Life

By Azhar Al-Rubaie, CNN Hillah, Iraq (CNN) — The sun hangs heavy over central Iraq in late afternoon, painting the ruins of Babylon in heat and light. Dust rises from the ground in soft clouds, carrying a faint scent that seems older than time itself. In this moment the city feels both empty and eternal,

By Leah Dolan, CNN London (CNN) — Marie Antoinette died over 230 years ago. But in the modern day, the teen queen’s presence remains widely felt. A-listers from Kylie Jenner to Miley Cyrus have embodied her likeness for fashion magazines, wearing diaphanous frocks or towering wigs surrounded by a selection of teeth-rotting confectionery. Last year,

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — A spellbinding image of two tiny but vibrant “ladybugs of the sea” has won the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 award. Taken by Indonesia-based photographer Yury Ivanov at his local dive site in Bali, the winning photograph shows two amphipods, which stand at just three millimeters tall, resting

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Depicting a crisscross of welts and scars streaked across the body of a formerly enslaved Louisiana man, “Scourged Back” is one of the 19th century’s defining photographs. The image was so widely circulated in America during the Civil War that it reshaped the abolitionist cause by laying bare the

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — Melania Trump’s enigmatic style staple, the face-covering wide-brimmed hat, is back. And this one cast an even lower, closer shadow — rendering her expressions even more inscrutable — than any before it. The first lady struck a suitably formal figure on Wednesday as the Prince and Princess of Wales

By Ella Alexander, CNN London (CNN) — When Laura Weir made her first speech as the British Fashion Council’s new CEO this summer, she put inclusivity at the heart of her mission. She addressed issues that have long been discussed among the city’s fashion designers: whether it is possible to run a viable brand if

By Jimena De La Quintana, CNN (CNN) — It was in 2007 when Peru’s Machu Picchu Inca sanctuary was designated one of the New 7 Wonders of the World after receiving more than 100 million votes in a global competition. Now, the New7Wonders project, which organized the vote, warns that Machu Picchu is at risk

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN New York (CNN) — On Manhattan’s breezy piers, inside golden-hour lit warehouses and even in an Episcopal church: such locations served as the venue for runway shows, as New York Fashion Week kicks off a busy fashion month. While a growing number of influential designers (Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera and Marc

By Silvia Marchetti, CNN (CNN) — In Scanno, a medieval village deep in the wild mountains of central Italy’s Abruzzo region, one woman dresses as if time has never moved on. At 94, Margherita Ciarletta — witty, fiercely independent and guarded about her privacy — is the last person who wears Scanno’s centuries-old traditional clothing

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) — Authorities in Egypt are on the hunt for a 3,000-year-old gold bracelet, once owned by a pharaoh, which has disappeared from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The gold bracelet adorned with a lapis lazuli bead was last seen in the restoration laboratory of the museum in Tahrir Square, Egypt’s

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — Long lines, delays and record passenger numbers might not scream “satisfaction,” but while these remain frequent hallmarks of air travel in North America, a new study has revealed flyers are increasingly pleased with their experience of the region’s airports. Overall passenger satisfaction scores are marginally up from last year,

By Chris Lau and Fred He, CNN China Eastern Airlines has begun selling tickets for its new route connecting Shanghai and Buenos Aires, in what the carrier touts as the “world’s longest direct flight.” The flight departing from Shanghai’s Pudong Interntional Airport (PVG) is scheduled to take about 25.5 hours to reach the Ministro Pistarini

By Kati Chitrakorn, CNN (CNN) — When the legendary Hollywood actor-turned director Robert Redford passed away Tuesday, he left behind not only a body of impactful and culturally significant films, but also a style legacy that has largely become the blueprint for American menswear. Instantly recognizable by his floppy windswept hair and penchant for relaxed,

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — For the British, the difference between state visits and plain old official visits is far more than semantics. By convention, the full pomp and pageantry of a royal welcome — the guard of honor, the cavalry band, the palace’s finest silverware — is strictly for the former, making it

By Joshua Korber Hoffman, CNN The Empty Quarter, Abu Dhabi (CNN) — You hear it before you see it. Hundreds of all-terrain vehicles tearing across the desert, the roar of their engines echoing over the sand dunes. The noise goes all night long, making it impossible to grab any shuteye. Not that anyone does. “There

By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN A couple from the United Kingdom had to cut their vacation in Venice short after being caught swimming in the Grand Canal. The 35-year-old British man and his 25-year-old Romanian girlfriend were forced to return to their home in the UK on Thursday, the same day they arrived in the

By Maureen O’Hare, Tom Bouchier-Hayes, Işıl Sarıyüce, Victoria Rubadiri, Andrew Waller, CNN Bodrum, Turkey (CNN) — “What would you like? Dancing lobsters for the lunch?” Sahir Erozan, owner of the legendary Maçakızı resort on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula, is showing us around the latest offering in his portfolio, the ultra-premium Villa Maçakızı. Here, in the bougainvillea-laden

By Oscar Holland, Stephy Chung and photo editor Jennifer Arnow. (CNN) — Cropped tuxedo jackets, “naked” dresses and plenty of pink — attendees at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards offered an early hint at the red-carpet trends that may unfold between now and the Oscars next March. One of the early dates on the awards

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In our travel roundup this week: the European capital with an underwater labyrinth beneath its streets, why an Abu Dhabi surf company believes it’s found “the perfect wave,” plus the rise and rise of XXL cruise ships. You’re going to need a bigger boat The world’s largest cruise ship,

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN New York (CNN) — New York has been buzzing with star power as September kicked off with the US Open and MTV’s Video Music Awards, segueing neatly into New York Fashion Week, the first city to kick off fashion month. Before the week officially began with Michael Kors on Thursday morning,

By Julia Buckley, CNN (CNN) — When it comes to travel, wherever you are in the world, some things never change. McDonald’s is always McDonald’s. A hotel lobby is always a hotel lobby. An inflight safety demonstration is always a safety demonstration, and an airport runway is an airport runway: a long, clean-lined strip of

By Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN London (CNN) — Edward Enninful’s farewell cover for the March 2024 issue of British Vogue, marking the end of his six-year tenure as editor-in-chief, featured 40 very famous women: Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, Cindy Crawford, Victoria Beckham, Naomi Campbell — the list went on and on. Getting that

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Fashion is fickle, and not many people can hold their own against the changing tide of trends. But yesterday Jennifer Aniston, while on her way to appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in New York, proved once again she sits in that exclusive crowd. Promoting the latest

By Leah Asmelash, CNN (CNN) — One month before this WNBA season was set to start, the league made an unconventional announcement: Coach, the American fashion house, would become the “official handbag partner” of the WNBA. The multiyear partnership, a first for both the brand and the league, cemented the already blooming relationship between the

By Rochelle Beighton, CNN (CNN) — Chances are, if you’re planning to hike the Andes in Peru, your journey will take you to Huaraz. The capital of the Ancash region in northern Peru, Huaraz is known as the gateway to the Cordillera Blanca mountain range and is often dubbed the “Switzerland of Peru.” This high-altitude

By Jonathan Hawkins, CNN Mugello, Italy (CNN) — It is a sultry Friday night in high summer on a rolling, cypress tree-lined hillside near the little town of Scarperia e San Piero, in the heart of Italy’s Tuscany region. A bearded man in red fishnet tights and a matching vinyl minidress sways with a beer

By Karina Tsui, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Every year, in the middle of summer, hundreds of Hong Kong construction workers and engineers walk up some 200 steps to Ching Lin Terrace in the seaside neighborhood of Kennedy Town. There, in one of the city’s temples, they gather and pay their respects to Lo Pan,

By Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — The best way to sneak into a fashion show is to be confident and friendly — at least according to Dan Bassini, who has been photographing New York Fashion Week for almost a decade, without being on the guest lists. You might catch the New Jersey-based photographer on the

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN To visitors, Venice is a glorious tapestry of historic buildings, waterways, bell towers, red roofs — and a mighty winged lion, the symbol of the Venetian republic, carved into structures across the city. Possibly the most famous version of the lion is a bronze statue standing atop a column in the

By Ben Jones, CNN (CNN) — America’s fastest train has arrived. ‘NextGen Acela’ made its public debut on August 27, delivering modern design, more seats and an enhanced passenger experience. Hailed as a leap forward for high-speed rail in America, it is, in truth, more of a half-step. The new trains — siblings to France’s

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — Giorgio Armani, the visionary Italian designer who redefined modern elegance and tailoring on the world’s stage, became a mainstay at red carpets and award shows after launching his eponymous brand in 1975. But despite his global dominance, Armani — who died at age 91 on September 4 — will

By Oscar Holland, Stephy Chung, CNN, Photo Editor: Jennifer Arnow (CNN) — The MTV Video Music Awards have a rich history of outlandish — and, at times, outright bizarre — fashion. Even without Lady Gaga’s meat dress or Britney Spears’ python, the annual ceremony is guaranteed to deliver over-the-top styling, playful accessories and tributes to

By Jeanne Bonner, CNN (CNN) — In travel news this week: a look inside North Korea’s answer to Waikiki, a taste of Turkey’s beloved brew, plus fees for travelers to the US will rise at the end of September. Visitors to the US from some of the nation’s closest allies will soon be required to

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — While Jane Austen is best known for skewering the vagaries of romantic love in her novels, there is another, equally complicated and meaningful type of relationship that runs through them, too — that of siblings. Sisters, in particular, influence the thoughts, opinions and actions of many of Austen’s heroines,

CNN By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — High-profile figures from the fashion world and beyond are paying tribute to the late Giorgio Armani, whose death at the age of 91 was announced Thursday. Messages celebrating the designer’s life and legacy also poured in from across politics, entertainment and pop culture — including from celebrity friends,

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — High-profile figures from the fashion world and beyond are paying tribute to the late Giorgio Armani, whose death at the age of 91 was announced Thursday. Messages celebrating the designer’s life and legacy also poured in from across politics, entertainment and pop culture — including from celebrity friends, like

By Oscar Holland, CNN (CNN) — The worlds of art, luxury and design have long fixated on the elusive “young collector” — Gen-Z and millennial buyers whose shopping habits and status signifiers will drive spending for decades to come. The matter of where to reach them — online — is self-evident. Beyond that, however, lie

By Kati Chitrakorn, Jacopo Prisco (CNN) — Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91, the Armani Group announced on Thursday. The designer is credited over his decades of practice with curating a quintessentially Italian aesthetic in his clothes, as well as taking Hollywood’s red carpets to new heights. “Il Signor

By Francesca Street, CNN Three young women are photographed, mid-laughter, on a beach. It’s a sunny day in the early 1980s. Their arms are wrapped around one another. They’re snacking on potato chips, stretching out on a plaid picnic blanket after a dip in the English Channel. “Looking at the photograph, it really epitomizes who

By Megan Williams, CNN London (CNN) — Throughout the 20th century, fashion shoots took place almost exclusively in an indoor photography studio, or in a public space like a bustling city street. But nowadays, you are just as likely to see a campaign or magazine shoot staged in someone’s bedroom, lounge or kitchen, alongside their

By Ali Halit Diker, CNN Istanbul (CNN) — Whether you’re a believer or not, visiting Hagia Sophia is a spiritual experience. The architectural genius of this place of worship — which was built as a church in 537CE before its conversion into a mosque in 1453 — creates an illusion of vastness. It feels like

By Francesca Street, CNN (CNN) — When Addison Stock asked her pilot father for a ride home from the airport, she knew he’d come through. “When he shows up, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’m taken care of,” Stock tells CNN Travel. “That’s how he’s been my whole life, he’s always been the type to show up.”

By Will Ripley, Katharina Krebs, CNN (CNN) — Miles of white sand, turquoise waters, and rows of pristine beachfront hotels line the shore at the newly built Wonsan-Kalma resort. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hopes the development will be his country’s answer to Waikiki. But there’s one problem: the tourists aren’t there. When CNN

CNN By Leah Dolan, Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — After months of speculation on who will replace fashion’s most famous editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour has announced a new top editor at Vogue — though the role isn’t quite the same as the golden post Wintour held for almost 40 years. Chloe Malle, who currently serves as

By Leah Dolan, Jacqui Palumbo, CNN (CNN) — After months of speculation on who will replace fashion’s most famous editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour has announced a new top editor at Vogue — though the role isn’t quite the same as the golden post Wintour held for almost 40 years. Chloe Malle, who currently serves as editor

By Alexandra Skores, CNN Washington (CNN) — Southwest Airlines’ newest jets are now flying with a barrier that can protect the cockpit when pilots need to open the door during flight, according to the airline. The company’s first Boeing 737 equipped with the retractable barrier entered service in time for the Labor Day weekend, making

By Leah Dolan, CNN (CNN) — At this year’s Venice Film Festival, Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried came to promote their films, “After The Hunt” and “The Testament Of Ann Lee,” respectively. But after learning the story of their outfits, another movie comes to mind: “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.” Yes, Seyfried and Roberts

By Rebecca Cairns, CNN (CNN) — When Hiromi Ozaki created six AI-generated “tech bros” to debate each other about the future of humanity, she had no idea how quickly, and how closely, reality would imitate art. “Like, it’s not really about votes anymore, it’s about who’s controlling the algorithms,” argues one of the avatars, a

By Natasha Chen, CNN (CNN) — Joe Koenen has not seen a single Toronto Blue Jays baseball hat all summer. Typically, Canadians will flood the streets of Seattle during the summer, but Koenen, who runs Seattle Free Walking Tours (where people pay what they can), said Canadian tourists are almost gone. Streets look emptier to

By Maureen O’Hare, CNN (CNN) — In travel news this week, a look inside Amtrak’s new high-speed train, Southwest Airlines’ controversial new seating policy, plus the United States scores low on a ranking of the world’s most peaceful countries. And it’s Labor Day weekend in the US, when a crush of travelers could strain an