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Josh Barrie tries Tom Parker Bowles' new posh squash, Christopher's
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Evening Standard
25-07-2025
- Evening Standard
Josh Barrie tries Tom Parker Bowles' new posh squash, Christopher's
They cost £11.50 a bottle, which is a lot for squash, but then what do you expect? These are fancy creations to sip while watching cricket, picnicking on Clapham Common, or running amok in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. And yes, they'd work perfectly mixed with a good crémant. These will be stacked beside the Perelló olives and Ortiz tins in no time. They've been crafted with efficacy. Maybe your mum might like some.
Metro
19-07-2025
- Metro
Grammy-nominated singer Robbie Pardlo dies aged 46
The Grammy-nominated singer Robbie Pardlo has died at the age of 46. A representative has confirmed that the musician, who was lead singer of the R&B group City High, passed away on July 17. Pardlo rose to fame alongside bandmates Claudette Ortiz and Ryan Toby with their 2001 single What Would You Do? produced by founding Fugees member Wyclef Jean. An iconic rallying call for single parents, its memorable chorus and lyrics became an early 00s' anthem. Reaching number eight on the Billboard Top 100, their hit single earned Pardlo and City High a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group. According to TMZ, Pardlo has passed away surrounded by family and close friends in Willingbro, New Jersey. No cause of death has been determined yet, although the family are said to be planning the singer's memorial service. Details will be released to the public over the coming days. Following news of the star's death, tributes have rolled in, with fans taking to social media to share their thoughts on his musical legacy. 'RIP ❤️ such a classic and beautiful song,' wrote Instagram user alessandra_ak in response to a tribute from celebrity news brand Baller Alert. 'The internet has been playing 'what would you do ' a lot lately. Hope he felt the love before he left,' said _key_lo_lo. 'Damn, I was in middle school when City High came out. Rest in Paradise Robbie 🕊️' recalled realisticview. Snappleapple wrote: 'Wow, I remember 'What would you do ' was me and my sisters jam. I can see the video vividly. May he rest in peace. My condolences to his family 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽♥️' Pardlo started out as a solo artist before adding school friends Ortiz and Toby. During their time at school, Pardlo and Ortiz had dated, with Ortiz then going on to date other bandmate Toby, whom she married in 2004, before divorcing in 2007. City High ultimately released only one album as a group, spawning their other hit single, Caramel, featuring American rapper Eve. In spite of the positive critical reception, the group disbanded shortly after the album's release. More Trending After going their separate ways in 2003, Pardlo went on to join the R&B quartet First Take, collaborating with stars such as Whitney Houston and Lil Kim. In 2010, Pardlo appeared in an episode of the documentary series Intervention, in which he talked openly about his issues with alcoholism and depression after City High disbanded. As an enthusiastic fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, he could often be seen cheering on his favourite team in a series of Instagram posts – sharing a selfie in a team shirt ahead of their Superbowl win this February. The singer is survived by wife Anika Pardlo and their two children, Lyric and Chord-Andrew Pardlo. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Robbie Williams releasing the album he actually wanted to after quitting Take That MORE: Gavin Rossdale clears up decades-long misconception about his band Bush MORE: Frontman abruptly ends concert mid-set after declaring 'I can't sing anymore'
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- The Guardian
Bad taste? Balenciaga coffee cup bag is luxury fashion's latest everyday flaunt
Lauren Sánchez attended a meeting in LA recently carrying a cup of coffee. So far, so unnewsworthy. But what first appeared as her morning caffeine fix was, in fact, a luxury handbag. The Balenciaga design, which is crafted from calfskin, sells for about £4,346.60 more than the average takeaway coffee in the UK. It mimics the reusable Balenciaga coffee cup – made of porcelain and polypropylene, it sells for £85 – and throwaway vessels. Sánchez, a former journalist who is the fiancee of Jeff Bezos, is not alone in opting for an accessory that mimics a consumer good but retails for several thousand pounds more. The supermodel Gigi Hadid recently wore a £1,541 Moschino vintage leather handbag made to look like a carton of orange juice. The brand also offers a clutch in the shape of celery. There is a Louis Vuitton bag designed to resemble a paint can (£1,980); as well as crisp packet bags, also from Balenciaga – spicy chilli, salt and vinegar, or cheese and onion (£1,450). Looking to more UK-centric consumer goods, Anya Hindmarch has built a business out of the model. Her Frosties, Perelló olives and Lea & Perrins bags are priced up to £1,300. According to Iain R Webb, a writer, curator and professor of fashion and design at Kingston school of art in London, this is not new. 'Historically, fashion has always appropriated the common place and utilitarian,' he said, citing 'Marie Antoinette dressing up (or down) like a shepherdess' and the £185 T-shirt from luxury label Vetements riffing on the global logistics company DHL. But Orsola de Castro, an author and a cofounder of the activist group Fashion Revolution, thinks these consumer product-mimicking designs are best relegated to the past: 'This kind of thing stopped being relevant after Andy Warhol did the Campbell's soup tins. Then it made sense. Then it had a rebellious spirit. Then it was making a point.' She added: 'If the coffee cup had existed then, the depiction of a coffee cup bag would have been some kind of a statement on plastic or on the unnecessariness of it all. But now it is simply just vulgar.' The optics of Sánchez, who as an author, pilot and Emmy award-winning journalist reportedly has a net worth of more than $30m (£23m), carrying a mundane object given a mogul makeover are particularly loaded. Dr Gaby Harris, a lecturer in fashion cultures at Manchester Metropolitan University, sees 'coded within these items … the privilege of the wealthy to engage with mass consumption while retaining exclusivity'. And with coffee prices at a record high, the play on a cup has even more significance than, say, a head of celery might. 'We are observing the inflation of goods while incomes remain stagnated. Thus, everyday staples such as coffee bear greater expense while top earners continue to amass wealth,' said Harris. Sign up to Fashion Statement Style, with substance: what's really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved after newsletter promotion The coffee cup bag chimes with the confusing current status of status. There is the rise of boom boom, the aesthetic of 80s-style greed and conspicuous consumption, that has been in the ascendant since Donald Trump returned to office. 'Sadly,' according to Webb, 'politically and economically we are witnessing a reflection of the 1980s, so it is not surprising that the showoff aspect of conspicuous consumption should again raise it's ugly head: fashion that is as flash as its price tag, fashion that says, 'I have loadsamoney'.' But the picture is nuanced. As Sean Monahan, the trend forecaster who coined boom boom, recently said: 'The American elite is in flux. For a long time, it was about people not wanting to flaunt wealth … Now, it's unclear where people are in the status hierarchy.' In this context, a luxury handbag in the shape of an everyday cup of coffee makes a certain topsy turvy sense.
