Design Culture Catchup: The Odyssey, Couture Dressing, Political Design and World Cup Iconography

This summer has been scorching, and the design discourse has been no cooler. In this episode, we're serving up a menu of design tapas: an artistic amuse-bouche, a cinematic charcuterie board, and a little bit of everything in between as we catch up on the biggest design stories of the past few months. This episode has it all — from the runways of Paris Haute Couture Week, to the mysterious islands of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, to the campus of the Obama Presidential Center, and — yes — even the world's sudden, unshakeable love affair with Hidden Valley Ranch and Haaland's Hair. Bon appétit. **Stories Referenced:**  The Odyssey Filming  Scapirelli Couture Hermes Hand Drawn Site Robert Wun Couture  Milan Design Week Ikea PS 2026 Collection Obama Presidential Center  Roosevelt Presidential Library  Mamdani’s Campaign Type Herlings Hair Ties  **Allie Miller** is a designer, researcher, and strategist who believes in the power of design to foster understanding and facilitate meaningful change. She holds a Master’s of Industrial Design from Georgia Tech, bringing human-centered thinking and a system lens to every conversation—and your podcast feed. **Robyn Richardson** is an experience design strategist, tech consultant, TEDx speaker, and Graduate Professor at Georgetown University. She holds an MFA in Design Management from SCAD and has spent her career making design thinking accessible, opinionated, and a little bit fun. *Disclaimer: This podcast was prepared in their personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, opinion, or position of their employers.*