Brilliant Things To Do in October

Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty: October 23 – March 20, 2016
Irving Penn cut his teeth at Vogue, refined his creative vision in the studio, and broadened his horizons making ethnographic studies in far-flung parts of the world like Peru and New Guinea, so it’s little surprise that he has become one of the most important names in fashion photography. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Beyond Beauty, will be the first retrospective of Penn's work for nearly 20 years, placing previously unseen photographs and Super-8 films next to the minimalist still lifes he pioneered.

Andy Warhol: Unlimited: October 2 – February 7, 2016
Warhol’s famous room-size installation of silkscreen paintings, Shadows, is soon to be displayed in its full glory for the first time ever in Europe, thanks to a new retrospective exhibition at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and with over 200 pieces on show, the exhibit looks set to give an all-encompassing overview of his diverse oeuvre. From his 32 paintings of Campbell’s Soup Cans, to a pop art makeover of Chairman Mao, a happy marriage of controversy and unassuming genius is laid before our waiting eyes.

Liberty in Fashion: Until February 28, 2016
London’s beautiful, best-loved emporium is marking its 140th anniversary this autumn, during which time it has grown from the Orientalist dream of Arthur Lazenby Liberty to a proud hallmark of the British high street. To celebrate, the Fashion and Textile Museum is holding a joyous retrospective of it rich history to date. Expect more than 150 ensembles and accessories, including a fabulous Paul Poiret silk robe and a late 1960s Macedonia print dress, among many others.

Frieze London 2015: October 14 – 17
Falling leaves and crisp October mornings mean that the London edition of Frieze Art Fair is nearly upon us, and this year the three-day-long creative extravaganza promises to be as well-stocked in outstanding new art, contemporary galleries and leading curators as ever before. Regent’s Park will be transformed into a trade venue-cum-exhibition space, with plenty of new works created especially for the fair, not to mention Frieze Film, Frieze Masters, and a world of delicious things to eat and drink.

Powerful Babies: Keith Haring’s Impact on Artists Today: Until April 3, 2016
Very few artists will see in their lifetime the success that Keith Haring did in his short career; over the course of just ten years the groundbreaking artist used his innovative style to push the agenda for political activism and social change, and as a result, his impact still resonates in contemporary culture today. In an effort to pay tribute to this enduring influence, Stockholm’s Spritmuseum has put together a dynamic new exhibition of contemporary artists who exemplify Haring’s veracity for the new and the rebellious, from Scooter Laforge and Juliana Huxtable to Jaimie Warren and Misaki Kawai. Fun, vibrant, and always provocative, it is not to be missed.

Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia: October 24 – February 28, 2016
There was more than just rainbow patches, protests and free love to the hippie movement of the 1960s and 70s; the era also saw the birth of a ubiquitous search for Utopia, which manifested itself in a magical fusion of art, architecture and design. It’s this cross-reference of practices which takes centre stage in the Walker Art Center’s new exhibition, Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia, a new collection investigating experimental furniture, alternative living structures and experimental film, among other artefacts.

The Best of Film
As the cold weather kicks in there is a brilliant array of cinematic offerings to warm your cockles. Michael Fassbender takes on the role of Macbeth, with Marion Cotillard as his leading lady, in Justin Kurzel's hotly anticipated reimagining of Shakespeare's "Scottish play." Subversive Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is back with The Lobster, his first film since cult favourite, Dogtooth. Carey Mulligan has broken her vow of not acting in period dramas to take on the role of a young equal rights campaigner in writer Abi Morgan and director Sarah Gavron’s powerful drama Suffragette, alongside Anne-Marie Duff, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep as Emmeline Pankhurst.

The Lobster imagines a world where single people have just 45 days to secure romantic partners or else suffer a transformation into beasts to be banished to the woods. Stanley Nelson’s vibrant documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution offers candid insight into another groundbreaking protest powerhouse, charting the rise of the 60s Black Panther Party and their impact on the American civil rights movement. Meanwhile the 59th BFI London Film Festival arrives on October 7, with an opportunity to view some of the best forthcoming films before their official release (stay tuned for our top tips coming soon).

Lee Miller: A Woman’s War: October 15 – April 24, 2016
Muse to Man Ray, subject of numerous Picasso portraits, Vogue cover star and the sole female photojournalist active in European combat in the Second World War, Lee Miller was a woman with many strings to her bow. Now it’s her impact on women's lives through photography during WW2 that’s being celebrated, in a new exhibition entitled A Woman’s War, at the Imperial War Museum. Although many an exhibition has been held in her honour, this is the first boasting a focus on gender and her ocular account of war through the eyes – and lens – of a woman on the front-line, making it one of the mot powerful hômages to date.

The Knot: A Retrospective: October 21 – 25
Italian house Bottega Veneta presents a brilliant retrospective exhibition dedicated to its covetable leather Knot bag and all of its many iterations this month, in the opulent setting of its brand new store on Old Bond Street. Having travelled around the world over the course of five years, the exhibit has been allowed to evolve alongside the bag itself, depicting an enduring presence of this stalwart of luxury.

Women of Rock: Until October 30
A new exhibition from AnOther collaborators super/collider sheds light on the “distinctly female fascination with geology, minerals and meteorites” that has emerged in recent years, spawning an array of brilliant artworks on what was once a very much male dominated subject matter. The mixed media group show showcases some of the most innovative of these pieces, from Carly Waito’s spellbinding oil paintings of crystals to Rachelle Bussières’ unique solarised gelatine silver prints, abstract compositions that question the relationship between photography chemistry, architecture and geology.

Gerhard Richter: Colour Charts: October 13 – January 16, 2016
A vital group of paintings from Gerhard Richter’s original Colour Chart paintings comes to the Dominique Lévy gallery in New York this October, in the first collection to focus on the early pieces since the work was first produced in 1966. The works are less likely to present you with deco inspiration than they are to induce a reflective mood, but with some paintings even showing the colour charts Richter painted on the reverse side of his canvas for reference, the collection provides an invaluable and rare insight into his process.

Stellar Performances
For those seeking out beguiling performances, don’t miss the West End transfer of Oresteia, Robert Icke’s exhilarating adaptation of Aeschylus' Greek tragedy. Fresh from its summer run at the Almeida, it promises an evening of seat-gripping, and vastly moving, theatricality. The ENO’s revival of Rossini classic The Barber of Seville is a must-see for true romantics – a witty love story set in an dreamy vision of 18th-century Seville, it will warm your heart as the climate cools. We also recommend you book now for a chance to catch Glenn Close on the London stage next year, returning to the role of silent film star Norma Desmond in the musical version of Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber, also at the ENO.

The Moth - October 5
Excellent podcast The Moth will be hosting a live evening of storytelling in the atmospheric setting of the Union Chapel this October, compered by beloved Phill Jupitus, and the experience is set to be simultaneously stirring and tearjerking.

Scorsese à la Cinémathèque: October 12 – February 14, 2016
Industry insiders and film buffs alike will descend upon Paris's cinematic shrine, La Cinémathèque Française this month to experience the institution's new retrospective: a tribute to the inimitable Martin Scorsese. We’re not only invited to explore the lauded director’s own private collection, but also that of his peers Robert De Niro and Paul Schrader, with artefacts spanning more than 60 of Scorsese's well-loved films. Prepare to lose yourself in illustrated storyboards, marvel at cult objects of intrigue, and wish you could play dress-up with the iconic costumes on display.

The Best of Food and Drink
Two new endeavours from two time-honoured institutions are set to tantalise tastebuds this month. The Dorchester will open its first cafe, Parcafé, offering a typically luxurious coffee drinking experience, courtesy of a chic La Marzocco coffee machine and a bespoke marble floor decorated to reflect the colours of the coffee served. Meanwhile legendary Parisian restaurant Taillevent will open its first London instalment in Cavendish Square. Les 110 de Taillevent will be a more relaxed embodiment of its two Michelin-starred counterpart, which opened in the French capital in the wake of World War Two.