In the realm of contemporary fashion, we often discuss the silhouette of a couture gown or the structural integrity of a bespoke heel. Yet, one of the most intimate forms of personal architecture is often overlooked: the wig. For decades, the wig industry operated on a “one size fits all” philosophy—a reductive approach that ignored the diverse anatomical realities of the people wearing them. Today, however, we are witnessing a quiet revolution. High-end hair design is shifting toward inclusive architecture, proving that true beauty standards are not about conformity, but about a precision fit.
The Foundation: The Ritual of Preparation
Every great architectural feat begins with a solid foundation. In the world of hair transformation, that foundation isn’t the hair itself, but the canvas beneath it. For the modern enthusiast, the process of transformation is a ritual that requires both patience and technique.
Achieving a seamless, editorial-ready look starts with the basics: putting on a wig cap. While it may seem like a minor step, the way one secures their natural hair and flattens the surface of the scalp determines the success of the entire silhouette. A properly applied cap isn’t just about containment; it’s about creating a smooth, aerodynamic base that allows the lace to melt into the skin. In our high-definition world, where every detail is scrutinized under a 4K lens, this “behind-the-scenes” preparation is the difference between a costume and a masterpiece. It is the invisible scaffolding that supports the final aesthetic.
The Challenge of the “Standard” Size
For too long, the industry’s reliance on “average” cap sizes left a significant portion of the population in the dark. For those with smaller head circumferences, wearing a standard wig often felt like wearing a hat two sizes too big. The excess material would bunch at the crown, the ear tabs would overlap the ears, and the overall security of the piece was constantly in question.
This wasn’t just a matter of discomfort; it was a matter of representation. When the market fails to provide for diverse head shapes, it subtly suggests that those individuals fall outside the “standard” of beauty. Fortunately, the rise of “micro-inclusivity” has changed the narrative. Boutique brands and specialized manufacturers are now engineering pieces specifically for these niche requirements. For instance, the demand for UNice wigs for small heads has surged as consumers seek out designs that respect their unique proportions. These pieces aren’t just scaled-down versions of larger wigs; they are re-engineered from the ground up to ensure the tension points, lace placement, and density are perfectly balanced for a smaller frame.
Engineering Confidence Through Fit
The “Architecture of the Wig” is ultimately about the psychology of security. When a hairpiece fits perfectly, the wearer’s body language changes. The constant checking in mirrors and the subconscious hand movements to adjust a sliding cap disappear, replaced by a fluid, natural confidence.
Inclusive design in this space means acknowledging that beauty is a 360-degree experience. It’s about how the hair moves when you turn your head, how the nape of the wig sits against the neck, and how the weight is distributed across the scalp. By focusing on specialized silhouettes and refined base techniques, the industry is moving away from the “wiggy” look of the past and toward a future of hyper-realism.
A Cultural Shift Toward Personalization
This shift mirrors a broader cultural movement we see across Our Culture—from customizable skincare to gender-neutral tailoring. We are living in the age of the individual. The modern consumer is no longer interested in adapting themselves to fit a product; they expect the product to be engineered to fit them.
The wig has become the ultimate tool for this self-reinvention. It allows a person to shift their identity with the seasons, but the success of that shift relies entirely on the technical specs of the piece. As we continue to redefine what beauty looks like, inclusivity must remain at the forefront. Whether it is through the meticulous act of putting on a wig cap to achieve a flat lay or the hunt for specialized wigs for small heads, we are seeing a return to craft.
Final Thoughts
The architecture of a wig is a testament to the fact that fashion is most powerful when it is functional. As designers continue to push the boundaries of lace technology, fiber realism, and cap construction, the “standard” is being dismantled in favor of the “bespoke.” In this new era, beauty is no longer a mold you have to fit into—it is a structure built specifically for you, starting from the very first layer and ending with a silhouette that is as unique as your own fingerprint.
Tape-in extensions continue to be the UK’s most popular semi-permanent hair pieces during 2026. This status has been attributed to these extensions’ speed, comfort, and convincingly natural finish. Unlike traditional methods that can be heavy or visible, tape-ins lie completely flat against the scalp. This makes them virtually undetectable, even in fine hair.
However, this still leaves the question of which brand offers the best tape-in hair extensions in the UK right now. So, to provide an answer, our experts decided to extensively test 10 of the leading brands offering this type of hair piece to UK buyers.
This rundown encompasses such major brands as Cliphair, Beauty Works, and Foxy Locks. Big names like these make available tape-ins priced from around £80 to £300 per full head set.
Why Choose Tape-In Extensions?
There are various reasons why tape-in extensions can make a lot of sense for discerning women up and down the UK:
Quick salon application. A full-head fitting of tape-ins only usually takes about one to two hours in a professional setting, using the sandwich method (with no heat or glue required beyond the pre-taped wefts).
Natural, flat-sitting result. Ultra-thin adhesive strips lie flush against the scalp, achieving a blend that can barely be detected – even in updos or ponytails.
Reusability. Quality tape-in sets can usually last for two or three applications, or more than this with careful retaping.
Less damage than keratin bonds or micro-rings, due to their even weight distribution and the minimal tension they cause to natural hair.
Versatile styling options. It’s easy with tape-in extensions to add volume, length, or custom colour blends like balayage.
Top 10 Best Tape-In Extensions UK
Here, then, is our definitive ranking of the brands making available the best tape-in hair extensions in the UK right now, as judged by our knowledgeable and seasoned professionals.
In arriving at this “league table”, we evaluated such aspects as quality consistency, UK availability, shade matching for British hair tones, and all-round value for money.
1. Cliphair
Our extensive evaluation process has resulted in us declaring Cliphair’s tape-in hair extensions our “number one”. This is largely thanks to the exceptional range and accessibility of this UK-based brand’s tape-ins.
Made from 100% Remy human hair, with premium AAAAA grade Remy Royale options, tape-ins are available from Cliphair in more than 60 colour shades, encompassing balayage, rooted, and fashion tones. Prices run from approximately £80 to £180 for a full set.
Cliphair uses an invisible tape design that ensures a seamless, flat fit. With all this brand’s items being shipped from its UK warehouse, purchasers of its tape-ins in Britain can also look forward to dependable next-day delivery.
Our experts loved the thickness and silkiness of Cliphair’s tape-in hair extensions in the UK, as well as their effectiveness at holding style. Such qualities help make Cliphair tape-ins a fine choice for everyday wear, particularly on thin-to-medium hair.
2. Beauty Works
The celebrity-endorsed Beauty Works is a luxury staple in the world of tape hair extensions. This brand is rightly renowned for its Slimline tape-ins, which use a matte-finish polyurethane (PU) material for a flat, comfortable, and discreet application. The hand-processed Remy hair, meanwhile, can be depended on to remain soft for months.
This tape hair extensions brand is probably best suited for those seeking a high-end salon finish with the greatest possible durability. The pricing is predictably high-end too, although the range of around £114 to more than £224 is still very attractive for what the buyer receives.
3. Remi Cachet
Remi Cachet has a well-deserved reputation as a high-quality, professional-grade brand for tape-in extensions. This is largely due to its use of 100% human, ethically sourced hair.
This brand can be regarded as being in the mid-to-high price bracket, with a typical cost per 10-piece pack of about £70 to £120. Remi Cachet’s tape-ins, especially its Elegance and Deluxe ranges, offer comfort, durability, and longevity of up to nine to 12 months with proper care.
4. Foxy Locks
Known for its use of double drawn hair that is thick from root to tip, Foxy Locks can be a particularly alluring brand for women seeking to emphasise volume with their chosen tape-ins.
Another signature of Foxy Locks is its LiteTape technology, which is designed to be ultra-thin and lightweight.
Prices for this brand’s tape-in extensions vary from around £100 to £220. Overall, Foxy Locks’ tape-ins are versatile, reusable, and great for adding thickness without heaviness.
5. Bellami
For women who don’t want anything less than consistent, stylist-approved quality from their choice of tape-in extensions, Bellami is likely to hold considerable appeal.
Such demanding customers can expect to pay higher than the typical entry-level price points when they choose Bellami tape-ins; around £150 to £280 is a good “rule of thumb”.
In return for their outlay, however, these buyers will get 100% Remy human hair tape-ins that incorporate ultra-thin bonds for comfort and longevity. These hair pieces can be a particularly excellent choice for thick or coarse hair.
6. Glam Seamless
People with all hair types can potentially benefit from Glam Seamless tape-ins, which combine custom colours with natural movement. Premium Remy human hair is used, alongside ultra-thin ¼” bonds that lend themselves to discreet placement.
With typical prices ranging from around £140 to £260, tape-in hair pieces from Glam Seamless are particularly ideal for those prioritising invisibility and salon-professional results.
7. LullaBellz
Of all the tape-in extensions brands featured in this list, LullaBellz might be the best for achieving “glam on a budget”. This brand’s human hair packs start at about £170.
Such keen pricing doesn’t mean unacceptable corners are cut on quality. Both luxury human hair and well-made synthetic options are available, while “invisible” tape technology goes a long way to ensuring a seamless, natural, and comfortable blend.
8. Great Lengths
Great Lengths’ status as a high-end benchmark helps explain the heftier typical prices for its tape-ins, of approximately £200 to more than £300.
Such expenditure, however, gives the purchaser the benefit of medical-grade adhesive tapes that sit completely flat, with zero tension. Meanwhile, the ethically sourced Remy hair provides premium shine and durability. For those on the lookout for the highest-end, long-wear option with minimal scalp stress, Great Lengths might fit the bill very nicely.
9. SWAY Hair Extensions
Particularly highly regarded as a source of cool-toned blondes and ash-brown balayage, SWAY has solid credentials in the world of tape-in extensions. This brand uses 100% Remy human hair that is double drawn for thickness, paired with durable, ultra-thin, and comfortable tape-in adhesive.
The typical per-set prices for SWAY tape-ins are relatively wide-ranging, from £150 to over £300. A further £150 is often charged for professional installation.
10. Milk + Blush
A signature of Milk + Blush’s approach to this type of hair piece is its Slim Tape-in design, which is 4cm wide and designed to be lightweight and discreet. The use of this design along with 100% Remy human hair, means women can depend on Milk + Blush’s tape-ins for comfortable and natural-looking results.
The prices for tape-ins from this brand broadly range from £45 to £124 per set, depending on length and style.
How To Choose the Right Tape-Ins
Following these tips will help ensure you select the appropriate tape-in hair extensions for your preferences and needs:
Think about your hair type. Fine or thin hair, for instance, suits lighter and narrower tapes. If, on the other hand, you have relatively thick hair, this will probably handle heavier sets well.
Account for length and weight. A standard full-head set typically requires about 100g to 150g of hair. As for length, around 16” to 20” works for natural enhancement, whereas 22” upwards creates more dramatic length.
Be savvy with your colour matching. Always match to your ends, rather than your roots, to achieve a seamless blend.
Tape-In Aftercare Essentials
Maximise the lifespan of your tape hair extensions with these proven practices:
Use sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner, washing two to three times weekly.
To ensure trouble-free sleeping, have your hair braided loosely and completely dry it before bed to guard against matting.
Establish a refit schedule of visiting your stylist every six to eight weeks to have the tapes moved up.
Conclusion
In the final analysis, our experts have judged the following three brands to offer the best tape-in hair extensions in the UK: Cliphair, Beauty Works, and Remi Cachet.
LullaBellz is our professionals’ pick for the finest-value option. For those who want no less than the very best premium option, meanwhile, we recommend Great Lengths.
For most people, however, it will probably make most sense to begin with Cliphair or Bellami for their initial experimentations with their look. Happy extending!
Premises liability cases arise when an individual suffers an injury due to unsafe or hazardous conditions on someone else’s property. In Houston, these cases can occur in a variety of settings, including commercial properties, private homes, apartment complexes, retail stores, and public spaces. Injuries can range from slips and falls to more serious accidents involving defective stairs, uneven flooring, broken handrails, or inadequate security measures. Victims of premises accidents often face extensive medical bills, lost wages, and emotional trauma, which can make recovery overwhelming without proper legal guidance. Hiring a Premises Liability Lawyer in Houston ensures that victims have experienced professionals to navigate the complex legal process, gather evidence, and pursue the full compensation they deserve.
Common Types of Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability encompasses a wide range of accidents. Slip and fall accidents are the most common, often caused by wet floors, spilled liquids, icy walkways, or loose carpets. Trip and fall injuries can result from uneven sidewalks, broken steps, or unsecured rugs. Other examples include injuries caused by inadequate lighting, malfunctioning elevators or escalators, unsafe swimming pools, or unsecured construction zones. In some cases, violent crimes occurring on poorly secured properties may also fall under premises liability, especially if the property owner failed to provide adequate security. Each type of case has unique legal considerations, and determining liability often involves examining property maintenance records, warning signs, and whether the owner followed reasonable safety precautions. A knowledgeable premises liability lawyer in Houston can thoroughly investigate these factors to ensure that victims have a strong case.
The Legal Responsibility of Property Owners
Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn visitors of any known hazards. The extent of this duty varies depending on the status of the visitor. For instance, business invitees, such as customers in a store, are owed the highest duty of care, meaning property owners must regularly inspect the property and address potential dangers. Licensees, such as social guests, are owed a slightly lower standard of care, while trespassers are generally owed minimal duty, except in certain situations involving deliberate harm. Establishing the property owner’s legal responsibility is a critical part of a premises liability case, and a Houston premises liability lawyer can help evaluate whether negligence contributed to your injuries and if the property owner breached their duty of care.
Steps to Take After a Premises Accident
If you are injured on someone else’s property, taking the proper steps immediately can strengthen your case. First, seek medical attention to address any injuries, even if they seem minor. Document the accident by taking photographs of the hazard, the surrounding area, and any visible injuries. Obtain contact information from witnesses and keep copies of medical bills, pay stubs, and any communications with the property owner or their insurance company. It is important to avoid making statements about fault or accepting settlements without legal guidance, as premature agreements can limit your compensation. Contacting a premises liability lawyer in Houston as soon as possible ensures that evidence is preserved, deadlines are met, and your legal rights are fully protected.
How a Houston Premises Liability Lawyer Can Help
A skilled premises liability lawyer in Houston provides critical support throughout the legal process. Attorneys investigate the circumstances of the accident, review property maintenance and inspection records, interview witnesses, and consult experts if necessary to establish liability. They handle all communication with insurance companies to prevent victims from being pressured into accepting inadequate settlements. Lawyers also calculate the full extent of damages, which may include medical expenses, lost wages, ongoing rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. In cases where a fair settlement cannot be reached, a premises liability attorney is prepared to represent clients in court, advocating for their rights and maximizing potential recovery.
Recovering Compensation for Premises Liability Injuries
Victims of premises liability accidents may be entitled to a wide range of compensation depending on the severity of their injuries and the circumstances of the accident. Economic damages can include hospital bills, surgical costs, physical therapy, prescription medications, and lost income. Non-economic damages may cover pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and reduced quality of life. In severe cases, punitive damages may be awarded if the property owner’s negligence was particularly egregious. A Houston premises liability lawyer ensures that all damages, both present and future, are accounted for in your claim, providing victims with the best chance for fair compensation.
Choosing the Right Premises Liability Lawyer in Houston
Selecting the right attorney is crucial for a successful outcome in premises liability cases. Experience, a proven track record, and a deep understanding of Texas premises liability laws are key factors to consider. At Fibich Law, our team combines legal expertise with personalized attention, guiding clients through every step of the process. From investigating accidents and negotiating with insurance companies to representing clients in court, we provide thorough and compassionate legal advocacy. Choosing a knowledgeable Premises Liability Lawyer in Houston allows victims to focus on recovery while their legal team works to secure justice and financial relief.
Conclusion
Premises accidents can be life-altering, leaving victims to face medical, financial, and emotional challenges. Handling these cases without professional guidance can result in reduced compensation or legal mistakes that harm your claim. A premises liability lawyer in Houston provides the expertise, advocacy, and support needed to hold negligent property owners accountable and recover full compensation. If you or a loved one has been injured on someone else’s property
There’s so much music coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track. On those days when the influx of new tracks is particularly overwhelming, we sift through the noise to bring you a curated list of the most interesting new releases (the best of which will be added to our Best New Songs playlist). Below, check out our track roundup for Monday, March 16, 2026.
Death Cab for Cutie – ‘Riptides’
“‘Riptides’ is about the challenge of dealing with personal struggles as the world around us experiences tragedy and loss on an unfathomable scale,” Ben Gibbard said in a statement about Death Cab for Cutie’s new single, which leads their upcoming album, I Built You a Tower. “And how when these two elements intertwine themselves in our psyches, it feels utterly paralyzing.” It’s driving and progressively disorienting, with Gibbard singing, “I’m too tired to stop/ I can’t bring you up to speed/ There’s too many riptides in this ocean to proceed.”
Lily Seabird – ‘Demon in Me’
Lily Seabird has shared her first single of 2026, ‘Demon in Me’. It arrives on the heels of the singer-songwriter’s excellent 2025 album Trash Mountain, and it suggests that whatever Seabird has on the horizon is lusher and more exuberant, even as the new single leans on “the dark side, probably a symptom of anxiety or depression.” Seabird went on, “The beginning of the song I talk about this longing for freedom. Whether it’s freedom from the demon or letting the demon be free, I’m not really sure, but by the end the music is supposed to embody that.”
Gladie – ‘I Want That for You’
Gladie’s killer new album No Need to Be Lonely is out this Friday, and today they’ve dropped another single from it. ‘I Wnat That for You’ gives the record its title; “It’s the last song we wrote for the record and kind of encapsulates to me the whole message of No Need to Be Lonely,” Augusta Koch explained. “It came from a conversation with a beloved friend that was having a hard time. We were talking about how it’s strange and difficult to be a human sometimes. I often think about how easy it is to see the beauty and wonderful qualities in someone else but how hard it is to apply that same love to yourself. ‘I Want That for You’ is basically about encouragement and wanting everyone to stick around, even when it’s really hard, including ourselves.”
Anna Calvi – ‘Is This All There Is?’ [feat. Matt Berninger]
Ahead of the release of her new duets EP Is This All There Is? on Friday, Anna Calvi has unveiled the title track. Following collabs with Perfume Genius and Iggy Pop, she’s teamed up with the National leader Matt Berninger for an expansive ballad that’s “about the bravery it takes to hope,” in Calvi’s words. “It’s the willingness to ask questions, even when knowing you’ll never get a definitive answer…The tone of Matt’s voice has such an epic, almost ancient quality to it, which felt perfect for a song asking such a big existential question. We’re both searching for answers — together and yet somehow always apart, which I find beautiful. He brings an intimacy to the song that I couldn’t have imagined.”
Bloodworm – ‘Alone In Your Garden’
Nottingham’s Bloodworm have shared a brooding, frosty new track, ‘Alone In Your Garden’. “This song was written during Autumn over a particularly cold couple of days,” frontman George Curtis explained. “I was inspired by the very unique feeling of that time of year, the smell of the air, the falling leaves, the damp stillness that all feels so specifically English. I was trying to invoke those feelings within a song. The song was an attempt at mixing old English folk, with all its folklore and emphasis on tales, with the gothic sound that I am drawn to.”
Truthpaste – ‘Bus Song’
Truthpaste, a group of five multi-instrumentalists, have shared the mesmerizing ‘Bus Song’ via Dirty Hit/Memorials of Distinction. The band’s Esme described it as our emo rock song. It’s another side to Truthpaste that its time people heard outside our live set. We don’t stick to one thing, if it sounds good we’ll do it.” Euan added: “This song was knocking around my head for a couple of weeks, it wasn’t until we got together as a band and decided to make it a duet that it really started to feel like it has come to be.”
Paris fashion week is a strange place. For Loewe’s Fall 2026 show, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough dragged us to Château de Vincennes, once a royal playground for plotting and sword-swinging, now a gothic playground for tourist selfies and Tim Burton poses. For a collection built on playfulness and experimentation, those medieval walls couldn’t have been more misleading. Successful mismatch, if there ever was one.
“As we began conceptualizing our second collection for Loewe, we were struck by a simple truth: for us, the act of making is, at its core, an expression of joy – an intellectual, process driven pursuit charged with playfulness. The path taken matters as much as the end result… Humor, levity, and a bright, inclusive spirit – qualities we recognize as intrinsic to Loewe’s Spanish heritage – led us to the work of Cosima von Bonin, an artist we have long admired and with whom were fortunate to spend time recently,” the brand’s notes insisted, in all their pressy glory. Which, to be honest, explains a lot.
For starters, the set. Walk in and you’re greeted by a glossy yellow floor so banana-bright it hurts your eyes, and instantly, the thought of slipping and landing face-first becomes even more toe-curling. Though if you were one of the lucky ones the PR team favored, your seat came with a three-foot fuzzy dog, a lobster, maybe even a clam, Bonin’s creatures ensuring the softest seat neighbor of your life.
And if the environment wasn’t doing it for you, the palette, textures, and shapes made sure you were in on the fun. Latex, pretending to be lace after a bit of moulding, strutted out first to announce the show had officially begun. Next up, a gradient fur with matching mittens that, from afar, looked like paws, and suddenly, all I could think of was a bear. I quickly snapped out of it and locked eyes with inflatable-looking parkas and scarves, just in case you needed to take off mid-show, looped leather bouclé coats, plaid sweaters knitted from impossibly thin leather yarn, and those very familiar Loewe-meets-Polly-Pocket pieces, now in zip-up dresses, for when your inner kid insists on attending. The guests were thrilled, the dolphin was hard to read.
In 2026, the brooch sits comfortably in the category of accessories no one under the age of seventy actively thinks about. The only remaining enthusiasts seem to be those impeccably dressed, old-world grandmothers you photograph on the street like a rare species, and Daniel Roseberry. Elsa Schiaparelli, of course, had a weakness for that sort of thing. Those surreal little Schiap buttons collectors lose their minds over were designed by Alberto Giacometti, who once gifted her a brooch called ‘The Sphynx’. Guess what Roseberry’s Fall 2026 collection was named after. “This chimera — half-person, half-animal — speaks to the sort of contradictory thing inside of you, inside of me, inside of the brand as well,” the creative told WWD.
Daniel Roseberry has a knack for temporal tourism. His collections constantly drag us back decades, sometimes centuries, through clothing alone. This time, even the venue wasn’t allowed to stay in the present. The maison’s invitation, topped off with a gold ring in the shape of an actual finger, led straight to Carrousel du Louvre. The ultimate spot if you wanted to relive Parisian runways of the ’90s and early ’00s, podium and all.
What would Schiaparelli be without contrast, illusion, and a healthy obsession with the natural world? Luckily, we’ll never have to find out. Picture trompe-l’oeil denim that looks exactly like fur, knitted panels cut like puzzle pieces hovering on the body thanks to tulle, and jersey manipulated enough to create depth. One look toward the end glittered entirely too much, turns out it was made from crushed CDs and cassette tapes. Accessories returned with a sense of order. Elsa’s iconic keyhole popped up on blazer labels, bags, and jewelry, keeping at least one foot in reality. The shoes, however, were having none of it. Roseberry took ‘kitten heels’ a little too literal, crowning pumps with full-on cat and dog faces. As realistic as they looked, no animals were harmed. Resin, on the other hand, had some rough days at the atelier.
Death Cab for Cutie have announced a new album, I Built You a Tower, and shared its lead single, ‘Riptides’. The follow-up to 2022’s Asphalt Meadows is set to land on June 5 via ANTI- Records. Check out director Jason Lester‘s video for the driving, jittery new single below, and scroll down for the album cover and tracklist.
According to Ben Gibbard, ‘Riptides’ “is about the challenge of dealing with personal struggles as the world around us experiences tragedy and loss on an unfathomable scale. And how when these two elements intertwine themselves in our psyches, it feels utterly paralyzing.”
The new LP was produced and engineered by John Congleton from three weeks’ worth of sessions split between Animal Rites in Los Angeles and the band members’ homes in Seattle, Portland, Bellingham, and Los Angeles. “The anniversary tours exorcised any nostalgia in our systems,” guitarist and keyboardist Dave Depper commented. “We felt part of this powerful force greater than all of us and went into the studio with a sense of, how can we capture that feeling and put it into something new?”
Bassist Nick Harmer added: “The whole experience of this record got us back to the earliest versions of this band: If the musicians in the room like what we’re working on, that’s enough. We reconnected with the confidence that comes with that.”
“There’s this need to find a place in ourselves to put loss and grief,” Ben Gibbard explained, referring to the titular tower. “A place that can hold it so we can move on with our lives. But there are these moments where the trauma breaks out of that shell we created for it.”
Death Cab are also going on tour in support of their new album, beginning in Minneapolis on July 10 and wrapping up in Paso Robles on August 7.
I Built You a Tower Cover Artwork:
I Built You a Tower Tracklist:
1. Full of Stars
2. Punching The Flowers
3. Pep Talk
4. I Built You A Tower (a)
5. Envy The Birds
6. Stone Over Water
7. How Heavenly a State
8. Trap Door
9. Riptides
10. The Flavor of Metal
11. I Built You A Tower (b)
Yinka Ilori will present a new exhibition at Cristea Roberts Gallery this summer. Yinka Ilori: Joy Through Resistance opens on 5 June and runs until 11 July 2026, marking the artist’s first solo gallery exhibition in London, his home city. The show brings together new and recent works across painting, print, sculpture, immersive film and sound, offering an insight into themes that shape Ilori’s colourful visual language.
Born in North London to Nigerian parents, Ilori’s work draws on Nigerian storytelling traditions and parables, which he translates into contemporary design and public art. His projects, known for transforming urban spaces through bold colours and patterns, encourage participation and connection within communities. Previous presentations of his work include exhibitions at the Design Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts and the Saatchi Gallery, alongside public commissions across the UK and internationally.
The exhibition takes inspiration from Ilori’s own experiences and the resilience of the diaspora. Through layered imagery that combines the Nigerian yellow trumpet flower with the British daffodil and decorative lace motifs, the artist reflects on how cultural memory can transform hardship into a form of communal strength. A sculptural sound installation featuring handmade congas, a custom shekere and a drumkit, each wrapped in lace, anchors the exhibition’s central tension: the resonant pulse of percussion held within the fragility of textile. Presenting these ideas through a mix of media, the exhibition invites viewers to consider joy as a form of resistance.
The exhibition will be on view 5 June – 11 July 2026 at Cristea Roberts Gallery (43 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JG).
Your Star will continue to shine, 2024 Screenprint. Paper and Image: 75.0 x 75 cm. Edition of 30. From: Paradise for All
Anjimile Chithambo, who writes and performs music under his first name, was raised by Malawian immigrant parents in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. He moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University before relocating to Durham, North Carolina, where his management company, as well as the producer of his new album, You’re Free to Go, are based. After working with Shawn Everett on 2023’s starkly dramatic, grief-stricken The King, his 4AD debut following 2020’s critically acclaimed Giver Taker, Anjimile linked up with Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff) to help craft the airier, relaxed, and quietly cathartic songs that emerged from a period of renewed freedom. “It comes in waves/ Memory and empathy/ It stays and waits with me,” he sings on ‘Waits for Me’, patiently letting them ripple across and crash into his music, often retreating into a question instead of resolving. Whether for something as abstract as freedom and embodiment or palpably simple like kissing a partner, you want the desire to wash over you, and Anjimile makes it sound easy.
We caught up with Anjimile for the latest edition of our Artist Spotlight series to talk about settling into his songwriting, working with Brad Cook, collaborating with Iron & Wine, and more.
What is your relationship to the new songs like as we’re nearing the album’s release?
I was talking to my partner, who I wrote a lot of the songs on the album about, last night, and I was like, “Rust & Wire’ is coming out tomorrow.” That song was written in the summer, and it just brings us both back to when we fell in love, summer heat, warmth, and sunshine. Something about a spring album is really doing it for me.
I’m curious how that warmth is reflective of your process as much as the themes of the album. Do you feel like you’re easing into your songwriting more with each release, or is it more about where you were in your life when you were making it?
I definitely feel like I’m at a point in my artistic career where I feel confident about my songwriting. But also, I’m really interested in expanding it and doing things I’ve never done before. Even structurally, I have a goal of writing a song with a refrain instead of a chorus, or having a song that has literally only two chords in it. I would love to write a two-chord banger. These songs are about my feelings about very specific situations that have occurred in the last three years, but those specific situations engender such big feelings, and those feelings ripple across my life, my relationships, my conversations. These big emotional moments don’t exist in a vacuum, and I feel like that’s what’s cool about songs, is that you can put that big emotional experience in a little bit of a vacuum. Just be like, “Here is pure emotion. Here you go.”
I also don’t consider myself much of a narrative songwriter. I’m not like, “I was at the beach on Tuesday.” I don’t want people to know where I was at or with whom. [laughs] I don’t need the government to know my whereabouts constantly just because I sing about them. But I like to get down to the feeling. Maybe meeting my partner who inspired a lot of the songs on this album has helped me lean into the emotionality of just who I am as a person, which has let me feel more confident about expressing that sonically.
You’ve said that songwriting, for you, feels like “a prayer, a plea, or a question.” ‘Exquisite Skeleton’, for example, is a song that turns into a plea halfway through. I wonder if you feel like a song needs to approximate one of those things in order to feel complete.
It’s definitely an unconscious process. However, I do find, and I have found that there are a lot of questions in my songs. Ending songs with a question, or just having that be the bridge, or having it be an important component, it’s something that I tend to do, for sure. I have so many questions for my higher power and for the universe that I know I’m not necessarily gonna be getting the answers to. And also, I have questions for the subjects of these songs that I’m not necessarily gonna be getting the answers to. But something just feels right about using songwriting as a conduit, an opportunity to present these spiritual or existential questions.
When revisiting your previous record, the line “In my stillness, I am safety” felt like a prayer that stretches out to the nakedness and the stillness of the new record. Despite the musical shifts between the two albums, do you feel like there’s a thread there?
I haven’t thought about that at all. [laughs] But it does resonate extremely. In the aftermath of making my second album, The King, I was pretty emotionally spent, post-tour, post-everything. Songs are painful and meaningful to me, and I love them, but I didn’t expect the emotional weight of singing these songs every night to accumulate, literally, on my body. After the tour, I was like, “I need a break. I need to not think about this music, or maybe my music career at all, and just restabilize.” The distance between recording The King and this new album, I had some breathing room, and that’s what I needed to clear my mind and get back to putting pen to paper, feeling like I would even want to make another record. Making an album and then releasing it, it’s an awesome, exciting, wonderful, beautiful, mysterious, crazy process. And it’s also a lot.
I had this space to breathe, and it was in that space that I was able to meet the producer of the album, Brad. Honestly, I think Brad had a lot more to do with this album’s existence than I give him credit for. Obviously, he was a producer and he was there recording it every step of the way. But he inspired my songwriting as well by just showing me cool music and encouraging me. I would send him songs, and he would be like, “Hey, this is awesome.” He became a sounding board for my process in a supportive and non-judgmental way. It was just purely for the love of art. When it was time to record this album, me and Brad had linked up, we were buddies. I’m trusting Brad, I’ve written a song with him that’s on this album. By the time we’re recording, I’ve fallen in love with this new partner. I’ve written all these songs about her, I’ve ended a previous relationship, there’s just a lot of life changes happening. But I think my relationship with Brad and that trust provided a sense of stability that helped me approach this recording process with a clear heart and mind.
What are some things that made you feel comfortable and kind of spiritually aligned in the studio, that maybe surprised you, even though you and Brad had become friends by that point?
I already knew that he was just a chiller. He’s just easy to spend time with. He’s a kind individual with a great sense of humor. He smokes so much weed, more weed than I’ve ever seen anybody smoke in my life. He has such an incredible, silly, and sharp mind. I already knew that he had great feng shui. He’s got salt lamps all over his house; this guy’s got fantastic lighting. So nice, so smooth. He’s got delicious candles. He introduced me to a candle called Pasta Water. I’m not kidding: delicious, incredible, artisanal. He’s a man of the senses. But getting into this studio and seeing how simultaneously focused, completely locked in, and also objectively ridiculous he is as a person – it’s really hard to describe. Brad has an indescribable je ne sais quoi that exudes through every pore into the studio.
I’ll tell you one moment on the record where I can visualize that. When you say the words “Fucks sake” on ‘Exquisite Skeleton’, I feel like that’s an example of him allowing that ridiculousness and humour to permeate an otherwise dark song.
When I wrote that, I wasn’t trying to be funny, but I was like, “That’s funny.” And Brad got that too. We were listening to the playback, and he’s like, “I can’t believe you started this song with the lyrics, ‘I don’t want to be a son of a bitch,’ that’s hilarious.” And I was like, “It’s funny, because it’s true.” I think that’s also why it works.
Having had that breathing room, when did you feel like you were re-entering the flow of a new album as you were writing new songs?
A lot of it just had to do with the fact that I’m signed to a label. Commercially speaking, it’s in my best interest to release an album at least every three years, ideally less. But that’s just been my goal. So when I saw that I was coming up on that mark, I was like, “Okay, what have we got?” Whenever I write, I’m like, “Three years from now, this is gonna be probably an album.” But it was only through meeting with Brad, and with my managers, showing them all of the songs that I had accumulated over the past couple of years, that it became clear that there was a collection of songs that worked together. It’s a weird process to put all your songs in a playlist and then be like, “Yup, yup, no, no, yup, no, sucks, good.” [laughs] But that was more or less the process. It’s hard to describe, because I feel like thematically these songs fit a certain narrative. But I feel like music, in the same way that the songs kind of write themselves, I feel like the album kind of has a will of its own, almost. The songs are magnetically attracted to each other in a way.
Do you remember what kind of music Brad Cook introduced you to?
Yeah, Brad introduced me to Cameron Winter. Heavy Metal came out right after we finished recording, and he was like, “Dude, check this out.” He introduced me to this band called Good Morning. I think they’re from New Zealand. I don’t know if there’s anybody whose music tastes I just unequivocally trust as much as Brad. He showed me this record called Peanut by the artist Otto Benson. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s indie, but there’s electro, and there’s also some Midwest emo going on. Brad introduced me to Cate LeBon, the record Reward.
How were you affected when Sam Beam entered the studio, given how Iron & Wine has inspired your songwriting?
That was surreal. Brad is just buddies with him, he knows him. Sam Beam lives 25 minutes away from us, and it quickly went from, “Oh man, I love Iron & Wine,” to Brad being like, “We’ll get him in the studio,” to Sam Beam just being there. I guess Brad had sent him some tunes, because I would not expect Sam Beam to know what my music is. Just to have him be like, “Brad showed me the songs, and they’re beautiful,” I was like, “Is this a joke? Am I alive or dead?” It was awesome. And then, he has just the most beautiful voice. It was a pleasure, and honestly a huge, unforgettable learning experience just to watch him sing. I was like, “This man’s voice is completely unreal.”
Do you have a favorite of the three collaborations? It’s really striking to hear his voice on ‘Ready or Not’, especially, given the weight of that song.
I think it probably is ‘Ready or Not’. He just went in there, and he was auditioning crazy harmonies that I would never even think to try. Again, I was like, “Is this a dream? Is this reality?” In addition to the beautiful harmonies, for the last 20 seconds of the track, it’s him breathing rhythmically, and when he laid that shit down, I was like, “It’s so good!” It’s just intuitively perfect. And then you listen to it and it’s cerebrally perfect.
One production detail that ties into the vocals is the modular synth on ‘Waits for Me’, which stood out to me because your voice isn’t really heavily effected elsewhere.
The inspiration of that tone came from the demo, which I just made in my room. I ran the vocals through an amp plugin on Ableton and just thought it sounded cool. But Matt McCaughan, who did a bunch of drums on this record, came in with a modular synth, and that distortion created the most sonically thick and satisfying version of that little lick. And you’re right, there’s not a ton of effected vocals at all, certainly not a ton of distorted-sounding stuff in my work on this record. I imagine that point in the song is a little victory lap, and I feel like that modular synth supports that feeling.
What other parts on the record stand out as victory laps to you?
Definitely the ending of ‘Like You Really Mean It’. Nate Stoker, who played guitar, he rips the last chorus with this tapping riff that’s just totally insane. I don’t know if victory lap is the right word to describe it, but towards the end of the record, there’s a song called ‘Afarin’, which is kind of a sad love song. The outro builds with drums entering in the last 20 seconds of the song. I’m hesitant to say victory lap because that song is sad, it’s yearning. But something about the drums in the outro just felt perfect, and maybe that feeling of perfection is victory to me. The perfect way to expand on and honor this emotional moment in the song.
Are you more of a perfectionist when it comes to endings? Do you usually put a lot of stock in the ending of a song?
Not really. [laughs] I wouldn’t say that I’m a perfectionist, but as a songwriter, I do ascribe to the school of thought where my song should have an end, instead of just it being assumed that it will fade out. A fade-out is beautiful and awesome, but I think it’s important to end a song sometimes. I think sometimes a song needs to be over. For my songs that have endings, which I feel like is most of them, I like for there to be a definitive end.
One song where that feels especially pronounced, maybe because it’s a short song, is ‘Point of View’, which has one of my favorite vocal moments on the record, the repetition of “But you know.” How does the memory of singing these songs in the studio sit in your mind?
‘Point of View’, from an emotional standpoint, I wouldn’t say was fun to sing. But from a technical standpoint, it was fun to sing because the mood for that song feels unique to me. A bit of controlled hysteria, or like something’s about to fall over. There was definitely a joy and an ease to recording and singing these songs on the album, but it can also be challenging to get out of your head enough to sing the song, the way that it is, without worrying about anybody around you or who’s gonna listen to it – or who isn’t, or who it’s about, or who it’s not about. In that sense, it was simultaneously so easy and so hard. But one of the standout singing moments for me was ‘Ready or Not’. Me and Brad wrote it together, and the melody came about super spontaneously, and the lyrics came about pretty quickly, a stream of consciousness. I remember feeling a sense of catharsis, the freedom of saying something true and having it feel right. For a lot of these songs, Brad was auditioning backing vocals behind me while singing, being like, “How about this? This could be sick.” So I felt supported. I wasn’t singing alone; I wasn’t experiencing some of these tough emotional moments alone.
Something that comes up on this record a couple of times is the relationship between time and songs. On ‘Like You Really Mean It’, you sing about how “time became a song that carries on without me,” and on ‘Ready or Not’, you sing “I wait too long/ I make no time for my song.” I’d love for you to talk about that feeling of songs existing outside of you, and I’m also curious what making time for songs looks like for you at the moment.
I’ll answer the second one first and say that making time for songs for me is not just a physical thing of, like, “I need to sit down, put my body here next to a guitar” – that definitely needs to happen, but I also need to be somewhat emotionally clear in order to express whatever needs to come out. If I don’t know how I feel, then I can’t write a song. If the feeling is I don’t know how I feel, then that’s a feeling. That counts. That’s a song. But if I feel like I have to live with a certain degree of emotional awareness and practice that in order to write music at all.
In terms of songs existing outside of time – love that. The producer for The King, Shawn Everett, once described music to me as decorations of time. I just think that’s so beautiful. Songs have a runtime, but at the same time, music exists around you, and you can feel it moving inside you. Literally, when there’s bass, when you’re at a live show; metaphorically, when that chorus hits and you start crying. For a phenomenon that doesn’t technically have a body, music is a pretty physical experience. For a phenomenon that exists in the air, in sound waves, and exists somewhere in our nebulous concept of time, it has the power to grip you, just like anybody’s hand. Bob Marley said when it hits you, you feel no pain. And I don’t know about that, for me personally, in terms of the feel-no-pain part, but it definitely hits. It’s just cool that music can exist around you, you can be completely surrounded by it, and have that surroundingness feels like a completely timeless moment. When you’re at an amazing show, and everybody’s sweaty, and the sound is everywhere, it’s this magic moment in time that is forever captured and you’ll never experience again.
You talked about The King‘s songs being painful to sing. Do you think a part of older songs becoming timeless has to do with them not hurting as much? You’re carrying them, but is there a point where they feel separate from you in that way?
I wouldn’t say that the hurt goes away. I’d say the point at which it feels like the songs exist without me is release day. That’s when the songs aren’t mine anymore. It’s not that the emotions in these songs don’t still resonate with me, but once you give your art away, it’s something that everybody can put their heart into. I value my life experiences and I care about them, and I’m grateful they’ve inspired this music, but I don’t need anybody who listens to this music to know anything about me for it to resonate with them, and honestly, I’d prefer that they didn’t.
I’ve played a song I wrote for an ex years and years and years ago, and it doesn’t have the same meaning. It’s like looking at an old photograph of an ex: there’s love and experience here, but not this now-ness. It’s the graciousness of the past, not necessarily diluting the feelings, but letting me look at it from farther away and see: I was hurt, and she was hurt, and we were hurt, and this isn’t about me. The passage of time helps me zoom out from these songs. The meaning of these songs evolves over time, which has been the weirdest experience about writing and performing them over the years.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
At the turn of the millennium, fashion was no longer confined to the runway. The early 2000s marked a moment when popular culture, media, and celebrity visibility began shaping the way people dressed on a global scale. Music videos, red carpets, reality television, and emerging internet platforms created a shared visual landscape where trends moved quickly and images traveled even faster.
In this environment, clothing became more than personal style. It became a form of cultural participation. What people wore was increasingly influenced by what they saw on screens.
The Rise of a Media-Driven Style
One of the defining characteristics of early 2000s clothing was its deep connection to mass media. Cable television and music channels such as MTV and VH1 played a major role in shaping youth culture. Music videos were not just about sound; they were visual statements where clothing helped define entire identities.
Pop stars, hip-hop artists, and R&B performers appeared in carefully styled outfits that were instantly recognizable. Oversized logos, statement accessories, low-rise denim, and bold graphics became visual signatures of the era.
Because these images were broadcast repeatedly across television and magazines, the styles quickly moved beyond celebrity circles and into everyday wardrobes. Fashion was no longer distant or exclusive. It felt immediate and accessible.
Celebrity Culture and the Everyday Look
The early 2000s were also the golden age of celebrity visibility. Paparazzi photography, tabloid culture, and entertainment news programs brought the private lives of public figures into constant view.
Unlike the carefully curated glamour of traditional red carpets, paparazzi images showed celebrities in casual situations: leaving restaurants, walking through airports, shopping in city streets. These moments blurred the line between fashion performance and daily life.
As a result, casual clothing gained cultural importance. Tracksuits, hoodies, denim, and simple tees appeared repeatedly in celebrity photographs, transforming everyday garments into recognizable trends.
People were not only inspired by formal fashion moments. They were copying what celebrities wore on ordinary days.
The Influence of Music Subcultures
Music scenes played a significant role in shaping the visual identity of early 2000s fashion. Hip-hop culture, in particular, had a strong influence on silhouettes and styling choices. Baggy denim, statement sneakers, and branded streetwear became part of a broader cultural movement tied to music and urban identity.
At the same time, pop artists introduced a different kind of visual energy. Bright colors, playful accessories, and experimental styling pushed fashion into more expressive territory.
Rock and alternative scenes added their own aesthetic elements — darker palettes, layered looks, and distressed fabrics.
The result was a fashion landscape shaped by multiple musical influences rather than a single dominant trend.
The Early Internet and Visual Circulation
Another key factor behind the spread of early 2000s fashion was the rise of the internet. Although social media as we know it today did not yet exist, online forums, fan websites, and early digital photography played a role in circulating images.
Fashion magazines were still influential, but digital spaces began accelerating the speed at which trends traveled. Fans shared photographs of celebrity outfits, runway collections, and street style moments online.
These early forms of digital culture created a new kind of visual archive. People could revisit outfits, discuss trends, and reinterpret styles within their own communities.
Even before platforms like Instagram or TikTok, fashion was already becoming a global visual conversation.
Fashion as Cultural Performance
Looking back, y2k fashion reveals how closely clothing was tied to performance and visibility. Outfits were often designed with cameras in mind. Whether on stage, in music videos, or captured by paparazzi lenses, fashion was part of a broader spectacle.
This visual emphasis encouraged experimentation. Logos became larger. Accessories more dramatic. Fabrics shinier. Clothing needed to stand out not just in person, but also on screen.
The result was a period where fashion felt energetic, sometimes excessive, but always expressive.
A Legacy That Still Resonates
Today, the influence of 2000s fashion can be seen in contemporary design and youth culture. The renewed interest in Y2K aesthetics reflects more than simple nostalgia. It reveals how strongly the era shaped the visual language of modern fashion.
Many elements that defined the time — graphic prints, statement denim, athletic-inspired silhouettes — continue to reappear in modern collections and street style.
The difference is that today’s interpretations are often filtered through a contemporary lens, combining the boldness of the original era with more refined styling.
Fashion as Cultural Memory
Ultimately, the significance of early 2000s fashion lies in how clearly it reflects the cultural environment that produced it. It was a time when media visibility expanded rapidly, celebrity culture intensified, and the internet began reshaping the way images circulated.
Clothing became part of this transformation. It captured the mood of a generation learning to navigate a world where identity, media, and image were increasingly intertwined.
What people wore during that period was not just about trends. It was a reflection of how culture itself was changing.
And in that sense, the style of the early 2000s remains more than a nostalgic curiosity. It stands as a cultural record of a moment when fashion and media began dressing the world together.
