On the agenda: Nat Finkelstein; Aerosol Arabic; Babylon; jeggings; Alan Fletcher

Photography

As legendary photographer and Warhol chronicler Nat Finkelstein said, "I stayed in the Factory for close to two years. I watched pop die, I saw punk being born. I participated in a cultural revolution that shook the superstructure of our society." So his retrospective, at London's Idea Generation Gallery, is a must-see for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes glimpse of party girl Edie Sedgwick, Nico, the Velvet Underground and the avant-gardist himself. From Wednesday, ideageneration.co.uk

Adam Jacques

Theatre

The award-winning graffiti artist Aerosol Arabic, whose murals have promoted community cohesion around the world, has joined up with a trio of poets in his home city of Birmingham for a one-night performance of live poetry, illustrated on the fly with some high-speed spray-painting. The focal point of the project is the number three: three poets, three art walls and the hypothesis that big ideas (such as birth, life and death) come in three, too. 'Writing on the Wall' is at Birmingham's Repertory Theatre from Thursday, birmingham-rep.co.uk.

AJ

Books

France's bestseller list shows French readers to be rather more cosmopolitan than their UK counterparts, with books by English, Spanish and Swedish authors in the top 20. Last year's bestsellers, however, revealed them to be no more capable of resisting Dan Brown than us. His The Lost Symbol (Symbole Perdu) was number one, followed by Marie NDiaye's Trois Femmes Puissantes and Anna Gavalda's L'échappée Belle. Consolation, the new book by French national treasure Gavalda (its French title, La Consolante, is what boules players call the losers' play-off), is published here soon. Read an interview with her in these pages on 21 February.

Katy Guest

Food & Drink

When it comes to restaurant gimmicks, there's a certain irony to "pay what you feel", as many customers end up paying more than the usual price rather than running the risk of appearing tight. But Richard Branson's award-winning Kensington Roof Garden restaurant Babylon has its own twist on the tactic: next Saturday it is running a one-off "pay what you feel" day, with all proceeds going to charity. Which should give you a warm glow in your stomach as well as from doing good. roofgardens.virgin.com

AJ

Fashion

Stop press: men and women like different clothes. A new survey by mycelebrity fashion.co.uk reveals men's most hated trends to be Ugg boots, jeggings and harem pants. First up, congratulations to the 21 per cent who knew what jeggings were; second, even fashion's grande dame Vivienne Westwood admits that harem trousers make you look "like you've shat yourself" – and she practically invented them. Meanwhile, poor old Rihanna was voted worst-dressed celebrity of 2009. But of the trends men do like, maxi-dresses came top (37 per cent), with one-shouldered dresses next, (25 per cent). Just the thing for relaxing on the sofa...

Harriet Walker

Design

One of the UK's most influential graphic designers, Alan Fletcher's 50 years in the industry saw him work on everything from covers for Joy Division and Pulp to identities for Reuters and the V&A, ad campaigns and fashion collaborations, as well as playing a major role in the look of modern books as creative director of Phaidon. And now you can see what all the fuss is about, from Friday, at an exhibition at Manchester's Cube centre. cube.org.uk

AJ