Author: CNN

CNN  —  Debuting its first flights in January 2020, Taiwanese start-up STARLUX Airlines could be the first new player in 30 years to upend the island’s duopoly aviation market. And even before the carrier, dubbed Taiwan’s first luxury boutique airline, set its first aircraft into the air, it’s been creating a stir. Eleven minutes after opening ticket sales online on December 16, the Taipei-based carrier sold out all seats on its first three flights – Taipei-Macau, Taipei-Penang and Taipei-Danang. But both aviation watchers and the general public are abuzz for another reason: A succession drama involving STARLUX founder Chang Kuo-wei…

CNN  —  Budapest’s craft cocktail movement has seen new bars and clubs spread across town like wildfire in recent years, making it that much harder to choose the best of the bunch. While the Hungarian capital’s ruin bars offer a unique experience, the luxury bar scene here is second to none. Whether you’re looking to sample handcrafted cocktails or the finest Tokaji wines, there are a multitude of glamorous bars to choose from, complete with sharply dressed staff and/or top-notch mixologists. From the High Note Skybar to Blue Fox The Bar at Kempinski, here’s a run down of the finest…

CNN  —  Editor’s Note: Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days. There’s not much that is relatable about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: from her rise to British royal notoriety to her achingly aspirational lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. But on Saturday, a rare opportunity for connection presented itself when Meghan arrived at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles 2024 Gala in a red Carolina Herrera dress she had previously worn in 2021. While resurfacing wardrobe relics is a fairly common…

Editor’s Note: Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days. CNN  —  Last night, British actor Andrew Garfield arrived at the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film “We Live in Time” sporting a surprising accessory. No, not the yellow paisley opera scarf — the lifesize cutout of co-star Florence Pugh. Wedged under his arm like a beloved clutch bag on a night out, Pugh’s rigid two-dimensional form topped off Garfield’s outfit perfectly. He opted for a custom…

CNN  —  Ah, holiday travel. Between huge crowds and weather delays, flying during this time of year is hectic. Now close your eyes and imagine the entire scenario with one additional annoyance: Loud talkers yammering into their cell phones at 35,000 feet. Don’t worry – this potentially ear-splitting scenario isn’t a reality yet. At least not in the United States. But it could be soon. Some even say it’s just a year or two away. The technology to support midair cell phone calls exists right now. Just about every plane that offers WiFi has the bandwidth to support voice over…

Milan CNN  —  Luxury fashion house Prada and commercial space company Axiom Space have unveiled the designs for a spacesuit that will be worn for NASA’s Artemis III moon mission. Unveiled during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan on Wednesday, the mostly white suits feature a cropped torso and stone-gray patches across the elbows and knees. Although conspicuously free of branding or logos, the designs do include red accent lines across the forearms, waist and “portable life system backpacks,” which nod to Prada’s sub-brand, Linea Rossa. “This is a groundbreaking partnership,” said Russel Ralston, executive vice president of Axiom Space, during the…

CNN  —  One of the first things you’ll notice on entering the Mystery Hotel Budapest is the Aladdin-style magic carpet “floating” above the reception desk. This is the first indication there’s much more to this boutique hotel than meets the eye. Then there’s the countless light boxes on the walls displaying animated pictures that change several times a day and the elevator, which is partially hidden by velvet curtains. Depending on which room you’re staying in, you could find yourself lying against a headboard with a version of Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” where the “girl” has an…

New York CNN  —  The message on Tuesday night in Brooklyn was simple: after a six-year hiatus, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is back, and the lingerie brand’s future is being shaped by women. The presence of the female gaze was felt throughout the evening with a production that featured an all-women musical lineup, and a diverse cast of models wearing more sophisticated — and in some cases, more comfortable-looking lingerie, including leggings and sheer coverups. Lisa from K-pop supergroup Blackpink kicked off the event with an opening performance, and Gigi Hadid rose from the stage floor on a catwalk that…

CNN  —  The relative calm in Ukrainian cities far from the country’s battlefields was shattered by two painfully familiar sounds this week: the ominous ring of the air raid sirens, and the eruptions of Russian attacks. A wave of missiles, rockets and drones has struck dozens of locations across Ukraine since Monday, according to officials, targeting civilian infrastructure in several major cities, including Kyiv, located hundreds of miles from the front lines in the east and south. The wide bombardment echoed the early days of Russia’s scattershot initial invasion in February, but also underlined that the conflict in Ukraine, which…

CNN  —  More than 800 years after her birth, Joan of Arc — a patron saint of France — remains an object of not just historical, but cultural fascination. Over the summer, we’ve witnessed Chappell Roan’s armor-clad performance at the VMAs, a space-age Joan of Arc figure clothed by fashion designer Jeanne Friott and leather artisan Robert Mercier at the Olympics opening ceremony, not to mention Baz Luhrmann’s announcement last month that Joan of Arc will be the subject of his next film. Her pop culture inspiration has lasted across the decades. In 1997, a now-iconic photoshoot featuring Fiona Apple…