The fashion label Fortuny transformed the way women dressed and felt about their bodies in the early 20th century. Today it continues to delight with its unique aesthetic

Emamuela Tarizzo is young, well connected and in tune with a new kind of art buyer. She talks to Louisa McKenzie about taking over London’s biggest art and antiquity fair

Louisa McKenzie talks to the Downton Abbey costume designer about how she sources original gems for her leading ladies

Medieval wills are precious mines of information for historians, art historians, scholars of fashion and material culture, but also for sociologists, anthropologists, economists.Behind the dryness of ...

Exhibition: Peter’s Mother-in-Law (Matthew 8:14–17; Mark 1:29–34; Luke 4:38–41). Featuring works of art by Rembrandt van Rijn, Unknown artist and Pieter Bruegel I. Commentaries by Louisa McKenzie.

From artist collaborations to jewel-encrusted flacons, these bottles are only matched for loveliness by the scents they contain

Louisa McKenzie learns how to differentiate between blends with an expert at London’s first olive oil bar

Astrocartography, which combines geography and astrology, is growing in popularity, with practitioners charging £500 an hour

Marie Antoinette left her jewellery collection to her daughter, who had in her possession a glorious 10 carat pink diamond which, after years of being hidden away, is now coming up for auction

Siena State Archives, Notarile Antecosimiano 54 (1349) Waste and reuse are key topics in modern consumer society, but in the Middle Ages, there was no discussion around them. Considering the high cost of producing new objects, everything had to be reused, recycled, or transformed down to the very last bit. Parchments were made from animal skins (sheep, goat, or calf) and were therefore very durable and quite expensive.

From Gwyneth Paltrow’s favourite single-origin brand to a dedicated sommelier: Louisa McKenzie investigates the new-gen oil barons

Asprey Studio spent eight months perfecting its reproduction of the Renaissance artist’s famous woodcut. Louisa McKenzie reports

Elizabeth I and Lady Gaga both embraced a flamboyant ruff — now the ultimate neck accessory is fashionable all over again, in lace and leather, grand or dainty

The bag charm might be a new trend, but personal talismans have been around for centuries