Plastic surgery has become synonymous with the quest for youth and beauty. But the field has, for centuries, been driven by medical necessity -- and it has nothing to do with plastic.

For 20 years, photographer Diana Markosian thought she knew her family's immigration history -- or the gist of it, at least. In 1996, when she was seven, Markosian's mother, Svetlana, woke her and her older brother, David, in the middle of the night, telling them to pack all of their important things: the three of them were going to see America. The way Markosian remembers it, neither of them asked any questions. That night they boarded a plane in Moscow bound for Los Angeles, without saying goodbye to their father.

For more than six decades, American late night talk show hosts have sat behind large wooden desks, with guests in cushioned chairs or couches to their right. Behind them, the wall may be painted to mimic an open vista; around them, a brightly lit studio set is made more inviting through warm wood tones, mugs on a desk or -- in Johnny Carson's case -- a couple of well-placed house plants.

Breast implants are more popular than ever. They remain one of the most sought-after cosmetic surgeries in many countries from the United States and Brazil to the UK and China. They're the subject of reality shows and tabloid spreads, a recurrent topic of celebrity culture and a perennial punch line.

The frontrunner at this year's Oscars is not your average awards season film. Director Chloé Zhao, her cast and her crew explain why.

A dogged work ethic has granted fashion royalty Naomi Campbell a phenomenal 35-year-long modeling and acting career, but even perennial highfliers need some R&R. Campbell takes hers in a spacious and serene East African retreat, where a turquoise saltwater pool stretches from the sunny patio right into the living room.

In the summer of 2019, as an overcast sky hung over Minnesota's Prairie Island Indian Community, photographer and filmmaker Tomás Karmelo Amaya took a portrait of a couple kissing while wearing colorful regalia.

Holding an array of cosmetics in one hand and a multi-color compact in the other, a model with a coiffed hairstyle smiles contentedly at the camera. "It's literally everything!" reads the text beneath, referring to the tidier of the two. "It's confidence, it's fearlessness, it's stability, it's everything you could want and more!"

Professional wrestling has historically gotten a bad rap as neither being a respected sport nor form of entertainment. To most, the pervading image of wrestling may still be beefed-up, baby-oiled behemoths like Hulk Hogan or John Cena competing in staged fights, or the over-the-top, spandex-clad comedy theatrics seen in Netflix's hit series "Glow."

Over a century ago, Suzanne Valadon began painting lively nude portraits of sensual and self-assured women, with full, curvy bodies and pubic hair. Occasionally, she painted nude men as well, bucking art historical tradition and presenting them as figures of desire. Her canvases were full of bold outlines, vibrant colors and loose brushwork, and she deftly illustrated her subjects' interior lives, rather than the idealized scenes of leisure so prevalent at the time.

Several months after photographer Laurence Philomène began testosterone hormone therapy as part of their transition, they began to take pictures of themselves at home. This was in 2018, and Philomène, was concerned about burnout, so they took two months off from work to focus on self-care.

In a country where cultural heritage is either zealously restored or demolished to make way for new developments, the decision to leave the Old Summer Palace in ruins is more political than it may seem.

We have heard the phrase "grim milestone" so often in the past year that it now falls into the realm of journalistic cliché. Monday's news that the US has surpassed half a million Covid-19 deaths should not, however, be any less poignant for its morbid familiarity.

As a child, while visiting family in Texas, photographer Kennedi Carter remembers Black cowboys riding their horses on the side of the highway. That image stayed with her over the years, as the North Carolina native began her career taking emotive photographs of Black life as well as striking editorial images. (Last December, Carter notably became the youngest photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover.)

There are times in every successful designer's career when they find something they created at the center of a viral sensation. For Max Mara's creative director, Ian Griffiths, discovering that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had ignited a global frenzy by wearing his red "Fire Coat" for her infamous showdown with Donald Trump in 2018 was one of those moments. It was not, however, quite as he had imagined it.

In many parts of the world, cleansing one's body has become an individual, daily ritual -- a quick, steamy shower in the morning or a longer bath to unwind at night. But historically, our bathing habits have been imbued with deeper meanings.

In the coal-mining towns of southeastern Ohio, nestled in the Appalachian mountains, photographer Rich-Joseph Facun has worked on a visual study of a region that has been stereotyped for decades. Appalachia has often been viewed one-dimensionally, saddled in associations related to poverty and opioid use, and deemed "Trump Country" during the 2016 election.

The history of the ancient world abounds with stories of all-powerful women. Take Nefertiti, the 18th-dynasty Egyptian queen who established a new religion and kickstarted a cultural revolution as the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten; or Zenobia, a third-century warrior queen of Palmyra, who conquered Egypt and defied the Roman Empire.

Throughout the 1960s and '70s, starry-eyed architects set their minds to megastructures -- massive, multi-purpose designs that could house communities or even entire cities.

With a history spanning millennia across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, henna is steeped in tradition and cultural rituals. The natural dye is typically used to create temporary, intricate body art for religious festivals and celebrations, such as weddings.

Remember when Jane Fonda became the queen of 1980s at-home exercise?

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel was one of the 20th century's most influential couturiers. A milliner by training, she moved beyond hats to become a rebel and a trailblazer of the fashion world, creating a new sartorial style that freed women from corsets and lace frills by offering them sailor shirts and wide-leg pants instead.

Few accessories have lived as complicated a life as the headscarf. The versatile fabric has been chosen by and impressed upon people for political, religious and practical purposes for centuries. It has been favored by revolutionaries and royalty alike. It can be either conservative or rebellious. Beyond its utilitarian origins as a source of protection from the elements, the headscarf remains at the center of contentious debate about women's rights, identity, power and class.

The fundamentals of ballet haven't changed all that much since its invention in 15th-century Italy. Yet the popular image of this deeply traditional medium has been largely defined by the talents of one thoroughly modern artist: Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas.

In her prime, Ann Lowe was an established arbiter of American high-society style, delighting wealthy clients across the country with her beautiful designs. Her legacy, however, was nearly forgotten until recently.

For centuries, hair dye has been pivotal in helping people portray a certain image -- to either fit in with the beauty standards of the day or to dramatically subvert them.

Type "When did women start..." into Google and one of the first autocomplete suggestions to pop up is, "When did women start shaving?"

Musk Ming paints Chinese men in suggestive poses. Delicate ink-formed faces stare longingly from the paper, their lean bodies dressed in green caps with red stars. Some wear white and navy sailor hats with ribbons. Others are cloaked in olive coats with brown faux fur collars. The men may not be wearing much, but the accoutrements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) are unmistakable.

With China building entire cities from scratch, lessons from Shenzhen continue to shape the country's urban ideals.