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Design

This Month

Claire Perini in Paris.

An expert’s guide to vintage shopping in Paris

We go hunting for hidden treasures on the flea market trail with antiques queen Claire Perini.

October

Adobe chief executive Shantanu Narayen hopes new artificial intelligence programs will boost its lagging share price.

Adobe ups the ante in Canva battle with ‘copyright-safe’ AI features

The design giant says new AI products and a partnership with YouTube will give it a strategic edge over competitors, including the Australian tech star.

Jess Hatzis, CMO Betts Shoes. 23 October 2025. Photo: Eddie Jim.

The 133-year-old shoe brand banking on a contemporary update

Best known for children’s school footwear, Betts is a legacy name undergoing a “big step forward” to focus exclusively on women’s style.

Consumers look over the newly launched iPhone 17 Pro at an Apple Store in Sydney.

Why your new phone is not designed for women

Capitalism, and Apple in particular, is not giving me what I want, but I could always behave like a good free market consumer and switch companies.

Benjamin Shine uses a steam iron (on low heat) to create his tulle portrait, Incarnation #2

This artist’s paintbrush is a steam iron, and Beyonce is a fan

Canberra-based Benjamin Shine threw in a promising fashion design career when he realised he could ‘paint’ with tulle.

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Arts Centre Melbourne’s head of curatorial, Margot Anderson, with a silk-and-ermine gown worn by Dame Nellie Melba in Otello in 1900. It will feature in the new Australian Museum of Performing Arts’ inaugural exhibition, Diva.

Tired of Taylor Swift? The original showgirls are coming to Melbourne

Never heard of Bob Mackie before he designed the outfit for Tay-tay’s new album? His earlier looks for Cher, Tina Turner and P!nk will join dozens of other diva dresses in a blockbuster exhibition at Hamer Hall.

September

The new “Rose Garden Club” as seen from the Colonnade at the White House.

Trump’s tacky White House reno a sign of desperation

Paving over the Rose Garden and gaudily embellishing the Oval Office are the US president’s mistaken attempts to make himself look regal and high class.

August

What’s the hottest thing in interiors? The great outdoors

Australians love their backyards so much that one world-renowned design company has opened its first outdoor furniture showroom in Sydney.

Kevin McCloud.

Kevin McCloud and Tim Ross’s new podcast is for serious design nerds

Tim and Kev’s Big Design Adventure is an attempt to escape “an emerging tyranny of the visual”. It includes an Australian innovation described as “amazing”.

July

Apartment owner Carolyn Martin with Architect Michael Heenan.

The innovative Coogee window that solves a common coastal problem

If your home faces south, down a slope towards the water, the views are great. But getting sunlight in from the north has been impossible – until now.

A pair of Brazilian modernist Oscar Niemeyer Alta chairs in ivory leather set off a living area.

Step inside this modernist penthouse with 360-degree views

One of Australia’s most esteemed interior designers has turned his hand to a 1000 square metre apartment in South Yarra, Melbourne.

Vince Frost

Vince Frost: ‘When everything is digital, print is premium’

The design guru, who started designing in the same year as the launch of AFR Magazine, has added his creative flair to our special anniversary edition.

Lighthouse residence, Byron Bay by Brisbane’s BVN architects. 

Step inside one of the nation’s most extraordinary new homes

This award-winning residence in Byron Bay is perfectly at one with nature – even when there’s a cyclone at its door.

June

The best tips from a stylish high-flyer

British handbag designer and sky-high daydreamer Anya Hindmarch is a woman on the go.

Steve Jobs and Bill Atkinson (right) brought the Macintosh to life.

Bill Atkinson, who made computers easier to use, dies

A designer for Apple, he created software that made it possible to display shapes, images and text on the screen and present a simulated “desktop”.

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Icebergs surround the Falkor.

When contemporary design and millennia-old ice sheets collide

Designer Brodie Neill has found inspiration on the front lines of the climate crisis – the iceberg strewn waters of Antarctica.

May

Toorak mansion with Merlo touch flips for $15m

The acclaimed garden designer has sold his latest mansion project for about $15m.

Penelope Seidler in Venice to open her exhibition at SMAC.

Australia’s architectural titan takes Venice by storm

The late Harry Seidler’s wife, Penelope, reflects on his contribution to the built environment at a major retrospective.

Artist and furniture designer Ella Saddington has designed a new collection inspired by armour.

When modern furniture meets medieval armour-making

Australian designer Ella Saddington’s new collection employs the smithing processes used in historical warfare to create glam lamps and tables.

The Pillars, a new tech-focussed networking club in Sydney with  co-founders (left to right) Steve Grace, and Bradley Delamare and (centre) Rosie Cardoe, head of memberships.  Thursday 24th April 2025 AFR photo Louie Douvis .

A new $25k members’ club opens in Sydney

The Pillars aims to connect entrepreneurs and investors over ice baths, fancy dinners and all-hours parties on a hidden terrace.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/design-hq9