At 35, Daniel Pontón is what is known as a Disney adult. His fans crowd outside his home in Parla in Madrid where he lives with his fiancé. His passion for Disney is such that he is considering removing the bed from the guest room/museum to make way for the invasion of stuffed Disney toys. On the fluffy pillows, there are Mickey, Stitch, Jack Skellington, Olaf, Chip and Chop. The shelves and walls are also plastered with Disney images. All this memorabilia, and other collector’s items, such as park keys, are mementos from his time browsing Disney stores and enjoying theme parks.
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Antiques and Vintage - flickr

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le Tour Auto ~ 2026
Christopher Mark Perez posted a photo: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 (early) at f/8
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El País in English

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The adult tribe that is transforming Disney: ‘Everything outside ceases to exist’
At 35, Daniel Pontón is what is known as a Disney adult. His fans crowd outside his home in Parla in Madrid where he lives with his fiancé. His passion for Disney is such that he is considering removing the bed from the guest room/museum to make way for the invasion of stuffed Disney toys. On the fluffy pillows, there are Mickey, Stitch, Jack Skellington, Olaf, Chip and Chop. The shelves and walls are also plastered with Disney images. All this memorabilia, and other collector’s items, such as p
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El País in English

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A red star in the sky over the banlieue of Paris
Street vendors and market stalls begin to pack up by mid-afternoon on Saturday. In the narrow streets there is the smell of roast lamb and on the terraces locals from the neighborhood, retired laborers, and third-generation immigrants mix with groups of young people with a hipster look wearing expensive clothes and drinking IPA beers. Saint-Ouen marks the first boundary between that Haussmannian Paris, already unaffordable for many family budgets, and its famous banlieue, until recently known fo
A red star in the sky over the banlieue of Paris
Street vendors and market stalls begin to pack up by mid-afternoon on Saturday. In the narrow streets there is the smell of roast lamb and on the terraces locals from the neighborhood, retired laborers, and third-generation immigrants mix with groups of young people with a hipster look wearing expensive clothes and drinking IPA beers. Saint-Ouen marks the first boundary between that Haussmannian Paris, already unaffordable for many family budgets, and its famous banlieue, until recently known for youth unrest, episodes of jihadist terrorism, and large concrete apartment blocks. But it is also the product of investment from the Olympic Games, a symbol of the gentrification of the Paris periphery and the home of the city’s oldest and most charismatic soccer club: Red Star.

© SOPA Images (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Antiques and Vintage - flickr

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le Tour Auto ~ 2026
Christopher Mark Perez posted a photo: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 (early) at f/8
le Tour Auto ~ 2026
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saltycotton

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She Has Lingering Enchantment
saltycotton posted a photo: Cadum Toilet Soap ad 1958
She Has Lingering Enchantment
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Antiques and Vintage - flickr

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Kaïopai° posted a photo: Pont Royal et Musée d´Orsay, Paris, 1965 ou un peu plus tard
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El País in English

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Failure of European fighter jet program exposes the weakness of EU defense
The European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint project led by France and Germany with participation from Spain, has failed because of disagreements between Airbus, the German representative, and Dassault, the French firm. It was the most ambitious European project at a time when the EU says it wants to increase and coordinate military spending to develop shared defense technologies, programs, and platforms — like the one that collapsed on Monday, June 8. What happened with FCAS casts doub
Failure of European fighter jet program exposes the weakness of EU defense
The European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint project led by France and Germany with participation from Spain, has failed because of disagreements between Airbus, the German representative, and Dassault, the French firm. It was the most ambitious European project at a time when the EU says it wants to increase and coordinate military spending to develop shared defense technologies, programs, and platforms — like the one that collapsed on Monday, June 8. What happened with FCAS casts doubt on whether Europe can ever reconcile national sovereignty with the demands of building next-generation, complex weapons systems, at a moment when the EU is trying to bolster its defense sovereignty and the United States is beginning to withdraw its security umbrella. It also adds pressure and lessons for other projects trying to move forward.

© NurPhoto (NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Antiques and Vintage - flickr

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Kaïopai° posted a photo: Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris, 1965 ou un peu plus tard
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Deadline

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‘Hacks’ Was Only Allowed To Have 10 People In Louvre For Final Day Of Filming: “That Was It”
SPOILERS: This post contains details about the Hacks series finale With Hacks bidding au revoir in tonight’s series finale, the cast and creators looked back at their final day of filming, which took place at an iconic locale. In the HBO Max series’ post-show Bit by Bit, Jean Smart recalled only being allowed to work […]
‘Hacks’ Was Only Allowed To Have 10 People In Louvre For Final Day Of Filming: “That Was It”

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El País in English

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Photographer Jack Davison’s challenge: Three days in London and 111 portraits (37 per day)
At the latest edition of Paris Photo, held in November 2025, a series of black-and-white portraits caught the attention of both the public and the media. Their public display followed a large-scale installation from the 2024 edition, dedicated to the complete works of the German portrait photographer August Sander (1876-1964). That year, the newly-renovated Grand Palais had welcomed visitors with his celebrated project, People of the 20th Century. Seguir leyendo
Photographer Jack Davison’s challenge: Three days in London and 111 portraits (37 per day)
At the latest edition of Paris Photo, held in November 2025, a series of black-and-white portraits caught the attention of both the public and the media. Their public display followed a large-scale installation from the 2024 edition, dedicated to the complete works of the German portrait photographer August Sander (1876-1964). That year, the newly-renovated Grand Palais had welcomed visitors with his celebrated project, People of the 20th Century.

© Jack Davison (EL PAÍS)

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison (EL PAÍS)

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison (EL PAÍS)

© Jack Davison (EL PAÍS)

© Jack Davison

© Jack Davison


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Hollywood Life

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‘Emily in Paris’ Star Dies: What We Know About Pierre Deny’s Cause of Death
Deny was known fow playing CEO Louis de Leon on the Netflix series. He was 69.
‘Emily in Paris’ Star Dies: What We Know About Pierre Deny’s Cause of Death

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Malay Mail - All
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Luxury industry pivots to high-end experiences to recover lost exclusivity
PARIS, June 7 — Faced with a painful slowdown in recent years, the luxury sector is seeking to recover its mojo by juggling a back-to-basics approach with finding new ways to connect to clients.The financial performances of the heavyweights – profits amputated last year at LVMH and Kering, while Burberry posted a loss for its 2024-2025 financial year – testify to the fact the market has undergone a change.The causes are multiple, including the slowing Chinese mar
Luxury industry pivots to high-end experiences to recover lost exclusivity
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PARIS, June 7 — Faced with a painful slowdown in recent years, the luxury sector is seeking to recover its mojo by juggling a back-to-basics approach with finding new ways to connect to clients.
The financial performances of the heavyweights – profits amputated last year at LVMH and Kering, while Burberry posted a loss for its 2024-2025 financial year – testify to the fact the market has undergone a change.
The causes are multiple, including the slowing Chinese market, aspirational customers becoming more cost-conscious, and concerns about quality.
“Following the Covid pandemic the luxury market was boosted by binge buying,” said Eric Briones, a cofounder of the Paris School of Luxury who recently published a book about the transformation of the sector.
“And when the luxury sector was confronted with that strong demand, the artisanal model came under pressure,” he said, pointing to recent outsourcing scandals in Italy.
Luxury overexposed
A major part of the luxury cachet is that products are made with superior materials by skilled artisans using traditional methods, which naturally limits production.
Italian police have been investigating major luxury brands for two years over work allegedly outsourced to poorly paid Chinese workers and grim labour conditions.
The post-Covid boom in demand was accompanied by price hikes of up to 50 percent for some labels, “without improvements in quality, and sometimes a drop in quality”, Briones said.
Not only prices increased. Volumes did too.
“It is a fundamental question,” said Christophe Cais, chief executive at CXG, a consultancy that works with premium and luxury brands about customer experiences.
“How many bags can you sell globally without becoming overexposed? Exclusivity is desirable and at the same time you want sales volume, so at what point does volume undermine exclusivity?” he said.
According to the consultancy Bain & Company, the luxury market lost 20 million clients between 2024 and 2025, after having lost 50 million over the previous two years.
Consolidation
Following years of economic and geographic growth for the big luxury groups, analysts say the time has come to prune.
“A phase of recentring and bringing some coherence to portfolios is underway,” said Lea Hubsch at Kearney.
“That may include stepping back or finding another partner for certain brands that aren’t so much part of the DNA” of a group, she added.
LVMH, the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, recently sold off US label Marc Jacobs after holding it for three decades.
In January, it sold the DFS duty free shops’ activities in China.
Kering, another luxury group based in France that is undergoing a major shakeup, sold off its beauty division to L’Oreal for €4 billion (US$4.7 billion; RM18.57 billion).
“This consolidation trend is sure to continue as conglomerates clean out underperforming or strategically less important divisions, focusing on core operations,” CXG said in a recent report.
That will provide opportunities for other companies to snap brands and create new combinations.
Italy’s Versace bought its home turf rival Prada last year for €1.25 billion (RM5.8 billion).
Other deals are expected: Giorgio Armani indicated in his will that he wanted his fashion house to eventually join a luxury group like LVMH or L’Oreal.
Desirability, quality, experiences
Kering’s new CEO Luca de Meo was quite clear in his presentation of the group’s turnaround strategy last month that consolidation was coming, but he also signalled a back-to-basics approach.
He called for an upgrade in quality and efforts to restore the desirability of its leading brand Gucci, which fell victim to overexposure thanks to streetwear.
“Our priority is to make Gucci unmissable again,” de Meo said.
“In one second, you must know it’s Gucci – and it doesn’t mean covering the world with GG.”
Analysts say that in addition to returning to an emphasis on craftmanship and quality, the industry is tuning into demand for experiences and tap into the wellness trend with customer service that rivals that of luxury hotels.
“Desire has shifted to ‘experiences’: beauty, hospitality, transformative luxury,” Briones said. — AFP