Bringing Parisian chic to Mayfair, Hermès celebrates its 175th anniversary with a fantastic celebration of the beauty and dynamism of leather. Opening the show at 6 Burlington Gardens- Royal Academy of Arts with a tactile display of hides in rainbow shades and textures, the exhibition reveals the intricacies of the craftsmanship and the history behind its iconic designs. Demonstrating its philosophy that handsome leather never ages, priceless works from its archives are showcased alongside skilled artisans busily stitching and polishing new masterpieces. My favourite piece was a beautiful saddle inspired by Pegasus, paying homage to its equestrian heritage.

This weekend the Saatchi Gallery in London once again hosted COLLECT, the Craft Council’s annual fair of museum quality contemporary craft. Ceramics, glass, silver, jewellery and wood are all featured by an international mix of galleries. Digital technology was a recurrent theme this year – I particularly loved the stitched beakers by Katie Bullen. Another stand out craftsman is Steffen Dam, who works with glass to create these incredible glass sculptures which feature flowers, insects and even jellyfish. It seemed very busy with brisk sales as could be seen by the many red dots throughout the gallery!

The biggest Bauhaus exhibition in the UK in over 40 years provides a compelling portrait of the modern world’s most famous art school. From expressionist beginnings to a pioneering model uniting art and
technology, this London exhibition at Barbican sheds light on the most influential design movement of the twentieth century.

Christian Louboutin’s retrospective at the Design Museum is a celebration of balance and beauty, both in showing the maestro’s art of harmonising those world famous red soles with vertiginous heels and in Dita von Teese’s hologram striptease at the end of which she manages to keep only her stilettos on. The playful scenography is the perfect backdrop for the maverick of the shoe world’s creations. Bravo Christian!

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Tokyo, I checked out Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945 at the Japan Society in midtown Manhattan. The exhibition showcases pre-World War II Japanese modernism through ceramics, sculpture, prints, posters, clothing, jewelry, and glassworks. Many of the pieces on display show the moga (“modern girl”), popular in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s, or sophisticated representations of animals including rabbits, lions, bulls, and peacocks. One of my favorites was a simple bronze bull, designed by Hiramatsu Koshun in the 1930s. The show is on view through June 10 in New York.