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"Chic ! meets" : Marcel Wanders - "A potted history" of the Alto vase -"Rising trends" : The Vespa craze - "What to do with" haddock ? - "Insights" : Timorous Beasties

"Chic ! meets" : Marcel Wanders
This week, we meet Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders. Brimming over with ideas and with an insatiable appetite for action, he is, at the age of 44, a star of world design. Launched by what have become cult objects, like his famous knotted chair - a reinforced macramé chair, which appears to be floating in thin air - he has notched up experiences and managed to be everywhere at the same time, especially where you're not expecting to find him. His secret is to both surprise and reassure, with objects that blend innovation and nostalgia, practicality and poetry, without forgetting humour.

"A potted history" of the Alto vase
The Alto vase was born in 1937, when the famous Finnish architect Alvar Alto was taking part incognito in the competition run by the Littala glassmakers. The objective was to present objects in Paris for the Universal Exhibition of 1937. Alvar Alto won the competition thanks to one of his creations - the appropriately named Alto vase. This modern vase, made in the old-fashioned way, was an immediate and tremendous success and orders started pouring in from everywhere.

"Rising trends" : The Vespa craze
It's one of the symbols of the Italian dolce vita. Born just after the second world war, the Vespa is once again on the rise, and today it has an increasing amount of fans. Of course, like all two-wheelers, it's highly practical for weaving in and out of heavy traffic. But it has above all become a cult designer object, a vehicle that is today worshipped by lovers of all things retro, and is a common feature of all European street corners.

"What to do with" haddock ?
Chef Christopher Moret at Alain Ducasse's three-starred restaurant at the Plaza Athénée prepares a ceviche of haddock.

"Insights" : Timorous Beasties
Created in 1990, the Timorous Beasties studio specialises in wallpaper. Viewed from afar, their Glasgow wallpaper looks like magnificent classical paintings straight out of the 19th century. But on closer examination, one discovers a more sombre world, in which junkies, prostitutes and homeless people feature. Wallpaper with a subversive touch, once referred to as "a 19th century poem on acid"!