🎙️ The Ensemble: Protests Erupt in Iran, Trump Strikes Venezuela, Mamdani Takes Manhattan, & Brigitte Macron Fights Cyberbullying in Court with Understated Elegance
The start of 2026 has been calm and quiet - wait, no it really hasn't...
So…were we hoping for a gentle relaxing start to 2026? No such luck, as a series of seismic shocks to the global order marks the first week of the year. I’ve been keeping a watching brief on events in Iran since before Xmas - this morning I appeared on the Times Radio breakfast show here in snowy London to run through my reporting so far - that intelligence reports suggesting some regime figures are planning to flee are broadly true, that the US has sanctioned Mossad to elevate protests on the ground, and that unrest has unusually spread to cities beyond Tehran. Events are moving too fast for deadline so we’ll update in real time this week. We talked on the H2H end of year podcast about the threat to the settled international order from President Trump’s scepticism about NATO - and we’re already in the middle of a further trip round the fate of Greenland, with European powers coming together to implore the Trump administration not to break the NATO alliance over exercising national security rights in Greenland that it already broadly holds. And all of this before we’ve picked over the bones of the weekend’s raid in Venezuela which saw President Maduro and his wife snatched away to the US mainland. I promise things won’t go on at this tempo for another 52 weeks…right?
Trump Abducts Maduro, Pushing Regime Change & Commanding Venezuela’s Oil Production
2026 arrived with a geopolitical bang. In the most significant US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama, the US staged a covert operation in Venezuela “in the dead of night” Saturday, bombing Caracas, abducting President Maduro and transporting him blindfolded to New York, where he faces charges of narcoterrorism. Rekindling imperial ambitions in Latin America in violation of international law, Trump also accused Venezuela of mismanaging its oil reserves, the world’s largest, and pledged that US oil giants will “fix” Venezuela’s oil infrastructure to boost production and revenues. He has since told Interim President Delcy Rodriguez that Venezuela must meet US demands before producing more oil by kicking out Russia, Iran, China and Cuba, partnering exclusively with US oil giant Chevron on oil production, and favoring the US when selling heavy crude. The move has sounded alarm bells around the world, with neighboring Colombia sending security forces to its borders, Cuba labeling the US action “state terrorism”, Russia and China condemning the attack and demanding Maduro’s return, the EU urging restraint, Israel celebrating the move, Denmark doubling down on Greenland amid renewed threats from Trump, Qatar offering to mediate the dispute, and Spain, Brazil and Mexico decrying the act as a violation of the rule of law. Facing a climate of intense fear and uncertainty, protestors on the ground say they’ll defend Venezuela’s oil rights. Trump has announced repeatedly that the US will “run the country”, sparking anxiety over the future of national sovereignty and democratic elections in Venezuela and the wider repercussions of a global surge in “might makes right” diplomacy from Venezuela to Gaza and Ukraine. On a fashion note, Maduro lit up social media soon after his abduction, sparking a frenzy on menswear platforms over his $450 relaxed fit NikeTech fleece sweatsuit.
Sources: BBC, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times (story); Guardian, Washington Post, NZ Herald (images)
As Protests Grow, Iran Navigates Internal & External Pressures and the Specter of Military Action
While Maduro’s sweatsuit inspired a buying spree, a baseball cap sported by Trump is stoking fear among Iranian leaders. One day after the US military attack on Venezuela, Trump posed with a “Make Iran Great Again” hat in a photograph designed to send a strong message to Iran as the state faces its largest wave of protests since the 2022 Woman Life Freedom movement. After the rial plummeted to an all-time low last week, vendors at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shuttered their shops, taking to the streets to protest a deepening economic crisis, with inflation soaring to 52.6%, exacerbated by corruption, Western economic sanctions, and last summer’s US-Israeli military operations. Unrest at the ancient marketplace packs a symbolic punch for Iranian leaders, as the Bazaar was a key site of protest prior to the 1979 revolution. Protests continue to spread across the country against a backdrop of ongoing electricity and water shortages, with students joining in and many calling for a new political order. Clashes in multiple cities have led to several deaths and dozens of arrests, sparking public outcry yesterday when security forces were reported to have fired on protestors inside Imam Khomeini Hospital. President Pezeshkian has signaled that he wants to negotiate with protestors, with state officials pledging to listen to their legitimate concerns and attempting risky economic concessions that aim to redirect foreign exchange rate subsidies into the hands of consumers. Supreme Leader Khamenei issued his first formal statement on the protests last week, distinguishing legitimate protestors from rioters who “must be put in their place”.
The situation is reaching a boiling point with Iran also navigating external pressures from Israel, where leaders tweeted that Mossad agents are on the ground with protestors in Iran, and the US, whose attack on Venezuela adds bite to Trump’s threat that the US is “locked, loaded” and ready to “come to the rescue” if innocent protestors are killed in Iran. Statements suggesting possible U.S. military involvement—like the warnings issued by President Trump—risk escalation, civilian harm, and the closing of civic space inside Iran, developments that would undermine rather than advance human rights. Caught between public anger on the streets and external threats, Iranian leaders are navigating a high risk climate with few options while bracing for another joint US-Israeli military strike. Iran’s top military commander has linked ongoing protests to Israel and the US, accusing them of waging psychological warfare to destabilize the country. A fact check by the BBC earlier this week found that some protest pictures shared by the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Persian language account on X were generated or edited using Google AI, showing how AI and digital misinformation, like fashion, are weaponized on the frontlines of global propaganda wars.
Sources: Al Jazeera, BBC, Guardian, New York Times, Reuters, Anadolu Agansi, Al Arabiya (story), New York Post , BBC, Times of India (images)
In Signature Millennial Style, Zohran Mamdani is Sworn in as New York’s First Muslim Mayor
New Year’s Eve also ushered in a new chapter for New York, where Zohran Mamdani was sworn into office as the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor, using his grandfather’s Qur’an and a 200-year old copy on loan from the New York Public Library. Vowing to lead unapologetically as a Muslim and democratic socialist, he spent his first day in office overturning executive orders from the Adams administration that had expanded the definition of antisemitism and banned divestment from Israel. Exuding millennial style, accessibility, and political power with lace-up leather boots circa 2018 GQ and a midnight blue, soft-shouldered, slender suit from Suitsupply, an economical Dutch brand on point with his affordability messaging, Mamdani breathed new life into New York’s political scene. First Lady Rama Duwaji also garnered rave reviews for her artsy-chic inaugural look that channeled iconoclastic Gen Z style and a sustainability mindset, pairing a vintage Balenciaga faux-fur tiered brown coat with dramatic earrings and high-heeled brown boots borrowed from British label Miista. Rama is also setting trends with her signature bob/pixie (‘bixie’) hairstyle, “the Rama”, that’s sending New Yorkers to their hairstylists in droves to procure the new ‘do. Although Duwaji’s expensive taste in boots and Mamdani’s choice of a foreign label sparked debate among New Yorkers, supporters read Mamdani’s suit as a lesson in cultural adaptability and savvy code-switching. Midway through his first week in office Mamdani clashed with the Trump administration, calling out the US invasion of Venezuela as an act of war.
Sources: Guardian, The New York Times, CNN (story), Vanity Fair, 6sqft, WWD (images)
Verdict Drops, Style Holds: Macron’s Art of Courtroom Elegance
Heading across the Atlantic Ocean, it’s been a sobering start to the year for France’s digital justice system. A Paris court has handed down guilty verdicts to ten individuals charged with online harassment of French First Lady Brigitte Macron. The defendants, eight men and two women, were convicted of spreading malicious online claims that the First Lady was born male, with some posts veering into conspiracy theories involving pedophilia due to the age difference between her and her husband President Emmanuel Macron. One man received a six-month prison sentence for skipping the hearing, while others were given suspended prison sentences ranging from four to eight months. All ten were ordered to attend cyberbullying awareness training. The court cited “particularly degrading, insulting and malicious” content, noting the cumulative harm of repeated publications.
The case has reignited debate over the limits of online speech and the weaponization of social media against public figures. Macron, known for her elegant style and composed public presence, has long been a target of scrutiny due to her age gap with President Macron and their unconventional love story. The verdict was seen by many as a symbolic stand against digital misogyny and transphobic trolling, though critics have questioned the leniency of the sentences. Meanwhile, fashion blogs quietly praised Brigitte Macron’s understated courtroom look; black wool coat, pearl earrings, and a sturdy gaze. As France grapples with rising online abuse, the ruling may mark a turning point in how courts confront the darker corners of digital discourse.
Sources: Guardian, Le Monde, RFI (story), BBC, Le Monde, Vogue (images)
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Incredible how this piece weaves together geopolitics and style without losing sight of the stakes. The detail about Maduro's NikeTech fleece becoming a menswear trend while he's facing narcoterrorism charges is darkly brilliant commentary on our current moment. I've noticed how clothing choices in high-stakes situations often reveal more about power dynamics than policy statemnts ever could. The contrast between Macron's understated elegance in court and the digital misogny she faced shows how style can be a form of resillience.