Birkinomics: are these handbags a better investment than bricks and mortar?

A diamond-encrusted Hermès bag has sold at Christie’s for £155,000. Why are they so desirable – and do any of the other luxury brands make an equally smart investment?

Cannes 2017 awards: visceral power overlooked in favour of bourgeois vanity

The Square was a decent pick for the Palme d’Or but there were disappointments: notably the jury’s failure to get fully behind the outstanding Russian film Loveless

How Beyoncé’s Instagram pregnancy makes her a modern fertility goddess

The latest images from eight months of fabulous photo ops show the singer at her ‘push party’ wearing west African wax prints and a tie-dye bikini, with a henna tattoo on her naked belly

Washing your hair with mineral water or champagne – what lengths would you go to?

Star hairdresser Sam McKnight has suggested that people should wash their hair with bottled water – welcome to beauty’s new battleground

Flat-pack fashion: Ikea takes swipe at Balenciaga’s $2,150 shopping bag

Swedish furniture giant issues a guide to identifying a genuine Frakta bag after influential fashion house launches uncannily similar tote

From animal-print to denim: why hotels are upping their bathrobe game

A comfy bed and a travel kettle is no longer enough – high-end hotels are investing in luxurious, Instagram-friendly bathrobes in an effort to appeal to the selfie generation