How to spend it in July

EAT

Tollington’s in London

First there was Four Legs, the cult residency at the Compton Arms in London’s Islington. Then came a crowd-funded permanent location, The Plimsoll (most Topjaw videos will point you in the direction of the pub’s Dexter Cheeseburger). Now Ed McIlroy, one half of the duo behind both north London establishments, has gone solo, reviving Tollington’s, a once-tired chippy in Finsbury Park. Inspired by his travels along the Iberian coastline, McIlroy has created a fish-heavy menu of small plates – Scottish surf clams, devilled crab and “squid on the plancha”, alongside saucy “chips bravas” and daily-changing pinchos – in a cheery, unfussy atmosphere. Rosanna Dodds

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Isabelle Castanier in St Tropez

For her summer exhibition, interior designer Isabelle Castanier eschews the showroom for a more intimate setting: her childhood home on St Tropez’s leafy Place des Lices. Inside she has installed furniture, textiles and artwork by designers and craftspeople, from Emma Bruschi’s woven-straw furniture to vibrant fabrics by Marseille-based design duo Table, providing endless inspiration for sunny gatherings. Marion Willingham

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Asics x Hay sneaker collaboration

Danish design firm Hay has collaborated with Asics to revive its Skyhand OG sneaker from the brand’s 1994 collection. Made from a suede-leather mix, using FlyteFoam in the forefoot and EVA foam in the heel for cushioning, the first drop comes in three colourways: soft pink, blue and emerald green, with new shades expected to follow in the autumn. Inès Cross

EAT

French food by Jackson Boxer in London

The streets of Covent Garden in London have “surrendered to the chains”, says Jackson Boxer. What it deserves is “a beautifully intimate restaurant with ambition”. His answer is Henri, a Parisian-inspired bistrot on the ground floor of the Henrietta Hotel, just off Garrick Street. He will be cooking plates of green snails with green garlic, oysters with green apple granita, globe artichokes with boiled egg and anchovy, roast chicken with morels and turnips, and roast duck with blood orange and green olives. Baya Simons

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Christabel Blackburn’s LA – in London

Christabel Blackburn often paints solitary women: against the backdrop of a terracotta building, a lush green garden, a teal swimming pool or a cool, empty art gallery. Her latest body of work, on display in a solo show at Gillian Jason Gallery in London, draws inspiration from the city streets of Los Angeles and the surrounding mountains and deserts of California. “Each solitary figure is surrounded by bright, clean colours, creating a cheerful exterior in a perpetually sunny world,” says the London-based painter. “But the lack of other people or cars and an abundance of space puts a chink in the perfection.” Kira Richards

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Fumiko Imano in Tokyo

Fumiko Imano often photographs herself with a superimposed fictitious twin: side by side in the bath; at the foot of the Eiffel Tower; in front of the Sacré-Coeur. The Japanese artist’s latest exhibition, held in collaboration with Milanese leather goods brand Valextra, uses the same motif in diptychs shot in Valextra’s factory in Milan. In a series of playful stills, she follows the employees out of the factory doors and sits by their sides while the angular handbags are cut and stitched. KR

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Moët & Chandon x Yannick Alléno pop-up in Paris

Moët & Chandon has partnered with chef Yannick Alléno on a pop-up bar and restaurant in Paris’ seventh arrondissement. It will host a summer-long soirée featuring a champagne happy hour, a sparkling-friendly menu of sea bass carpaccio, asparagus and olive oil, and wild strawberries and ice-cream alongside DJ sets and live performances. KR

SHOP

Tove x Merit Beauty evening bag

Clean-beauty brand Merit and British womenswear line Tove have collaborated on a limited-edition evening bag made from vegan silk. Designed to be worn as a clutch or over the shoulder, it comes in a single shade of taupe. Tove co-founders Holly Wright and Camille Perry have also curated an “evening set” of essentials to slip inside including a lipstick, serum, and “flush” and highlighting balms. IC
Free with orders over £100 at meritbeauty.com and tove-studio.com, or £119 for The Evening Set (including bag)

EAT

Chilli oil from Poon’s London

On weekdays, the archways of Bermondsey’s Spa Terminus are a hive of food production: Monmouth Coffee roasts its beans in one; Little Bread Pedlar bakes loaves in another; Mons Cheesemongers ages its raw milk cheeses on rows and rows of shelves. On Fridays and Saturdays the building opens up shop to sell these wares. The latest addition is Poon’s London, a purveyor of chilli oils, vinegar, noodles and “wind-dried” charcuterie. Stop by for the garlic-spiked chilli oil, infused with salted black beans, which they prepare on-site during the week. BS

SHOP

Sophie Bramly’s photographic history of hip-hop

Sophie Bramly first encountered breakdancing in Manhattan’s Union Square in the 1980s, just as it was exploding into the mainstream. “I had never seen anyone dancing and spinning on a shoulder, knee or head,” says the Paris-based photographer. “I had no idea that the human body could do such a thing. This was the moment I understood what rap music was all about: music that gave the energy to do all that.” Bramly went on to spend four years documenting the emerging hip-hop scene, photographing graffiti artists, the Rock Steady Crew and young people breaking in the streets of SoHo. Her photographs have now been gathered together as Yo! The Early Days of Hip-Hop 1982-84 (Soul Jazz Books, £35). IC

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Madeleine Bialke in London

After moving from New York to London in 2023, artist Madeleine Bialke found herself drawn to the city’s trees. Whether looming large over a wrought-iron fence in Bedford Square or lashing spindly limbs in Epping Forest, they helped anchor her in the unfamiliar landscape. The experience has inspired 10 ink drawings to be exhibited at London’s Huxley-Parlour gallery until September. At once spirited and firmly rooted in their surroundings, the trees make for the perfect welcoming committee. Chris Allnutt

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Ice-cream and T-shirts by Harry Styles in Chicago

Bidding to return a sense of pleasure to in-person shopping, Harry Styles has been staging pop-ups for Pleasing, his beauty and fashion line. First there was a Pleasing Saloon in Austin, Texas, selling Western-themed bandanas, sweatshirts and perfume. Now, he’s opening the Pleasing AstroMilk Bar in Chicago, Illinois. The kitsch American-diner style store will sell pale-blue, pink and purple nail polishes designed to look like the Milky Way and red and white T-shirts and caps printed with the AstroMilk mascot, Marshal the Martian Milk Man. A bar will serve scoops of blueberry, red velvet and espresso ice-cream. BS

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I’m Com’un Home In The Morn’un: Elaine Constantine at the Martin Parr Foundation

In the early 1990s, Elaine Constantine moved to London to work for The Face magazine. The Manchester-born photographer began documenting the packed-out dancefloor at the city’s 100 Club, home to the first-ever Northern Soul All-Nighter. Her new exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation, and accompanying book published by RRB, titled I’m Com’un Home In The Morn’un, features 42 archival prints that recall the time. She captures the energy of the city’s evolving soul scene in the mid ’90s – all sweaty figures lost to the joys of dancing. IC