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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
Joe Bromley

Why Brussels is the hot place to visit now and Bob Dylan’s art is best avoided… What's hot (and not) this week

Going up!

Brussels

Inside the opening of The Standard Brussels (Dave Benett)

A thing! The Standard hotel flung open the doors to its newest location last weekend with a riotous bash which saw London’s coolest kids — Lennon Gallagher and Izzy Richmond, The Flag Twins, Tigerlily Taylor, Layton Williams and Parisa Wilkinson — join thousands of the city’s very well-dressed great and good. Under a huge disco ball in the sprawling greenhouse, Honey Dijon played as US drag queen Miss Fame boogied. The 28-floor behemoth’s rooftop Lila29 restaurant is surely the newest hotspot for anyone showing face at the European Parliament. Just a Eurostar away.

Kate Mid’s entourage

The Princess of Wales tours design spaces with Caroline Rush, former chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

Sparkling Manolos, Hobbs frocks and whacking great handbags: Kate’s ladies-in-waiting, who block anyone trying to video her, are a crisply spoken force to be reckoned with, as the fashion set discovered when she surprised insiders presenting the Queen Elizabeth II Award for Design.

Lion-mane hair

Allow Bella Hadid, who shares the latest cover of British Vogue with her vast blow dry, to inspire you: bigger is better this summer.

Facial ice dunking

Hailey Bieber (PA Archive)

Hailey Bieber does it. In her book Smarter, Emily Austen says it’s the best way to mentally reset.

Going down…

Naked dressing

Dakota Johnson in Cannes, 2025 (Getty Images)

I’m all for showing it off, but I am also excited to see new outfits made from (sharp breath) non-transparent fabrics, now the Cannes Film Festival has banned exposed breasts.

Stockpiling vapes

A ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes comes in on June 1 2025 (PA Wire)

The countdown is on: disposable vapes will be illegal to sell next month. There’s a Lost Mary rush, as vapers stockpile. We have to let them go.

People who ‘love crisps’

(Torres)

NB: everyone likes crisps. Posh crisps, cheap crisps. This is not a personality trait. “Crisps and prosecco nights” should be illegal.

Bob Dylan’s art

Isn’t great, sorry Dylan and the Halcyon Gallery, which is exhibiting him. “Much of the octogenarian’s work may be done on the road,” they say. You can, unfortunately, tell.

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