Kenzo Takada, the fashion designer whose namesake label, Kenzo, helped propel Japanese fashion to the global stage, has died at 81 of Covid-19 complications. Takada entered fashion after migrating to Paris in 1964, only intending to stay for six months. He earned a living by selling sketches to fashion houses, but soon opened his own boutique: the controversially named Jungle Jap, a lavish space in the Galerie Vivienne festooned with Rousseau-inspired florals. Such vibrant, uninhibited visuals would define his label, whose exuberant, mismatched, and oversize womenswear drew heavily from Japanese style and departed from French fashion while influencing Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto.

Newly renamed Kenzo, Takada’s label skyrocketed to popularity in the 1970s and garnered numerous accolades, magazine covers, and business opportunities, such as the launch of menswear, fragrances, and eyewear in the 1980s. His global travels and exposure to the world’s diversity of cultures fueled him, yielding bold reinterpretations of folk dresses and kimonos for the runway. “There was much more of a cultural gap when you were traveling from one country to the next,” Takada told CNN in 2019. “That really drove me and gave me a lot of influence and inspiration to work on different things around my trips.”

At the height of his success, in 1993, Takada sold his label to LVMH for $80 million. Though he stayed on as a designer at first, a series of personal struggles coupled with fashion’s increasingly demanding schedule led to his departure from the label in 1999 to explore new ventures, such as creating opera costumes, painting, and designing homewares. “With a stroke of genius, [Takada] imagined a new artistic and colorful story combining East and West,” says Jonathan Bouchet Manheim, the CEO of Takada’s newly launched lifestyle brand K3. “He had a zest for life and was the epitome of the art of living.”

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Captivated by the artful innovation that goes into every Brizo product, we commissioned New York–based artist Rebecca Lee to visualize a selection of the brand’s fittings within the context of three art movements: Surrealism, Pop, and Impressionism. From a polished chrome shower arm and faucet from the Invari Bath Collection nestled into a Dalí-inspired landscape, to a minimalist matte black faucet from the Odin Kitchen Collection anchoring a Warhol-esque dining nook, the dreamscapes prove each piece’s ability to complete any space, real or imagined.

Like three bodies locked rhythmically in a graceful waltz, an expressive sexuality defines Vincent Pocsik’s evocative Dancers. Blurring the line between objet d’art and furniture, the meticulously sculpted black walnut piece is part of a family of lifelike formations that belong to the L.A.-based sculptor and trained architect’s On The Meridian series. Pocsik drew inspiration from the negative space generated when people dance: “I wanted to create a static piece that expresses movement,” he says of the three-pronged table.

With deeply rooted connections to Czech glass pioneers, Marc Wood sparked an early passion for heritage craftsmanship that now informs every aspect of his eponymous London studio. He nurtures deep connections with the world’s foremost artisans to create sculptural lighting fixtures such as the newly launched Rosa Ring collection, a show-stopping pendant series that incorporates backlit Rosa Estremoz marble discs to emit a gentle glow.

When: Until Jan. 16, 2021

Where: Vito Schnabel Projects, New York

What: The 19th-century English poet John Keats once criticized Sir Isaac Newton for emptying rainbows of their poetry by explaining the phenomenon of refraction in scientific terms. Despite this, rainbows persist as symbols of childlike hope and future promise, bound somewhere between spiritual interpretation and scientific discovery—much like the paintings of Ariana Papademetropoulos.

For “Unweave a Rainbow,” the L.A. artist dreams up a sensual world of plush orange carpeting and rainbow-shaped modular floor cushions. Each can be rearranged—unwoven, if you will—so viewers can reflect on the prismatic color and uncanny visuals of her paintings, which explore the psychological effects of lavish interiors eerily devoid of human presence and ruptured by vivid, ominous bubbles.

The restaurant industry has suffered major blows due to the coronavirus, but a new audit released by New York comptroller Thomas DiNapoli portends a steep uphill battle. The report states that up to one-half of all New York restaurants will close within the next six months, eliminating nearly 159,000 jobs. “The industry is challenging under the best of circumstances and many eateries operate on tight margins,” says DiNapoli. “Now they face an unprecedented upheaval that may cause many establishments to close forever.”

Though several measures have been taken recently to help the industry, including permanent outdoor dining, bringing back indoor dining at 25 percent capacity, adding surcharges to bills, and extending liability protections to restaurateurs, DiNapoli says further action is needed: “It’s important that the state and city continue to be creative and bolster the industry.” His report corroborates an NYC Hospitality Alliance survey, which found that nearly 90 percent of New York restaurants won’t be profitable within six months.

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Ceramics of Italy is the brand of the Italian ceramic industry, representing more than 150 manufacturers of the finest tiles, sanitary-ware, and tableware. The trademark stands for tradition, quality, innovation, and creativity, earning the respect of the world’s top designers. Products range from handmade ceramics to high-tech porcelain slabs.

Surface Says: Ceramics of Italy functions like a Rolodex of the very best names in ceramic and porcelain tile. If we were redoing our kitchen or bathroom, we’d turn here first.

1-800-Flowers launches faux plants for the not-so-proficient gardeners out there.

Walmart redesigns their Supercenters to promote airport-like shopping.

This artist dumped 32 tons of carrots outside a London university building.

Joe Doucet debuts a fashionable face shield complete with integrated sunglasses.