Without invitation or queues. Fashion enthusiasts will be able to follow some of the 080 Barcelona Fashion shows from the street, which opens today, with what will be one of the novelties of an edition that aims to claim fashion beyond the catwalk. Thus, within the framework of PLEC, an initiative of the Barcelona City Council, the fashion shows can be enjoyed from various points in Barcelona through a large screen that will be installed each day in a different area of the city. Today it will be the turn of Plaça de Can Fabra in Sant Andreu, Wednesday at Plaça de les Glòries, Thursday at Plaça del Mar in Barceloneta, and Friday in front of the Born Market. "The goal is to bring fashion closer to the citizens," highlights Nàdia Quevedo, commissioner of Economic Promotion, Commerce, Catering, and Fashion Plan of the Barcelona city council. On October 21 and 22, the Port Vell sheds will host a program with talks, musical performances, and artistic proposals such as an installation dedicated to the editorial archive of creative director Luis Venegas.

Our history can be explained through kings, wars, revolutions, and great inventions. But it can also be explained through the stones, sediments, volcanoes, and minerals that have conditioned human life throughout the centuries. Without all the resources that the Earth offers, many of the great civilizations would not have been possible. And without the geological processes that transform it, our history would have been very different. This is the perspective proposed by the geologist and popularizer Esther Lapaz, who invites us to retrace the past of humanity through geology in her new book Con los pies en la Tierra (Ediciones B, 2026).

On October 5th, in the middle of the midterm election campaign, Donald Trump delivered a speech in Nebraska. Nothing new: patriotic grandiloquence and discursive posturing about the greatness of America. Once the speech ended, Y.M.C.A., by the Village People, played—that song which in the seventies became an icon of gay culture and which today Trump has adopted as his campaign soundtrack. The president then gave himself over to his now-characteristic robotic dance, until a movement revealed an unexpected detail: the suit's label, with the name Jos. A. Bank. An American brand that, at first glance, seemed consistent with one of Trump's most recurring proclamations: consuming products manufactured in the United States. But is the case of Trump and his protectionist measures in fashion exceptional?

When we still thought that the phenomenon of low cost and Airbnb would not change the world for the worse, the family formed by Judith, Robert, and the two little ones, Marc and Mateo, headed towards Cassà de la Selva to catch, first thing in the morning, a flight bound for London. Since the flight was delayed and they had time to kill, they decided to stop by Santa Coloma de Farners.

At Consell de Cent with Enric Granados, the observer has a very creamy pistachio ice cream, right at the opposite corner of a brunch spot full of girls who laugh and laugh and don't seem to be from here. A burly man, with bushy eyebrows and a grumpy face, walks an English bulldog that walks with exactly the same hip sway. Next to him, a sophisticated girl with a designer coat and the poise of a sphinx leads a stylized greyhound that looks like it came straight from a Milan runway. We even have the local version of Kim Kardashian: a girl with infinite nails and a tight dress holding a Pomeranian so perfectly groomed it's painful, as if it just came out of a beauty salon. The Weimaraner, agile and muscular, goes back and forth at full speed while the gym guy runs his daily kilometers. An elegant lady, who takes great care of herself and is always well dressed, makes a perfect pair with the wire-haired dachshund with "whiskers" and eyebrows that give it a very dignified and serious air, ideal for accompanying the lady to have a snack and run errands.

This autumn, decoration trends move away from perfection and claim warmth, material, and personality. Visible grain wood, braided fibers, artisanal-looking ceramics, and colored glass gain prominence in spaces where objects no longer just fulfill a function, but tell a story and claim all the attention.

Barely two weeks ago, the Catalan clothing brand Desigual launched a campaign mocking the touristification, massification, insecurity, and rising prices currently stifling Barcelona. A campaign that public opinion perceived as a misstep, due to playing frivolously and without a defined critical will with such a poignant social issue, simply to sell clothes. But little did we know that, in a matter of a few days, the brand would manage to completely turn its image around. The sudden change of direction has arrived with the new campaign, titled Born to disobey. A girl, with a defiant attitude in front of a robot, questions the infallibility of artificial intelligence, which collapses in the face of human singularity, and encourages standing up to the dictatorship of algorithms. And looking straight into the camera, she says: “She was designed to obey. I was not.” The brilliance of the ad, however, lies in the fact that its protagonist is not just any model, but Vivian Jenna Wilson: Elon Musk’s trans daughter.

Imagine going back a hundred years, to the Barcelona of 1926. Cinema was still silent and a fashion show could be, literally, an extraordinary spectacle. In Paris, the great houses had begun to use those presentations to showcase the new collections of the designers of the era, but in Catalonia, no one was doing it. Located at the Pla de la Boqueria, Santa Eulalia saw the opportunity and decided to import the formula. “We were pioneers thanks to the vision of my grandfather,” recalls Luis Sans, fourth generation at the helm of the house, founded in 1843. In that adventure, Pere Formosa also played a key role, having started as an apprentice and ending up becoming a master of the house and the driving force behind that event

Summer is synonymous with water, fun, and strong emotions, and water parks have become major protagonists during holidays around the world. Although amusement and theme parks continue to lead the preferences of many families, aquatic complexes have evolved far beyond traditional pools and slides. Today, these venues compete to offer the most spectacular experiences, from almost impossible descents to tropical oases, and have established themselves as top-tier tourist destinations. Therefore, we take a tour of some of the most recognized water parks on the planet, spaces that attract millions of visitors year after year in search of unforgettable adventures.

Beyond the tourist market of Encants in Plaça de les Glòries or the already historic Camello in Portaferrissa, Catalonia is full of small and large fairs of antique dealers, opportunities and collectibles to visit this summer throughout the most diverse towns on the coast and inland, with special abundance in the towns of Girona, and to vary a little from the (also) routine of looking for a spot on the beach for the umbrella and towel. These types of fairs are, moreover, spaces for discovering treasures: antique plates, historical photographs that could well inspire a novel or chandeliers of the kind not sold at Ikea are some of their great attractions. They also bring the pleasure of haggling in the heart of 21st century Catalonia, exchanging trading cards, looking for old typewriters, accordion cameras, postcards of the first Coca-Cola ads, iconic siphons or Playmobil figures and enjoying the satisfaction and good prices of second-hand items, which also contribute to the circular economy. In Catalonia there are true marchés aux puces to choose from, like the most ambitious ones in France or the rastros most emblematic of the late last century where you can waste time rummaging until you find a unique and singular treasure at a bargain price.

Since the hip prosthesis operation, Mercè has a new wheelchair, and it has changed her life. Hers and Ricard's, her son's. Now she walks too, but with the wheelchair a new dimension has opened up. After many years, Mercè will be able to travel down all those streets she hasn't been down for years, because they are pedestrian-only and she couldn't go there walking or by car.

Why does a family continue to work with centuries-old fabrics when everyone consumes new clothes that may not even last a year in the closet? In an era dominated by Shein and Temu – among other fast-fashion giants – there is a shop in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter that defies this logic and works in the exact opposite direction. At L’Arca, sheets, bedspreads, and curtains from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are transformed into wedding dresses or pieces of ready-to-wear. Its raw material is not just quality cotton, silk or linen: it is time. “It is part of a history and we are only writing a new chapter,” summarizes Carmina Pairet, one of the current managers of the space she shares with her sister Nina Balmes.This way of understanding fashion is not a recent trend, but the result of two family lines – one with roots in Maresme and the other in Garrotxa – that have revolved around lace for almost two centuries. The exhibition Treasures of L'Arca, which this year is hosted by the Museum of Arenys de Mar, recovers this history and shows how lace was much more than a decorative element: it also constituted a powerful industry, a business with international projection and a heritage that has managed to reinvent itself. But to understand why a family continues to work today with centuries-old fabrics, we must go back to Catalonia in the mid-19th century.When the tip was luxury, culture, and merchandise

In 1856, at the height of Barcelona's industrial boom, Casa Vives was founded, one of the companies that best understood the commercial potential of Catalan lace. Beyond the romantic imagery that surrounds it, lace was much more than an ornament: it was a prosperous industry, a business with an export vocation, and a product capable of competing in major international markets. The firm's participation in the Universal Exhibitions of Barcelona (1888) and Chicago (1893) is a good example of this. "Lace was luxury, culture, and merchandise," summarizes Carmina Pairet.

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For decades, talking about menopause and the changes it causes in women has been a taboo and neglected topic. Fortunately, from that "women's issues", we are moving towards a new era where importance is beginning to be placed on this vital stage. This stage involves, beyond the often-caricatured hot flashes or the better-known osteoporosis, a whole series of hormonal changes that affect women's overall health and life. A physiological transition discussed with rigor and in a very didactic and understandable way by Laia Blanco, Inés Ramírez, and Stéphanie Kauffmann in the book "Placer en la menopausia" (Plataforma editorial), a guide that proposes women face this stage of life with well-being, pleasure, and fullness. These goals can be achieved if it is understood and managed appropriately. As Inés Ramírez explains, "there are a whole host of symptoms linked to menopause that are underdiagnosed and are still very taboo. Hence the need to talk about this topic. And we do so from the observation and experience of all the years we have spent in consultation, seeing women who suffer from all these symptoms associated with genitourinary syndrome of menopause".

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The ascent to Mount Fuji does not begin at the summit, nor even at the trail that climbs up the mountain. It begins much earlier, when it is still pitch black at the fifth station and the air retains that dry, biting cold that surprises those who have just left behind the mugginess of midsummer in Tokyo. At that hour, groups form almost in silence. Headlamps are adjusted, backpacks are checked, and the final preparations are made before starting the climb.

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Once upon a time, footballers seemed to have only one dimension: when they weren't sweating it out on the field, they were always seen in tracksuits. People programmed solely to perform athletically, as if there were no boundary between athlete and person. And when they appeared in street clothes, they conveyed the same discomfort as men who only dress up for weddings: outfits that seemed to wear them rather than the other way around. Times that, seeing the national teams' arrivals at the World Cup, seem absolutely past. But this transformation has taken several World Cups to crystallize.

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One day, when Sergio was a teenager, he realized that his mother had aged. He hadn't seen those wrinkles on her face before. Time passed inexorably, without him being able to do anything to prevent it. For the first time, the idea that time in this world was finite struck him forcefully, even though his friends hadn't even bothered to think about it. When you are young, time seems static and infinite.Since that day, Sergio C. Fanjul (Oviedo, 1980) suffers from what is known as chronophobia, the fear of the passage of time. An experience that this astrophysics and journalism graduate has captured in essay form in the book Cronofobia (Arpa, 2025), in which he also explores a society that he believes suffers from the same ailment as him: “There are many problems, not only in dealing with dying, but with aging and the fear of the future. The acceleration of time makes us become patients of nostalgia,” he assures.If we stop to think about it, there are billions of people who have preceded us and nothing remains of their passage on earth. Fortunately, we know some names that have achieved something important, but not much more. There are even figures like Shakespeare or Cervantes, who are often little more than a name, perhaps even a pseudonym of another person.This feeling, according to Fanjul, makes many people uncomfortable. “We are very hungry for transcendence and to overcome death compared to previous societies”, he assures. The author believes that societies used to be more communal and more connected with their town and family, so when you died they knew they would live on in others. On the other hand, today's individualistic society makes us feel that if we die, the world ends.The fear of death is inherent to the human condition. “That is why a large part of our culture is related to beliefs and religions that help us understand why on earth we are here for such a limited time,” Fanjul continues. During his research, he has even met people who cannot bear the idea of not having existed before being born.In fact, chronophobia is not easy to digest. He himself admits that he spends every day calculating the years lived and those that, if all goes well, he has left until he reaches death. Even when he goes on vacation, he spends his time calculating how much time has passed and how much is left to finish them. “The idea often strikes me that time has slipped through my fingers, this feeling of 'that's it, this party or dinner is over,' and I think that when I die I will have the same feeling after a lifetime,” he reflects.'Tempus fugit'

But, what is time really? Augustine of Hippo said that he knew what time was, but that if you asked him, he couldn't explain it. "This is the feeling we all have: we function with time, we make an appointment with someone, days and weeks pass, but no one can explain to you what it is," says Fanjul. Many theories have been developed, and the author explores them throughout the essay. Those he likes best are the externalist ones, that is, those that say that past and future are real at the same time, that everything is happening at the same moment. “We are a consciousness that goes through different moments and now we perceive what we live in this moment in time, but at the same time we are being born, living our childhood, old age, and even dying,” he continues. For him, this theory comforts him: “It means that, even if you die, your whole life will be happening and will be eternal, happening all at once,” he clarifies.Be that as it may, as we get older, time passes by faster and faster, and it seems we can do nothing to prevent it. Many studies have been done on this and it is known that for children and young people everything is new, and therefore their brain must always be processing information. This is how time passes more slowly for them. As one stops learning new things and being surprised by things, time begins to accelerate. “If you notice, when you travel the first few days pass slowly, because you have to explore the city. On the other hand, the last ones, when you already know everything, start to get faster and faster,” he points out.However, many people live trapped by nostalgia for the past. For Fanjul, this feeling is very characteristic of our times, when future prospects are very unpredictable. “Between totalitarianism, the climate crisis, and the advance of technology, young people do not see a clear future and look back,” he considers. In fact, the author believes that we live in a society that is both youth-loving and youth-hating: “Youth is idolized and desired, but young people are also considered “useless” and things are not made easy for them,” he criticizes. Finally, the author points out that many philosophers, like the Stoics, have preached that happiness is neither in the past nor in the future, but in the present. Therefore, the ideal way to learn to live in a world where time slips through our fingers is to seize the moment and have a life rich in experiences. "But not the ones they sell now, which are going to a trendy restaurant, but small, enriching everyday things, like being with the people you love, walking, resting, eating well, and taking care of yourself. This makes life more pleasant and time slows down a bit more," he concludes.

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Meritxell and Toni were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. At first, their tastes, however particular, were very similar: they both liked patatas bravas, burrata, Andalusian-style fried squid rings, and fricandó. When they were on their second spoonful of the tiramisu they were sharing, they opened up to each other.

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More than 140 years after the laying of the first stone, even today, what is considered Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece continues to take shape. In the final years of his prolific career, he poured all his efforts into building a temple that has today become Barcelona's main tourist attraction. Thousands of people visit it every year, and there seems to be a widespread consensus on its architectural and cultural value. However, the building has not been without controversy, starting with the fact that some question whether what we see today is what Gaudí would have done.

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On Tuesday, June 2, the presenter of the TVE program Al cielo con ella, Henar Álvarez, starred in an unusual scene that soon went viral. During her usual opening monologue, she complained that not a week goes by without some viewer asking her why she presents the program "dressed as a man". The question is not anecdotal.

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Tulles, bows, sequins, pearls, corsets... could be the ingredients of a Parisian haute couture fashion show, but these days they are part of one of the great stages of world sport: Roland Garros. Tennis player Naomi Osaka has once again turned her entrance onto the court into a visual event, with a series of outfits designed by Swiss creator Kevin Germanier that have generated as much conversation as some of the tournament's matches. It wasn't the first time. Last year she had already surprised with a spectacular Robert Wun dress inspired by a jellyfish. This year, Osaka took to the court dressed to the nines, with a transparent tulle skirt and a bodice made from recycled pieces. Once in place, however, she sheds this first layer to reveal another, copper-colored one that blends with the clay court, but at the same time emits metallic reflections inspired, according to Germanier himself, by the night lighting of the Eiffel Tower. An authentic scenic transformation thus occurs: first Naomi the celebrity appears, almost as if walking down a red carpet; then Naomi the sportswoman emerges, ready to compete. This structure of revelation traditionally belongs to the language of fashion and spectacle rather than sport. It is not surprising that some commentators have coined the term court-ure, a fusion of court and couture, to describe this phenomenon. And all of this takes on a curious historical resonance when we consider that the scene takes place on the Suzanne Lenglen court, the great French tennis player who, at the beginning of the 20th century, understood before anyone else that transforming the players' clothing also meant transforming their place in society.

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