles with a path of stepping stones. It is here that a semicircle forms around Sun and Chin. “As a Chinese Canadian, this is the first time I’m exploring how my design is impacted by my culture,” says Sun, the son of Chinese immigrants who brought him up in Calgary. “Tonight we’re going to try to paint that story for you.”

At the sound of a gong, wooden partition walls open to reveal two circular dining tables with an asymmetric mound of rice at the centre of each. “I wanted something sculptural,” Sun says. “Something simple that people could question and wonder at, and maybe cause conversation.” The light is purposely low as we find our places, anticipation building like a theatre before a film.

Photos by Colin Outridge

Our first course is a broth of hoi mei (dried seafood) and winter melon inspired by the welcoming bowl Chin’s mother would hand her when she arrived for dinner. This is followed by seven more courses, including Sichuan green-peppercorn-pickled West Coast mussels, Nova Scotia green crab, and a coldwater shellfish terrine with a sauce from China’s Yunnan province.

“I assure you nothing you eat tonight is a traditional Chinese meal,” Chin tells the tables of guests. “But I am one hundred percent Chinese, so to me, tonight’s meal is as Chinese as it can be.” She grew up in Hawaiʻi, travelled the world, and worked under various chefs before settling first in Vancouver and then Toronto. In 2024 she opened Yan Dining Room, a 26-seat pop-up in Hong Shing restaurant, a Chinatown legacy (her business partner is Colin Li, whose family has owned the restaurant for nearly 30 years).

Photos by Zooey Wu

The idea for the evening event occurred when Sun and Chin met through a friend of a friend. They connected through their love of food and design and their backgrounds, says Sun, who aimed to make a Chinese space representing what they know as individuals.

Between each course, the lighting changed: Vyvyd had installed it for the occasion with the purpose of reshaping the mood and experience. “We wanted each course to have a slightly different emotional feel,” Sun says. “It was all choreographed, like a narrative.”

Looking ahead, the space, inaugurated as The Light Room, will continue as a place for events and programs, including a special gathering to celebrate the Lunar New Year this month and an ongoing collaboration with Chin and Yan Dining Room. Ultimately, however, the pair hope the experience leaves guests with a new understanding of the Chinese diaspora.

Chef Eva Chin (left) and Maison Studio co-founders Stanley Sun and Ashley Rumsey (far right). Photo by Colin Outridge

“We’re trying to create spaces where people feel safe to talk about culture and experience other cultures without feeling like they’re infiltrating or opposing,” Sun says. As the light lifts, and dishes from the last course (roasted rice milk with sweet potato and ginger) are cleared away, the success of the evening is clear: the easy conversations between strangers continue in the yuàn, and nobody wants to leave.

Mason Studios showed people how to incorporate nostalgia while still looking modern and being authentic to yourself, Chin says. As for the food? “I hope people walk away thinking that they should not put Chinese food in a box anymore.”

Photo by Doublespace Photography

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