Beheading is still very much common place, it didn’t end with our Kings and Queens, it’s still going strong in Mexico (here).

Sascha Baron Cohen has been quick to take on his role at Canne making plenty of photo ops for the paps (here)

Hermès was founded by Thierry Hermès in Paris in 1837, as a house of master harness-making and later saddle-making. The first leather handbags were introduced in 1922, it was, however, not until the 1930s that Hermès began to produce some of most popular original creations such as the Sac à dépêches, later renamed the “Kelly bag”. Six subsequent generations later, Hermès is still a fashion house very much synonymous with quality, craftsmanship, and of course, highly covetable leather goods.

The exhibition takes visitors on a gloriously visual, tactile, olfactory and surprisingly poetic journey through Hermes’ artisanal history in an elaborate exploration of the brand’s love of leather. The exhibition also provides visitors with the opportunity to observe an Hermès craftsperson at work, demonstrating the art of leather working by creating some of its iconic works in situ.

‘Leather Forever’ showcases an incredibly varied selection of vintage pieces including a late 18^th century shagreen spyglass, an overnight bag dating from 1840 made from tapestry, beechwood, leather and glazed canvas, an immaculately preserved Bolide travel bag from the 1930s, a 1960s driving hat previously owned by the Duchess of Windsor, and a sand camel wool serge, black clemence taurillon calfskin Plume bag with black Morrocan goatskin lining made in 1930 alongside a some of the fashion house’s more recent dare I say, works of art, smooth crocodile clutches, white bus bags and a whole host of idiosyncratic interpretations of and variations on the Kelly and Birkin bags, named of course after the stunningly serene Grace Kelly and the charmingly quixotic Jane Birkin.

Also on display are the magical manifestations of those whose fantasies become a reality including the Duchess of Windsor’s black varnished calfskin wheelbarrow, dating from 1949, a portable black crispé calfskin kennel (1980) and a Pegasus meets rock n roll crocodile, calf and lambskin saddle (2005) as well as 18 pairs of beautifully crafted half sized shoes housed within a large bag shaped casket.

Lest we forget, Hermès first clients were horse owners, also on show therefore, is a collection of crops, whips, side saddles, riding boots and an overtly ostentatious green crocodile porosus, green cape goatskin and cowhide saddle.

The exhibition concludes with the theatrical unveiling of four uniquely designed Passe-Guide handbags, each designed to represent the countries of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Christie’s will conduct an online-auction of the bags ending on 31^st May, the proceeds of which will go to the Royal Academy of Arts.

Nicola Baird

The Men in Black are back.  Yep.  And Will et al have been out on the red carpet promoting their latest film.

MIB3 sees Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reuniting as agents J and K.  The story will see Tommy Lee Jones go back in time to meet a younger version of himself, played by Josh Brolin.

The film also stars Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Michael Stuhlbarg and the gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger, who was accompanied by boyfriend Lewis Hamilton to the premiere.

MIB3, which is shot in 3D, is in cinemas from Friday May 25th.

It’s not got the best reviews already from Empire but we live in hope as we’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, I mean, Justin Bieber is an Alien in it.

Image : Hey U Guys

- Charlotte Gill

See little people run around, jump over cars and fight with each other in this effort from James Winters as an ode to the recently lost Beastie Boy, Adam “MCA” Yauch.

We think we might just prefer this version with the fake taches, wigs and minis.

See the original here.

All the way throughout the advertising period leading up to the release of Prometheus they’ve kept us guessing, giving no spoilers or finer details of the films in any of the trailers or clips we’ve seen so far.

This new video features Noomi Repace, one of the films main stars having a conversation with Peter Weylandas asking him for financial assistance to fund their mission to outer space  using the Prometheus ship.

You can catch the film in full when it’s released on 1st June.

Hype. Put the word ‘man’ in after it and you create Flavor Flav, single-handedly reviving the big clock industry in the process. Add an ‘r’ to the end and you get a forest of kicked shins at a child‘s birthday party. Apply it in its vanilla form to a film and producers will tell you that you can create a financial success. A box office hit. Which can hardly be a bad thing. If you’re a producer.

The average summer movie season contains some of the most hyped films of the year, and it seems that as 2012 reaches its apex there are more massive, marketing-drenched monoliths heaving themselves into cinemas to straddle packed-out screens than ever before.

This is not a problem in itself. Its just that the channels through which hype is generated have become far more numerous within the last five years. The proliferation of video streaming services like YouTube, along with social media and the perpetual presence of TV advertising, means that studios can and will drive films into the ground through an endless assault of promotional material.

For example, only today I was trying to show someone a trailer for Rock of Ages, the almost-certain-to-be-shit covers-based musical that stars Tom Cruise autotuned to within an inch of his life. And Russell Brand wearing a wig over his real hair that must be IDENTICAL TO THAT WIG. But before the trailer played, we had to sit through another 30 second trailer for an entirely different film. This type of advertising is necessary to keep YouTube free, but watching a trailer in order to watch a trailer feels like being trapped in some kind of online video Inception from which there is no escape.

Of course sometimes hype is done right. The trailers for Prometheus, for example, not only manage to convey the skeleton of the movie’s plot without spoiling anything, but also succeed in making it look incredibly appealing. Even if, when you think about it, the film could end up being a derivative puddle o’ nothing.

On the other hand, the four minute long ‘Super Preview’ of The Amazing Spider Man which was made available this week somewhat misses the point. It is part of a growing trend which sees reams of footage and information revealed about a film ahead of its release, when all fans need is a glimpse. A trailer should hide the flesh of a film like an ankle length Amish farming smock. This is movie the equivalent of crotchless knickers.

While it is a necessary facet of most modern films, cinema is arguably at its purest when hype is removed from the equation. Last year I saw mini masterpiece Drive without having encountered any kind of promotional material before doing so. Entering into a relationship with a film without any kind of expectations or knowledge was refreshing.

A hype deficit is usually the benefit of having a limited budget, but this could act as a lesson to those in charge of marketing the bigger movies. Just because you have the means to promote something with a 10 minute trailer and behind the scenes interview, or a treasure hunt involving a buried Volvo, doesn’t mean you should.

The track, which at the moment doesn’t have a name, was performed at the Chats Palace venue in Hackney as part of an intimate performance last night.

The track is the first chance we’ve gotten to find out the type of vibe The xx are going for on their second album which they recently announced later on this year.

The album will be the follow up to the band’s self titled 2010 debut album which went on to win them the Mercury Music Prize.

At the moment we’re withholding judgement about whether they can emulate the success they had the last time around but for now this song is pretty good so check it out.

Everyone I know has a bad story about an awful landlord or lettings agent and the whole business seems pretty sordid to me. And if you need any convincing take a look at this video of a lettings agent forcing his way into a student home and hurling a load of abuse at the tenant which has gone this viral this week on youtube.

It’s bad everywhere but in London especially the drastic demand for property means many landlords can get away with charging through the roof and providing a shoddy service.

People need the houses so desperately they’ll put up with atrocious living standards and the people in control know and abuse this fact and this is why there’s been a 32% rise in the number of complaints about private renting to the Hackney CAB in the past year.

However, there are protections in law for problems with tenancy agreements and knowing your rights is the first step to winning against the unscrupulous landlords.

For example, if your tenancy isn’t worth the paper it’s written on and it’s not been officially created, your rights laid down by law will always override those stated in this written or oral agreement.

Shelter has got together with the CAB to organise these sessions and there’s one tomorrow night (17^th) and on the 24^th. They are held between 6.30pm and 8.30pm at the Hackney CAB office at 300 Mare Street. They’re free and open to all assured shorthold tenants and those who are hoping to start a private assured shorthold tenancy.

If you want to go you’ll need to reserve a place by calling 020 8525 6350.

Words: Rebecca Rutt

Image: Time Out

Find more London news here.

Find us where you’re at, follow us on Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Tumblr

Philip Green’s privileged daughter Chloe Green has launched her shoe line for Topshop with a little help from some C list celebrity friends. (Here)

London bus drivers begin their protest against Olympic pay. (Here)

Want to know how to get the perfect bikini body? Here’s a humourous take on that very thing. (Here) 

Image: BBC

Liam Gallagher’s fashion label launched in October 2011 and since then has gone from strength to strength opening a flagship store on London’s Carnaby Street and becoming a firm favourite of want-to-be mods and fans of classic British menswear styles.

Now they’re launched a sunglasses line which is made up of four different vintage inspired styles, all of which are apparently styles that Gallagher himself likes to wear once the sun comes out.

In another first Pretty Green also launched a new footwear line for the warmer season recently. Made up of blue and pink suede shoes and some casual pumps.

Prices for the sunglasses start at £85 and go up to £95 and they’ll be ready for delivery this Friday (18th) May.