Olafur Eliasson: I walked out of a Drake concert. God, I was so bored
The artist plays Kris Kristofferson songs on his guitar, is moved by The Deer Hunter and loves EastEnders — and The Real Housewives of Atlanta
Katie Bevan
UK-based freelance journalist specialising in features and culture stories.
Articles
5 Great Docs on Disney+
5 Great Thrillers on ITVX
The best new songs of 2025 to listen to this week
Here is a selection of stories from the music world, plus the best new songs. Stuck in a rut with your playlists and not sure what to try next? Each week, our critics listen to recently released singles and pick their favourites. Subscribe to our Best New Tracks playlist (embedded below) to listen to them too.
Milan or Paris: Who Won In The Great Fashion Reshuffle?
In the heads-up poker game otherwise known as ‘the fashion world in recent years’, Milan and Paris sit opposite each other - oversized sunglasses on - in a straight-faced duel for the jackpot of ‘Best Fashion Capital’. It is a game with higher stakes than usual; the luxury industry is collapsing around them as they play, and the fashion pack has been reshuffled beyond belief. Whilst this reshuffle has been curated over many years, the dealer took liberties in 2025: dubbed ‘The Great Fashion Reshuffle’, new designer appointments occurred every month of the year (excluding April and August), setting this September’s Spring 2026 ready-to-wear season up to be a blockbuster. Of the 15 designers making their debut this season, most of whom are (fashion) household names, the ones worth paying attention to were concentrated in Milan and Paris; naturally.
It's Not A 'Bad' Album, You've Just Forgotten Who Taylor Swift Really Is.
As a young victim of Big Internalised Misogyny, I have more than enough experience of disliking Taylor Swift. I’m not sure when it happened, but it did.
Starmer Has Finally Found A Story
Keir Starmer has always reminded me of one of those schoolteachers – the perfectly decent, dithering kind whom good kids pity, and bad kids prey on. The kind that starts the term brimming with do-gooder ideas only to have abandoned them before Week One is out, by which time the kids, launching questions and rogue glue sticks their way, have reinstated the law of the jungle. Maybe it was just my school…Except if the first 14 months of his premiership are anything to go by, then this image is no r...
London Fashion Week Proves That British Culture Matters.
Scientifically speaking, the lifecycle of a star is straightforward. Culturally speaking, it is less so. Nepotism is not quite the nebula, the definitive birthplace of stars, nor could a cultural star in their prime parallel the steadfastness of the main-sequence star. As for fading stars, the cosmic kind go through a sort of celestial menopause, becoming red giants, which then retire along one of two paths: that of the white dwarf, or the explosive supernova (and eventual black hole). Again, the cultural kind resist and meander, rarely ever embarking upon a straightforward path to retirement. From old actors reeled back into tired, once stratospherically successful franchises, to musicians stuck on the ‘Greatest Hits’ circuit; from those re-releasing merchandise for their one-time, quasi-breakout character in a teen drama, to those, struggling in the PC world, that are born again as befuddled political reactionaries, the cultural midlife-crisis-insane-career-pivot of fading stars is anything but straightforward.
New York Fashion Week Is Unsure Of Itself
Home to the very first Fashion Week, then Press Week, in 1943, New York makes a natural fashion capital. A city of superlatives, creatives flock to New York on account of it being the biggest and the boldest and the richest and the grittiest city that never ever sleeps, where rats and fashion inspiration run riot in equal measures. Many a legacy brand is housed here - think Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Calvin Klein. Many a supermodel, too. Oh, and Carrie Bradshaw (I mean the city was the fifth character). But, for a city with such spirit, such style, we find ourselves in a rather strange predicament; New York Fashion Week is unsure of itself. Not dead, as the cries go, but unsure.
No Artificial Ingredients - The Creative Industries Will Need To Strike A Balance With Al. What Might That Look Like?
But it is in the creative industries where these statistics transform into lofty, if fraught, arguments. Whilst AI in the ‘normal’ world worries (human cognitive decline and all), AI in the art world desecrates. Exalted as a uniquely human trait, creativity distinguishes us from other problem-solving, tool-using species, whereby we unite an elusive formula of vision, symbolic thought, and expression merely because we can. Not for survival, not exactly for validation; art for art’s sake. The beau...
"A capitalist society requires a culture based on images"
An astute essayist with an aesthete’s agenda, Sontag brandished the status of ‘thinker’ amongst the New York intelligentsia naturally. Doubling as the home run that earned her this status, and a manifesto of sorts, ‘Notes on Camp’, first published in 1964 by the Partisan Review, was a cultural tidal wave that saw Sontag preside over the philosophical dissection of high and low culture.
The Boar Magazine: Creative Submissions
A selection of poetry, prose, photographs and artwork submitted as part of The Boar Magazine.
Playing Cards, Katie Bevan
Sitting in the kitchen
Playing cards, Kings and Queens with their
Coronas
Caught in a rapid fire round.
“Are you still with your boyfriend?”
“Did you finish your essay?”
“Hey, it’s your turn!”
“For graduation, I’m thinking…”
You’ve been holding all the aces
On the dawn of a new round
Cards are dealt, the path set
And you think back to the faces
Of jokers, smiling
In that sticky kitchen
Where you were just playing cards.
Playing Cards, Katie Bevan
Sitting in the kitchen
Playing cards, Kings and Queens with their
Coronas
Caught in a rapid fire round.
“Are you still with your boyfriend?”
“Did you finish your essay?”
“Hey, it’s your turn!”
“For graduation, I’m thinking…”
You’ve been holding all the aces
On the dawn of a new round
Cards are dealt, the path set
And you think back to the faces
Of jokers, smiling
In that sticky kitchen
Where you were just playing cards.
‘We probably don’t see Warwick campus as a culture, but it is’: Warwick Clothes Circuit on What’s Warwick Wearing
Armed with a smartphone, tiny mic, and a keen eye for second-hand style, the exec of Warwick Clothes Circuit have taken on the guise of the modern-day hunter: the street-interviewer.
Inspired by the YouTuber, Not So Blonde, and her series What Are People Wearing in Paris?, Haneefah, Circuit’s Head of Social Media, saw an opportunity to showcase Warwick’s own sharp and sustainable dressers.
“You really get a taste for somewhere, a destination, and a lot of inspiration and vulnerable bits of huma...
Inspired by the YouTuber, Not So Blonde, and her series What Are People Wearing in Paris?, Haneefah, Circuit’s Head of Social Media, saw an opportunity to showcase Warwick’s own sharp and sustainable dressers.
“You really get a taste for somewhere, a destination, and a lot of inspiration and vulnerable bits of huma...
Generation style: Style icons through time
Physically, we have many tools to gauge something: thermometers, rulers, and beakers are just a few. Socially, we have less. In fact, to gauge the inner minds of those whose company we are gracing, there is a rather reliable social gauge that we often find ourselves turning to in times of faltering conversation: the dinner party. If you could have a dinner party with any three people, dead or alive, who would you pick?
It is a question of limited success, with an equal capacity for ice making as...
It is a question of limited success, with an equal capacity for ice making as...
Trump and Harris' economic showdown
In the patchwork blanket of our lives, choices are the thread. From the seemingly inconsequential – ‘What do I wear today?’ – to the very consequential – ‘Who do I vote for?’ – each choice, and the subsequent decision we make, patches together the trajectory of our lives. And right now, the American people are hurtling towards a crucial fork in the road: on Tuesday 5 November, they will head to the polls to vote in this year’s presidential election.
For some, the choice is clear. Most of those i...
For some, the choice is clear. Most of those i...
Why did children take part in the English riots?
On Monday 29 July, a ‘Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop’, aimed at children aged between 7 and 11 years old, was held in Southport. Intended as an all-singing, all-dancing, friendship-bracelet sharing, Swiftie safe space, the class should have been a chance for children to let off some steam in the endless stretch of summer that is the six weeks holidays. But unfortunately, this wasn’t to be the case.
At approximately 11:50am, Merseyside Police were called to reports of a mass stabbing. Liken...
At approximately 11:50am, Merseyside Police were called to reports of a mass stabbing. Liken...
The Dogue days of summer: When Vogue transformed into Dogue
In a Changing of the Guard that only fashion could envision, the blood-orange bikinis of August become the burgundy-red overcoats of September. Whilst this seems to be done in one swift action, the 31 August melting into the 1 September, the calendar page being ripped out to reveal leaves the colour of flames, there is, in fact, some liminal space between the two.
I like to call this space ‘Pre-Fashion Month’. Far from the black-coffee-fuelled marathons of creativity that are September, or fashi...
I like to call this space ‘Pre-Fashion Month’. Far from the black-coffee-fuelled marathons of creativity that are September, or fashi...
Gracie Abrams pours every emotion into ‘The Secret Of Us’
Rushing into your friend’s bedroom, a story bursting from your lips, its glorious yet embarrassing details reverberating around the room, whilst your friend sits there with an expression that is equal parts shock as it is bemusement and support, is a precious moment. The physical distance between you and your friend the blank page in a journal, your soundwaves the ink unfurling across it. It is a moment of frenzied confession, infused with a level of honesty, and insanity, that only a true best...
Couture Culture: 2024 Met Gala review
Once upon a time, in the dystopian and post-apocalyptic world fashioned by J.G. Ballard in 1962, there lived a Count and Countess. The Count and Countess enjoyed a decadent life in the lap of luxury, with rare books and rare paintings filling their Palladian villa, with the villa itself situated within an extensive and exquisite estate. Forming part of the estate, was a garden. This garden was filled with unusual blooms, with the most peculiar being the crystal time flowers.
One day an angry mo
One day an angry mo
Couture Culture: Yves Saint Laurent
If you successfully follow the dust-orange trails that criss-cross through the souks of Marrakesh, embracing the sights, sounds, and smells with certain joie de vivre, until you have left the walls of the Medina, you may stumble upon Le Jardin Majorelle. In fact, it is pretty hard to miss. With striking cobalt blue buildings rising out of an oasis of orange trees and towering palms, the garden is a place of vivacity, tranquillity, and inspiration, and it is located on Rue Yves Saint Laurent.
In
In
Couture Culture: Harry Styles
“Bring back manly men.” That was conservative commentator, Candace Owens’, response to Harry Styles’ history-making Vogue cover, in which he donned a ball gown and custom Gucci jacket, becoming the first solo male cover star in the magazine’s 127-year history.
His cover was well-deserved: there is no denying that Styles’ has style – sparkly jumpsuits and retro tailoring are enough to convince anyone of this fact. But the conservative outrage that followed? Less so.
After all, there is nothing
His cover was well-deserved: there is no denying that Styles’ has style – sparkly jumpsuits and retro tailoring are enough to convince anyone of this fact. But the conservative outrage that followed? Less so.
After all, there is nothing
Couture Culture: Kaia Gerber
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece. Quite a long time ago, people said it was home to the Gods and Goddesses, a place of worship; of moral and mythical strife with each of the Twelve Gods the victims of anthropopathy, vulnerable to the same failings of their devoted worshippers – jealousy, vanity, pride. The myths, of course, stack these human failings on top of each other, wrapping them up in a golden trench coat. Carnage and debauchery are the fastenings, chaos the seam running th
Couture Culture: Zendaya
Often, when someone has style, is stylish, and generally knows fashion, we call them a fashion chameleon. It is seen as a compliment. I think both of these things are wrong. Chameleons are the masters of camouflage. Blending in is their best feature, so why would any fashion-forward person want to be described as a chameleon? If we were to choose another animal, surely it would be a platypus; with the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, and the body of an otter, they push the boundaries in a w
The Music That Made Me: Red Hot Chili Peppers
To start, I want you to know where I am. I am sitting, currently alone, at a beach in Barcelona. It is 20 degrees Celsius – Winter apparently – the sun is beating down on me, my freckles flourishing, and the sound of the waves is lulling me into a sun-drunk haze. A year abroad was a good idea.
Now, I need you to know that I am not really here. Under the sultry sun, the temptation to sink into the realm of possibility is too rich – my dreams are never stronger than in the daytime, and right now,
Now, I need you to know that I am not really here. Under the sultry sun, the temptation to sink into the realm of possibility is too rich – my dreams are never stronger than in the daytime, and right now,
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About me
Having graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (with Intercalated Year at L'Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona), I am now working as a freelance journalist.
Informed by my student journalism at The Boar, where I was shortlisted for Best Lifestyle Piece and Best Creative Piece at the 2025 SPA Awards, I have words in Dazed, The Times, Europinion, and on my Substack, Opalesce.