Preppy or plain, stripy or simple... The tank top is early summer’s understated hero. Here’s how the sleeveless classic gives every outfit a shot in the arm

Audrey Hepburn in Paris, tennis-themed stationery and a pop-up shop celebrating summer

Collections by ex-Spice Girl had been too dear for most but deal with affordable chain forecast to help tip VB business into profit

When Victoria Beckham debuted her first collection of just 10 dresses in a luxury hotel suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York in 2008, she told the sceptical assembly of the world’s most powerful fashion editors that she had “spent a lifetime wanting to do this”.

“It’s what I always dreamed of since I customised my school uniform when I was 7 years old,” she said. “Then along came the Spice Girls which opened a lot of doors for me. And, let’s be honest, closed a lot. But those days are over. I was never going to be the world’s best singer, but I hope I can be a good designer.”

Quiet luxury to be overtaken by souvenir-style accessories that ‘evoke joy’, say fashion experts

The summer holidays may be some time away, but for those who can’t wait the souvenirs are already on sale. Coral bracelets, kitsch keyrings and shell necklaces are some of this season’s most covetable accessories.

Anya Hindmarch has brought the holiday mood to west London with a pop-up shop that she describes as “a love letter to the classic souvenir shops you find tucked away in favourite holiday destinations”. The store’s facade is covered in vintage tiling and a retro awning while inside there iss everything from fridge magnets to rolls of Kodak Gold film interspersed among Hindmarch’s classic raffia tote bags, and up-cycled shirts by the London brand Pikol using Spanish souvenir glass cloths.

Patriotic teaware was on show from the prime minister this week – the latest round of his mug-based messaging

• UK politics – latest updates

Rishi Sunak appeared on his Instagram feed on Tuesday morning holding a mug emblazoned with the St George’s flag. “Perfect way to start the day,” was the caption: “Happy St George’s Day!”

It is not the only time the prime minister has raised a symbolic piece of teaware. On the same day he appeared en route to Warsaw holding a white mug marked only with the number “10”, presumably a reference to his current home address. Last year one enveloped in a union jack print was his choice for a trip to a Nato summit in Lithuania. Personal branding clearly doesn’t take note of international airspace.

Sleeveless knits work brilliantly over a sleeved dress or blouse – the conversation between the two pieces is where the magic happens

Bishop. Puff. Raglan. Leg-o’-mutton. Lantern. Kimono. Bell. It’s a thing, these days, that if you want the world to know that you are wearing Fashion, as opposed to just clothes, you wear a sleeve with an unusual shape and a name to match. The statement sleeve has an origin story in the Zoom dressing lockdown era, but continues to go from strength to strength in 2024, with Bella Baxter’s bonkers sleeves helping power Emma Stone to an Oscar for Poor Things.

But the most fashionable sleeve of all is a sleeve that isn’t there at all. The no sleeve is the new power sleeve. To be specific, what we are talking about here is the unstoppable rise of the sleeveless knit and the sleeveless jacket. Sleevelessness as a fashion statement works best on a jumper or a jacket precisely because they usually have sleeves. When you see a jumper without sleeves, or a blazer, the sleevelessness feels like a daring creative decision, whereas a shift dress without sleeves is just, well, a shift dress.

Originally the preserve of Ivy League sportsmen, the jacket has seen incarnations from the likes of Salt-N-Pepa, Palace and Prada. And now Louis Vuitton’s NFT version is going for £7,000

There are few items of clothing as iconic – or as purely American – as the classic varsity jacket. Yet, lately, it has been making a comeback, thanks in part to Italian powerhouse Prada, who featured a chic all-leather take on it at Milan fashion week in February. It has also been a central piece in much-hyped recent collaborations between Gap and Palace, and Supreme and MM6 Maison Margiela. Not even the digital space is safe: Louis Vuitton has been selling a “phygital” – AKA an NFT (non-fungible token) – version of a varsity jacket from the Pharrell-designed FW24 collection – yours to have and not hold for nearly £7,000.

Instantly recognisable thanks to its two-tone leather sleeves and boiled wool body, the varsity jacket has served as a symbol of jock masculinity in classic films such as Teen Wolf and The Breakfast Club , and was worn onstage by Michael Jackson and more recently has been adopted by celebrities from Rihanna to Bella Hadid.

• Initial release provoked debate over sexism in sport
• Athletes say they are comfortable with choices offered

In the moments before she fired off the Instagram comment heard around the world , Tara Davis-Woodhall could hardly believe her eyes.

The American long jumper and world silver medalist had just seen a photograph of one of Nike’s Team USA uniforms for this summer’s Games, a high-cut leotard barely covering the bikini line that was unveiled at a launch event in Paris last week. The running publication Citius Mag had posted an image of the slinky uniform on a female mannequin alongside a male one-piece kit with longer legs.

British bootmaker says it does not expect to increase prices this year as it reports poor US sales

Shares in Dr Martens plummeted to a new low as the UK bootmaker warned on profits and poor performance in the US, and announced the departure of its chief executive.

The brand, known for its yellow-stitched thick-soled boots, warned sales would fall by a single-digit percentage in the year to the end of March 2025, compared with a year earlier. Profit before tax could be just a third of last year’s £159m in a worst-case scenario.