A macabre display of famous film costumes at the V&A is underpinned by a surprising amount of scholarship, says Fatema Ahmed.

Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary at the V&A opens today, confirming the notion that Thomas Heatherwick is currently everywhere. He also features on the cover of our June issue photographed by David Bailey. Here is the behind-the-scenes story of two strong personalities and a stuffed turkey vulture.

With the 1948 “Austerity Olympics” as its starting point, the V&A surveys 60 years of British design, architecture and fashion. From punk posters to Laura Ashley florals, the exhibition questions contrived notions of national identity to reveal a country caught between modernity and nostalgia. Here’s our review.

What were the cultural highlights of 2011? Icon asks nine international critics, curators and experts to select their half-dozen stand-out moments in architecture, design and art.

What were the cultural highlights of 2011? Icon asks nine international critics, curators and experts to select their half-dozen stand-out moments in architecture, design and art.

London-based designers Philippe Malouin, Tomás Alonso and PostlerFerguson were the stars of the 2011 Vienna Design Week.

A rollercoaster ride through three decades of cynicism exposes the crassness of an era best left behind, says William Wiles.

This time-lapse video shows the re-construction – and inflation – of Oasis 7, a pioneering piece of experimental architecture, inside the Victoria & Albert Museum.