Welcome Digest [12.31.25]
Demna's first Gucci collection, can't-miss antiques fair, rare Renoirs, and more
Welcome To December 31st
Today’s Important Headlines
🧵 Demna’s first Gucci collection is here
Demna’s debut at Gucci, La Famiglia, marks a decisive shift in tone for the brand, merging his signature severity with the house’s historic codes. The collection is restrained, and reads as a reset rather than a social media play. It signals the start of a long-term rewrite, and against the odds, Demna makes Gucci feel considered instead of tacky.
🏛️ Elite antiques fair returning to New York this winter
The Winter Show comes back to the Park Avenue Armory from January 23 to February 1, bringing together 70+ rigorously vetted dealers and over 5,000 years of art and design. Beyond Old Masters and museum-grade objects, every ticket supports education and workforce programs across the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.
🫢 Bad Bunny is in trouble for touching things at a museum
Museum staff stopped him for getting too friendly with a centuries-old stele. Fame won’t save you from “direct manipulation of an archaeological stele.”
👟 Issey Miyake has entered sports footwear
Issey Miyake’s new footwear line, developed with ASICS, debuts with the HYPER TAPING shoe: a fluorescent, elastic-belted design built on a wrestling shoe foundation. The launch formalizes Miyake’s long-standing interest in movement, support, and the body as a system.
🖍️ Rare exhibition spotlights Renoir’s drawings
Opening at the Morgan Library & Museum, Renoir Drawings is the first major exhibition in a century to focus on the artist’s works on paper. Spanning five decades, the show is a fresh window into Renoir’s process beyond painting.
🖼️ Painter behind the iconic meme “Beast Jesus” dies at 94
The Spanish artist Cecilia Giménez who accidentally turned a botched church fresco into a global meme phenomenon passed away on Dec. 29. Her “Ecce Homo” restoration brought fame, tourists, merchandise, and even inspired an opera, Halloween costumes, and countless memes.
Headline curation and words by Mikail Haroon (@mvkail)
Moodboard 013
Today’s inspiration supplement. Click through to view.
From The Archive
An extra piece of content from the Welcome Archive for Magazine subscribers only.
Tattooed Pigs by Wim Delvoye
In 1997, Wim Delvoye began tattooing live pigs with imagery including luxury brand logos, religious symbols, and cartoon characters. The pigs were raised on farms and allowed to grow, causing the tattoos to stretch and change over time.
After facing criticism in Europe, Delvoye continued the project in China at a facility known as Art Farm, where the pigs were kept under veterinary care. Following a pig’s natural death, its skin could be preserved and presented as an artwork, raising questions around value and ownership.
