As London teeters between its second summer and the first signs of autumn (cooler mornings, knee-high boot sightings, whispers of cuffing season…) the fashion world is taking to the streets for London Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2024 season. Picking up where New York Fashion Week left off on Thursday, London’s five-day marathon — running until 19 September — is showcasing a range of talent from younger labels like Ahluwalia and Chet Lo, to big-ticket headliners including Burberry and JW Anderson.

Playing with dolls could help the social development of children - including those with neurodiverse conditions such as autism, according to a study. The research, from Cardiff University, found children exhibiting higher levels of autism traits showed increased brain activity in a key region associated with social processing when engaging in conversations with individuals during doll play. The new findings suggested that broader social engagement with others while engaging in doll play was a unique pathway to social development for these children. This was in contrast to what was observed in neurotypical children, who were more likely to discuss the dolls’ thoughts and emotions. However, researchers said that despite this difference, it showed that both groups may be able to benefit from doll play by using it as a tool for practising social scenarios and developing social skills, such as empathy. The findings are the latest release from a multi-year study by the Centre for Human Developmental Science at the university’s School of Psychology. Previous years have focused on neurotypical children and found wide-ranging social and developmental benefits of playing with dolls. Now, in its third year, the research team has replicated those results with a more diverse range of participants, including children aged between four and eight displaying both high and low levels of traits associated with autism. Lead researcher Dr Sarah Gerson said: “Our study shows that doll play can encourage social processing in children, regardless of their neurodevelopmental profile. “The findings show that all children, even those who display neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism, may use doll play as a tool for practicing social scenarios and developing social skills, such as empathy.” State-of-the-art functional, near-infrared spectroscopy equipment was used to explore brain activation while children played with dolls and on tablets, both by themselves and with another person, replicating conditions from the first year of the study. While observing children, researchers saw increased brain activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) region - which is heavily involved in social and emotional processing such as empathy - when playing with dolls, for both play with a social partner and during solo doll play, but less so during solo tablet play. The study’s results suggest that doll play could support social processing, regardless of a child’s neurodevelopmental profile, but through different pathways. For children displaying fewer autistic traits in the research, talking about the mental states and emotions of the dolls they were playing with was associated with increased pSTS activity. In contrast, for those displaying more autistic traits, talking with others during doll play, even when playing by themselves, led to more social processing on a neural level. Other research has shown that social processing and empathy skills are important determinants in children’s future emotional, academic, and social success. The study was a collaboration with the Wales Autism Research Centre. ‘Create a more inclusive and supportive environment for their development’ Its director Dr Catherine Jones said: “The study reinforces how it is important that that we acknowledge and value neurodiversity. “This means recognising and valuing the diverse ways in which children’s brains work and approaching social development in a way that is inclusive and accommodating for all children, regardless of their neurodivergence. “By embracing all ways that children choose to play, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment for their development.” Since the landmark publication of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the effects of play have been thought to be positive for kids’ social skills and creativity, but this has never been scientifically evidenced at the brain level. The multi-year long-term study, commissioned by Barbie, is the first time key Piaget theories on play have been scientifically evidenced via brain imaging and the first to use neuroimaging evidence with natural doll play, meaning there was no prescribed storyline to show how the brain is activated during doll play. Michael Swaisland, head EMEA of insight and analytics, Mattel, said: “We are proud to know that when children, regardless of their neurodevelopmental profile, play with Barbie, their playtime may benefit their development. “As Barbie continues to inspire the limitless potential in every child, we are delighted to know, through neuroscience, that playing with dolls may encourage the development of social skills such as empathy in children, including those who display neurodivergent traits commonly associated with autism. “We look forward to uncovering even more benefits of doll play through our long-term partnership with Cardiff University as we look to shine a light on the benefits the play pattern has towards development, that parents might not have been aware of.” Parents and caregivers can visit here to learn more about the research and access resources. Read More Toys children play with can have an effect on their success in adulthood The best exclusive discount codes this payday Many parents of under 5s on less than £50k ‘quit work due to childcare costs’ – survey

Whoopi Goldberg has hit back at previous criticism of her infamous outfit choice during the ‘90s. During an interview with Page Six Style at the Fashion Group International Night of Stars gala, Goldberg spoke candidly about her look at the 1993 Oscars: A purple and green bejeweled jumpsuit paired with a puffy, long purple jacket with a bright green interior. She completed the outfit with green earrings and heels, and dark purple lipstick. Goldberg went on to recall that when she was hit with backlash for the bold look, she was stung by the criticism. “Everyone hated [it],” she said. “It hurt my feelings, I’m not going to lie. It hurt my feelings.” The View host also confessed that the response to the outfit would go on to affect the way she dressed. “It kept me from dressing up for a very long time,” she said. “You have to remember, in those days, they would say things and you’d think, ‘Do I really look that ridiculous?’” However, she still opened up about the inspiration behind the outfit, specifying that it came from the iconic I Love Lucy sitcom and its lead, the late Lucille Ball. “Lucy would always come out in these great ensembles,” Goldberg said. “And I thought, I would like to wear that! And green is not a color I would normally wear; let me try it.” When asked if she still stands by her decision to wear the bold look at the 1993 Oscars, she simply said: “Absolutely.” Over the years, Goldberg has gone on to embrace her own sense of style, launching her own clothing line, Dubgee, in 2019. Speaking to InStyle about the brand – which sells a range of stretchy jeans and hoodies – she shared her candid thoughts about fashion, expressing that people shouldn’t let their age determine what types of clothes they wear. “People will always say to somebody young, ‘Oh, you’re dressing so old,’ and they will say to an older woman, ‘Oh, you’re dressing too young,’” she told the publication in 2019. “The clothes that we made, you could be 21 and wear it, you could be 65 and wear it, you could be whatever age you are and look good in it. And feel good in it. You’re not too old to wear anything that makes you happy. That’s the key. The only important voice, ever, is your own.” In July of this year, the Sister Act star also made headlines for her shoe choice on The View: A pair of clear platforms with decapitated heads of Barbie dolls in them. Although she wore the heels to celebrate the highly-anticipated premiere of Barbie, she told Page Six Style that she’s actually had these “crazy” shoes for quite some time. “Someone sent them to me and I thought, what are these?! It was about three years before Barbie. I did Barbiecore first!” she said, referring to the fashion trend where people have been showing off their looks inspired by the Mattel doll. Read More Whoopi Goldberg calls out Rachel Bilson for comments about men’s sexual partners Victoria’s Secret ditches feminist makeover after sales slump Black magic: Go back to black this season with the catwalk-inspired trend

It's been a long time since a single piece of media has felt as visually

There are two kinds of people out there: those who have mastered the art of letting their hair air-dry to accidental perfection and those who’d rather reach for the hairdryer than deal with the uncertainty.

Olivia Rodrigo is going on tour and she’s bringing the next generation of pop talent, as well as a beloved ’90s alt-rock band, with her

When people were diagnosed with HIV more than three decades ago, it was considered...

Egyptian luxury brands are harnessing traditional craftsmanship from jewellery design to carpet weaving to bring the country's ancient cultural...

Don’t you wish you could be completely surrounded by your favorite fragrance? You already have the shampoo, perfume, and body oil, but you simply need more? Fans of the iconic Ouai scent Melrose Place are having their wildest dreams come true with the brand’s recent collaboration. DedCool, a personal and R29-favorite vegan fragrance brand, launched a limited-edition laundry Dedtergent in the Melrose Place scent.

/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* EDIT - Do you need a video opener? Set to 'true' if animated video, if not set to 'false' */ var hasVideo = false;/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* Video loading image, Use image from first frame *//* Hero, Desktop & Tablet use 8:3, 2000px x 750px squooshed mozJPG at 75% compression */ var desktopHeroImage = "";/* Hero, Mobile use 720px 1:1,5:6,4:3, 1280px wide squooshed mozJPG at 75% compression */ var mobileHeroImage = "";/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* Please add accessible alt text */ var desktopHeroAltText = ""; var mobileHeroAltText = "";/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* EDIT - Desktop & Tablet wide video URL from JWPlayer, use min 1920px x 720px 8:3 wide asset, 6-10 second loop, no audio */ var desktopVideo = "";/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* EDIT - Mobile video URL from JWPlayer, use 720px 1:1,5:6,4:3 squre/tall asset, 6-10 second loop, no audio */ var mobileVideo = "";/* /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// *//* DO NOT ALTER */ /* Build additional functions here. */ function initOther() { /* Additional functionality is initialized here */ console.log('initOther'); } function loadVideo(){var e=document.getElementById("tmp-video-hero-desktop"),o=document.getElementById("tmp-video-hero-mobile");window.innerWidth>960&&(e.src=desktopVideo,e.load()),window.innerWidth>767&&window.innerWidth<961&&(e.src=desktopVideo,e.load()),window.innerWidth<768&&(o.src=mobileVideo,o.load())}function setupVideo(){document.getElementsByClassName("full-width-opener")[0].setAttribute("id","tmp-content"),document.getElementById("tmp-content").innerHTML='',loadVideo()}function setup(e){1==e&&setupVideo()}function ready(e){(document.attachEvent?"complete"===document.readyState:"loading"!==document.readyState)?e():document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e)}document.onmouseleave=function(){window.isReady=!1},window.addEventListener("resize",function(){window.isReady=!1}),window.isReady=void 0!==window.isReady&&window.isReady,ready(function(){var e=setInterval(function(){window.imagesLoaded&&(imagesLoaded("#tmp-load",{background:!0},function(){window.isReady=!1,clearInterval(e)}),clearInterval(e))},100);if(!1!==window.isReady)return;window.isReady=!0;const o=setTimeout(function(){clearTimeout(o),setup(hasVideo),initOther()},100)});

Nearly a third of the world's population, some 2.3 billion people, still cook using open fires or basic stoves that damage their health and...

TL;DR: Get a Microsoft Office 2021 lifetime license for Windows or Mac for £27.27. Software