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Editor’s Letter 78 Bachelor Pad
How to get the best from your great outdoors.
33

81
Foreword
Self-driving cars are just around the
corner and the hackers are going to
make a killing. BY JASON BARLOW Taste
Season your month with

37 Details
Alexandra Daddario suits
summer flavour, from
Smokestak’s meat-up and
London’s top al fresco
terraces to eating at Ascot
up for Baywatch; Loyle and the rosé champagne.
Carner’s emotion sickness;
the year’s must-attend 98
parties kick off The Ned. 105
Michael Wolff
Celebrity billionaires and (very) old hats: who can the
Democrats stump up to stop a second term for Trump?

105
Style Manual
122
GQ Preview
From River Products
Island camo to and events.
DSquared2 cags.
Plus, shades,
soaps and cigars.
127
The Lab
37 55 Get fired up for a
barbecue or beach
52 party with our
hottest tech roundup.
Our Stuff
Rupert Myers’ privy counsel. 130
130

Watches
55 Find Omega’s ticking triptych, with its
Cars
Mercedes-AMG power player GT C. three-piece 60th anniversary set.

59
133
The Drop
New House Rules
New section! Follow GQ across the The rise and high-
frontier, as we define the spirits of rise of architect
style rebellion and set the agenda Bjarke Ingels;
for a modern man’s movement. athletics’ money-
for-medals scandal;
73 My Style indie music finds
Why Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno walks tall in Gucci,
Julius and Solovair.
its groove; no
singing, please –
75 how musicals
Travel are done now;
Saint Barths: a hagiography the real fight
of summer hospitality. against fake news.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 11
 RADO.COM
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174
Laureate of estate life
and leader of the new
grime establishment,
this is Stormzy’s world
– we just live in it.
STORY BY Tom Lamont
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Daniel Sannwald

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 13

 Features & Fashion
192 Lily James
Throwing her corset to the wind,
the darling of period dramas is a
force to be reckoned with as she
changes gear in Baby Driver.
BY STUART McGURK

143
Life
Get your golf
down to a tee
with Dustin
Johnson; ace
tennis gear;
interview like a
pro; Bear Grylls’ 192 160

160
great escapes.

155
Tony Parsons
You don’t need to tell a real man that voting
is a matter of life or death – he already knows.
Alastair Campbell meets
Prince William
222
Amazing reality
Read the most candid interview the Duke of
Cambridge has ever given.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY NORMAN JEAN ROY

As VR headsets change the way

we see style, upgrade your look 184 Ready for blast off?
Sir Richard Branson is determined to make his
with technical tailoring. Virgin Galactic enterprise out of this world.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY
ARTHUR BELEBEAU BY CHARLIE BURTON

240

222 198 Putting a spin on gin

Mark Hix distils the best botanical
infusions with his masterclass in this
mixologist’s mainstay.

206 King of swing

240
Out To Lunch
Discover the benefits
of a liquid lunch with
Scott Harrison, founder 214
of the groundbreaking
Charity:Water.
Poised to catapult into cinemas this summer
as Spider-Man, Tom Holland proves he’s got
a superhero’s style senses.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARTER SMITH
‘White power Barbie’
GQ’s clash with alt-right bombshell Tomi Lahren.
BY ALEX HANNAFORD

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 15

 Editor
DYLAN JONES
PA TO THE EDITOR Lottie Stanners

DEPUTY EDITOR Bill Prince CREATIVE DIRECTOR Paul Solomons FASHION DIRECTOR Robert Johnston
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DIGITAL CONTENT & STRATEGY DIRECTOR Dolly Jones DIGITAL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Helen Placito

Contributing Editors
Mel Agace, Andrew Anthony, Chris Ayres, Jason Barlow, Stephen Bayley, Tara Bernerd, Heston Blumenthal, Debra Bourne, Michael Bracewell, Jennifer Bradly, Charlie Brooks, Ed Caesar, Alastair Campbell,
Naomi Campbell, Robert Chalmers, Jim Chapman, Nik Cohn, Giles Coren, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Andy Coulson, Adrian Deevoy, Alan Edwards, Robert Elms, David Furnish, Bear Grylls, Sophie Hastings,
David Hicks, Mark Hix, Julia Hobsbawm, Boris Johnson, John Kampfner, Simon Kelner, Rod Liddle, Sascha Lilic, Frank Luntz, Dorian Lynskey, Piers Morgan, John Naughton, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Dermot O’Leary,
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HUGOBOSS.COM
 EDITOR’S LETTER

By Royal Appointment
he process started, naturally
enough, at Buckingham Palace.
On Friday 24 March, I turned
up at the designated time
at SW1 1AA – invited along
with the former Evening
Standard editor Sarah
Sands (now editor of
the Today programme),
BBC news supremo James
Harding, and a smattering
of other journalists – to watch
Prince Harry unveil a series of short
films produced for the campaign he
supports with his brother William and sister-in-law Kate, William asked Alastair to help spread the word even further
Heads Together. The films included the likes of Professor in the pages of our magazine. And so a few weeks later, an
Green, Andrew Flintoff, Adwoa Aboah and Alastair Campbell encrypted email appeared in one of my inboxes, containing
discussing their problems with mental health, adding support an extraordinary interview with Prince William, conducted
to a campaign that aims to change the national conversation by Alastair just a few days earlier, the one you can find in this
on mental health and wellbeing, a partnership with various issue. Talk about data capture. Never before has the Prince
independent charities with decades of experience in tackling talked with such honesty about the death of his mother, his
stigma, raising awareness, and providing vital help for people attitudes towards the tabloid press, or indeed his issues with
with challenges in this area. The films were amplified by depression. “Practically everything in my charitable life in the
Prince Harry’s revelations about his own struggles caused by end is to do with mental health, whether it be homelessness,
the death of his mother Diana Princess of Wales, revealing veterans’ welfare, my wife and the work she is doing on
that he saw a counsellor, saying that he shut down his addiction,” says the Prince, “so much of what we do comes
emotions and suffered two years of “total chaos”. back to mental health.”
GQ’s Alastair Campbell used his Heads Together film to He also talked to Alastair about the imminent 20th
describe the psychotic nervous breakdown he suffered in anniversary of Diana’s death, an event that has been almost
the mid-Eighties, his complicated addiction issues and the fetishised by the press. “I am not looking forward to it, no,
chronic depression he has experienced intermittently over the but I am in a better place about it than I have been for a long
years. The searing honesty with which Alastair talked about time,” he says, “where I can talk about her more openly, talk
his problems was heartwarming as well as journalistically about her more honestly, and I can remember her better,
formidable, and I suppose it was no surprise when Prince and publicly talk about her better. It has taken me almost

Never before
has the Prince
talked with
such honesty
about his mother

Above: Alastair Campbell

interviews The Duke Of
Cambridge at Kensington
Palace, 30 March 2017.
Read the full interview
and see our exclusive
photo shoot on page 160

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 25

 EDITOR’S LETTER

20 years to get to that stage. I still find it difficult now because

at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most people’s There this month on
grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows
the story, everyone knows her. It is a different situation for most
were no
people who lose someone they love, it can be hidden away or formalities,
they can choose if they want to share their story. I don’t have
that choice, really.”
no briefing.
Reading the interview, and then discussing these issues with Just ‘Hello,
William in private, it was clear he is more than passionate about
his involvement with the campaign, and the work that he has
I’m William’
done, along with his wife, and Harry, has shown how powerful and ‘Hello,
royalty can be when it comes to serious public endorsement.
Then we started talking about the possibility of an
I’m Kate’
accompanying shoot, some pictures that would help articulate London Fashion Week Men’s: the best new style
his message around the world. So on Thursday 20 April, three GQ We’ll have all the latest looks from the catwalks
of London Fashion Week Men’s, the best
delegates made their way to Kensington Palace to photograph the future King. Myself, Creative street-style snaps, plus analysis of all the new
Director Paul Solomons and Features Director Jonathan Heaf, along with our photographer – trends from 9-12 June.
Norman Jean Roy and his two assistants – passing quietly through the gatehouse, where we
were effortlessly guided into the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s private quarters. E3 2017: the best new
We were all as relaxed as we could be in this situation, although we all looked like the stiffest video games

people in the room as soon as William and Kate walked in. There were no formalities, no briefing Join our GQ.co.uk
games correspondent
on protocol before their arrival, just huge smiles and some quick yet overwhelmingly personable Sam White for live
introductions – “Hello, I’m William,” “Hello, I’m Kate” – before we started chatting. While coverage from Los
Angeles of all the latest
Norman busied himself with making sure that our cover shot was going to be delivered precisely
blockbuster releases at
to our specifications, myself, Paul and Jonathan suggested how we might spend the time most the world’s premier
productively. The results are in this month’s issue, photographs that perfectly complement games trade show.
Alastair’s interview, pictures that reflect the importance of the Heads Together message, but
also pictures that hopefully represent the Duke and Duchess’s passion for transparency and
their engaging determination to spearhead a different kind of sovereignty. I won’t repeat the
details of what we discussed, but in the first ten minutes we had already compared the pictures
with previous agenda-setting GQ covers, most notably our recent Ed Sheeran cover, our David
Cameron cover, and the Damien Hirst/Rihanna cover we produced for our anniversary in 2013.
The family pictures happened by accident, as both Prince George and Princess Charlotte were
more than intrigued by the circus unfolding around their father, a photographic session that looked
for a while as though it was being art directed by the Duchess herself (who had as keen a creative
eye as anyone else on the shoot). We had to pinch ourselves at times, as the day went incredibly
smoothly, a testament to William and Kate’s team, as well as to the Duke and Duchess themselves.
Hay Festival: the best new books
This entire project was produced by a tight team, working in parallel with the rest of the
Join us for news coverage of the biggest event
editorial office, who, along with the publishing and in the literary world and see all the photographs
sales department, knew nothing about it. The story from GQ’s Soho House party at Cabalva Farm
with Land Rover.
was produced in secret, not because we didn’t trust our
own teams, but because the way in which magazines
are produced meant that a rogue corrupted photograph Alastair Campbell
interviews Miriam
or incomplete transcript of the interview might have González Durántez
found its way into the wrong hands. There was so much See the full hour-long
clandestine behaviour in Vogue House that for a few conversation between
our hard-hitting
weeks I felt as though my conversations were encrypted. interrogator Alastair
We hope you think all the subterfuge has been worth Campbell and expert
it. We are enormously proud of this month’s magazine, EU lawyer (and Nick
Clegg’s wife), Miriam
not least because we’ve been able to bring the issues González Durántez.
supported by Heads Together to a wider public, amplified
by the supporting material on GQ.co.uk, our social feeds Facebook Live with Alastair Humphreys
and an ongoing commitment to spreading these messages Adventurer, author and motivational speaker
as wide and as hard as we can. Alastair Humphreys will be joining us for a
sponsored Facebook Live hosted by luxury
bodycare brand Molton Brown.

Follow us
@britishgq
@dylanjonesgq Dylan Jones, Editor
26 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
 W A T C H B E Y O N D

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 Contributors
Arthur BELEBEAU
Who knew a virtual reality headset could look so good with a suit?
In this month’s fashion feature, “Amazing Reality”, photographer
Arthur Belebeau shot models wearing this season’s hottest trend:
monochrome suits, from Hugo Boss to Canali. “My initial inspiration
was the video from Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha’s song ‘Take
On Me’,” says Belebeau, “where the real world meets fantasy.”
Charlie BURTON
Virgin Galactic is the world’s first commercial
spaceline, with plans to fly Richard Branson
to the stars by 2019. “What surprised me
were the customers,” says GQ Senior
Commissioning Editor Charlie Burton, who
has written about it this month. “Tickets
cost $250,000, so you’d assume buyers are
extremely wealthy, but that’s not the case.”
Alex HANNAFORD
Tomi Lahren is a young alt-right internet
personality famed for vitriolic rants
against everyone from Barack Obama
to Black Lives Matter. “Unfortunately,
Photograph Brian Kaminski
I imagine Lahren’s winning formula will
inspire other click-bait-hungry new media
stars,” says GQ contributor Alex Hannaford,
who met Lahren for this month’s feature.
Tom
LAMONT
“Stormzy has bossed the
British music industry,” says
Guardian writer Tom Lamont,
who toured with the grime star
for the issue. In 2015, when
grime music dented the
mainstream for the second
time, critics were sceptical
about the genre’s longevity.
Two years on, and largely
down to the success of Stormzy
– whose debut album made
grime history by entering the
charts at No1 – it’s here to stay.
Elgar
JOHNSON
Styling Stormzy for this
month’s feature on the British
rapper was GQ Style Fashion
Director Elgar Johnson,
recently nominated for Best
Stylist at the BSME awards.
Drawing on London’s growing
streetwear trend, Johnson
dressed Stormzy’s 6ft 5in frame
in Adidas and Liam Hodges for
a relaxed look. Says Johnson,
“It reflects a modern view on
the way a lot of men are
dressing right now.”
Warren
ALFIE BAKER
Ahead of Tom Holland’s
starring role as the new
boy behind the mask in
the upcoming Spider-Man:
Homecoming, GQ shot the
actor poolside, relaxing in the
Hollywood Hills. Styled by
Warren Alfie Baker, Holland
appears in luxury beach gear.
“I’m from Fulham and Tom
is from Kingston, so we had
much to talk about,” says
Baker. “Tom also educated
the Americans on the shoot
about grime, Stormzy and
council estates!”
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 31
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ETTINGER.CO.UK

GENERATION #SELF-DRIVE
Carmakers and tech titans are racing for the lead in the market
for autonomous autos. But are we entering a bright future of easy
riding or are criminal hackers about to crash the party?
W
e have been pursuing the
vision of accident-free
driving for some time, and
we are now making big, big
steps towards the realisa-
tion of that. When it comes to autonomous
cars, we have to be the first, we cannot be
a fast follower.”
Daimler AG’s chairman and CEO Dr Dieter
Zetsche is a busy man, but he made sure he
was around to personally talk up the latest
Mercedes E-Class, the company’s “upper-
medium” saloon, during its launch. Heading
the list of eye-catching new technologies is
Drive Pilot, which uses a stereo camera, radar
sensors and a laptop-sized box of tricks hidden
in the rear wing to drive the car autonomously.
It can accelerate, brake, change lane and come
to a complete halt without any input from
the wobbly human behind the wheel. The
STORY BY Jason Barlow
new E-Class also extends Merc’s “car-to-X
communication” smartphone and Cloud-
based infrastructure, sending information or
warnings about traffic jams or accidents from
similarly equipped cars further up the road.
As someone who can’t abide rain-sensing
wipers – how lazy do you have to be? – the
prospect of the self-driving car fills me with
existential dread. I’m no Luddite, but I enjoy
the challenge and responsibility of controlling
a car myself. I also savour the atavistic thrill
of the explosive chemical reaction that sits at
the heart of internal combustion: full electri-
fication means its days are likely numbered,
too. The automobile has long been hymned
as a symbol of freedom, but it’s difficult to
conjure Jack Kerouac out of a car that drives
itself or imagine the late Chuck Berry pushing
a button on his Tesla when there’s no particu-
lar place to go.
Reinvent the wheel:
Mercedes’ ‘Drive Pilot’
gives its E-Class saloon
driverless capabilities
Yet driverless cars are one of the biggest
prizes in global industry and not just because
they offer the tantalising prospect of reduced
emissions and zero fatalities – who could argue
against that? Tech titans Apple, Google and
Uber are all staking out the territory, curi-
ously eager to annexe a business that offers
meagre margins unless you’re at the very
top of the tree. So why bother? Because as
autonomous cars take hold, they will become
the new hub: the “third place – to relax, work
and play”, according to Daimler’s Dr Zetsche,
between your home and your office. A giant
smartphone, in effect, and therefore a critical
fulcrum for data acquisition.
Given the stakes, the car industry has no
intention of letting itself be outflanked the
way the music business was in the early
noughties. This is why every major automo-
tive OEM has been rebranding itself as a
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 33
 technology company that specialises in
mobility solutions, with self-driving cars at
one end and vehicle management services at
the other. It’s all to play for.
Zetsche has a challenge on his hands,
however. According to a recent independent
research report by Navigant, it’s the Ford
Motor Company that’s blazing the trail.
Parameters here include “vision, go-to market
strategy, partners and staying power”; Ford
was duly ranked first out of 18 car and tech
companies. The company’s chief technology
officer, Raj Nair, noted, “First, integration is
key. Our hardware and software platforms need
to be integrated into an efficient, high-quality
vehicle system. This is a complex task. All the
various electrical and mechanical systems
must talk to each other. Energy management
must be optimised, as the computing system
requires maximum efficiency. Second is
manufacturing capability. Building the ‘car’
part of an autonomous car is no easy task.”
his, we understand, is exactly what
T
  Apple and Google have recently
discovered, which is why they’re
more likely to acquire an established
player than go it alone. The truth is,
no other everyday consumer durable is any-
thing like as complicated as the motor car; your
television or washing machine doesn’t come
with 16 airbags.
BMW is also leaning hard on the fast-
forward button. Having spent in excess of
£2 billion on its “i” sub-brand, the excellent
i3 city EV and i8 hybridised supercar have
yet to yield the revenues the Munich-based
giant was hoping for. BMW can afford to be
patient. Both cars come with a suite of apps
that support and monitor driver behaviour,
usage and efficiency, and exemplify connec-
tivity, a vital part of the marketing message for
any new car. When a BMW contact confirmed
to me that the i cars’ connectivity was under-
pinned by a new facility in Munich, I asked if
I could visit to check out the server firepower
for myself. BMW declined.
Not that you can blame them. As we accel-
erate towards this fully connected, electrified
and autonomous automotive Nirvana, some big
issues urgently need to be addressed. Data pro-
tection is one, privacy another. Then there is
the not insignificant question of car hacking,
a growing concern for automotive companies,
especially against the rising tide of cyber-
crime. I spoke to David Emm, senior security
researcher at Kaspersky Lab, one of the world’s
leading IT security providers and antivirus
specialists. Emm is mild-mannered, engaging
and has the priceless ability to guide outsid-
ers through what he refers to as the “malware
34 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
ecosystem” without leaving the more intellec-
tually impoverished floundering.
Kaspersky Lab processes 310,000 new
malicious files every day, of which only one
per cent require manual intervention from an
expert. Even then, only a fraction of those
are referred to the Global Research & Analysis
Team. The worst and most notorious are known
as APTs, or advanced persistent threats. As
I write, malware detection flow during an
on-demand scan (ODS) – when the user selects
“scan for viruses” on their machine, one of
eight principal data sources Kaspersky tracks –
indicates that there are 10.7 million detections
per second, and the UK is currently the 18th
most attacked country.
Emm offers some reassurances: what he
refers to as the “attack surface” might be
growing at an exponential rate (forget online
banking, think the internet of things) but most
cybercriminals are opportunists, latter-day
Dickensian pickpockets looking for an easy
‘We could do it
anywhere, over the
internet. Car hacking
got real right then’
win. Others are very specifically malicious
and Kaspersky’s map of targeted cyberattacks
makes for grimly compelling reading. You
might have heard of Stuxnet, a weaponised
computer worm allegedly created by a joint
American-Israeli group in 2010 to disrupt and
destroy centrifuges used to enrich uranium at
the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran. It’s widely
regarded as the first malware to target the
military-industrial complex. More recently,
the Carbanak cybergang stole £1bn from 100
financial institutions worldwide; there are
hundreds of other hardcore APTs.
And cars? They’re far from immune. The
highest profile hack so far occurred when
cybersecurity researchers Charlie Miller and
Chris Valasek exploited a weakness in the head
unit of their Jeep Cherokee’s multimedia system
and the cellular network it was hooked up to
before accessing the car’s CAN (controller area
network) bus. This is the nervous system that
effectively unites the multitude of ECUs gov-
erning a modern car’s engine, transmission,
chassis electronics, air conditioning... the lot.
Even with an air gap – which separates the
networked elements from the physical ones,
supposedly safeguarding them – Miller and
Valasek were able to break in and take control.
“When I saw we could do it anywhere, over the
internet, I freaked out. I was frightened. It was
like, holy f***, that’s a vehicle in the middle of
the country. Car hacking got real right then.”
eep recalled 1.4m vehicles and issued
J  a security patch update. A year later,
a journalist from Wired observed
as the duo redoubled their efforts,
derailing the ECU, overriding signals
and targeting various components in the car.
“You have one computer in the car telling
it to do one thing and we’re telling it to do
something else,” Miller observed. “Our solution
is to knock the other computer offline.” This
included hijacking the vehicle’s steering and
cruise control. As Jeep’s parent company, FCA,
was at pains to point out, “This demonstration
required a computer to be physically connected
into the vehicle’s on-board diagnostic port [or
OBD, which is used by technicians to update
the car’s systems] and it is highly unlikely that
this exploit could be possible if the vehicle
software were still at the latest level.”
Miller and Valasek might be guilty of show-
boating, but they’re not malicious. “You need
to know what hackers are going to do next,
how to mitigate it and how some mitigations
don’t work, which is what we’ve shown,” Miller
avers. Mercedes’ R&D chief Ola Källenius con-
firmed to me that, “Cybersecurity has a very
high priority and will be even more important
as you open up your electronic architecture for
fully downloadable, over-the-air capability.”
Meanwhile, Victor Chebyshev, an anti-
malware researcher at Kaspersky, has this
observation. “Applications for connected
cars are not ready to withstand malware
attacks. We expect that car manufacturers
will have to go down the same road that banks
have already taken with their applications...
After multiple cases of attacks against apps,
many banks have improved the security of
their products.
“Luckily, we have not yet detected any cases
of attacks against car applications, which
means that car vendors still have time to do
things right. How much time they have exactly
is unknown. Modern Trojans are very flexible –
one day they can act like normal adware, and
the next day they can easily download a new
configuration, making it possible to target new
apps. The attack surface is really vast here.”
And don’t get us started on aviation...
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Everyone Carrying A Flat White Is Wearing Flat
Whites (Dylan Jones, June 2017)
The Food Wars (Jennifer Bradly, May 2017)
Me, Myself And iPhone (Wil Harris, April 2017)

this month: loyle carner p.40
gq intel
need saving? no
problem. daddario was a
school swim star and is
scuba-qualified, thanks
to her training alongside
the rock for 2015’s
san andreas.
Alexandra
Daddario
Photograph Ralph Mecke
Meet the True Detective star
diving into comedy with the
(very) beautiful people of the
big-screen Baywatch reboot
E D I T E D BY CHARLIE BURTON
david sedaris p.42 seersucker gets cool p.43 new rules of clubbing p.45
Funny girl: Alexandra
Daddario is following
Baywatch with two more
THE comedies this year
RISING
S TA R
THIS month’s big-screen Baywatch reboot is a comic reimagining of the series that introduced
a generation to slow-mo. But it shares, well, certain aesthetic qualities with the original. “That’s
part of the humour of Baywatch: everybody’s sort of supernaturally good-looking, and they
take their jobs very, very seriously,” says Alexandra Daddario, who plays Summer Quinn. “We
took a lot of comedy from that.” The 31-year-old’s improv impressed so much in auditions that
they wrote her lines into the script. “If you can make people laugh,” she says, “they’ll love you
forever.” This year, prepare to see plenty more of Daddario’s funny side: first with Kate Upton in
The Layover, followed by When We First Met this autumn. Oh, and if Baywatch’s #fitspo bodies
leave you feel feeling a little beach shy, fear not: “The majority of men that I date don’t have
abs, if that makes anybody feel better.” It does. Oliver Franklin-Wallis Baywatch is out now.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 37
It is our rich history of exploration that led us to discover people around the world
who pursue a diferent kind of wealth. Together they form the San Miguel Rich List –
a unique group of men and women who value experiences over any possession.

We are searching for more inspirational people who share our thirst for discovery,
creativity or new experiences. For a chance to feature in the San Miguel Rich List,
nominate yourself or someone you know at SanMiguel.co.uk/Apply

UK residents, 18+ to nominate, 25+ to feature. 1-4 Rich List places available. Closes 30th July 2017. To see full T&Cs visit SanMiguel.co.uk/Apply
 Photographs Dave Benett

Stanley Tucci Ed Westwick Caludia Winkleman Hannah Bagshawe and Eddie Redmayne

Graham Norton

Giles Coren

Douglas Booth

Jack Guinness

Daisy Lowe
Jason Atherton
Woody Harrelson

Jasmine Hemsley

Stephen Webster Olly Murs

Cindy Bruna
THE

Olivia Grant
PAG E
PARTY

Rosanna Falconer
Matthew Freud
Princess Beatrice

Tafari Hinds

become the hottest new

a barbershop – and, from
a spa, a pool, a hammam,
Dougie Poynter

It is that, of course, but so

spot in town... thened.com

the launch party alone, we
Roland Mouret

knew it would immediately

London opening from Soho
calling The Wire a cop show.

House has eight restaurants,

much more besides. The new
To call The Ned a hotel, is like
to party straight on until morning

Sarah Ferguson
Samantha Cameron
Poppy
The starriest hotel in London knows how
Finding Nederland

Delevingne

Nick Grimshaw
Pixie Lott

Ed Drewett Richard Jones

Tracey Emin

Oliver Cheshire

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 39

David Walliams George Lamb Daisy England Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Emo kid: Loyle Carner gq intel
opens up at London’s O2
Shepherd’s Bush Empire, carner grew up
February 2017 listening to nas on repeat.
having released his
debut ep in 2014, carner
supported his hero
at london’s 02 arena
in 2016.

GOOD GRIEF
THE

ARTIST
T O WAT C H

Tender hip hop: let’s face it, it’s not an idea that’s guaranteed success. But south London’s Loyle Carner
has won over everyone from Nas to Kate Tempest (and us) with his soul-baring tunes

LOYLE Carner (real name: Benjamin Coyle-Larner) isn’t about the women, violence or
money. Instead, the 22-year-old prefers a more introspective mode of hip hop, spinning
slow, confessional narratives over jazzy, boom-bap beats. “I have ADHD,” says Carner,
“so I’m more emotional than most.” It’s found him a niche – and quite an audience. He
has supported Nas and Kate Tempest, won rapturous reviews for his album, Yesterday’s
Gone (left, out now), and is on a seven-month tour of Australia, the US and the UK.
Carner wanted to be an actor, but quit drama school and moved home to Croydon to
support his mother and brother in 2014 after the death of his stepfather. A year later, he
Photographs Getty Images

released his debut EP, Little Late, a record wrought with grief. His voice cracks on “BFG”:
“Everybody says I’m f***ing sad / Of course I’m f***ing sad, I miss my f***ing dad.”
For Yesterday’s Gone, Carner swapped anger for nostalgia. The album is named after
a record made by his stepfather, which Carner only discovered after his death. On “Sun
Of Jean”, Carner’s mother reads a poem layered over her husband’s piano. “I immortalised
them in my music,” says Carner. “They could be together one last time.” Eleanor Halls
Loyle Carner plays the Reading Festival in August. loylecarner.com
40 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
 Excess all areas
Bottomless brunch has gone from novelty to norm, so this summer restaurants
are supercharging the idea. Here are five where more is more…

Bad Egg Dead Dolls Shackfuyu

City Point, House 14a Old Compton
1 Ropemaker Street 181 Upper Street N1. Street W1.
THE EC2. badegg.london thedeaddollshouse. bonedaddies.com

RUMOUR Best for: Friday drinks

– early ones.
co.uk
Best for: Revelry,
Best for: East-
meets-(wild)-west.
MILL
The lowdown: The Roman style. The lowdown: A
grey environs of The lowdown: The subterranean izakaya
by Moorgate don’t exactly
alex wickham Balls & DDH, as it’s known, is Sexy Fish in Soho, Shackfuyu
scream “weekend”,
but Bad Egg’s boozy
Company housed in a handsome Berkeley Square
is a pop-up gone
permanent from the
58 Greek Street W1. Islington townhouse House, Berkeley
Theresa May’s snap brunch has fast with three floors of team behind rock‘n’roll
ballsandcompany. Square W1.
election caught become a favourite fun dedicated to ramen resto Bone
london sexyfish.com
everyone by surprise, with a surprisingly debauchery. There’s a Daddies. Pro tip: don’t
cool clientele. Best for: An inter-shop Best for: Warming-up, be the guy taking
not least her own top bar at ground level for
The deal: It’s called stop-of. pre-Ibiza. selfies with his food.
team. One Downing drinks and dancing;
“frunch”: a new, The lowdown: The lowdown: It’s the The deal: Brunch has
Street aide had to cut two private rooms on
bottomless brunch A restaurant that blingy brasserie that just been extended
short an Easter holiday, the first floor for dinner
another top advisor every Friday. For £35, serves only meatballs? you know and love, from Sunday to
away from prying eyes;
has had to abandon patrons can explore It’ll never work, they with its Damien Hirst Monday (well, why
and a late-night
their June getaway a menu of modern said. Two years later, artworks, high celeb not?). The menu is
cocktail den up top.
– and spare a thought American classics Balls & Company in count and Nobu- £35 and includes
The deal: Inspired
for the Tory MP who alongside endless Soho is stronger than baitingly good Asian two small plates
by ancient feasting,
had to cancel not one bubbles and bloodies ever under chef-patron food – but now with and one large dish
“Bacchanalian brunch”
but two foreign jollies. – all soundtracked by Bonny Porter. added brunch. alongside all-you-
(£60) takes place on
That’s what they got old-school hip-hop. The deal: “Sangria The deal: It’s not can-drink prosecco
the first Sunday of
for believing the PM’s A day of well spent. Saturdays”. This new bottomless, but “Sexy and pineapple sake
every month. Guests
“no election” promise! The dish: Don’t miss brunch is available Brunch” is a day party – until 10pm.
are seated together
the pulled pork and from noon until 4pm; with a diference: The dish: Don’t miss
on long, candlelit
Donald Trump’s top kimchi hash. £15 ensures your a beautiful spread the stonebass with
banqueting tables
team is notoriously The drink: The Mimosas tumbler is kept full to with pumping playlists guajillo chilli ponzu.
and served four
male, so when Boris are prosecco with just a the brim for two hours. courtesy of rotating The drink: It’s all about
wine-paired courses
Johnson flew to splash of OJ – just the The dish: Go trad with superstar DJs, from that pineapple sake.
which are bookended
Washington to meet way we like ’em. pork, ricotta, parmesan, 11.30am to 4.30pm Nicky Clarke
by welcome and
key White House milk bread, pine nuts every Sunday.
farewell cocktails.
figures he insisted and sage meatballs The dish: Sexy
his own travelling The dish: Exec chef
– then give them eggs benedict with
entourage include Joe Hill (ex-Gordon
a twist with a pesto, a charcoal muin
several women. I hear Ramsay and Soho
basil, lemon, garlic and and asparagus
Boris has also banned House) ofers up a
cashew nut sauce. soldiers (£12).
events with all-male diferent menu each
The drink: The more The drink: Bartender
panels at the Foreign time. Past Sundays
unusual rosé sangria Matteo Cazzaniga’s
Office. He always was have taken cues from
– lighter, softer and spicy gin-based
a ladies’ man. the Nordics and the
more summery. Red Snapper.
Philippines, while
Corbyn’s office have a 4 June focuses on
new nickname for their vegetarian fare and
bitter enemies within 2 July is Italian.
the Labour Party. The drink: Ask for
Instead of “Blairites” the Cofee Negroni,
or “moderates”, I’m a cafeine-fuelled twist
told the Corbynistas on the Italian aperitif.
call them “Jolyons”.
Turns out there are
THE
several Corbyn critics
on Twitter called
Jolyon – a name
LONDON
PAG E
seen even by Jezza’s
team as outdated.

Tory whips keep MPs

in check by pinging
them messages on
a WhatsApp group
named “WhipsApp”.
The best profile pic is
surely the 007 image
chosen by minister
Therese Coffey – or, as
she is now known by
members of the group,
“Pussy Galore”.

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 41

An American in Paris
THE The humorist David Sedaris has been dubbed “the Picasso of the personal essay”.
The
Insta
BOOK
TO READ
Now he is publishing his diaries – the source material behind his bestselling books
(if you haven’t read Me Talk Pretty One Day, do). In this extract he is living in Paris
classics
Happy-snap your Instagram
when his friend, the journalist David Rakof, comes to visit... feed by following the
’grammers behind three posts
Theft By Finding: Diaries: we hit “like” on this month
Volume One (out now)
9 July 2000, Paris: Last night after
dinner, David and I returned to
the Hôtel Costes to have a drink in
the lobby. He’s writing about the
fashion shows and thought it might
be a good idea to listen in on a few
conversations. The bar, or series
of bars, encircles the courtyard
@ B E TC H E S
restaurant, and passing from one
area to the next, I realised that I’d
never seen such a good-looking
group of people in my life. There
were no exceptions. As David
said, the place made the recent
Prada and Gucci ads seem like
documentary footage. This was
a gene-pool convention, an ark
of beauty. I felt ugly and
@THEBLESSEDONE
uncomfortable, so we ran over
to the Tuileries and shot pellet
rifles, pretending the balloons
were our own physical flaws.
I won a dart gun and a deck of
cards. David won a model airplane
and then we walked around for
a while. I got to come home, but
Theft By Finding: Diaries:
Volume One by David Sedaris
David had to return to the hotel
(Little, Brown, £20) and walk through the lobby.
@BEIGECARDIGAN

GQ
Do something diferent this month, tune into these new sounds...

BAND into into into

O - M AT I C
Nelly Furtado? Syd Barrett? MIA?
try try try
Dua Lipa Richard Dawson Noga Erez
London’s freshest Newcastle-based folk Combining futuristic
model-slash-singer troubadour whose new beats and provocative
stakes her claim as into album is inspired by into lyrics, the Tel Aviv
a genuine pop star on Tinariwen? the apposite tale of Ariel Pink experimentalist’s debut
this debut album full try how Britain dealt with try record has made us sit
of breezy pop bangers Songhoy Blues the departure of the Eyedress up and listen.
– and a hint of darkness. A band of desert Roman Empire. Filipino prodigy Idris Kevin Perry Off The Radar
Dua Lipa is out rockers all the way Peasant is out on 2 June. Vicuña has a knack of is out on 2 June.
on 2 June. from Timbuktu, Mali, crafting Tumblr-
whose punk credentials friendly, spaced-out
are underscored by tunes that have as
their new collaboration much heft as the best
with Iggy Pop. pop songs.
Résistance is out Manila Ice is out
on 16 June. on 2 June.
 T-shirt by Zara, £25. Coat by Wooyoungmi, £595. Shirt by Raey, £175.
zara.com At mrporter.com At matchesfashion.com

THE

STYLE
GUIDE

Pucker up
Thought seersucker was just
for the races? Think again.
The heat-dissipating cotton
fabric has had its traditional
blue and white stripes remixed
in new colour combinations for
Suit by Richard James, £765. Shirt by Orlebar Brown, £175.
richardjames.co.uk
all occasions. Whether you are orlebarbrown.com
looking for something cool for
the boardroom or the beach,
there’s no hurdle to sporting
it 24/7 as the weather hots
up. Just leave the Panama
at home. Nick Carvell

Trousers by Giorgio Armani, £460. Cap by Filippa K, £80. Trousers by Canali, £220.
armani.com filippa-k.com canali.com
Photographs Roger Stillman

Shorts by Thom Browne, £1,050. Shorts by Oicine Générale, £210. Swim shorts by Polo Ralph Lauren, £75.
At mrporter.com At Harrods. harrods.com ralphlauren.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 43

Product colour, shape, interface and functions for reference only. The actual product may vary.
The
GQ
rules
How to behave
in a nightclub
If it is your
church, then
these are your
commandments

You’re not going

“clubbing”, because
this isn’t a montage
from Human Traffic.

Grandmaster blaster
The name of the
venue will suice.
THE
The same goes for
“raving” (unless you
self-identify as a
VIDEO The Valkyria series has an obsessive following among those who
have chanced upon it. Now it’s your moment to join them
GAME
“millennial” and
work for Vice).
For more than 30
The only place years, developers have
Knight Space
anyone cares
worked to find new takes castle to think
about your ecstasy Valkyria Chronicles Valkyria Revolution’s
anecdote is in the ways to transpose the
strategic depth and took the turn-based style works in harmony
comments section
of an acid house elegance of chess rule set of chess and with its mechanical
track on YouTube. to the video game broke it open, allowing inventions, encouraging
medium, giving your units to move you to carefully
If the event has “pieces” names and freely around the consider your soldiers’
been advertised back stories and board, not according placement and moves.
on a poster zip-tied
overlaying the gridded Written by to squares on a grid Can’t cheat Set in a Sound Of
to a traic light,
then it’s not an chessboard onto fully the victor but to specified the reaper Music-like “Europe”,
detailed battlefields. A snub, a stray bullet, distances by which it’s all green hills and
acceptable date. You join the ranks of
Valkyria Chronicles a referendum: the they were permitted the Vanargand, an blue skies, despite the
Do not stare at the (2008) was set in a smallest things can to move per turn. elite band of soldiers clouds of war gathering
DJ. The talent’s on fictionalised version spark far-reaching Valkyria Revolution fighting to free Jutland around its protagonists.
the turntable – the of Second World conflicts. In Valkyria ofers a further from the Ruzhien A vibrant soundtrack
guy you’re dancing War-era Europe, complication, composed by Yasunori
Revolution, set during Empire in a kind of
at lives with his eschewing the Mitsuda and performed
and one of the best an alt-history industrial weaponised Brexit.
mother while his original’s turn-based by the celebrated
“label is getting off attempts yet. A cult age, five friends plunge You fight using magic,
hit that spawned two their diminutive nation, gameplay for a new tanks and rifles and, Tokyo Symphony
the ground”.
sequels, Sega’s game Jutland, into conflict hybrid of fast-paced unlike in most action Orchestra complements
Yes, you should feel is now set for a lavish with the neighbouring real-time combat and games – where dying is the striking visuals.
bad that you didn’t reinvention in Valkyria Ruzhien Empire, whose strategic manoeuvring. a mere setback and Simon Parkin Out now.
tip the bathroom Revolution. Here’s government burned characters can be
attendant. the lowdown in down their country’s revived instantly via
four frames... orphanage years the “continue” button
Do not attempt to
dance on the bar/ before. Revolution – here, characters’
stairs/sofa. There’s curdles into war. deaths are permanent.
an area reserved for When the rubble Keep your comrades
dancing. It’s called settles, will the five alive or else face a
the dance floor. be considered heroes mounting challenge
or villains? and shrinking storyline.
Is the DJ supported
by live instruments?
Leave at once.
There is nothing
for you here.
Add to basket: Dior Homme x Sennheiser
Not long ago, technology’s “good enough” revolution – the triumph of the cheap and simple
Not everyone over
30 is a drug dealer. over the powerful and exacting – transformed attitudes to audio. Why worry about fidelity
So stop asking. when Spotify et al give you access to all the music ever? Then the vinyl revival happened,
proving consumers are still prepared to indulge their inner audiophile if it entails a sense of
For at least half
of the people in a occasion. Hence the new collaboration between Sennheiser and Dior Homme. This special
club, the night is a edition of four Sennheiser products – HD 800 S headphones, HDVD 800 headphone
reminder that life
is only 85 per cent amplifier, PXC 550 wireless travel headphones and IE 800 ear-canal headphones – comes
rubbish. Tell them with black and anthracite finishes set off by red detailing. The “home solution” (£7,600)
your name, where presents all four in a set of calfskin padded drawers – the aim being to make the listening
you’re from and give
them some of your experience start before you hear a note. Take that, “good enough”. en-uk.sennheiser.com
water. Matthew Jones

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 45

 Augment your life:
Three substitutions to make this month

Ditch: Buy:
Listening on your iPhone Bose’s Soundlink Revolve
THE SUN’S out and the garden’s back in use. The only thing that would improve
matters: Bose’s new 360-degree speaker, the Revolve (£200. bose.co.uk). It’s just
1.5lbs and the shape means you’ll hear the same sound wherever you roam.
Better still, a single charge lasts up to 12 hours, easily enough for a lazy Sunday.

The vinyl revival remains in rude health.

Dylan Jones selects an overlooked
classic to hunt out next time you’re flicking
through the crates...

LONG estimated to be a career and when it became

Captain Beefheart’s finest
work, Trout Mask Replica
(1969) was an avalanche of
disjointed rhythms, reckless
slide guitar, wailing and
shouting – and was
influential in its disregard
for traditionally recognised
forms of music rather than
any of its actual songs.
Beefheart couldn’t play
a musical instrument, and
would demand his musicians
play particular colours.
By being autocratic in
the recording studio –
he screamed, punched and
discharged, and all this after
giving his band members
silly new names – Beefheart
controlled his ever-changing
posse of musicians by trying
to capture a sound only he
could hear (or at least
pretend to hear). By all
accounts he was a hard man
to love. After the years of
heroic experimentation came
the fitful Seventies, when
being formerly influential
wasn’t the same as having
expedient to at least attempt
a more commercial attitude.
Hence Clear Spot, which was
brought to my attention by
a friend who reckoned it was Park: Try:
one of the most romantic Alain Ducasse At The Dorchester Jean-Georges At The Connaught
records ever made. And he
Best known for the triple-starred Jean-Georges in New York, Jean-Georges
wasn’t wrong. The three
salient tracks are “Too Much
Vongerichten is opening a self-titled restaurant at The Connaught hotel (Carlos
Time”, “My Head Is My Only Place, Mayfair, London W1. the-connaught.co.uk). He wants it to seem like a
House Unless It Rains” and “neighbourhood” restaurant while retaining his signature “farm-to-table” style,
“Her Eyes Are A Blue Million which sounds a lot like Michelin-starred food at non-Michelin-starred prices.
Miles”, where the Captain
sounds like Otis Redding on
acid, which is sort of how
Beefheart sounded at the
best of times, I suppose. He
was infamous for corrupting
the blues, although his
unhinged “anti-music sound
sculptures” were never
commercially viable. Hence
Doobie Brothers producer
Ted Templeman, who was
brought in to add some
Forget it: Dele Alli Watch out for: Kylian Mbappé
radio sheen to Clear Spot
(and said his client was With the football season over, it’s transfer rumour time. While you dream of
physically intimidating). It prising Dele Alli from Spurs, the more realistic option is Monaco wunderkind
didn’t trouble the charts of Kylian Mbappé. He may sound like a Hanson song, but at just 18, he has already
course, but the record was scored more than 20 goals in his debut season, been capped twice by France
six-out-of-ten astonishing. and compared to Thierry Henry. Never heard of him? To YouTube! Stuart McGurk

2 Snap your fingers 4 Present the flame.

Gutter credit hereplease Gutter name here

B R I N G YO U R together at the (We hope you’re

‘A’ same time as rotating
your hand through
lighting a barbecue
– we refuse to
GAME
90 degrees. condone smoking.)

No31
The Zippo snap
Here’s how Ryan
Gosling does it… 1 Hold the lighter flat 3 The lid of the 5 Turn the lighter
with the hinge to the lighter will have back on its side
left, your middle and flipped down. Strike and whip your hand
ring fingers on the lid the flint with your upwards to snap it
and thumb on the base. index finger. shut again. CB

46 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 Nobu Matsuhisa
THE

PARTY
PAG E
Julie Nollet and Jo Thornton

A feast for
the senses
THEY SAY that food brings people
Gary Neville

together, and that was certainly

true at this year’s GQ Food & Drink
Awards. Once again presented by Veuve
Clicquot, the event welcomed London’s
gastro cognoscenti to The Curtain
Hotel, Shoreditch, to celebrate the very
Stefan Chomka and Tom Kerridge

Nicolas Jaouën, Mauricio Morelli

best of the global dining scene. Guests

enjoyed canapés courtesy of the hotel’s
soul food superstar Marcus Samuelsson,
while our partners Belvedere and Veuve
Clicquot kept them well libated, the
and Ivan Crispo

latter treating the room to its new

Veuve Clicquot Extra Brut Extra Old
champagne. Congratulations to all of
our incredible nominees and winners.
Illustrations Dale Edwin Murray Photographs Alamy; Getty Images; James Mason/JAB

Kelly Hoppen and Tara Bernerd

Gigi Vega and Layne Nguyen

Michael Bonsor and Scott Wallen

Claudia Winkleman and Mark Hix
Isaac Carew and Sophie Michell

Martin Morales

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 47

 Melissa Hemsley and Jasmine Hemsley Marco Arrigo and Luca Bergagna

48 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

Dylan Jones and Jason Atherton

Richard Vines and Oliver Peyton

Leah Kirkland

Alex Craciun and Aleksandra Jezevica Claudia Winkleman and Stanley Tucci Clare Smyth and Phil Howard

Marcus Samuelsson

Nick Gilkinson, Mark Jarvis,

Felicity Blunt and Jack Cashmore

Matthew Mawtus and Matthew Hobbs Sam Hart, Florence Knight and Eddie Hart

Mark Wogan
The founder and CEO of Homeslice, a former street-food pizza stall that now turns over £4.5 million
a year across three permanent London sites, reveals what he has learned…
Homeslice Fitzrovia
Don’t underspend
“We thought we’d saved a lot
of money when we opened the
restaurant for only £200,000,
but then we had to shut it three
years later to install a new kitchen.
What you think is important, like
the light switches, isn’t. Instead, ask
yourself: does your fridge work?”
Homeslice Shoreditch and the Groucho Club
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
“I was working 16-hour days,
six days a week and it nearly
killed me. I had no personal
life. But if you want to work
in the hospitality industry,
it’s vocational, not something
you do on the side.”
Story by Eleanor Halls
Homeslice’s street-food stall, 2011
50 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
THE
ENTREPRENEUR
Academia isn’t everything
Born London
Age 47 “I was moved on after my
headmaster found an empty
bottle of vodka and two of
EDUCATION his crystal tumblers in my
bedside cabinet. I only got
three GCSEs. We all make
1980 – 1984 mistakes; the point is not
Claires Court, Maidenhead
to be defined by them.”
1985 – 1987
Free Folk House /
The Henley College
1989 – 1990
Leiths School Of Food And Wine
CAREER IN BRIEF Wogan (right) with Homeslice
chef/co-owner Ry Jessup in 2013
The best part of a pitch is passion
1990 – 1991
Neal Street Restaurant, “We did a very poor pitch to our
commis chef first landlord: a four-page
PowerPoint presentation and some
1992 – 1993
Draycott’s wine bar, chef
pizza. An experienced restaurateur
would have said, ‘They don’t have
1994 – 2000 a clue.’ But we were passionate.
Cooked on TV programmes
Starting out, to win a pitch you
such as This Morning
need to get your passion across.”
2000 – 2003 The original
Groucho Club Homeslice in
menu consultant Covent Garden
2004 – 2009
Took over J Gurnett Personal
Management
2011
Founded Homeslice
street-food stall
2013
Opened Homeslice Neal’s Yard in
Don’t look like a chain (even if you are)
Covent Garden, London
“Aside from the wood-fired
September 2015
Opened Homeslice Fitzrovia
oven, the décor in each
Homeslice is completely
December 2015 different. Never hand over
Opened Homeslice Shoreditch
the creative reins to
2017 somebody else. We say
Homeslice Shoreditch reaches exactly what themes, colour
a daily turnover of £10,000
and furniture we want.”
 N E W
F R E E L A N C E R

C A L I B R E R W 1 2 1 2
#PRECISIONMOVEMENTS
 HOW WE LIVE
PORTRAIT BY Andrew Urwin

GQ.co.uk’s watchman in Westminster expounds his private

passions, from Wes Anderson and whisky to must-have tech
This month: Rupert Myers, Political Correspondent, GQ.co.uk
HOME
CULTURE
On the nightstand:
AND GEAR
Radical Enlightenment by Tool: Super Tool 300
Jonathan Israel (below); The by Leatherman (below)
Complete Works Of Ernest Hemingway Car: 1991 Toyota Land
Looking forward to: Star Wars: The Last Cruiser 4.3L Turbo
Jedi; Isle Of Dogs Watch: Apple Watch (above)
Restaurants: 40 Maltby Street, London SE1; Gaming: PlayStation 4; iPad Pro
De Kas, Amsterdam; Ora d’Aria, Florence Desktop computer: Apple iMac 5K
Café: The Watch House, SE1 (below) Photography: iPhone 6s with
Bars: Dandelyan, SE1 (pictured); Gordon’s Moment Lenses; GoPro
Wine Bar, WC2; The Little Guy, Sydney Kitchen: Wooden steak knives
Hotel: Prestonfield House, Edinburgh by Laguiole (right);
Favourite albums: Arvo Pärt: Complete Works enamelware by Best Made
For Violin And Piano And For Piano Solo; Distiller: Moonshine still kit
Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan by Clawhammer Supply
Favourite films: The Third Man; The Great
Beauty; The Grand Budapest Hotel
(below); The Big Lebowski
Drink: 16-year-old
Lagavulin (above)

STYLE Photograph Alamy Grooming Lou Box at S Management

AND GROOMING
Tie: Liberty London STIMULATION
(below right) To read: Journey To The
Shoes: Church’s (below right) End Of The Night by
Trainers: Internationalist by Nike Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Umbrella: James Smith & Sons (left) Reading: The manuscript I’m writing
Running shoes: Gel-Kayano by Asics To read again: While The Billy Boils
Sunglasses: Original Wayfarers in by Henry Lawson (above)
tortoise by Ray-Ban (right) Art: “Lady Agnew Of Lochnaw”
Weekend shirt: Best Made by John Singer Sargent (left)
Weekend jacket: Barbour Galleries: The White Cube, SE1;
Fragrance: Marc Jacobs Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney
Men (below) Museums: The British Museum (above); The V&A
Views: From the shore of Lake Wakatipu, New
Zealand (above); Columbia Road Flower Market
Stationery: Lamy Pico; Moleskine notebooks
TV to rewatch: Breaking Bad;
Flight Of The Conchords
To do at the weekend: Go to Berlin
Last mountain: Mount Kinabalu
Next mountain:
Mont Blanc

52 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

T: 03330 063 083
E:ZHSLZ'V]LYÄUJOJVT
A:7HYR9VHK:[1VOUZ>VVK3VUKVU5>/;
+PZJV]LYTVYLH[V]LYÄUJOJVT
 E D I T E D BY MATTHEW JONES

If looks
could thrill
Don’t be fooled by its striking design, Mercedes-AMG’s new GT C is the super-fast roadster that puts
power and performance front and centre
S TO RY BY JASON BARLOW

Rebel yellow: The GT C’s

15-louvred grille is inspired by
the Mercedes 300 SL that won
the Panamericana road race

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 55

 CARS
 A
MG is 50 this year and
plans to celebrate by
unleashing the most
devastating road car ever
conceived. No one has
successfully transplanted a current
Formula One engine into a street-legal
car, but that’s exactly what Mercedes’
high-performance off-shoot says it’s
managed with its “Project One” hyper-
car. It’ll likely have 1,000bhp – that’s
more than Lewis Hamilton gets to play
with every other Sunday.
But let’s face it, no AMG has ever
lacked for horsepower. Following the
theatrically gull-winged SLS, the GT
is only the second solo AMG outing, a
clean-sheet car conceived independently
of the Stuttgart mother ship. This is a
place so in love with internal combustion
that the men and women who make each
engine personally autograph the block.
Mercedes-AMG has waited until part-
way through the GT’s life span to unveil
the convertible version, complete with
an eye-popping new 15-louvred grille
– inspired by the Merc that conquered
the ferocious Panamericana road race
– active air management and active
rear-wheel steering. A skilful peram-
bulation of the options list could yield
arguably the coolest looking car of
the year, although the business end is
where the drama’s really happening. If
you’re aiming to fly under the radar,
“designo selenite”, a matte grey colour,
is your best option. However, for the
more proud, our tip would be the strik-
ing “solarbeam yellow”.
The coupé’s lightweight aluminium
space frame receives extra reinforce-
ment to counter the side effects of
56 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
The GT C is basically a Teutonic muscle
car with substantial personality
going soft in the head. The sills are
seriously chunky, while the dashboard
gains additional strut braces against
the windscreen. There’s another tower
brace between the soft-top and the fuel
tank and a cross-member behind the
seats also boosts the rollover protection
system. The GT C Roadster uses magne-
sium in its structure to reduce inertia,
and the roof consists of a magnesium,
steel and aluminium structure support-
ing an acoustically optimised three-layer
hood, available in black, red or beige.
This opens or closes in eleven seconds at
speeds up to 30mph, a bulwark against
the fickle British weather.
AMG’s fondness for brute force
over chassis finesse is sometimes its
undoing, but while the new roadster
could have taken some heat out of the
GT’s sauce, it pointedly chooses not to.
This is basically a Teutonic muscle car,
a feeling exemplified by the driving
position. The rear axle isn’t directly
beneath your backside, but it’s not far
off, and that sense of riding a challeng-
ing if not downright wild animal imbues
the GT C with substantial personality.
We have no arguments with that.
The GT C is also wider at the rear than
the standard car and runs bigger wheels
and rubber. So on top of its eagerness
to turn into corners, it also manages the
apex and exit with equally savage com-
mitment. AMG’s adoption of the active
rear axle promotes stability and agility
by pointing the wheels 1.5 degrees in
the opposite direction to the fronts at
speeds up to 62mph.
Roger Daltrey, of all people, recently
told me an F1 driver had advised him
NEED to hang on to his old AMG CLS 63 –
TO powered by the company’s 6.2-litre V8.
KNOW Why? Because it’s normally aspirated,
SPECIFICATION
whereas the latest 4.0-litre unit uses two
GT C Roadster
turbos. Theoretically, this forced induc-
ENGINE 557bhp
tion should blunt throttle response,
3,982cc twin
turbocharged V8 muzzling the GT C’s full potential. Roger,
TORQUE 501lb ft it doesn’t. Its 557bhp and 501lb ft of
ECONOMY 25.8mpg; torque are summoned with only a trace
259g/km CO2 of lag, against a soundtrack that makes
PERFORMANCE Wagner sound like Westlife. Top speed
0-62mph, 3.7 secs; is 196mph and it’ll warp to 62mph in
top speed, 196mph
3.7 seconds. Reduced emissions and
WEIGHT 1,735kg
fuel consumption are by-products of
PRICE £139,445
turbocharging and AMG claims 259g of
CONTACT
mercedes.co.uk
CO2 emissions and 25.8mpg. Amazing
numbers given the power output, but
you’ll need monastic levels of self-
control to achieve them.
The GT C uses AMG’s triple-mode
Ride Control adaptive damping system,
allowing you to bounce between
Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus for
progressively less compliant behaviour
depending on your mood. Mostly, it’s
uncompromising, especially if the car
is fitted with the optional dynamic
engine mounts. The C also adds a “race”
mode to the “dynamic select” dual-shift
transmission menu. First gear on the
seven-speed DCT has a higher ratio,
while seventh and the final drive are
lower for greater urgency. It also has
bigger front brakes (390mm vs 360mm,
with ceramics as an option on both).
All in all, this is a bracingly intense
Raise your game: experience – even with approximately
The three-layer half the power AMG’s new hypercar will
roof closes in
eleven seconds,
deploy. They sure know how to party,
even at 30mph these guys. Here’s to the next 50.
#YOURMOVE
swatch.com
 this month: tour merch p.61 the right ryan p.64 manity case p.66 white jeans p.68 status symbols p.70

Brand This is for the style

New n lodestars. The agitators.
Sectio ED B
Y
The peacocks. This bold
E D IT
han H
eaf section believes in
Jonat
combining an aesthete’s
eye with an inner
rebelliousness. From
killer opinion to
white-hot trends, these
pages are not about
following tradition, but

New
beating your own path.
Welcome to GQ’s…

House
Photograph André Villers Colourised by Wayne Degan

Rules
Loose cannon: Pablo Picasso
in his Cannes studio holding
Gary Cooper’s gun, 1958

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 59

 B E O N E O F T H E F I R ST TO O W N

ALL- NEW
FORD FIESTA
SUMMER 2017

TO FIND OUT MORE

SEARCH: ALL- NEW FORD FIESTA

Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the All-New Ford Fiesta range: urban 40.9 - 80.7 (6.9 - 3.5),
extra urban 67.3 - 94.2 (4.2- 3.0), combined 54.3 - 88.3 (5.2 - 3.2). Official CO 2 emissions 118 - 82g/km.
The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided
for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.
 G New House Rules
* LO N G L I V E TO U R M E R C H !

LIKE most seriously lit music/style Been there, got the T-shirt:
crossover trends, the idea of producing Kanye West’s ‘I Feel Like
Pablo’ top and the ‘Give A Damn’
tour merchandise that fans actually want
T-shirt worn by Alex Turner at
to wear (rather than give to their little
Glastonbury 2016 (below) front
brother when sober the next day) all the latest tour-merch trend
began with Kanye West. West’s mini-me
clothing line produced for his Saint
Pablo Tour in 2016 became the most
wanted tour gear since The Strokes wore
their own retro band T-shirts on stage
back in 2002. Irony-loaded bestsellers
such as the “I Love You Like Kanye Loves
Kanye” coral-orange tees and one “in
loving memory” of his mother, Donda
West, were the rapper’s rambling,
surrealist tweets made wearable.
Of course, the West range sold out
faster than a Supreme brick, yet the
knock-on efect was to inspire a whole
caravan of pop stars (not to mention
style biannuals such as hip style zine
032C) to think about their tour merch
a little harder. With record sales
slumping – for everyone other than Ed
Sheeran and Adele – the kit you sell
from the stalls is one of the ways to
strengthen profitability. And remember:
nothing says “fashion” more than irony.
Hence, oicial Justin Bieber merch has
suddenly never looked so trendy. The
best bit? Ecommerce means you don’t is dead*
have to actually sit through the gig.

The Weeknd The Travis Scott

Daft Punk
‘Get Lucky’ T-shirt
This French electro duo are
the band-merch kings. On
their site is every Daft
Photographs Getty Images; Photoshot
‘XO’ Crowd Camo ‘Rodeo’ bomber
Coach Jacket You’ll be disappointed to
Designed by XO himself - know that all Scott’s recent
that’s The Weeknd to you, tour merch is now sold out
or Abel Tesfaye to his online, which is a shame as
therapist – the woodland this bomber in particular
camo nylon coach jacket combines 2017 biggest
is perfect for layering up menswear trends: patches
during a chilly summer’s and swag. Keep checking
eve. Or, you know, duck Justin Beiber Purpose the site however as drops Thank You Obama
hunting in Peckham. Tour Brooklyn Hoodie are often and sporadic. ‘Malia’ T-shirt
£80. theweeknd.com travisscott.com
Sure, try and pretend you OK, this is more “off-tour
don’t want this but you and merch” but whatever. While
I both know it’s almost the Trump reigns like the Dark

Punk product imaginable: perfect thing to slip under Lord Sauron what could be
Christmas baubles in the a black leather Saint Laurent more nostalgic than reaching
shape of the robot heads; biker jacket. Being the super out to Obama and Michelle
skateboards with “Daft Punk” capitalist singer-songwriter through your own chest?
neon grip; snow globes; he is, Bieber’s range of Chicago-based designer
candles; beach towels; merch is expansive: Joe Fresh Goods has created
limited-edition portrait baseball caps, backpacks, a line that pays tribute to
paintings; wind breakers; gold socks, skateboards. It might the 44th president and his
rings; caps; polo shirts; tote be too late to say sorry, but family. Chance The Rapper
bags; belt buckles; pens; pins; it’s never too late (for even modelled the range,
and, yes, a Daft Punk yo-yo. fashion) to say “irony”. only adding to how much
Trust us: you’ll be up all night £90. shop.virginemi.com/ you want this gear. JH
to get some. daftpunk.com purposetour £28. thankuobama.us

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 61

Much ado Less
about
brushing or
who the Tom
hell uses a
beard comb
anyway? Hanks
Illustration by Ricardo Fumanal

Throughout history, hirsute heroes have

tamed their facial hair without reneging on
their wild reputations. Now it’s your turn
in
By Conrad Quilty-Harper

Some of your greatest

ever historical style
heroes were hirsute. Guy
Fawkes? Big, fiery beard.
Francis Drake? Sprightly
goatee. Shakespeare?
Well, not only did the
bard have a beard, but
he also spent a fair bit
of time putting them on
characters in dozens of
his plays, often using
them as a metaphor for
the character of the men
who wear them. In
Macbeth, for example,
the men meet “beard to
beard”; in Antony And
Cleopatra, the Egyptian
queen insults Caesar
behind his back by
calling him “scarce-
bearded”; in Much Ado
About Nothing, Leonato
teases hapless Benedick,
suggesting, “He looks
younger than he did,
towards the end of Queen
Elizabeth I’s reign men
Castaway
started using a “beard-
brush”, which was very
popular among the
metrosexual elite and
to be “used in public”.
and
Come 2017, beard
combs are now an essential
accessory for a man whose
vanity outweighs any
more
humiliation he may feel
over using such a tool
openly. Companies like
Tom Ford, Baxter Of
California and Captain
Tom
Fawcett have stepped in
with beautiful and
affordable designs. GQ’s
favourite is Buly 1803’s
hand-carved comb.
Hardy
So how to use one?
Unlike hair combs, beard
combs have wider grooves
with smoother edges so
you don’t scratch your
between
face. Use in conjunction

by the loss of a beard.”
Taking all this on the
chin, so to speak, you
might not be surprised
to learn that the beard
comb is said to have been
invented around the
same time Bill was
penning sonnets (and
roles
with a beard oil and
always brush in the
direction of your hair
growth. The look you
want to achieve is less 1. Beard comb by BULY 1803,
Tom Hanks in Castaway £24. At mrporter.com
and more Tom Hardy
2. Beard comb by BAXTER
between roles. You can use OF CALIFORNIA, £18.
a normal comb, sure, but
Photographs Jody Todd

there you were thinking
it was invented by a lone
barista in Peckham).
According to The
Dictionary Of Fashion
History – ie, Google –
then you run the risk of
“beardruff” in the long run
– no partner will thank
you for that. If good
grooming be the food of
love, brush on.
At mrporter.com
3. Beard comb by TOM
FORD, £30. At Harrods.
harrods.com
4. Beard comb by CAPTAIN
FAWCETT LIMITED, £10.
captainfawcett.com

62 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 G New House Rules
STAT I O N E RY P O R N

Keep it simple with the

kingpin of stationery
– the humble pencil –
as a connoisseur opens
the case for the best
brands in the business

By Patrick Grant

I use a paper diary in which, for reasons
of fastidious neatness, I always write with
a pencil. I keep my pencils in a pencil case
given to me by a girlfriend at Oxford, a patch-
work leather Moroccan thing that I don’t
particularly love (Editor’s note: the girl or the
case?). A decade ago I began using the Berol
Mirado pencil for no better reason than that
the head cutter at Norton & Sons at the time
used them to draft his patterns and would
keep boxes of them in the workshop – and the
yellow looked quite nice with the tan leather.
The Mirado was a thoroughly British pencil,
made in Norfolk. But the Berol Mirado is no
more, recently erased for good by its American
least good, as was foiling and printing – all
bar the Staedtler, which had paint spatter-
ing from the print. All except the Blackwing
achieved one continuous shaving when sharp-
ened from new to nub, its wood being com-
paratively flaky and rough. At the lower end
on lead quality came the Derwent, which had
inconsistent line quality and points that dulled
quickly. On lead quality the Faber-Castell just
shades it from the Staedtler.
In fact, in every way, the Faber-Castell
9000 is a boss pencil. The lacquer is even and
lustrous, the foiling and printing sharp and
precise (though I wish they didn’t have quite
so much text on it). The pencil creates an

Palomino pencils by Blackwing, £3 each. At presentandcorrect.com

owners. So I must choose a new pencil. even and fine line and its point almost never
I selected four pencils to test: Staedtler’s dulls; it’s a very fine writing implement that
Mars Lumograph, conceived by 17th- might be worth stockpiling before the barriers
century Nuremberg pencil making renegade come down.
Friedrich Staedtler and my father’s go-to; the
Derwent Graphic, the Great British pencil still
made in the Lake District; the Faber-Castell
9000, the aristocratic German of the pencil
world; and Blackwing’s Palomino, choice Each pencil
of American artists from John Steinbeck to
Leonard Bernstein. was tested
Pencils were tested rigorously, including
visual inspection for consistency and finish,
for fınish,
drop test for shatter resistance, sharpen
test (using Staedtler graphite sharpener) for
fıneness of
fineness of wood and lead and, finally, writing
and line-rulering.
wood and,
Unsurprisingly, these are all excellent
pencils. None broke a lead in a two-metre
fınally, for
drop onto concrete. The lacquer on all was at writing
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for the Gentleman’s Signature Experience (£220) at
The Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. The process
begins with a wet shave and a haircut in your own room.
Then, having been clipped and bufed, you’ll be taken
upstairs to the Edward Sahakian Cigar Shop where your
“sommelier” will pair the right puf to go with your tipple
of choice. A legal loophole means you can enjoy your
smoke in situ. And suddenly, it’s 5pm... bulgarihotels.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 63

 G New House Rules
is your summer style spirit animal
Channel the
smart-casual chi of
Hollywood’s ‘right
Ryan’ and take an
effortless walk down
easy street
SURF’n’turf, gin’n’tonic,
ebony’n’ivory: all great
combos. But smart
casual? That’s enough
to send even the best-
dressed man into a bit
of a flat spin. How is it
possible to dress like an
oxymoron? That’s why
we’ve nominated a
smart-casual spirit animal
in the form of Ryan
Reynolds to help guide
you. You see, while
it’s perfectly easy for a
preternaturally handsome
Hollywood actor to
look amazing in a suit
(handsome + bespoke
= amazing in a suit),
the formula for nailing
smart-casual style is
much more complicated,
Smart
casual
is yours
for the
taking
64 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
By Alfie Tong
T H E N E W WO R KW E A R
precisely because there
are so many other
variables. That’s why
we think Reynolds is
so special. All you have
to do is say his name
three times in the mirror
and – voila! – effortlessly
cool smart-casual style
is yours for the taking.
Take this look (left),
for example: tailored
pleated trousers twinned
with a blue cardigan
and high-collared
blue-grey shirt. The
layering sorcery is
mind-blowing. It works
because of the different
shades of deep, rich
blue and the contrasting
accents of white. The
coquettish buttons
undone on his shirt
and the lighter underside
of his denim jacket
breaks up the four
layers that he’s wearing
nicely, making the
whole ensemble seem
natural. Ryan, if
only we could be so
effortlessly effortless.
Summer Ryan,
four ways
Casual acquaintance:
Shades of blue with 1. The green man
accents of white make A suede jacket is so
this Ryan Reynolds contemporary it’s almost
too trendy. But link in some
look a multilayered
narrow chinos and fresh
masterwork Converse? A killer move.
2. Mr Layered
All the washy hues are
Photographs Getty Images; Rex; WireImage
bang-on here, like a living,
breathing Rothko canvas.
3. LA producer type
The tangerine-tinted specs,
the tanned mankles, the
palmed smartphone, the
untucked, casual-yet-boxfresh
shirt? So right it hurts.
4. Royal blue crew
Client meeting followed by
1 2 3 4
premium tequilas with pals
followed by dancing at
The Nice Guy with “her”.
It’s sex meets swag.
Think of it as
a toolkit with *J U ST D O N ’ T C A L L I T A VA N I T Y C A S E

which you
can conjure
a little pizzazz

Case by Louis Vuitton, £6,450.

uk.louisvuitton.com. From left:
Bracelet by Tifany’s, £930.
tifany.co.uk. Bracelet by Cartier,
£5,450. cartier.co.uk. Collar
stays by Cedes Milano, £140.
At mrporter.com. Pin set by
Pintrill, £150. At mrporter.com.
Pocket square by Lanvin,
£55. lanvin.com

Cuf links Mangles Lighter

Listen, there’s nothing There’s nothing wrong OK, so you don’t smoke.
wrong with the cracked with a little charity – (A blow-back with your
plastic studs you wear apart from those plastic bro on a Sunday after
every single day, but wristbands. So ditch lunch doesn’t count.)
sooner or later a man the worthiness (it’s But you’re single, right?
must invest in his cooler not to flaunt your I’m not saying you
wrists. These gold tone philanthropy anyway)
Rings should start hanging
enamelled numbers and adorn your arms Even savvy men can around the smoking
by Alexander McQueen with some decent heavy come a cropper with areas of bars like a total
have enough edge metal. Cartier’s “Juste rings. Go too rock’n’roll creep, but if you do
Watch to feed the maverick Shades Un Clou” nail is a classic, and it’ll look like a happen to be asked for
The man who wears a within – skulls! – but Some collaborations Tifany’s “T square” Halloween costume, a light by a beautiful
Grand Seiko is the sort at 20 paces will give can be all mouth and is just elegant enough, don’t go far enough woman, how slick will
of man who flies under your suit a snappy no trousers. But when and Tom Ford’s leather and people will think it look to whip out a S T
the style radar. He style wink. Even if British eyewear bondage buckle should what’s on your pinkie is Dupont gold lighter like
doesn’t want the big, you’re not fussed, your specialists Oliver age as graciously as an heirloom. You need some sort of menswear
prestige timepiece date certainly will be. Peoples hopped under the wearer. £520. some bling, yes, but you gunslinger?
strapped onto his wrist, £95. At mrporter.com the covers with Italian At mrporter.com also need a little grace. Just remember
he wants something aesthetes Berluti, we An organic inlay helps what your
a little more usual. The knew the result would – enamel, wood or even father said:
Gran Seiko is a piece of be sex-on-specs. a non-precious stone. always be
everyday stealth wealth “Conduit Street” is Vivienne Westwood prepared
at its chicest – strap it a refined aviator for fly makes some of the (and don’t
on and kept it shtum. guys everywhere. sharpest. From £124. inhale). £295.
£5,700. seiko.co.uk £288. oliverpeoples.com viviennewestwood.com st-dupont.com

66 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

the MINI
G New House Rules

Trainers by COMME DES

GARÇONS X NIKE,
£350. nike.com

MAN
Where is a peacocking young
rake supposed to keep his style
accoutrement nowadays? You
know, the bits of jewellery, the gold
dress-shirt buttons and the tie slides

CAVE
that clutter your bedside table, sock
drawer or washbag like style lint, the
paraphernalia of a life lived in front
of a mirror. Of course, the old
technique was to simply leave the
bow tie/pocket square/shirt stays
wherever you wrestled them of
drunkenly at 1am. Either that or stuf
them into the inside pocket of your
dinner jacket until next time. So, it’s
A personal cabinet about time all that twinkly flotsam
of curiosities that’s and jetsam got organised properly,
part presentation right? Right. This is why you need to
case, part workbox, get yourself a mini man cave. Think
your MMC is the of your MMC as a very small
perfect cache for the wardrobe for the baubles that finish
paraphernalia of of an outfit, or a toolkit with which
a life stylishly lived you can conjure a little pizzazz.
Heading out to dinner but worried
By Jonathan Heaf the restaurant booked is smarter
Photographs by than your usual beer’n’roast bird
Pixeleyes Photography brasserie? Don’t sweat it. Just dive
into your manity box and weaponise
your uniform with a little sparkly
trinket: a vintage lighter that you can finger like a card shark
all night, or a pair of shades to hang nonchalantly of your
breast pocket. Your mini man cave will also make you feel
like Batman before work – snapping on your culinks
and timepiece fresh out of bufed leather will do that to
a man’s ego. A designated tidy-away place for all this
stuf will also ensure you’re not hunting for your favourite
statement ring while the Uber driver waits impatiently outside
with your date. Your stash box just got a serious upgrade.
Colour watch! Hollywood plum
Call yourself an influencer?
“Millennial pink” is already so over
If you didn’t read New York magazine’s “Why
Millennial Pink Refuses To Go Away” back in
March, then do so. If you already have, you’ll
realise that there are some colours – such as the
precise shade of pink of Acne shopping bags and
the upper half of The Grand Budapest Hotel in Wes Anderson’s film
Your trainers just got
murdered out
All-black is the new black, so join the jet set with the
streetwear staple that will take you everywhere
Before the slow dawn of
athleisurewear. Before Supreme
made a pinkie promise with Louis
Vuitton to be the coolest high-low
fashion-collab ever. Before GQ’s
Managing Editor caught the
Trainers by NIKE, skateboarding bug. Hard. Aged
£100. nike.com 36. Before every man in your
office starting thinking of tailored
tracksuit bottoms, not as clothing
to wear on the sofa with crisps
and The Crown, but as a stylish
alternative to a tuxedo (circa 2015).
Trainers by REEBOK, Before all this, trainers were to run
£60. reebok.co.uk in. Or to hike in. Or, even, at a
push, to go to the corner shop for
a bag of Haribo at 10pm in. Then, at
long last, came the fashion trainer.
But whether in brushed grey suede,
or perforated tan calf leather,
Trainers by ADIDAS, whether a Lanvin scuba shoe or a
£75. adidas.co.uk
Dior slip-on, trainers, even really
expensive trainers, felt nothing but
smart/casual. But now – thanks to
trendsetting teenagers who prefer
wearing black trainers to school as
opposed to stiff regulation lace-ups
– all black sneakers are pushing a
Trainers by VANS, smart/smart moment
£60. vans.com in active footwear.
Although it all started
It’s the with the all-black
Reebok Classic, you
sneakers’ can source triple-black
trainers from any brand
worth their street team.

smart /
– that seem so “of the moment” that they can come to define a
generation. Well, GQ has spotted the next big hue and this time it’s a The best thing? They
shade we’re calling “Hollywood plum”, a rich neon bruise. Palace, make a great alternative
the skate brand favoured by stylists who can’t skate, has been
experimenting with this tone recently, as has Kanye West with his
“Calabasas” Adidas collaboration – hence the “Hollywood”, implying
smart to your office-bound
oxfords. Perfect for
a little extra bounce
a gated exclusivity. And you thought they were just colours, right?
Just never call it burgundy in front of the pack. JH moment during that boardroom
client pitch. JH

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 67

G New House Rules
No colour, still money: You
can’t fault Paul Newman’s
dressing, shown here on the
set of Rachel Rachel, 1967
Justin Theroux
White-o-meter!
strides to your style vibe. Remember: twinning with rosé and a beach isn’t essential, but it helps
Attending
a TED
Conference
Steve Bannon
Way too white
68 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Alessandro Squarzi
White jeans are the red
trousers of the denim world.
They’re synonymous with
Liz Hurley who, while lovely,
almost ruined white jeans
for everyone by wearing
them continuously from
the mid-Nineties onwards.
Somehow, this has seeped
into how we view them on
men: a little bit Eurotrash,
Wiz Khalifa
a little bit suburban playboy,
and to be especially avoided
if you’re pale, middle-aged
and overweight. Or are they?
Gentlemen, let us present
the witnesses in the case for
white jeans, because since
the Sixties they’ve never
been far from the legs of the
world’s most stylish men.
David Hemmings wore them
in Antonioni’s portrait of
Swinging London, Blow-Up,
ensuring their credibility.
Also in the Sixties, Steve
McQueen showed us how to
The Case for
White jeans have a tarnished
reputation but is it time to make
a clean break? Take your cues
from style icons Steve McQueen
and Hedi Slimane, ditch the
blues and step into the light
By Alfie Tong
Just like your teeth, there’s ‘white’ and then there’s ‘Ed Sheeran’. Match the tone of your
+
Flossing Learning
Owning diligently
a Banksy every
Japanese
print single day
Moleskine
Wearing
Ray-Ban notebooks
Wayfarers while Camping
getting your Mad Men
lunch from Pret
Where The
Wild Things Are
Just white enough
L AWS O F D E N I M
make them part of a casual,
all-American beach holiday
look. In the Eighties, Peter
Saville, designer of seminal
artwork for Joy Division
and Kanye West, made his
Helmut Lang jeans part of
a minimalist style statement
when he wore them with a
rollneck and Chelsea boots.
White jeans were also a
fixture on Hedi Slimane’s
Dior Homme catwalks in
the noughties.
In 2017, white jeans
are white-hot once
again, mainly because
of Alessandro Squarzi,
Photographs: Carola De Armas/blaublut-edition.com; Collection Christophel; Getty Images; Instar Images; Rex; Shutterstock
who the photographer
Tommy Ton once described
as “the master of Italian
sprezz”. Squarzi shows us
how they’re particularly
useful when worn in
conjunction with an olive
or khaki military jacket.
The white helps to soften the
militaristic ruggedness of the
jacket, giving a new lease of
life to a look that can seem
quite tired when worn with
blue jeans. They also go well
with tailored jackets, suede
blousons, bomber jackets
and camel coats. In fact,
almost any look is lent
a fresher, lighter and more
modern feel when blue jeans
are replaced with white,
especially in the summer.
Make sure they’re in a fit
that is neither too slim nor
too baggy, sit slightly higher
on the waist, and finish
neatly at the top of your
shoes. Almost every denim
brand of note makes good
white jeans including Acne,
APC and Levi’s, but some of
the most coveted are from
cult Japanese labels such as
Orslow and Anatomica.
G New House Rules

Welcome For the twentysomethings shaking up the top tier of tech billionaires, traditional
markers of position remain important. Just take a look at Snapchat’s leading man
to the CEO and cofounder of
new old Snapchat (now Snap Inc)
Evan Spiegel drives a red
skool Ferrari. Not a red Prius, a
red Tesla or indeed a red
Ioniq (that new electric
thing from Hyundai), but
a big, throbbing Slim Jim
of a car. We are
constantly being told
that the new generation
of digi-entrepreneurs see
the world differently,
that they can’t hug a tree
without first sinking
a dairy-free chai latte,
or that they’d never
STAT U S SY M B O L S wear a tie in case they
By Dylan Jones were mistaken for an
M&A banker. But
Spiegel, whose net
worth is estimated
at a cool $4 billion
(£3.1bn), confounds
that completely.
I met Spiegel once,
and admittedly he was
dressed like a child, in
a loose-fit hoodie and
a pair of what looked
like Flyknits, but then
nobody had told him it
was a black-tie event.
No, you only have to
look at his significant
other – Miranda Kerr, the
Victoria’s Secret dollface
– to realise that old-
fashioned status symbols
haven’t completely
died, and that life these
days isn’t all about the
experience economy. In
fact, Spiegel epitomises
a brand new archetype,
one who has no truck
with the old-school
Hollywood dress-down
tropes of chinos and
chambray shirts.
Trust us when we say
he aces airport style –
black Rag & Bone jeans,
Saint Laurent bomber,
albino sneakers – but he’s
all “boardroom
entourage” when he’s
in deal mode. You’ll never
meet a man more adept
at carrying off an entry-
level Boss suit or Philipp
Plein leather. Like every
young entrepreneur he
wears Ryan Gosling
shades, a big, fancy
Jaeger-LeCoultre-style
watch and a shit-eating
grin. He was even once
photographed wearing
a £5,000 Burberry coat
and carrying a puppy.
Seriously, he is only a few
tasting menus away from
turning into a young
Jack Nicholson.

Ferrari 488 GTB, from £183,984.

auto.ferrari.com. Model wears
dress by Louis Vuitton, £5,300.
uk.louisvuitton.com. Cuf by
Mejuri, £116. mejuri.com
Photographs Alamy; Getty Images; Rex; Roger Stillman

Photograph by Mario Sorrenti / Art Partner

The You need cofee. (If you merely “wanted” one, you’d have gone downstairs, walked outside and

business hailed a passing Uber-barista or whatever passes for a takeaway these days.) And needing cofee
means you consume enough of it to care what it tastes like, where it came from and who made it:
case which, if you really cared, means you. So you’re going to need some ground cofee (never beans)

for… and a cafetière. (Unless your pseudo-derelict, semi-urban co-working space has a fully functioning
hob – in which case you shouldn’t be going there – a cafetière is the only option). It needs to be
The Soho stainless steel (glass is for service-station sludge) and it needs to serve one cup of strong cofee.

Home That’s it: you’re not going for refills (no one likes an addled, bark-breathed cafeine junkie) and
you’re not making it for anyone else. Because as anyone busy enough to need cofee knows, you
cafetière don’t have the time (or let’s face it, the inclination) to make cofee for anyone else. So buy a Soho

for one Home Audley Silver Cofee Press (£55) for one and tell everyone it belongs – and stays – in the
“wolf’s glen”. They’ll get the message. Bill Prince sohohome.com

70 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 UP

Ben Gorham
Pro basketball player turned pro
perfumer: luxury’s chicest lodestar.

MARK
EVAN SPIEGEL BRIAN CHESKY CASEY NEISTAT ELON MUSK Vintage rugby shirts
ZUCKERBERG
(Beme) Look good on everyone except men
(Facebook) (Snap Inc) (Airbnb) (Tesla, Inc)
who actually played rugby at school.

‘Predatorily camp’
Saint Roger Federer on a fur throw,
Marc Jacobs Louis
Raincloud Laurent Frame in short shorts, manspreading –
UPPER distressed Vuitton
grey checked black
T-shirt flannel
star-intarsia
hoodie
leather the only way to approach summer.
BODY jumper jacket
shirt
Adwoa Aboah
Role model, model on a roll…
Brunello Lanvin Etro
Rag & Bone New dinner party parlour
LOWER Blue Cucinelli cotton-twill cotton-twill
black skinny
dad jeans dark biker trousers game: ‘Sex act or newfangled
BODY jeans
jeans trousers
baked good?’
Ever asked your partner to
Common do the ‘rainbow bagel’?
Projects white
Tods Converse
Adidas blue trainers O’Keefe
and white
rafa-trimmed All Star polished Cafe Milano
SHOES sliders
nubuck high top derby The only place politicians power
slip-ons
lunch in Washington.

Bomber jackets
Ferrari They look good. On everyone.
California
Airstream Boosted second SpaceX All the time. We get it. Enough!
VEHICLE VW Golf GTI
Trailer gen electric Falcon 9
skateboard rocket

AFFECTATION A daughter A supermodel

Rangers FC
Customised
Ray
-Bans
A
white
Persian
cat
BAROMETER
The new wardrobe of the tech titans Liam Gallagher’s solo record
Sitting on the shoulders of Labradors
From shirts to shades, the essential starter pack for the modern entrepreneur outside pubs.

Apple’s wireless AirPods

T H R E E WAYS TO W E A R : A B R E TO N S H I R T W H E T H E R G O I N G F O R G R U N G E O R
S P O R T I N G A S U I T, E A R N YO U R ST Y L E ST R I P E S W I T H G Q ’ S G U I D E TO A C L A S S I C
THE DAILY DANDY
This may seem blasphemous
coming from a GQ writer but
suits, for me, never suited.
That was until I started messing
with stiff tradition. Stick a
Breton top underneath a
narrow suit (By Dolce &
Gabbana, £1,450.
At matchesfashion.com),
ditch the shirt and tie and
you’ll reach what the
late critic AA Gill
described
as “élan
combined with
nonchalance”,
ie, menswear’s
magic place. The
trick is to look
refined, but also
like you don’t care.
Music in your ears / a thorn in my eye.
The return of The Kooks
Makes you long for
THE ROCK STAR THE ARTIST ABOUT TOWN Johnny Borrell. Almost.
IN WAITING
The danger is that your We all should try and be a bit
Backless loafers
rock-star look is more Picasso – a little bit more
Not even Derek Blasberg can pull
already one Led licentious, a little bit more
these of.
Zeppelin T-shirt artistic. Rather than engage
away from looking with a world that seems
like a retired roadie. determined to wreck itself, New trend! Hipster
But put a Breton pour yourself a large birdwatching
top together Château Lafite, whip out Really? You (blue) tits.
with a biker jacket a brush and start doodling
(By Philipp Plein, until you reach Influencers
£3,754. plein. the desired state “Obsessed with this [@insert-luxury-
com), a pair of inebriated zen. brand-name] jacket. Check out my
of skinny A Breton top
new [video/blog post/Snap] over
jeans and combined with a
on moneyforoldrope.co.uk
some worn-in suede pair of wide-legged,
#soblessed #suckers #ad
boots (By John Lobb, pleated trousers
£1,200. At mrporter. (By Burberry, £350. At
com) and you’ll look mrporter.com) should help: Etiquette books for men
youthful rather than tragic. comfy, romantic and Surely we all know how to talk to our
perfectly louche. JH boss by now.

Illustrations by Bill Hope

DOWN
E DW I N Two Ton e Oxf ord Bro g ue in D ar k Leaf Calf and Sand Can v a s

Jermyn Street, Lime Street, Covent Garden,

Bow Lane and Old Spitalfie lds Market, London. Also Cambridge and Leeds.
Tel +44(0)1536 760 383

WWW. CHE A NE Y. CO . U K

MADE IN ENGLAND
WORN AROUND THE WORLD
 WHAT I WEAR

Guitar hero and

musical mastermind
behind Kasabian
Serge Pizzorno
reveals the rules
that rock his world
PHOTOGRAPH BY Neil Bedford
Shirt
“I’ve been around the world and this is the Tie
best-fitting shirt there is. I have 20 of the same “The necktie is the one piece of my stage uniform
shirts and wear them as my stage uniform, like that changes. I can just drop a different tie every
Karl Lagerfeld.” By Asos, £18. asos.com night and that’s a nice little move. I have four of
these Gucci ones.” £125. gucci.com
Belt
“Belts just turn up in my house. This one is WISH LIST
from Julius, a futuristic, gothic-style Japanese
label, which always fits me no matter the Trainers
style.” £475. At Ssence. ssense.com “I always imagined owning the
trainers from Back To The Future
as a kid, and now I can. I’d never
WISH LIST actually wear them though –
they’re just for the shelf.”
Synthesiser Limited edition. nike.com
“The Moog System 55 is the one synthesiser
I don’t have in my collection of 40. The original
is worth about £1 million, so this is a remake.”
£27,296. At Sweetwater. sweetwater.com

WISH LIST
Coat
“The craftsmanship
of the embroidery and
the Donald Duck motifs
Story by Eleanor Halls Grooming Jackie Tyson using Bumble And Bumble and Trish McEvoy

are great. I enjoy

WISH LIST
wearing things that are
Bag funny and wrong. I like
“The bag is by my best friend Aitor Throup the entertainment
– a total genius. He only made ten and they of clothes and the
sold out so I didn’t get one. I never got over reaction they provoke.”
that. I’d walk to Edinburgh and back just for By Gucci, £6,400.
one of these.” aitorthroup.com gucci.com

Trousers
“I love how Julius does these
low-crotch combat jeans,
which you can either pull up
for the high-waisted look
when you want to look smart
or you can wear them really
low, hip-hop style.” £691.
At Farfetch. farfetch.com

Boots
“I usually wear these or Converse.
If I wear trainers, I go wild
– fluorescent green Racing Road
Nikes to make people laugh.”
By Solovair, £185. solovair-shoes.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 73

 SOME DREAMS
CAN’T WAIT
THE LODGE, VERBIER

Stay at least 4 nights and

your final night is free
Escape now: +44 (0)208 600 0430
enquiries@virginlimitededition.com
Book online: www.thelodge.virgin.com
and quote ‘ALPINE’
 E D I T E D BY BILL PRINCE
TRAVEL
this month: the french antilles, where to stay, what to do and how to get there

WHAT makes Saint Blue is still the colour:

Corossol Beach on Saint
Barthélemy the de rigueur Barths, 8 May 2015
island escape for the
Caribbean cognoscenti?
Simple. It’s the gilt-edged
security of knowing that
here, on a scrap of land of
barely 25 sq km, you’ll find a
unique combination of French
savoir faire, British hospitality
and American money.
Each winter, the last of this
holy triptych shuttles in from
nearby Saint Maarten or
Antigua. Only light aircraft
can land on its strikingly
short runway, ensuring a
strong edit of those wishing
to visit the island. But true
Saint Barths believers know
that the island really comes
into its own during the
lengthy “off-season” of May
to October – a fact recently
underlined by the number
of French families giving up
their traditional spot on the
Riviera to bask awhile away
from the madding crowds.
So Saint Barths is hot
right now, but it’s also
unceremoniously cool.
Despite the influx of money,
“villa-isation” is relatively
modest, and there are still
only 38 cabs on the island,
each licence handed to the Sail
on
next in line only following
the present holder’s death or
retirement. And if you don’t
hire a car you’ll need one to
drop you at one of several
outlying restaurants or to
take you to one of the two
dozen beaches that make up
this idyll’s global reputation.
Saint
Barths
Photograph Getty Images

Alternatively, let the

island’s stock of well-run
hotels, a brace of them
owned by Brits with more
than a passing influence on Since the Sixties it has been the Caribbean’s most
Saint Barths’ timeless appeal, coveted Christmas break, but now this
take the strain... BP island idyll is a summer-long stamping ground

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 75

 TRAVEL

Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle De France

Apparently, when the owner of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, was looking
to acquire a hotel on Saint Barths a few years back, he couldn’t
improve on its landmark property, the Isle De France. So he made
the owner an offer he couldn’t refuse. Voilà: last year it re-emerged
from a light-touch makeover that retains all of its natural-born charm,
British Airways now garlanded in the sort of glamour only the likes of (group-owned
flies from brands) Guerlain and Cheval Blanc can provide. A commanding
London Gatwick to
Antigua, from £657
position on Flamands Beach is its USP, but considerable work has
return. ba.com. been done to up the ante of its 40 suites and villas (including the
Tradewind Aviation not-to-be-dismissed garden rooms), spa and La Cabane De L’Isle,
flies from Antigua the beach bar and restaurant where the island’s toniest guests
to Saint Barths, gather for long lunches or to simply natter over doppio espressos
from £637 return.
flytradewind.com as Flamands’ sand runs between their toes. For the more active, there
is the 30-minute cliff-side walk to Colombier Beach, perhaps the
prettiest bay on the island, off-limits to all but the adventurous or
the water-borne.
ORooms from £553 per night. Price includes breakfast, access to the Cheval
Blanc Spa, use of all facilities and round-trip transfers from the airport
or harbour. Baie des Flamands, 97133, Saint Barths, French West Indies. Treasured island:
+590 590 27 6181. stbarthisledefrance.chevalblanc.com Flamands Beach
at Cheval Blanc

Eden Rock Hotel is owned by the Matthews family, whose ORooms from £549
per night. Baie de
scion James recently wed Pippa Middleton. Wisely, they chose Saint Jean, 97133,
to take their honeymoon elsewhere, but Eden Rock still brings Saint Barths, French
West Indies.
the party with waterside suites, a clutch of “rock star” themed +590 59029 7999.
villas (the biggest doubles as a recording studio) and service edenrockhotel.com
that will revive even the most resort-weary. There’s all the
mod cons, including a beach for lounging on, but Eden Rock
has historic props too: the original house, which overlooks
Saint Jean Bay, once belonged to Rémy de Haenen, the
French pilot who, in 1946, masterminded a plane landing on
the nearby airstrip, bringing the first of a stream of A listers in
his wake. Today, the appeal is much the same, underlined by the
arrival next door of an outpost of Saint-Tropez club Nikki Beach.

Le Toiny
Away from the metropolis of Gustavia
and the hedonist haven of Saint John,
Coast is clear (above): Le Toiny, on the eastern fringes of the
The beach at Eden
Rock; (below) ocean
island, promotes a come-and-go-in-peace
views at Le Toiny’s bar vibe by offering 14 suites, many with their
own parking spaces. Since taking over in
2015 its owners, Charlie and Mandie Vere
Nicoll, have rejuvenated the rooms and
public spaces and made good on its Relais &
Châteaux ranking with a new contemporary
Mediterranean menu and a list of home-
grown cocktails. More recently, the Vere
Nicolls have added a beach carved out of
the scrubby shoreline that sits directly
below their property, where they’ve
installed a small boutique with its own line
in casual resortwear in what used to be
lepers’ huts. It may sound grim, but the
setting is anything but... BP
ORooms from £550 per night. Anse de Toiny,
97133, Saint Barths, French West Indies.
+590 590 27 8888. letoiny.com
Le Guanahani
Le Guanahani, opened in 1986 and recently
refurbished, has got the smart-casual vibe
just right. Tucked away on a jungle-lush
hillside that swoops down into a perfectly
buffered cyan bay, where the only way
to wake up is a daily swim with the local
sea turtles. The hotel is the perfect place
for those who prefer operating on stealth-
wealth mode. Yes, there are all the trappings
that you would expect from a luxury hotel: ORooms from £549
clean‘n’lean food options, a plunge pool per night. Grand
on your private terrace, a more than decent Cul de Sac, 97133,
Saint Barths,
spa and a fully-loaded bar which, GQ can
French West Indies.
attest, serves the best rum punch on the +590 590 52 9000.
island – but it’s all done, well, breezily. leguanahani.com
No rubbernecking over lunch between
squabbling couples in box-fresh couture;
no loudmouth film producers closing deals
on speakerphone from their sun loungers.
In essence: a bona fide holiday destination
rather than an exclusive members’ club
sur mer. Jonathan Heaf

76 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 EDITED BY AARON CALLOW

Interior design doesn’t just mean indoors. Reclaim your outside space with distinguished
furniture and eye-catching accessories that will spark up your summer barbecues
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL SINCLAIR STYLED BY EMILIO PIMENTEL-REID

12

7 15 17

8 10 11
19
13

18
6

14
4 16

3 20
21

24
22
2

23

1
25

1 Barbecue, £799. Matches, £6.50. Both by The Conran Shop. conranshop.co.uk 13 Pot by Wedgwood, £115. wedgwood.co.uk
2 Grill set by Eva Solo, £40. At Amara. amara.com 14 Table by Maria Jeglinska, £428. At Ligne Roset. ligne-roset.com
3 Table, £375. Bench, £150. Both by Habitat. habitat.co.uk 15 Chair by Tord Boontje, £1,368. At Moroso. moroso.it
16 Throw by Missoni, £384. At Amara. amara.com
Location Renaissance London.

4 Stool by Andrew Martin, £295. andrewmartin.co.uk

5 Chair by Petite Friture, £377. At Heal’s. heals.com 17 Bust. At Renaissance London. renaissancelondon.com
6 18 Sofa by Habitat, £450. habitat.co.uk
renaissancelondon.com

Cushion by Habitat, £35. habitat.co.uk.

7 Wood figure by The Conran Shop, £300. conranshop.co.uk 19 Cushion made up in fabric by Kirkby Design, £45.50 a metre. kirkbydesign.com
8 Tray, £170. Tumblers, £25 each. Ice bucket with tongs, £140. 20 Glass by Waterford, £50 for two. waterford.co.uk
All by Georg Jensen. georgjensen.com 21 Wine cooler by Georg Jensen, £95. georgjensen.com
9 Carafe by Waterford, £165. waterford.co.uk 22 Headphones by Branch, £80. At Plugged. shop.pluggedinc.com
10 Boards by The Conran Shop, £50 each. conranshop.co.uk 23 Speaker by People People, £600. At Harrods. harrods.com
11 Cushions by Designers Guild, £49 each. designersguild.com 24 Cofee table by Tokujin Yoshioka, £345. At Kartell. kartell.com
12 Chair by Marc Torpe, £492. At Moroso. moroso.it 25 Rug by Raj Tent Club, £200. rajtentclub.com

78 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 Fancy a wild
weekend?
…
Can’t decide whether a wild weekend means hiking A remarkable hotel, a unique location and every
in the hills or enjoying the nightlife of one Europe’s activity you could wish for, from golf to off-roading
liveliest cities? Why not have both at Powerscourt Hotel, and all from £105 per person sharing ,* including
nestled into the wooded slopes of Powerscourt Estate, breakfast overlooking the Sugar Loaf Mountain.
just 30 minutes from Dublin City.

t: +353 1 274 8888 www.powerscourthotel.com

*Price based on two adults sharing, in a Deluxe room. Price based on currency exchange rate on the 5th May 2017.
Price may differ at time of booking according to availability, or fluctuations in exchange rate.
the restaurant O the bar O the hotel O the pub O the recipe O the neighbourhood O the bottle

Got beef: David Carter

at Smokestak in
London’s Shoreditch

Burning
ambition

THE BARBECUE KING

From brilliant brisket to lip-smacking ribs, Smokestak’s David Carter serves up

the secrets of his meaty cookout classics
E D I T E D BY BILL PRINCE & PAUL HENDERSON P H OTO G R A P H E D BY PEROU

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 81

 Would like to meat:
David Carter has been
restaurant manager at
The Savoy and Claridge’s
THE RECIPE
Smokestak pork ribs (serves 4)
OIngredients OMethod
1 rack of quality pork belly ribs Mix all the rub ingredients together
(thick-cut / 3cm all the way around) very well in a big bowl. Simple.
Rub generously over the rib rack
For the rub
and leave in the fridge for an hour.
1kg demerara sugar
Smoke for 4-5 hours at 130C. Spray
100g salt with apple juice often throughout
50g ground black pepper smoking to keep moist. Add a
second layer of rub over the top
100g paprika after the first hour.
100g onion powder
Glaze with barbecue sauce 30
100g garlic powder minutes before they’re finished.
50g mustard powder The ribs are done when they reach
a temperature of 85C, or when the
30g dried thyme
meat snaps or breaks apart (as
15g red chilli flakes opposed to bends).
82 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
THE CHEF
David Carter
from Smokestak
DAVID Carter takes his barbecue
seriously. How seriously? Just don’t
let him catch you abbreviating it to
BBQ. He hates that. In fact, the reason the
Barbadian left his role as general manager at
Roka was because he got so annoyed at the
Photographs Perou; Carol Sachs Grooming Kenny Leung at Carol Hayes Management using Bobbi Brown and Unite
standard of British barbecue he felt duty
bound to do something about it. After buying
a colossal smoker and enjoying huge street-
food success, he opened Smokestak in
Shoreditch, London, and hasn’t looked back
(in anger, or otherwise). But to be on the safe
side – and keep on his good side – we suggest
you take his smoking barbecue tips to heart...
Have a
cow man...
David Carter’s
five rules
for brilliant
barbecue
Source well. Ensure the meat you buy is substantial in size.
The smaller/thinner the meat is, the greater chance it has
of drying out. Also, the marbling and fat coverage over
brisket is equally important. This renders into the meat
during the cooking process and without it you will end up
with a dry finished product.
Be patient. Every brisket cooks in its own time. What is
important is the end result. The brisket should be like a wet
balloon in texture, wobbly but not falling apart. Use this as
your guide vs clock-watching.
You need to wrap the meat. When you are approximately
85 per cent through cooking (or when the meat has the
desired bark), wrap it in butcher paper to protect it. If
you don’t, the bark turns into an undesirable crust
yielding less meat.
Use butcher paper. Avoid using clingfilm, which makes
the meat sweat, or foil, which makes the meat taste
metallic. Butcher paper allows you to protect the meat
while still allowing it to breathe naturally and doesn’t
impart external flavours.
Barbecue meat by its very nature is fat-laden. So try
serving pickled vegetables of all descriptions with your
meat. The sharp, acidic and citrus notes work best to
lighten the fat-induced load.
O35 Sclater Street, London E1. 0203 873 1733. smokestak.co.uk
 TASTE

THE HOTEL SMALL BITES

Hambleton Hall Where we have been

Break bread in style at Tim Hart’s slice of the romantic Rutland countryside
HAMBLETON Hall is a beautiful
Victorian country-house hotel,
impeccably furnished and tucked
away in a picture postcard
landscape overlooking Rutland
Water and the surrounding nature
reserve – which is all very nice, but
let’s talk about bread.
Back in 2008, owner Tim Hart
(the father of restaurateurs Sam
and Eddie) opened Hambleton
Bakery, specialising in traditionally
made loaves and cakes, and the
results – served in the hotel at
breakfast, lunch, during afternoon
tea and at dinner – are astounding.
ORooms from £200 per night. Hambleton, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 8TH. 01572 756991. hambletonhall.com
From sourdough and spelt,
through to Borodinsky rye and
date and walnut, if you are
a glutton for carb-loaded
punishment this bread is worth the
price of overnight admission alone.
However, there is much more to
Hambleton Hall than artisanal
granary. For instance, there is the
restaurant, overseen since 1992 by
Aaron Patterson, which has held a
Michelin star for the past 35 years
(the longest in the UK). The dishes
change daily according to what’s in
season and you know you’re on to
a winner when every animal on
eating this month...
your plate has its farm address
on the menu.
With only 15 guest rooms, the
grand old house feels intimate and
exclusive. The décor is wonderfully,
unapologetically old school, while
the staf are as friendly as they are
unobtrusive. And on top of all that
you can actually leave the house
and not be disappointed. There is a
tennis court, classic landscaped
gardens and all the natural beauty
of England’s smallest county Launceston Place
beyond. The perfect romantic Young chef du jour Ben Murphy is
weekend away? Possibly. (If you helping re-establish this iconic
west London restaurant as a
like fruit loaf, definitely.) PH
fine-dining destination.
Standout dish: Go for the tasting
menu (yes, they are back).
1A Launceston Place, London W8.
0207 937 6912. launcestonplace-
restaurant.co.uk

Mere THE RESTAURANT

In Fitzrovia, Monica and David Galetti are pairing France with the South Pacific
SIX months. That’s how long it took Monica
Galetti and her sommelier husband, David, to
convince Camden Council to allow them to build
their double-height basement-to-street-level
window for their new restaurant in London’s
Fitzrovia. It delayed the opening, but for their
first venture they wanted to get everything
right. They didn’t succeed, of course – as Monica
admits, “I am a perfectionist, so I was never
going to be completely happy” – but the end
result is still pretty special.
Then again, how could it be anything else
for a chef who has spent much of her career
at Le Gavroche and a lot of her free time as
at the “are we heading the right way?” end of
London’s Charlotte Street, Mere (named after
Monica’s Samoan mother and pronounced
“Mary”) is fine French dining loosened up with
South Pacific influences, making it perfect for
either le déjeuner or some enchanted evening.
The ground-floor bar is neat and slick (if pretty
unremarkable), but the downstairs dining room
Provender
This reassuringly French brasserie
– thanks to that subterranean window – is serves traditional seafood, game and
warm, modern and welcoming. And once you steak (look out for Breton cider).
sit down, things get even better. Standout dish: Follow Provençal fish
soup with the magnificent côte de
With only six dishes each on the starter and boeuf – if you’re man enough.
main course menu, it is confident as well as 17 High Street, Wanstead E11. 020
creative. On GQ’s visit, we tried the umami- 8530 3050. provenderlondon.co.uk

a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals? Set
tastic mushroom tortellini in marmite butter and,
purely in the interests of research, we ordered
a second starter. The pork “boil up” is a twist on
a hearty New Zealand staple, Galetti cleverly
retains all the flavour of ham hock, sweet
potato and a dumpling with none of the bulk.
Of the main courses, the rhubarb-glazed breast
of squab was good, but the poached lobster,
potato puree and cabbage in a bisque sauce was
better. Our desserts came in very sweet and pink
(rhubarb) and very sharp and soft (blood orange Hélène Darroze
mousse). Both were very nice, if not quite up to at The Connaught
the savoury stars of the show. The two-Michelin-starred chef once
With MasterChef credentials well and truly again makes Sunday lunch special
with her take on pot-au-feu, a
checked, the future looks bright for Monica deconstructed slow-braised beef
and David Galetti. And it was definitely worth stew served in five courses.
waiting for. PH Standout dish: Opt for le pot-au-feu
du Dimanche for two people.
Carlos Place, London W1. 0203 147
O74 Charlotte Street, London W1. 0207 268 6565. 7200. the-connaught.co.uk
mere-restaurant.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 83


THE BOTTLE
Collin-Guillaume
Rosé, Brut
Champagne
WHEN chef James
Knappett and his
sommelier wife,
Sandia Chang, created
Bubbledogs in 2012, the concept
was both laughable and laudable:
hotdogs served with champagne.
It was simple and bonkers and
brilliant and it is still going strong
(helped in part by the Kitchen
Table, tucked away in the back,
that has had a Michelin star
since 2014). For Chang, making
champagne more accessible was a
big part of Bubbledogs’ appeal and
to continue this theme she and
Knappett launched Bubble Shop
late last year. Offering interesting
champagnes – including their own
label Collin-Guillaume, Rosé –
personally selected by Chang, if
you have a taste for “classy and
flirty” artisanal fizz you will love
it. “I chose this particular rosé for
Bubbledogs because of its subtle
notes of red berries, much like
the scent left over on your hands
after picking strawberries all day,”
says Chang. “Because it is aged for
three years on the lees, it adds a
great amount of complexity and
earthiness to the wine, almost a
touch of savouriness.” PH
OCollin-Guillaume,Rosé,£45.AtBubbledogs.
bubbledogs.co.uk
Gargle factory: Untitled’s Warhol-inspired interiors; TASTE
(inset) the Waif cocktail
THE BAR
Untitled Dalston’s latest cocktail den serves up some sensual sips
EVER hungered for a bite of Stradivarius? No, us and vodka) reminds you of catching snow on your
neither. And yet, upon tasting one of the most tongue as a child. The Waif (rhubarb, rose, silver tip
intriguing cocktails, Violin, at Tony Conigliaro’s new and champagne) is beautiful, slight and presented in a
Dalston bar, Untitled, we yearned to sink our teeth into glass so fragile even the most nimble-fingered will feel
the instrument’s resinous gut strings. Conigliaro, the like their wrists are wielding giant rakes. While the
genius behind Islington’s 69 Colebrooke Row and flavours are daring, these cocktails require no bravery
Soho’s Bar Termini, often referred to as the “Heston – they slip down your throat like water. And the fact
Blumenthal of drinks”, has developed a menu that these liquid oeuvres start as low as £6.50 makes them
celebrates the senses over spirit. taste twice as good. EH
Untitled is Conigliaro’s third and largest bar yet.
The minimalist design pays homage to Andy Warhol’s
Gargle factory: Untitled’s
Silver Factory studio in New York – a creative hub of
Warhol-inspired interiors
artists and actors – with tinfoil-papered walls and a
communal concrete table. It’s also by far his most
innovative. Considering the man prepares his cocktails
in a laboratory using scientific molecular mixology
and once made a gelatinous “yolk” of tomato and
vodka served like an oyster, this is saying something.
Each of Untitled’s 12 cocktails is designed to look,
taste and smell just like their names. In Violin, served
in a small, bulbous glass vessel presiding over a long
and delicate stem, mirroring the neck and body of a
violin, you discover oak, pine, beeswax and
black pepper, with a hint of whisky. In Snow, served in
a tiny, stout and frosty cup that resembles a plump
snowdrop, the cold, tasteless liquid (chalk, clay, enoki
O538 Kingsland Road, London E8. 07841 022924.
untitled-bar.com
THE ROUNDUP
Take outdoor eating to new heights:
Three al fresco food terraces
Bōkan Aviary Proud Camden
Camden Market, Chalk Farm
Floors 37-39, Novotel Canary Wharf 22-25 Finsbury Square
40 Marsh Wall, London E14. London EC2. Road, London NW1.
bokanlondon.co.uk aviarylondon.com proudcamden.com
The setup: The only thing more The setup: Head up to the tenth The setup: This former horse
impressive than the views from floor of the Montcalm Royal hospital is famous for its live
the Bōkan roof terrace 39 floors London House Hotel for Aviary: music, but this summer it has also
up at Canary Wharf, is the food a smart, sky-high celebration of launched a new £300,000 English
that comes out of the kitchen all things ornithological. The Country Garden on the roof,
courtesy of renowned chef Aurélie grand roof terrace – launched this with water features, landscaped
Altemaire and the cocktails by spring – has a marble outdoor rockeries, a Burger Bear pop-up
former Mr Fogg’s mixologist and views of Camden Market.
bar with views of Finsbury
Danilo Tersigni. Square, the Gherkin and beyond. Eat this: Unsurprisingly, it’s
Eat this: The European dishes Eat this: Here, you can go going to be a burger. The
come with a French accent, so unashamedly Seventies: choose double-stacked Greedy Bear is
beef tartare with wasabi mayo a king prawn cocktail (£15) and made from 100 per cent Sussex
(£12), lamb cutlets with Longhorn flat-iron steak (£21) beef (£10 for a burger and beer).
chimichurri (£24) and then with whipped blue cheese (£5) Drink that: As well as festival
yuzu and lime tart (£7). followed by a minty “After Eight”
favourites such as Camden Hells
Arctic roll (£7). (£5.90) and jugs of Pimms (£20),
Drink that: The terrace has a gin
bar, so try the docks’ inspired Drink that: Take in that City view try the Peach Old Fashioned
Royal Captain (Hendrick’s gin, with a Not A Cosmopolitan cocktail (Gosling’s rum with
passion-fruit syrup and peach
Vermouth, elderflower cordial (Tanqueray gin, St-Germain
and cold jasmine tea, £10). puree, £9.50).
elderflower, Mondino amaro and
lime, £12.50) in hand.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 85
 TASTE

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Country house hotel Coworth Park
and its superb spa (below)
Below: Try the
braised pig’s trotter
at The Oxford Blue
(above and below)
Photographs Alamy; Niall Clutton; Jonathan Thompson Photography; Jhy Turley
Ascot
As Royal Ascot (20-24 June) brings the great and good
to this winning Berkshire town, make a weekend of it
with these grandstanding gourmet experiences.
Train: From London Waterloo to Ascot, from £31 return. southwesttrains.co.uk
Time: Fifty-two minutes
In the last week of
June, top hats and
floral headpieces
(with a solid base of
four inches only) jostle for space
in the first-class compartment of
the Waterloo to Ascot train,
snooty brims and paper flowers
bobbing in unison as the train
huffs and shudders its way to
attend the summer’s most
prestigious event: Royal Ascot.
After a long day slurping
jugs of Pimm’s in the Royal
Enclosure, rest your addled head
at five-star country house hotel
(1) Coworth Park (Blacknest
Road, Sunningdale, Berkshire
SL5 7SE.
01344 876600.
dorchester collection.
com), which sits,
gleaming white, amid
240 hectares of land.
Choose one of the
Mansion House
suites overlooking
the gardens (the
four-poster beds are the
highlight). Don’t leave without a
trip to the spa – the pool’s
Above: Black Forest
restaurant (Shrubbs Hill Cottage, dessert from Royal
London Road, Sunningdale, Ascot’s Parade
Ring Restaurant
Berkshire SL5 0LE. 01344
622722. bluebells-restaurant.
com), which attracts a full
house on Sundays for hearty
roasts at a reasonable £29 for
three courses.
For fine dining at the races,
(4) The Royal Ascot Enclosure Above:
(Ascot Racecourse, High Street, Chefs Phil
Howard and
SL5 7JX. 0844 346 3000. ascot. Raymond
co.uk) features star chefs such Blanc host
restaurants
as Phil Howard and Raymond at Royal
Blanc. Howard – cited for Best Ascot (right)
Chef in this year’s GQ Food
& Drink Awards – hosts the
flagship On 5 restaurant, while
Blanc, whose hotel, Belmond
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons,
was also nominated, oversees
the sixth-floor Panoramic
Restaurant, which offers the
best views of the track from
its private balcony.
After a champagne cocktail in
Coworth Park’s Drawing Room
(with live piano music from
7pm) migrate to (5) Restaurant
Coworth Park for a seven-course Above: Visit
tasting menu (£95) by chef Restaurant
Coworth Park

underwater music shouldn’t
have got us so excited, but it
did.
A trot up the road from Ascot
(and a scenic walk from Windsor
Adam Smith, which is packed for Adam Smith’s
with British ingredients. best of British
menu; or La
Highlights included a dainty Sorrentina for
chicken leg dusted with black Italian fare (left)
truffle and an intricate chocolate

Ascot, Berksh
Castle) is new gastro pub (2) cage filled with nutty caramel.
The Oxford Blue (10 Crimp Hill, Don’t miss the simple Italian
Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 2QY. fare at the small but mighty ir
01753 861954. oxfordbluepub. (6) La Sorrentina (72 High Cranbourne 2
e

Park
co.uk), which offers comforting Street, SL5 9QN. 01344
2
33
A

dishes styled with Michelin- 876200. la-sorrentina.

level precision. The braised pig’s co.uk). We suggest the
A328

trotter, a perfect gelatinous spaghetti with king

mound topped with a tiny prawns followed by Windsor
Great
Park
ad

fried egg and surrounded by the veal pan-fried in

B38

Ro
n

a hundred slivers of apple, brandy butter: authentic

3

do

Lon
4 Roadon
n
Lo

is a work of art. It tasted and hearty, as if it d

as good as it looked. came straight from your 1
Above: Bluebells 5
restaurant is A short country lane walk (Italian) grandmother’s
renowned for its from Coworth Park (or bike kitchen. EH 3
roasts, including
rump of Cotswold
ride – bikes are free to borrow Royal Ascot tickets, from £37. 7m
lamb (right) from the hotel) is (3) Bluebells ascot.co.uk

86 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 Whether your father is a man of simple pleasures or
enjoys the finer things in life, we’ve got all you need to
hit the jackpot with your Father's Day gift this year

EDITED BY Holly Roberts


Inspired by intrepid explorers and conquering warriors, Aventus by The House Of Creed
For The House Of Creed, it all
began when King George III
commissioned a bottle of Royal
English Leather after becoming
enamoured with a pair of Creed
scented gloves. Passed from
father to son through seven
generations since its London
founding in 1760, The House Of
Creed has been hand-crafting
fragrances for royal houses and
discerning patrons for over 250
years. Throughout this legacy
Creed has created unrivalled
Scent of adventure
is a fragrance for the bold
scents, both commissioned
and worn by some of history’s
greatest names. Considered the
most iconic of all is Aventus,
introduced in 2010 and crafted by
sixth-generation Master Perfumer
Olivier Creed in collaboration
with his son Erwin. A sensual,
audacious and contemporary
scent, Aventus is a modern
fragrance for men – adored by
women. Rich but fresh and fruity,
this fragrance is perfect for the
courageous and confident. It’s
iconic name is derived from the
Latin - a (“from”) ventus (“the
wind”), illustrating the Aventus
man as destined to live a driven
life, ever galloping with the wind
at his back, heading toward
success. It’s fitting for a fragrance
which seems to sweep across
Europe picking up the finest
ingredients in its wake. Top note
blackcurrant blends, with
bergamot from Italy, while calville
blanc apples mingle expertly with
fruity pineapple. The middle notes
G Partnership
burst with roses, blooming amid
dense birch. Jasmine blossom
and patchouli combine to add to
this woody but heady centre.
At the base is oak moss and
ambergris and a light touch of
vanilla, the final flourish of a
sophisticated and intelligent,
powerhouse-pairing of perfumers.
Celebrate strength, vision and
success, it’s the ideal Father’s Day
gift for any man who savours a life
well-lived. (From £170 for 50ml)
creedfragrances.co.uk
 Whisky by
Haig Club,
70cl, £45.
haigclub.com

Pyjamas by Ermenegildo
Zegna, £535. zegna.co.uk
Book by The Cafetiere by
Impossible Tom Dixon, £150.
Collection Of tomdixon.com
Watches,
Assouline, £650.
farfetch.com

Home comforts
Luxury furniture or smart board
games – these thoughtful gifts will
make your father feel right at home

Decanter Set by
LOTTA, £100.
Pencil holder by Louis Vuitton, isa-international.co.uk
£365. louisvuitton.com

Backgammon set
by Dior £6,600.
dior.com

Chair by Louis
Vuitton, Price on
application.
louisvuitton.com

Leather noughts
and crosses set by
Burberry, £350.
burberry.com
 G Partnership

The new Fantasia Plus coffee system, brought to us by the coffee experts at Lavazza,
Your barista might know how to
make your cofee just the way
you like it when you’re on the
run, but how do you get one at
home? The Fantasia Plus cofee
maker by Lavazza allows you to
create delicious Italian cofee
specialities in the comfort of
your own kitchen, whether you
*on promotion from £169. PHOTOGRAPH BY JODY TODD
Hot shots
serves up your favourite flat white at the touch of a button
prefer cappuccino, latte, hot
chocolate or the ever-reliable
espresso. Not only that, but the
simple interface allows you to
customise your drinks to use
cold milk or to choose the
amount of cofee, froth and milk
you’d like. Choose between three
diferent milk froth settings:
Italian cappuccino, cappuccino
and latte, or use the cold milk
frothing programme to get a
thick and velvety milk froth. The
Fantasia Plus’ in-built memory
system means it will remember
exactly how to make your cofee
perfectly. Naturally, it’s also been
designed as a chic addition to
your home, coming in an
elegant ice white with brushed
aluminium sides. The perfect
gift for any man who relies on
a cafeine boost during his busy
day but considers himself a
cofee connoisseur, you can save
£50 on a Fantasia Plus ahead of
Father’s Day at John Lewis.

In-home cofee system by Lavazza, currently £119*. johnlewis.com

 Bebop 2 drone by
Parrot, £499.99.
selfridges.com

X-T20 camera by Fujifilm,

£799. fujifilm-x.com

Touch fitness
tracker by
TomTom, £99.99.
johnlewis.co.uk

USB carry on case by Victorinox,

£395. victorinox.com

High tech
Treat your tech-loving father to
all the latest innovative gadgets
he never knew he needed

Google Home
by Google, £129.
Turntable by google.com
Shinola, £2,500.
shinola.com

Electrified S
bicycle by
VanMoof, £2,598.
vanmoof.com

USB Cable by Native

Union, £23. harrods.com
 G Partnership

The next best thing to an early morning dip in the ocean is Molton Brown’s
Nothing beats a refreshing
plunge into the sea first thing in
the morning to wake you up,
but sadly the Northern
Australian coast isn’t always
handy before you start your
day. Luckily, London fragrance
expert Molton Brown has now
come up with the next best
thing: its Coastal Cypress & Sea
PHOTOGRAPH BY JODY TODD
Shore success
new Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel Collection
Fennel Collection. It launched
just last month with an Eau de
Toilette, Bath & Shower Gel, and
Deodorant. The fragrance
captures a salt-sprayed collision
of the ocean swell against
rugged outcrops, echoing
Molton Brown’s own pioneering
and adventurous spirit. The
lead ingredient, coastal cypress,
has been sourced from Cape
York, Australia – a remote,
largely unexplored and unspoilt
peninsula. The indigenous
cypress oil known as “blue
gold” is the world’s only
naturally blue essential oil
distilled from a tree, which has
then been unconventionally
mingled with the salty breeze
aromas of sea fennel, grown
wild on the shoreline. There
are also intriguing traces of
cardamom, fresh fig leaves,
jasmine and cedarwood.
Guaranteed to start your day
with a splash, it’s the ideal
Father’s Day gift for any man
who’d rather be spending it
on a yacht.

From £20 for Bath & Shower Gel, Eau de Toilette or Deodorant. All by Molton Brown. moltonbrown.co.uk #IntoTheUncharted
Phone case by Vianel,
£90. harveynichols.com Camera by
Panasonic Lumix,
£499.95.
johnlewis.com

Pill+ speaker by
Beats by Dr.Dre,
£189. apple.co.uk

Bag by Mismo, £192.

yoox.com

Water bottle by S’well,

£35. swellbottle.com

On the
move
Get the stylish travel
essentials that will make
your father look the part
Sunglasses by Tom Davies,
on his next adventure
£295. tdtomdavies.com

Cashmere jumper
by Ron Dorf, £245.
rondorf.com

Headphones by
Pryma, £399.99.
selfrdiges.co.uk

This Father’s Day is the perfect opportunity to help your dad keep things trim with the
Something all fathers have to
learn is how to pull of the
tricky balancing act between
strength and sensitivity.
However, if your father’s most
sensitive area is his skin, he
might need the new Braun
Series 3 ProSkin. It comes with
advanced MicroComb
technology, a comb-like
structure that guides the
Smooth character
latest innovations from Braun
beard hairs into the cutting
element of the trimmer,
reducing skin irritation by
cutting both short and long
hairs with every stroke. It also
cuts down the time it takes to
shave, freeing up valuable
morning bathroom time
(Amazon, £39.99). On the
other hand, if you’re looking
for a gift for the man who
enjoys life’s luxuries, the Braun
Series 9, is the cutting edge
in shaving technology. Its
built in titanium-coated
HyperLift&Cut trimmer makes
it the world’s most eicient
and exceptionally gentle
shaver, capturing more hair in
one stroke than any other
shaver in the world (Boots,
£329.99). If he’s ready to
G Partnership
change up his style, the Braun
Multi Grooming Kit has
everything he’ll need. With
detachable smart clipper
combs for precision length, as
well as the dedicated ear and
nose trimmer, precision
trimmer and body grooming
heads, he’ll end up looking as
sharp as the day you were
born (Argos, £44.99).
G Partnership
Life is one long holiday in the sun with the eye-catching and elegant new Aqua series from
Every so often a new watch
comes along that really makes
waves. The new Aqua series by
NOMOS Glashütte are variations
on its signature Club and Ahoi
designs, which earned their
sobriquet because they’re
all water resistant to 20
atmospheres (200m), making
them suitable for serious water
Summer time
German watchmakers NOMOS Glashütte
sports, professional marine
activity and skin diving.
Contained within an extra-robust
case of stainless steel and
sapphire crystal glass, these
watches are unusually tough and
hard-wearing yet also have an
elegant élan. While white silver
plating and Atlantic blue are
long established in the NOMOS
colour palette, the new versions
in siren blue and siren red bring
a fresh splash of colour to the
collection. The bright blue
suggests the sky over the Côte
d’Azur, while the red conjures a
buoy in the sea. Thanks to
Super-Luminova, each of these
watches remains perfectly
legible even in the dark. The
combination of sturdy build and
classic design means that no
matter how active or varied your
lifestyle is, you’ll never need to
worry about being without your
bold timepiece. Like the perfect
gentleman, these watches are
just as at home in the front row
of the opera or splashing of a
yacht into the Mediterranean.
 Tie by Hermès, £105.
hermes.com

Culinks by
Hermès, £425.
hermes.com

Umbrella by
London
Briefcase by Undercover, £75.
Paul Smith, £695. selfridges.com
paulsmith.co.uk

Boardroom
ready
Make sure your father
looks the part with these
luxury accessories and
stationery essentials

Notebook by Smythson,
£45. smythson.com

Belt by Salvatore
Ferragamo, £235. Shoes by Bottega
ferragamo.com Veneta, £570.
bottegaveneta.com

Pen by Dunhill, £115.

dunhill.co.uk
The goal was
to fight Trump
with a better
version
of himself

Up against Trump?
(clockwise from top left):
Michelle Obama, Joe Biden,
Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton,
Bernie Sanders, Mark Cuban,
Mark Zuckerberg, Cory Booker,
Oprah Winfrey and Bob Iger

98 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 MICHAEL WOLFF

DEMOCRATIC
DEFICIT
STORY BY Michael Wolf
ILLUSTRATION BY André Carrilho

Among the rubble of last year’s

political earthquake, America’s
spooked and confused Democrats are
searching for a champion. But from
a list of dotcom billionaires, liberal
outriders and fame-hungry rookies,
is there anyone who can face down
the stage-hogging postmodern
madness of Donald Trump?

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 99

 MICHAEL WOLFF

wo weeks before Stepping down: bench of policy wonks and Nancy Pelosi, 77, represents that LGBT
US Democratic
the 8 November presidential election, I sat in presidential
social engineers, to those capital, the free state of San Francisco.
Michael’s restaurant in New York with a senior candidate Hillary party pillars having no cur- Between them they had 66 years in
Republican operative who described her belief – Clinton concedes rency at all in modern politics. Congress, one of the most reviled insti-
defeat to Trump
and the reasonable belief of most political pro- in New York, 9 This was not just a sudden tutions in American life.
fessionals – that the Republican Party was dead November 2016 strategic setback, but just Together they represented another
for a generation to come. The effective takeover about as profound a psycho- view of the Democrats’ predicament:
of the party by its white-male populist wing had hopelessly logical upset as has recently happened that nothing was terribly wrong. In this,
tarnished the Republican brand among women and among in political life. There were two clear Trump was just some odd bad weather.
significant parts of its donor class. She described a political effects here: on the part of some In fact, the demographic future was
apocalypse in which real Republicans would, in essence, have Democrats, the existential realisation sure, and this was just, albeit unexpect-
to forsake the Republican Party, leaving it to the rabble, and that neither the liberal imagination edly, a last gasp of the old white man.
build a new political identity. nor analytic powers were capable of The problem was not the Democrats, the
While it is, these days, always safe to predict apocalypse, accurately understanding the current problem was Clinton and her campaign.
it is not necessarily clear whose world is about to end. In political world. This included a blind In April, a new book, Shattered: Inside
this case, it was the Democratic Party – believing itself, days confidence in Hillary Clinton. It included Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign by
before the election, on the verge of a generational victory too the mainstream media’s total acqui- reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie
that would give it control of the White House, Congress, the escence to liberal certainties, such that Parnes, spelled this out: Hillary Clinton,
Supreme Court and reduce to rubble its opponents – which, not one outlet allowed for the possi- reflecting the very flaws of Hillary
in the blink of an eye, blew up. bility of a Donald Trump victory. All Clinton, had, spending vastly more than
The blast heard round the world took with it the central this produced a party in some state of the Trump side, run a campaign ruined
assumption of modern, liberal politics: the demographic deep depression. And then there were by rivalries, indecision and disorgani-
eclipse of older, whiter, less educated ex-urban voters, by the liberals who could not accept that sation. (And yet, of course, all losing
younger, diverse, more aspirational voters, congregating in they were wrong, who, post-election, campaigns look like losing campaigns
global cities. entered a state of rage and denial – after they have lost.) And, if it wasn’t
The other shattered assumption was about the very nature blaming the loss on deep conspiracies Hillary who lost it, it was the Russians
of a political figure. Where liberals had exalted expertise and and on the evil in the hearts of socially who stole it, or the FBI’s James Comey
policy, the country elected a man with a flamboyant disre- retro men – such that they continued with his eleventh hour revival of the
gard of details and abstract reasoning. to be at odds with the reality of this Clinton email scandal who caused the
The Democrats, in the space of a few hours, went from new political order. Here was a mania Democrats’ defeat. There was, anyway,
being able to count on a winning social coalition and a deep of righteousness and virtue. nothing fundamentally wrong with the
Democratic Party.
t would be hard to think of And yet, with the first 100 days of

There’s no Democrat
anywhere who is an
I anyone less prepared for this
moment in political time than
the two Democratic leaders most
prominently left standing. Chuck
Schumer, 66, the minority leader of the
Donald Trump a wholly jaw-dropping
spectacle of chaos, leaving him, at
their end, the most unpopular presi-
dent in modern history, there is still no
Democrat anywhere who seems like an
Photograph Getty Images

Senate, hails from the capital of millen-
nial diversity, Brooklyn, New York, at a
obvious or plausible time when the Democrats’ traditional
Midwest working-class coalition has
standard-bearer enthusiastically bought into Trumpian
obvious or even plausible standard-
bearer against him.
It was, in its way, a moment of pecu-
liar, or creative, foment outside the
main power centres of the party. Part

against Trump
disdain for coastal elites. His counter- of the reflexive Democratic analysis,
part in the House Of Representatives, was to see the election of Trump not

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 101

 MICHAEL WOLFF
as economic and cultural warning,
but as an issue of media and celebrity. In
this, many Democrats saw themselves
as needing such a figure. One ad-hoc
Democratic group in California set out
to draw up lists of billionaires who were
more liberal than not and begin a cam-
paign of reach-out and flattery.
he point here was, of course,
T not to see Trump as a throw-
back to older working-class
values, but to see him as
postmodern – a level of per-
sonal brand recognition that transcends
electoral politics. In other words, fight
Trump with a better version of himself.
The forward-thinking goal was to
find the ideal, and willing, Democratic
celebrity billionaire.
The ultimate fantasy candidate, offer-
ing some teasing encouragement, was
Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity billion-
aire who spoke to all the Democratic
concerns – women, inclusiveness, minor-
ities and holistic sensitivity – and who
was not only a celebrity billionaire, but
the world’s first black female billionaire.
To the extent that Trump was in some
substantial part a phenomenon of the
social-media age, then why not the ulti-
mate phenomenon of the social-media
age, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
who also seemed suddenly to be think-
ing, “Why not?” At $61 billion, his net
worth trounced even Trump’s most
aggressive exaggeration of his own
at $10 billion. Trump at 74 in 2020 vs
Zuckerberg, now at 32 not eligible to
be president but in 2020 a year over
the minimum age – a true referendum
on the future, with the Democrats of
course still believing that people would
surely choose the future over the past.
In a more direct match-up, there was
Mark Cuban, a dotcom billionaire from
Texas who owns a professional sports
team, is famous for his intemperate
mouth and who, like Trump, is a reality
TV star.
And add to the possible super-rich
primary field Disney chief Bob Iger,
seeing the presidency as a sort of mogul
retirement job.
What’s wrong with politics in the
celebrity billionaire analysis is pol-
iticians. Populism is not so much
a cry for economic equality, or even a
disdain for elites, but a mass revulsion
against the inauthenticity of politicians.
Celebrities are real celebrities, politi-
cians are fake ones. In this, Democrats
figure to have an advantage, having
102 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
cornered the market on a much higher
class of celebrities than the Republicans
ever have. (Trump was wounded by the
Populism failure of truly top-notch celebs to turn
is not so
much a
disdain
for elites,
up at his inauguration celebrations.)
Still, politicians are, of course, like
roaches. They are not going to go away
just because they have been rejected
and humiliated.
Two years before there will be any
but a
mass
revulsion
against
fake
meaningful clarity about the next presi-
dential race, the field was a speculator’s
lament of dinosaurs and midgets.
Joe Biden, the former vice president,
continued to represent a forehead-
smacking what-might-have-been –
politicians a working-class everyman, he had, in
2016, yielded to an entitled-and-elitist
Clinton. But Biden would be 78 in 2020,
even older than Trump.
Hillary Clinton, with her three million
Fame calling: margin in the popular vote, was, for a
Senator Cory
Booker and TV hardcore group of Democrats, the right-
presenter Daisy ful president – save only for Russians
Fuentes attend
a benefit for The and the FBI – and therefore a spectre,
Humane Society a 73-year-old one in 2020, who would
Of The United
States in LA, continue to cloud the conversation.
22 April 2017 Bernie Sanders’ rightful due would
also continue to be debated and added
to what could be for the Democrats a
forever postmortem, no matter that
Sanders would be 79 in 2020.
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts
senator representing the anti-Wall
Street left of the Democratic Party,
would be, at 71 in 2020, the youthful
version of Sanders.
New Jersey’s Cory Booker, one of two
African-American Democrats in the
Senate, and at a youthful 48 is often
represented as a next Barack Obama,
though one, for better or worse, with
Trumpian-level media cravings.
nd, because this is the
A Democratic Party, it is nec-
essary that all discussion
include a roster of women,
no matter how far they
actually are from presidential reality
(of course, ever-repeated mentions
draw you closer). Hence, from among
the many no-name women on various
lists, there emerges, most frequently
and most improbably, Michelle Obama.
Another reliable sign of a com-
plete dearth of options, inspiration or
new ideas, is chatter about the long-
diffused Kennedy family. In this there
is Christopher Kennedy, the eighth child
of Robert Kennedy who is running for
governor of Illinois, and his cousin Ted
Kennedy Jr perhaps running for gover-
nor of Connecticut, and Joe Kennedy III
(grandson of Robert Kennedy), who is a
third-term Massachusetts congressman.
The Democratic Party is hobbled
now by both its lack of promising
personalities and because, with no
foresight, it found itself on the other
side of a strange, protean and angry
political current. The dominant strain
of the Democratic Party is to be self-
satisfied, while the character of the
times is to be hostile and reactionary.
But most of all the Democrats are par-
alysed by a stage that has room for
only one player. There are no politics
other than Trump. He is not only his
own singular self, but his own worst
enemy. He reduces everybody, including
the opposition, to mere spectator. He
may well implode, but that’s bad news
too: it is difficult to imagine greater
energy and chaos than that which he
himself creates.
It is a new political problem in which
one side occupies all attention, media,
time and interest, sometimes even all
sides to all questions. And there is no
indication that the Democrats have any
plan or possibilities for figuring out their
future other than to wait until Trump
exhausts himself.
MORE For these related
stories, visit 
Photograph Getty Images
FROM GQ GQ.co.uk/magazine
The Old Empire Strikes Back
(Michael Wolff, June 2017)
News Is Over... If You Want It
(Michael Wolff, May 2017)
It Came From Manhattan!
(Michael Wolff, April 2017)
 WELLMAN.CO.UK
®

I’ve been taking Wellman since

my twenties to support my
health and hectic lifestyle.
David Gandy

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From Boots, Superdrug, supermarkets, Holland & Barrett, health stores, pharmacies
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 From top: Sunglasses by Ray-Ban, £179. ray-ban.com

Sunglasses by Persol, £200. At David Clulow. davidclulow.com

Sunglasses by G-Star RAW, £99. At Marchon. marchon.com

Sunglasses by Calvin Klein, £235. At Marchon. marchon.com

Sunglasses by Linda Farrow, £580. At matchesfashion.com

Photograph by Chris Turner

EDITED BY ROBERT JOHNSTON

THE MOST WANTED: Keep your cool in the summer sun and make sure your
eyes have it in a pair of shades with lightweight brushed-metal frames. When it comes
to the lenses, go for any colour you like as long as you are protected from harmful UV.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 105

JIM CHAPMAN:
For better or worse it’s wedding season
– time to pay attention to the details.
I 
have reached the age where everyone
I know is getting married. And while
having already tied the knot means all
I have to do is let the invites roll in, lots
of my friends – and most of Instagram – are
asking me how to dress as a guest. So I figure
there’s no better time to share my advice.
My basic rule for nailing summer wed-
dings is to lighten up. Don’t pick a heavy
cloth when choosing your suit
– you will be thankful for it ‘The right suit
while sitting in 26C heat, lis-
tening to the lengthy vows of
will stand out
a cousin you haven’t seen for in a sea of
half a decade. There is still a men who
stigma attached to the linen
suit (it seems to conjure the
played it safe’
mental image of a wrinkly, off-brown, baggy
mess), but right now you can pick up beauti-
ful examples in a variety of colours and cuts.
If you’re not a linen fan, half-lined is the
way to go. A fully-lined suit gives structure,
but it might feel too constrictive at an outdoor
wedding. And make sure you read the label –
a polyester-majority lining in your jacket will
create your own personal sauna in the heat.
Left: Suit by Polo Ralph Lauren, £795.
ralphlauren.co.uk. Shirt by Gieves & Hawkes,
£125. gievesandhawkes.com. Tie by Dancy’s,
£30. dancys.co.uk. Pocket square by Hackett
London, £32. hackett.com
106 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Backpack by Lanvin, £770.
At matchesfashion.com
Leader of the pack
Under the direction of designer
Lucas Ossendrijver, Lanvin menswear
has perfected the grunge-meets-
sportswear aesthetic that is on-trend
right now. Now, the label has
A navy suit is perfect for most formal occa-
collaborated with matchesfashion.
sions and a wedding is no different – but
com to produce an exclusive online
selecting a paler shade of blue, or even stone
ten-piece capsule collection that
for the more adventurous, will ensure you
ticks all the fashion boxes, from
stand out in a sea of men who played it safe.
contrast-plaid shirts to tailored
By wearing a different tone, you are also
trousers and sleek, monochrome
free to play with your shirt, tie and pocket
backpacks. And since Lanvin is
square. Stick with a tried and true block
famous for having re-created the
colour for the shirt (avoiding any potential
humble trainer as a style icon, the
Miami Vice pastel faux pas) as
collection, of course, boasts the
this allows you to add personal-
perfect pair – this time in navy
ity with a floral tie or patterned
pocket square.
leather with a grey tongue, as well
It’s also worth considering
as a hip high-top. 
the length of your trouser hem.
Traditionally, you should have
a single break over the shoe,
but I tend to say, “sun’s out, ankles out”.
Just make sure the taper is right, then ditch
the socks and enjoy the benefits of a lower Shirt by Lanvin, £425.
At matchesfashion.com
leg breeze.
Now your outfit is sorted, your only job is
to behave and avoid getting so hammered at
the reception that people are still talking about
Photographs Roger Stillman
your antics at next year’s wedding – or next
week’s, at the rate I'm getting invitations.
Right: Suit by Burberry, £1,395.
burberry.com. Shirt by Drake’s, £155.
drakes.com. Tie, £63. Pocket square, £45.
Both by J Crew. jcrew.com
 Business class:
If you’re trying a bold move like this,
the key to getting it right is keeping
things simple. With your suit, go for
a super-light fabric in a super-dark
colour and let your espadrilles make a Pocket square by Drake’s,
£55. drakes.com
statement. However, it’s crucial to look
out for seriously smart espadrilles (we
call them “drespadrilles”) in more luxe
fabrics, such as suede, skins or leather.

Shirt by Vilebrequin, £155.

vilebrequin.com For luxuriators:
If you want espadrilles that really snap,
try something a little more exotic, such
as crocodile skin-printed nubuck.
By Jimmy Choo, £325. jimmychoo.com

Sunglasses by E Tautz x Suit by Boss, £830.

Kirk Originals, £225. hugoboss.com
kirkoriginals.com

For Ivy Leaguers:

HOW TO WEAR: Having featured prominently in Teruyoshi
Hayashida’s handbook, Take Ivy, tasselled

Espadrilles that work loafers are a wardrobe essential for achieving

varsity vibes. By Burberry, £325. burberry.com

Bring beach cool to the boardroom with the summer shoe

smart enough to wear with a suit. GQ presents the pairs
to boost your portfolio now.
EDITED BY Nick Carvell PHOTOGRAPHS BY Brendan Freeman
Grooming Charley McEwen at Frank Agency

Espadrilles by Louis Vuitton,

£440. louisvuitton.com
Model Keudy Bautista at Established

For rockers:
Thought espadrilles couldn’t be rock’n’roll?
Think again. Join the dark side with this pair
that will add an edge to summer suits. RJ
By Saint Laurent, £300. ysl.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 107

 STREET LIFE:EDITED BY Carlotta Constant

From pumped-up layers to offbeat

accessories, GQ meets the men taking new
trends to heart at Seoul Fashion Week.

An Sung Su, 40 Gyu Chan Cho, 25

Occupation: Designer Occupation: Style consultant
Instagram: @angun09 Instagram: @cg_shine
Get the look: Hat by William & Son, £130. Get the look: Loafers by Dune, £90.
williamandson.com dunelondon.com

Jin Gon, 20
Occupation: Student
Get the look: Shirt by J Crew, £66. jcrew.com

Photograph Roger Stillman

Lim Man Yeoul, 25 Ji Sung Lee, 27 Nguyen Tien Truong, 27

Occupation: Tailor Occupation: Barista Occupation: Stylist
Instagram: @tagliare_ Get the look: Shirt by Instagram: @nttruong
Get the look: Scarf by Desmond & Dempsey, Get the look: Chain by The Kooples,
Etro, £195. At matchesfashion.com £90. desmondanddempsey.com £90. thekooples.co.uk

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Matthew Sperzel

108 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 G Partnership

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NEXT
LEVEL
The latest name in shaving
has actually been around for
years and the Dorco Classic
is a real smooth operator
“CLASSIC” is a title earned through building on
a legacy of quality – and, in this instance, it is
perfectly fitting. The Dorco Classic delivers the
ultimate shave, and with seven precision-aligned
blades (making it a world first), it does it well.
Really well.
Having been around since 1955, Dorco has
certainly mastered its trade. It was founded by Tak
Si-Geun in, what was then, the newly formed
South Korea, which has since become one of the
leading markets in grooming for men. These razors
have been designed to deliver the finest of close
shaves. By combining classic design and advanced
technology, the Dorco Classic effectively brings
The flexibility is second to none,
together heritage with innovation.
allowing you to shave with or against the Dorco’s approach to shaving is a refreshing
grain, without changing the grip or angle. throwback to a time before we were flooded by
The seven precision-aligned blades deliver razors with far more bells and whistles than any
a satisfyingly smooth shave while minimising
man will ever need. Sleek and straightforward,
irritation and allowing eicient, easy rinsing.
The Dorco Classic also has an advanced these are shaving tools that just work every
lubricating strip with antioxidants from single morning. In Dorco’s own words, “We take
Argan oil and Calendula extract, which shaving seriously, so you don’t have to”. It even
simultaneously heal razor burns cuts out the middle man and delivers it to your
and moisturise your skin.
razorsbydorco.co.uk
front door every month - with the added bonus
of free shipping. Plus, they’ll look damn good in
your bathroom cabinet.
METAL
POLISH:
Every man should have
a steel sports watch
that’s built to take hard
knocks but designed
to look elegant on
any occasion.
PHOTOGRAPH BY
Josh Caudwell
 JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 111
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 Smoking habits change with the times,
LUXURY: but Cuban cigars will always light the
way, says our man in Havana. BY Nick Foulkes
Cuban cigars have risen to this new, increasingly scholarly interest with
limited editions, regional editions and, best of all, Reservas. I reckon that
the Reservas, made with tobacco that has been aged in bales for at least
three years, and Gran Reservas, made with tobacco with a minimum of
five years’ bale age, represent the Cuban cigar at its best.
After a trial run of Reserva Cohibas in 2003 came the Partagás Série
D Reserva of 2005. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it was something
special. There was a smooth creaminess to it that really made the most
of the Partagás characteristics, it was like an Olympic athlete clothed in
an impeccably tailored suit. The Gran Reserva is the best, only better, and
the sublime Partagás Lusitanias Gran Reserva is
am old enough to remember the last the paradigm. The Lusitania is Partagás’ double

I  cigar boom, back in the Nineties. A cigar

became an accessory, brandished by celeb-
rities as diverse as Demi Moore, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Lopez.
Eventually, obeying the rules of all bubble
markets, cigar consumption plateaued, then
dropped, and became even more difficult when
the smoking ban came in. Cigars, however,
have now become rather like fine wines: a
gourmet product. These days, if you go to any
decent members’ club, hotel or restaurant in
London’s West End you will come across a cigar
shop: a place where trays of cigars are treated
with the reverence and ceremony usually
reserved for the rarest vintages of Petrus.
Given that I was named Havana Man Of
The Year in 2007, I find that I am treated with
something almost akin to respect by people
A new leaf (from who were not old enough to walk unassisted
left): The Partagás
Série D Reserva;
behind the bike sheds (let alone smoke when
Davidof Of London they got there) when I enjoyed my first cigar.
‘In the
Nineties
you would
torch up a
corona, its most famous cigar. Only 5,000 boxes
of the Gran Reserva version were made and
almost all have disappeared into private col-
lections. They were released in 2013 and I was
keen to taste them a few years on, so when my
Cohiba with friend Edward Sahakian, owner of Davidoff
your coffee, Of London on Jermyn Street, won this year’s
or ignite Havana Man Of The Year award, it seemed like
a a good opportunity to get Cuba’s UK importer
a Hoyo De (herself a previous winner), Jemma Freeman,
Monterrey in to liberate a few to celebrate. I can report that
a nightclub’ they lived up to my expectations: delivering
the complexity of a Partagás with a refine-
ment that makes the power easier to handle.
This year sees the release of another classic
in the making: the H Upmann Sir Winston
Gran Reserva, made with tobacco from 2011.
However, as it is a decade since I received my
award, I hope that Freeman and Sahakian can
be persuaded to break open a box of these
beauties to celebrate the anniversary.

Dermot O’Leary does skincare:

The best-dressed man on TV is making a play for
your grooming cabinet. Dermot O’Leary has
launched a skincare range exclusively for Marks
& Spencer called 24.hr. A year in the
making, the result gets a big thumbs-up
from us. The capsule collection of six
items will keep your skin feeling fresh
24 hours a day – our favourites are the
eye cream, face wash and overnight
recovery cream. O’Leary explains, “I’ve
worked with M&S to create a small
family of grooming products
that I’m really proud of and
use every day.” If it’s good
enough for him, it’s good
enough for us, and watch
this space for more to come
in the Autumn. From £6.
marksandspencer.com

112 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 DSQUARED2:
With the countdown to
Glastonbury ticking, now
Jacket, £380.
is the time to stock up Shirt, £368. T-shirt,
£125. Jeans, £435.
with some seriously All by DSquared2.
dsquared2.com

stylish foul-weather
gear. To help keep you
dry, DSquared2 has
joined forces with classic
French waterproof line
K-Way to come up with
the perfect piece
for festival fun.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
Brendan Freeman
Photographs Dom Fleming; Roger Stillman Styling Jake Pummintr Model Toby Buchan at Established
Grooming Charley McEwen at Frank Agency

Dual purpose
Reversible is a
big trend right
now and no wonder
– who wouldn’t
want two K-Way
looks for the
price of one?

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 113

BEHIND BARS:
Scrub up the old-fashioned way,
with luxury soaps that look as
good as they lather, leaving you
in the clear for whatever
summer brings...
Soap by Anthony, £14.
At Space NK. spacenk.com

Shave soap by Czech & Speake,

A + R soap by Triumph & £24. At Harvey Nichols.
Disaster, £10. At Selfridges. harveynichols.com
selfridges.com

Calèche soap Pacific Beach soap

by Hermès, £22. by Baxter Of California,
At Harrods. harrods.com £8. At thegroomingclinic.com

Mentha soap by CO Mojave Ghost soap

Bigelow, £8. At Liberty by Byredo,£18. At Liberty.
libertylondon.com libertylondon.com

Neroli Portofino soap

by Tom Ford, £27.
At Harrods. harrods.com

Eau De Campagne soap

by Sisley, £22.
sisley-paris.com

Flora & Cassis soap by

Baxter Of California, £16. Vitamin Edition soap
At mrporter.com by Zirh, £13.50.
At thegroomingclinic.com

GKNC Ocean Infusion soap

by Coban, £5.
At trouva.com

Eau Des Sens soap

by Diptyque, £17.
At Space NK. spacenk.com

Colonia soap by Acqua

Di Parma, £36 for two.
acquadiparma.com

Seaberry soap
by Fresh, £15.
At Harrods. harrods.com

EDITED BY Carlotta Constant PHOTOGRAPH BY Sam Hofman

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 115

 SUMMER ESSENTIALS:
Make a bigger splash with GQ’s roundup of
1. Bag by Vilebrequin, 1
the coolest kit to help you step out of the
£110. vilebrequin.com
2. Polo by Polo Ralph Lauren,
shade and master the art of holiday dressing.
£85. ralphlauren.co.uk
3. Towel by Kenzo, £89.
At amara.com 2

4. Hat by Alex Mill,

£45. At mrporter.com
5. Jumper by Thom Browne,
£600. At mrporter.com
6. Swim shorts by Bluemint,
£95. bluemint.com
7. Speaker by B&O Play,
£200. beoplay.com
8. Trainers by Orlebar Brown,
£95. orlebarbrown.com
9. Watch by Victorinox,
£529. victorinox.com
10. Sun cream by Lancaster,
£16. At allbeauty.com

4
3
5

10

PHOTOGRAPH BY Wilson Hennessy SET DESIGN BY Katie Fotis

116 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 G Partnership

GET YOUR
OB’S INTO GQ
As well as giving away
limited edition T-Shirts,
Orlebar Brown has also
teamed up with GQ to offer
you the chance to appear in
a future issue of the
magazine. If you include
#GQ along with
#OBsAroundTheWorld in
the caption when you
upload your photo to
Instagram, you’ll be in with a
chance of being one of the

Short supply four readers whose pictures

will appear as adverts in two
forthcoming issues of GQ.
Those winners will also
receive £1,000 worth of
Orlebar Brown is celebrating ten years of bringing fine Orlebar Brown products.
You can enter the
tailoring to men’s swimming shorts – and it has teamed competition as many times
up with GQ to mark the occasion as you want, so get creative
and Feel Summer!

WHEN Orlebar Brown was founded in London in
March 2007 by Adam Brown, its mission was to
bring a tailored approach to swimming shorts and
help men around the world feel like it is summer
wherever they are. It decided to create something
that you can wear on the beach or in the pool, but
that is still smart enough to wear to lunch or for a
drink. Based on the traditional pattern of a man’s
tailored trouser, Orlebar Brown’s swim shorts
were developed to feature a four-part shaped
waistband, zip-fly closure and side fasteners to
adjust for the perfect fit.
Ten years on, it measures its success by the
thousands of customers who have sent it stunning
photographs of themselves enjoying their OB’s all
over the globe. It has had pictures from every
continent featuring landmarks, lagoons, boats and
beaches. To mark its first decade, Orlebar Brown is
now launching a competition to encourage you to
send it even more of your snaps. Anyone who
uploads a photo of themselves in their OB’s from
May through to August 2017 will be able to claim a
special limited edition Christopher Slogan T-Shirt*.
If you’d like to claim your prize, simply upload
a photograph of your OB’s to Instagram, tag
@orlebarbrown and include #OBsAroundTheWorld
in the caption. Then go into any Orlebar Brown
store around the world and show the post to a
member of staff who’ll then hand over your limited
edition tee. Now the only thing to decide is what
pose you’re going to pull.
orlebarbrown.com
 RIVER
ISLAND:
The high-street heroes
have enlisted designer
Matthew Miller to
create a collection
of cool camoulage.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
Brendan Freeman
R
iver Island has become one
of the greatest supporters
of young British fashion
talent thanks to Design
Forum, a programme of partnerships
with emerging designers launched in
collaboration with the British Fashion
Council in 2012 to create capsule com-
mercial collections. Alongside this,
River Island runs the Fashion Film
initiative to showcase young talent
during London Fashion Week Men.
The latest collaboration is with GQ
favourite Matthew Miller and is a
ten-piece collection that cleverly
fuses traditional military tropes with
contemporary streetwear, launched
at this month’s London Fashion Week
Men’s shows – where Miller’s name
also appears on the schedule for his
eponymous label. “The collection is
Styling Jake Pummintr Model Matt Doran at PRM Grooming Charley McEwen at Frank Agency
based on my private military archive,”
Shirt, £35. Jumper, £35.
Trousers, £45. All by Matthew
Miller x River Island Design
Forum. riverisland.com
Jumper, £35. Jacket, £70. Both by
Matthew Miller x River Island
Design Forum. riverisland.com
explains Miller, “so the opportunity
to reissue these pieces has been a
particularly personal creative journey.
We worked closely with the River
T-shirt by River Island, Island design team, taking inspira-
£8. riverisland.com
tion from museums and rummaging
through vintage showrooms.”
The pieces include stonewashed
parkas and combat trousers,
but perhaps the most striking
element in the collection is Miller’s
reinterpretation of classic camo in
rust and pink. Elsewhere, the palette
mixes muted charcoal and olive
brown, with pieces such as a utilitarian
patch-pocket khaki shirt, alongside
a comfortably oversized hoodie, plus
Jacket by Matthew Miller heavily laundered T-shirts embla-
x River Island Design Forum, zoned with graphic prints. High-shine
£110. riverisland.com
chrome zippers and poppers feature
throughout the collection and the
bomber includes functional internal
shoulder straps.
This is a collection we will all want to
sign up for, so prepare for an imminent
store invasion. RJ riverisland.com
Trousers by Matthew Miller x
River Island Design Forum,
£45. riverisland.com
Bag by Matthew Miller x
Trainers by River Island, River Island Design Forum,
£30. riverisland.com £45. riverisland.com
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 119
 I have recently expanded to a 36in waist and a 17in collar,
so my wardrobe has taken a pounding. At 33, I feel I’m at
a style juncture: some of my clothes feel too young for
me but at the same time I am trying to avoid evolving into the
suit upstairs look. James, via email Loafers by JM Weston,
£430. jmweston.fr
Many men out there seem to be worried about dressing age
appropriately – most of them for absolutely no
reason. This seems to be particularly true at this
time of year and I suspect that this propensity to I am going to a wedding in Italy this
worry is due to the prospect – or, indeed, reality summer and want to look smart but
not be too hot. The groom has told
– of having to bare your flesh on the beach or
me that ties won’t be necessary so I quite
by the pool. If you look like Jabba the Hutt (or
fancy bringing a Euro twist to my wardrobe.
indeed Pizza the Hut), you may worry about Damian, via email
dressing like a slim young thing. But luckily
looking good is all about confidence and that It might just be the prospect of an open
comes from the inside out. The first step to neck but in my mind’s eye I’m thinking Jude
a more sophisticated look is to stop trying Law as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr
to look different every day. In other Ripley – or at least an updated version.
words: adopt a uniform. Short of sporting However, I am going to suggest wearing a
a perpetual suit, one of the easiest uniforms tie but twinning it with a relaxed chambray
to adopt is the white shirt, jacket and shirt and a blue linen jacket. You might try
Blazer by Giorgio Armani,
a pink shantung silk tie by Richard James.
£1,050. At mrporter.com trousers/jeans twinned with a decent pair
After all, it’s fun to be a little dressy. For
of shoes. Most men would tell you that
your bottom half I’d go for white. Orlebar
navy is the easiest colour to carry off but Brown does a great tapered white cotton
that is not a hard-and-fast rule. Make sure and linen-blend pair of trousers with
everything is the best quality you can buy adjustable waist tabs that are as a cool
and this look is ageless rather than ageing. as a summer’s breeze. And finally, think
One last thing, on the denim front always coloured suede loafers – worn without
go for the plainest design possible; believe visible socks, of course. Perfetto.
me, there is nothing more ageing than a
fussy jean – check out those fading
lotharios next time you are on holiday
in Italy if you want proof of this.

STYLE SHRINK: EDITED BY Robert Johnston

When in
Rome: Jude
Law in The
Talented Mr
Ripley (1999)

I am looking to buy a watch but having just taken out an eye-watering mortgage
on a flat, I can’t justify splashing out on the dream timepiece. Rather, I am looking
for something interesting that I will still love even if I upgrade. Tom, via email

Tom’s brief is “something simple, unfussy and
ideally with a stainless steel bracelet”. And he
definitely wants to find something under
£1,000. And why not? I was recently
discussing how easy it is to lose sight of
what things actually cost when, like me,
you are lucky enough to spend so much time
surrounded by luxury goods. Frankly, you
become blasé – expecting a Laurent-Perrier
lifestyle on a lager budget. That’s not to say
starting at £250,000. Now, it may seem
extraordinary to wear something on your
wrist that costs as much as a house, but
when you get to this level of craftsmanship
you are actually talking about a work of
art. Still, you can have a lot of watch for
considerably less. My recommendations
include the Oris Classic Date Bracelet (£830.
oris.ch) and the Hamilton Watch Khaki Field
Auto, (£640. hamiltonwatch.com). However, I
Photograph Alamy

that the items we might desire aren’t worth will also suggest a quartz mode, the Helvetica
it – but in relative rather than real terms. And No1 Regular by Mondaine. It's a classic piece
in real terms, watches can be heart-stoppingly of design that works well on a steel Milanese Helvetica No1 Regular watch by
expensive, with high-complication pieces strap. And it is only £305. Mondaine, £305. mondaine.com

120 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 The winner of
66 major awards

GQ is the only magazine in Britain dedicated to bringing you the very best in style,
investigative journalism, comment, men’s fashion, lifestyle and entertainment.
British GQ is the magazine to beat
NEW! 2017 CNI Best Brand Financial Performance In 2009 PPA Writer Of The Year
Native Advertising 2008 BSME Editor Of The Year
NEW! 2017 CNI Best Native Campaign Of The Year 2007 BSME Magazine Of The Year
2016 BSME Editor Of The Year 2007 BSME Brand Building Initiative Of The Year
2016 Digiday Awards Europe Video Team Of The Year 2007 MDA/MJA Press Gazette Awards Best Cover
2016 Shots Awards Brand Entertainment 2007 P&G Awards Best Styling (GQ Style)
Of The Year - Series 2006 P&G Awards Best Grooming Editor (GQ Style)
2016 Ciclope Festival Finalist, Best Direction 2006 P&G Awards Best Styling (GQ Style)
2016 Lovie Long Form Or Series Video First Place 2006 MDA/MJA Press Gazette Awards
2016 Lovie Long Form Or Series Video People’s Choice Interviewer Of The Year
2015 DMA Men’s Lifestyle Magazine Of The Year 2006 MDA/MJA Press Gazette Awards
2015 FMJA Stylist Of The Year (GQ Style) Best Designed Consumer Magazine
2006 MDA/MJA Press Gazette Awards
2014 BSME Digital Art Director Of The Year
Subbing Team Of The Year
2014 DMA Designer Of The Year
2006 PPA Writer Of The Year
2014 TCADP Media Award 2005 PPA Writer Of The Year
2014 FPA Feature Of The Year 2005 Magazine Design Awards Best Cover
2014 FPA Journalist Of The Year 2004 Association Of Online Publishers Awards
2014 Amnesty International Media Award Best Website
2014 PPA Editor Of The Year 2004 BSME Magazine Of The Year
2014 FMJA Online Fashion Journalist Of The Year 2003 PPA Writer Of The Year
2013 EICA Media Commentator Of The Year 2002 BSME Magazine Of The Year
2013 DMA Men’s Lifestyle Magazine Of The Year 2002 PPA Writer Of The Year
2013 BSME Editor Of The Year 2001 BSME Magazine Of The Year
2013 FMJA Outstanding Contribution To 2001 PPA Designer Of The Year
London Collections Men 2001 Printing World Award
2013 PPA Magazine Writer Of The Year 2000 Total Design Award
2012 Mark Boxer Award 2000 Jasmine Award Winner
2012 BSME Editor Of The Year 1999 Printing World Award
2012 DMA Lifestyle Magazine Of The Year 1999 Jasmine Award Winner
2012 Help For Heroes Outstanding Contribution 1999 PPA Designer Of The Year
2012 Px3 Prix De La Photographie Paris Gold Medal 1995 Ace Press Award Circulation
2011 Foreign Press Association Media Awards, Sports 1995 Ace Press Award Promotion
2011 Amnesty International Media Award 1995 PPA Columnist Of The Year
2010 Amnesty International Media Award 1994 PPA Publisher Of The Year
2010 One World Media Press Award 1991 British Press Circulation Award
2010 The Maggies Magazine Cover Of The Year Best Promotion Of A Consumer Magazine
2010 P&G Awards Best Styling (GQ Style)
 The G Preview:July
E D I T E D BY HOLLY ROBERTS

Bringing you the very latest in fashion, grooming, watches, news and exclusive events

Junior Retail Editor Michiel Steur

1 Blazer by Pal Zileri, £1,175. At harrods.com 2 Shirt by Next, £25. next.co.uk

3 Jacket by Pepe Jeans, £115. pepejeans.com 4 Shoes by Emporio Armani, £390. armani.com
5 Promaster Altichron by Citizen, £449. citizenwatch.co.uk 6 Joggers by Jacob Cohen, £280. At harrods.com
7 Jumper by Barbour, £74.95. barbour.com 8 Swimshorts by Bluemint, £95. bluemint.com
9 Bomber Jacket by Calvin Klein Jeans, £180. calvinklein.com

122 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 PREVIEW

We love
Modular backpack by
MCM x Christopher Raeburn
This year is luxury travel label MCM’s 40th anniversary and to
celebrate it has teamed up with contemporary British designer
Christopher Raeburn for an exclusive capsule collection. One
of our hero designs from the range is this modular bag system,
allowing you to create the perfect bag to suit any style or
situation. Take this ultra-soft black leather backpack and add
the easily attachable bright blue nylon jet pack to create a bag
as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing – and become the
most sartorially savvy explorer.

Leather backpack, £825. Nylon jet pack, £425.

Both by MCM x Christopher Raeburn

Available at the London flagship store,

16 Conduit St, London, W1S 2XL and
online at mcmworlwide.com
Photograph Matthew Beedle
 PREVIEW

Suede Blouson by
360 Bar at Craft London William & Son, £795.
williamandson.com

Polo Shirt by
Montblanc Emblem Absolu Eau de Toilette, John Smedley, £140.
£72. At debenhams.com johnsmedley.com

Calibre 113 by
Oris, £4,780.
oris.com

Jeans by
Wrangler, £80.

How to wrangler.co.uk

Pack for an evening in the city

Rucksack by
LOCATED in the cultural hub of Greenwich Peninsula is Craft London,
Michael Kors, £360.
a joint endeavour from Steve Parle (acclaimed chef, author, food writer michaelkors.co.uk
and TV presenter) and design heavyweight, Tom Dixon. Stretched
over three floors you’ll find a café, cocktail bar and shop, all boasting
Trainers by
almost exclusively British produce. The focus is on quality, collaborating
Guiseppe Zanotti,
with modern experts, fanatics and obsessives, to produce world- £500. guiseppe
class products. Designed by Design Research Studio, the cocktail zanottidesign.com
bar boasts a 360-degree wrap-around rooftop and a cocktail menu
to match. But whether you’re popping by for a nightcap after work
or treating someone special, be sure to dress the part. Mirror your
surroundings by keeping your look modern and clean. Start with
this butter-soft navy suede blouson and layer effortlessly over this
fine-gauge-Merino polo shirt from British brand John Smedley. Team
Edited by Holly Roberts

with sports luxe accessoires – such as these Giuseppe Zanotti leather

trainers and Michael Kors cross-grain rucksack – and finish with a touch
of Montblanc Emblem Absolu.
Craft London, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0SQ. 020 8465 5910.
craft-london.co.uk

124 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FUJIFILM-X.COM/CAMERAS/X-T20
POWERFUL 24.3-MEGAPIXEL X-TRANS CMOS III SENSOR WITH X-PROCESSOR PRO ENGINE
TOUCHSCREEN REAR LCD | 4K VIDEO RECORDING | EASY TO USE ADVANCED SR AUTO MODE
 e LAB
ecu
b
bar
ur
yo E D I T E D BY CHARLIE BURTON & STUART McGURK
e
rad
g
Up

Grillbot
OK, this is a little iGrill mini
geeky (it is, after by Weber
all, a robot... for
your barbecue) For when you’re
but then ask smoking everything
yourself, just +BEST FOR DESIGN + from whole chickens
how much do you to large joints and
enjoy cleaning want to be absolutely
each individual certain you’re not
gunked spoke of poisoning all your
your grill by hand? loved ones, the iGrill
This will do it for mini will check
you, scurrying for you: simply
over it with grill- set your ideal
cleaning bristles. temperature,
£99. grillbots.com insert the probe
and it’ll alert

What’s new your phone

when it’s done.

weberbbq.co.uk
£60.

under the sun

We take to the garden, park and
beach to test tech’s outer limits,
from barbecues and portable
speakers to flameless fire-starters
and 4K super drones

Everdure Hub by Heston Blumenthal

The Death Star of barbecues, the Everdure is essentially an outside kitchen
with benefits: including cavernous storage space, a pop-up rotisserie system and,
best of all, the “Fast Flame Ignition System” which gets your charcoals ready to
cook on in just ten minutes, meaning the fastest idea-to-mouth ratio known to man.
£1,499. everdurebyheston.co.uk

Looftlighter Q 1200 by Weber

Able to start your charcoal or wood fire
in just 60 seconds, the Looftlighter raises an obvious
question: what’s the rush? But by using air rather than
flames, it’s also safer and better for the environment – and
doubles as a bottle-opener (no, we’re not sure why either).
£55. looftlighter.com
This new addition to the Weber range is collapsible, so
you can take it out and about. It comes with a convenient
gas-canister holder and ignites its burners at the push of a
button. What’s more, the grill is coated in porcelain-enamel,
making it easy to clean once you get home.
£269. weberbbq.co.uk

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 127

 er
m
m
r su
u
yo
e
rad
g
Up
+BEST FOR ACTION +
Hopper Two by Yeti
The Hopper is a cooler that’s built for
adventure. Promising “ice for days”, its
rugged exterior is made from the same
material as survival suits and is 100 per
cent leakproof. This new model has been
redesigned to make it even more
comfortable to trundle around.
From £249. intl.yeti.com
Waterproofed
Kindle Paperwhite
by Waterfi
With this aftermarket-treated Kindle,
soggy paperbacks or, worse, a conked out
regular Kindle are both a thing of the past,
whether you’re by the pool or on the
beach. Its waterproof shielding – a
proprietary substance called “PlatinumX”
– is so robust that it’s able to withhold
depths of up to 65 metres. Ever fancied
reading on the seabed?
£179. waterfi.com
goTenna
After a bad bout of
sunstroke, everyone on
the beach looks the same,
so finding your friends
becomes mission impossible
– especially without phone
signal. With the goTenna,
you can create an of-grid
network with other goTennas
within a four-mile radius,
allowing you to call, message
and share your GPS
regardless of service.
£149 for two. gotenna.com
P2 by B&O Play
Bang & Olufsen’s small-
speaker division wanted
its new Bluetooth model
to be its smallest in the
range – without sacrificing
sonics. Hence, they’ve
stripped out everything
superfluous. The case
has been built around
two internal drivers; you
tap the grill (or shake the
device) to control what’s
playing. Battery life? Ten
whole hours.
£149. beoplay.com
X-U by Leica
Usually, anyone caught
exposing a Leica camera to the
elements would be deemed
a fool of the highest order.
But with the new Leica X-U –
dustproof, waterproof up to
15 metres and 60 minutes and
shockproof from heights up to
1.22 metres – you can bring it,
and drop it, anywhere. Though
out of sheer respect for its
price tag, don’t overdo it.
£2,770. uk.leica-camera.com
LAB
Hero5 by GoPro
The Hero5 is GoPro’s first
totally waterproof camera,
and, with incredible 4K video,
its most powerful model too.
The hands-free voice control
and one-button simplicity
(you turn it on and it starts
recording instantly) make
the Hero5 one of the most
straightforward cameras on
the market, thus hitting
all competitors out of
the park – sorry – beach.
£399. shop.gopro.com
Airbolt
There’s nothing more irritating than being
assigned “bag watch” on the beach while
your friends make for the waves. With this
Bluetooth-enabled smart lock, you can
Wireless charging protect your luggage via an app on your
phone, which also alerts you in case of
bundle for iPhone 7 separation. Note: you’ll also need a
by Stacked waterproof case for your phone.
Stacked bills its charging case £61. theairbolt.com
as the “thinnest, lightest and
most eicient on the market”
– you snap in your phone and,
whenever you need a boost,
clip on a slim magnetic battery
pack. This battery also has a
USB port, so you can come to
the rescue of a friend. If you’re
feeling generous.
£100. poweredbystacked.com
Phantom 4 Advanced by DJI
Packing all the best features of the Pro
model into a more afordable package,
the Advanced can shoot 4K video (or
bursts of stills at 14fps) and – crucially
– comes with “obstacle avoidance”.
That means if it’s hurtling towards a
wall, it will slow itself to a hover and
await your command.
£1,469. store.dji.com
+BEST FOR +
ADVENTURERS
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 129

From left: Anniversary
1957 Seamaster, £5,600.
Speedmaster, £5,360.
Railmaster, £5,040. All
by Omega. omega.com
Game, set and matchless
Omega celebrates not one but three 60th anniversaries, with tribute editions of its famed Speedmaster,
Seamaster and Railmaster models
 A
ttributes of the traditional “tool”
watch – water resistance, anti-
magnetic qualities, general
robustness – are common tropes
in a lot of timepieces these days.
But cast a thought back to 1957 – the dawn
of the space age (the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1
lifted off in October) and a period of intense
activity for Omega, who brought to market
130 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
not one but three groundbreaking products,
initially aimed at the “professional timer”,
which gave birth to many of the iconic elements
we consider most prized in watches today. To
celebrate the diamond jubilee of not only the
first real motorsport model, the Speedmaster
(swiftly to find far greater fame as the choice
of Nasa for its Gemini and Apollo missions),
a chunky diver’s piece, the Seamaster, and
E D I T E D BY BILL PRINCE
P H OTO G R A P H BY
PIXELEYES PHOTOGRAPHY
the engineer’s friend, the Railmaster (with its
shield against all but the strongest magnetic
fields), each piece has been re-editioned in
a limited run of 3,557 pieces, which mimic the
originals right down to their 38-39mm case
sizes and “broad arrow” hands. Each can be
bought separately, or together as a “Trilogy”
set (limited to 557), complete with their own
wooden “ark”. BP
E S S E N T I A L W R I ST AT T I R E

Model 7137 RRP £149 www.accurist.co.uk

EXPLORE THE WIDE WORLD
OF VIDEOS AT GQ.CO.UK
 this month: sport’s identity crisis p.136 what is indie? p.137 no-song musicals p.138 fighting fake news p.141

What: Into the Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction

When: Barbican Art Gallery, 3 June - 1 September

3 Jun Why: Spreading across the Barbican Centre, this festival-style exhibition
borrows work from around the world and includes over 200 books,
myriad artworks, more than 50 film and TV clips, comics, pulp fiction,
adverts, video games and robots. It is all brought to life by an immersive
exhibition designed by Ab Rogers. Sophie Hastings barbican.org.uk

The sky
is not
the limit
Bjarke Ingels is redefining
architecture by bringing Danish
playfulness and light to the
darkness of the urban jungle
STORY BY Edwin Heathcote

Art, Music,
Sport, Politics,
Films, Literature
+ the best opinion
for the month
ahead
Photograph Dan Winters

ce
in
Pr
ll
Bi
Y
B
ED
IT
ED
 Fahrelnissa Zeid, Tate Modern
Best known for her dazzling, abstract paintings, Zeid was a leading
13 Jun light of the Turkish avant-garde and the École De Paris in the Forties
and Fifties. Her synthesis of Islamic, Byzantine, Arab and Persian
influences with a European approach has made her one of the greatest
female artists of the 20th century. tate.org.uk
ARCHITECTURE
The unbearable lightness
of serious building
With breathtaking scope and maverick wit, Denmark’s
Bjarke Ingels is the starchitect whose designs turn
his ‘yes is more’ philosophy into steel and glass
STORY BY Edwin Heathcote
HE SUN is shining in Milan,
so I escape a press conference
T with Bjarke Ingels and snag
a table outside a nearby piz-
zeria. It’s the only way to get
away from the endless stream of TV crews and
reporters trying to buttonhole him. Ingels is
a star. Probably the hottest architect in the
world right now. Facing into the glare, he gets
out a pair of strange grey shades, which look
a little like a 3-D slide viewer I used to have
when I was about ten. I take a snap of the
world’s coolest architect in the world’s silliest
shades and he flashes back a grin so bright it
almost blinds me.
Ingels is, quite clearly, revelling in his status.
Architects might be many things. They might
be cerebral, moody, arrogant or intense. They
might be awkward, ascetic, dry, self-conscious,
intellectual or arty. Ingels is none of these. He
is funny, sharp and almost puppyish in his
enthusiasm. And he is turning architecture
upside down. He is also something else that
most famous architects aren’t: young.
OK, 42 may not be young for a pop star, but
for an architect it’s pretty much a toddler. Most
big names don’t build anything until they’re in
their mid-fifties. Ingels has just completed his
first New York tower, he’s working on Google’s
HQ in California (and its London offices) and
Negative charge
Bjarke Ingels’ one-time
employer Rem Koolhaas, the
founder of Rotterdam-based
architectural firm Oma, wrote
last year, “Bjarke is the first major architect
who disconnected the profession
completely from angst.”
It’s true – Ingels is an angst-free zone.
But was it a barbed compliment? What is
architecture without angst? Architecture
is the art of the city and the city is angst:
a complex place of disappointment,
paranoia and fear, alongside euphoria,
sex, greed and food. But slight or not,
Ingels doesn’t let it bother him.
134 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
has almost finished a Lego building in his
native Denmark. Architecture is notoriously
slow. Ingels is speeding it up.
But architecture wasn’t even his first choice.
He’d always wanted to be a comic book artist.
“I was always the guy who could draw,” he tells
me. “My entire life I’ve been drawing better
than anyone around me. So it would have
been insane not to become a graphic novelist. Lego House
But when I was at school, the next step was Billund, Denmark
Scheduled to be
less clear. Where do you go to study comics?”
completed later this
So he did an art foundation course and year, the museum
drifted towards architecture, which his parents is a gigantic Lego
had wanted him to, as it was a proper job. “But house complete
then I started to figure out what this architec- with round studs and
primary colours.
Ingels is funny, sharp
and puppyish in his
enthusiasm... And he
is turning architecture
upside down
ture thing was. It’s a kind of fiction. Look at
Walt Disney, he was a cartoonist but he became
a creator of worlds. He built Disneyland and he
also built Epcot – he enabled people to inhabit
the fantasy and the future.”
Before he got too busy, Ingels returned to the Grove At
comic book genre with his graphic manifesto, Grand Bay
Yes Is More: An Archicomic On Architectural Miami, United States
A pair of twisting
Evolution, a playful, funny and seriously self-
towers, Grand Bay
promoting riff on one-time director of the blends modernism and
Bauhaus and arch minimalist Ludwig Mies van minimalism to create the
der Rohe’s dictum that “less is more”. Ingels coolest new condo
outlines his ideas of “pragmatic utopianism”, block in the US.
a catchy phrase that typifies his peculiarly
tautological brand of pop avant-garde. He
has more, too. The catchiest is “hedonistic
sustainability”. (“Sure it has to be sustainable,
but why can’t it also be enjoyable?”)
It’s a reaction to the beige, woven, porridge
ethos of environmental rhetoric and its finest
expression is in one of Ingels’ best known

Via 57 West ‘The world is full of
New York,
United States new techniques. What
Ingels’ “courtscraper”
is a Euro-US hybrid,
I do is a combination
a striking pyramid block of bold manifestation
which has shaken up
New York’s waterfront.
and sombre restraint’
structures, a soon-to-be-completed Danish
incinerator and power plant with a ski slope
on top. It sounds unlikely but the architect’s
explanation is that “Denmark is a country
without mountains, why shouldn’t there be
some joy in utility? So this industrial building
that turns garbage into electricity also turns
infrastructure spending into pleasure.
“There is an element of having your head in
the sky and your feet on the ground,” he con-
tinues. “And part of our success is our optimism.
There’s a ‘what if’ factor? Like a child who’s
never been told he can’t do something so he’s
never been deterred from asking the question.”
His latest opening is Via 57 West, a stonking
tetrahedral tower on Manhattan’s waterfront.
Its mountainous shape makes it stand out
harshly against the boxy towers that surround
Superkilen it. Ingels calls it a “courtscraper”, another of his
Copenhagen, hybrid phrases for the cocktail of a skyscraper
Denmark
and a European courtyard block. “Why choose
An urban park in one
when you can have both?”
of Copenhagen’s
He’s also building a tower at Ground Zero,
neighbourhoods, Ingels
used landscape and a stacked, slightly tottering structure. I can’t
playgrounds to tie the
think of any contemporary architect who has
community together.
had such an impact on the Manhattan skyline
at such a young age. How has he crammed in
so much? “The cure for anxiety,” he replies, “is
more work.” That doesn’t sound too sustaina-
ble. And it doesn’t sound hedonistic. “There is
a certain exuberance in what we do,” he sug-
gests. “We want the projects to express an idea
– but there’s also a sobriety in being faithful to
that idea. The world is full of new techniques,
new systems. What we do is a combination
of bold manifestation and sombre restraint.”
Photographs Iwan Baan/Copenhagen Media Center; BIG; Michael Muraz
His enthusiasm is infectious and I feel a little
battered by the barrage of good-natured quotes.
So we drift off the subject and talk about film.
Serpentine He’s keen on Inception. In a documentary on
Pavilion Netflix, he proposes the film as a model for
London, 2016
the architectural imagination, an aspiration to
A stack of boxes in
Kensington Gardens,
imagine new worlds into existence. But wasn’t
Ingels compared it that world a nightmare? “You don’t have to flee
to an “unzipped wall”. into an asylum in your imagination,” he replies.
It was a luminous “You can make the world what you dream it to
and ingenious space.
be. You need to fall in love with the situation
or at least what it could be, but you also need
to develop some form of actionable dissatisfac-
tion, an idea that the existing is not enough.
You could demand more.”
The sun has disappeared back behind the
clouds and it’s getting chillier. We button up
our jackets and he’s lost the shades, but he’s
still grinning.
ART
Adrian Cheng
is 38 and running the
first ever museum
retail chain in the
world, K11, spread
across eight cities and
covering 2 million sq m in
China. Cheng is a young
in-house impresario, showcasing artists from
around the world, as long as they come to China,
and Chinese contemporaries as long as they
come home to roost in the malls. The art isn’t
for sale (other things in the malls are). The
main income flows from Cheng’s vast property
business, where everything is spelled with a
“K”. Klub11, musiK11, Kulture Academy, Kollection
Lab, K11TV. (K is also the eleventh letter of the
alphabet.) GQ met Cheng in a pop-up space
assembled near Sheung Wan Station during
Art Basel Hong Kong in March. He was hanging
around with Klaus Biesenbach and Peter Eleey,
the Moma PS1 director and curator who were
chosen by Cheng to curate the show, titled
.com/.cn, which goes to show the power of this
Asian foundation.
GQ: Could K11 become an auction house?
AC: No, unless someone can come up with
a nonprofit auction house. We’re happy to
enhance connections between artists and
the public, working with all global museums.
GQ: Any attention given to graduate artists?
AC: Our artists are mid-career. We need them to
understand themselves. We want those who have
experimented for a few years.
GQ: Who was the first big K11 artist?
AC: Chen Tianzhuo. I met him five years ago. He
was showing me his work on an iPad. There was
suddenly an opportunity as I was in a three-year
partnership with Palais De Tokyo. That was in the
first Chinese group show at the Palais.
GQ: Isn’t video art hard to sell?
AC: We don’t care about selling.
GQ: The artists do.
AC: They do. But for us it’s about nurturing
Tianzhuo’s aesthetic and building a platform.
Immediately after that Paris show he was chosen
for the Istanbul Biennial. Then we did a solo show
for him in a Shanghai museum.
GQ: Do you cover the artists’ expenses?
AC: Yes. We cover everything in their journey,
and make sure the art appeals to Chinese and
western audiences.
GQ: What do you think of artrank.com, which
ranks artists based on market forces?
AC: Many artists don’t want to become a
commodity. K11 is the only foundation of its
size that goes contrary to ranking and won’t
participate in market valuations.
GQ: Is your business background primarily
in property?
AC: Property and jewellery. My great-grandfather
created [the conglomerate] Chow Tai Fook.
NK: Is art the new property?
AC: Just like with property, many people rent art.
It’s a new trend. Hedge-fund managers let pieces
all the time. They may not care about art history as
much as real collectors do. The real ones want to
own a piece of creativity, a piece of process and
human anthropology. Nimrod Kamer
JUNE 2017 GQ.CO.UK 135
 SPORT

No one wins in the ‘cash for golds’ scandal

Turkey’s best athletes might be bought in, but Team GB shouldn’t race to pass judgement
STORY BY Martin Samuel
TEVE CRAM was was “something that needs to be Kenyans competing for other coun- cannot make the top three at BBC
appalled. What he dealt with”. tries. Great Britain doesn’t buy, but Sports Personality. Yet it’s not him;

S was about to say

he described as
“a regular tirade”.
“We have these notes given to us
before broadcast. I’ll read a bit out
to you,” he told the BBC’s listeners.
“Yasemin Can only became eligi-
ble to run for Turkey in March of
this year...” You can guess the rest.
Can, a long-distance runner,
is Kenyan. She was born Vivian
Jemutai and Turkey is her flag
of convenience. At the time
of writing, Can’s best 5,000m
stands at 14:37.61; her 10,000m
is 30:26.41. In 2016 alone, there
were three Kenyan runners faster
in each discipline. That’s why she’s
now Turkish and Cram is upset.
Watching Can win the European
Cross Country Championships for
Turkey in December, he insisted it
Yet Cram took a different stance
writing for the BBC website on
3 July 2015. “I’ve got no problem
with this ‘plastic Brits’ issue,” he
stated. “It’s not a real issue... If
they are eligible, then they are eli-
gible.” Yet Can is eligible. Bought,
but eligible. So were the winners
of the nine gold and silver medals
accrued by Turkey at the 2016
European Athletics Championships
(see below). That they were won
by athletes recruited from Kenya,
Jamaica, Cuba and Azerbaijan is,
presumably, not a real issue either.
Nor is Bahrain’s first gold medal of
the Olympic Games, won in 2016
by Ruth Jebet, a Kenyan who
switched nationality in 2013.
There were 55 members of
Kenya’s track and field team at the
2016 Olympics – and more than 30
it is not averse to bringing in ath-
letes from America, the Caribbean
or even Cuba. So why is it only an
issue for Cram when the rest of the
world plays the rule book?
This is why athletics is in crisis.
It’s the hypocrisy. Cram has no
problem with Great Britain’s ringers
– such as Tiffany Porter and her
sister Cindy Ofili, who turned British
once it became clear they were not
good enough for the US team – but
is horrified that Turkey has taken
the abuse of nationality rules to its
logical conclusion and simply paid
up. Equally, we are disgusted by
Russian doping, but to ask legiti-
mate questions of the individuals
that surround Mo Farah is deemed
a witch hunt – again, by Cram.
Farah is clearly hurt that, despite
his magnificent achievements, he
it’s his sport. Athletics increasingly
lacks credibility and its cheerlead-
ers are blind to it. In 2006, when
Christine Ohuruogu was banned
for missing three drugs tests, it
was heresy not to advance the
“silly old scatterbrain” defence,
whereas an athlete from beyond
these shores would have been
viewed with extreme scepticism.
And where has playing fast and
loose with the ethics of competi-
tion got the sport? State-sponsored
doping programmes in Russia, cor-
ruption at the very top of the IAAF
and athletes selling their nationality
to the highest bidder. Now, Cram
and other track and field royalty,
wish to make a stand. It’s too late.
The time to speak up was years ago;
and their weasel words only made
the problems greater.

Medals for hire

Of Turkey’s 13 podium finishers at the 2016 European Athletics Championships, nine were born in other countries, including double gold medallist Yasemin Can
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GOLD 10k 400m

hurdles 10k
men women women
Polat Kemboi Arıkan Yasmani Copello Yasemin Can 5k
women
Kenyan born Cuban born Kenyan born
Half Yasemin Can
marathon Kenyan born
team
women
Sultan Haydar
SI

Ethiopian born The price of gold Yasemin Can

LV

What countries pay for talented athletes Turkey (Kenyan born),

Esma Aydemir at 2016 European Championships
ER

Turkish Ruth Jebet, Bahrain David Rushida,

Sevilay Eytemis (Kenyan born), paid: Kenya, paid: 5k time: 10k time:
Turkish
£400,000 £8,000 15:18.15 31:12.86
£

3k
steeple
Vivian Cheruiyot 100m
chase Kenya, at 2016 Olympics men
women Price of a promising Price of a Kenyan
Ozlem Kaya Kenyan teenager Olympic Champion 5k time: 10k time: Jak Ali Harvey
Turkish Jamaican born
£70,000 £400,000 14:26.17 29:32.53
Shot
Illustration Josh Gowen

put
women
200m
Emel Dereli BR men
ON Z
Turkish E 3k Ramil Guliyev
Half
steeple marathon 10k Azerbaijani born
chase men men
men
Aras Kaya Kaan Kigen Ozbilen Ali Kaya
Kenyan born Kenyan born Kenyan born
136 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
 Montreux Jazz Festival
Alt-J and Fleet Foxes descend on the

30 Jun Swiss town, now in its 51st year

welcoming music with improv at its
heart. You’ve been warned... Until 15
July. montreuxjazzfestival.com

MUSIC

Indie rock’s
alternative Independence movement (from

approach left): Acts such as Cigarettes

After Sex, Alt-J and Fleet Foxes
have traded edge for ingenuity

By escaping the tyranny of Eight years later, indie’s on the back foot.
The distinction between “real” underground
its ultra-hip fans, the genre musicians and frivolous celebrities was never
is finally going its own way accurate and seems ridiculous now that hip hop,
STORY BY Dorian Lynskey R&B and pop dominate the critical conversation
(find me one indie artist who’s as untouchable
MONG THEIR many talents, as Beyoncé) and even shape the sound of indie
indie rock musicians are world- itself. The latest, self-titled, Dirty Projectors
As Sara Quin of Tegan And Sara told me recently,
“Indie rock is dead because straight guys aren’t
interested in it any more? Why are they the
gatekeepers of deciding it’s dead when they used
to be the gatekeepers of telling us what’s cool?”
This month’s releases suggest indie rock is
neither dead nor especially cool, but quietly
ploughing its furrow. Fleet Foxes, who have

A class navel-gazers. Earlier this

year, Dave Longstreth of Dirty
Projectors fretted on Instagram
that indie had become solipsistic, retrograde
and irrelevant. Fleet Foxes frontman Robin
Pecknold agreed that the most innovative
music was happening elsewhere but said it
didn’t matter: “I don’t think music needs to be
‘progressive’ to be valid or enjoyable.” An orgy
of online hand-wringing ensued.
What is indie rock anyway? Since the Eighties,
indie rock has marketed itself as cleverer, deeper
and more principled, subversive, politically
progressive and musically radical than the main-
stream, a dubious claim cosigned by the press
in the spirit of David Lee Roth’s famous diagno-
sis: “Critics all like Elvis Costello better than me
because they all look like Elvis Costello.”
In recent years, that superiority complex
has become harder to sustain. Pecknold cor-
rectly identified the end of the last decade
as indie’s last truly progressive phase. Amid
striking debuts from Bon Iver and The xx, and
breakthrough albums from Dirty Projectors and
Grizzly Bear, the defining moment was Solange
Knowles bringing Beyoncé and Jay Z to see
Grizzly Bear in Brooklyn, indie’s epicentre, like
pilgrims to the church of What’s Happening Now.
album, for example, exists on a cross-genre
continuum of introspective electronic soul that
extends from Frank Ocean to Bon Iver via James
Blake and Sampha. When Rihanna covered
Tame Impala last year, she wasn’t coopting their
hipster credibility – she had more than enough
‘Indie is dead because
straight guys aren’t
interested in it any
more? Why are they
the gatekeepers?’
already. The dissolution of the barriers between
indie and the mainstream has been to the latter’s
benefit. What does a self-defined counterculture
do when it has nothing left to counter?
Well, maybe it stops worrying so much. People
like Mac DeMarco, Angel Olsen or new country-
soul band Whitney, all cited by Pecknold, aren’t
mind-blowing trailblazers, but they’re still fresh,
distinctive voices. The artists doing the most
interesting work with traditional indie-rock
tropes include a gay woman (Courtney Barnett)
and an Asian-American woman (Mitski), both
sorely underrepresented identities in the past.
never been slaves to modernity, return after a
six-year hiatus with Crack-Up. It’s unashamedly
anachronistic prog-folk and burrows deeper into
Pecknold’s private world, a more troubled and
fractured place now, yet still warmed by the
campfire glow of the band’s harmonies.
It could segue smoothly into Alt-J’s new album,
Relaxer, which is surprising. Previously, the
British trio made brainy electro-curious rock
that seemed designed to bamboozle people into
calling them the new Radiohead. With a few fine
exceptions, their songs fidgeted like a class swot
straining to get the teacher’s attention. Relaxer
is twice as beautiful by trying half as hard to
impress. Like Radiohead of late, Alt-J have eased
into being a subtly gorgeous rock band rather
than flashy vanguardists. It suits them.
Better yet is the self-titled debut from
Cigarettes After Sex, whose music is so good
that you can forgive their calamitous name.
The Brooklyn band make the most intoxicat-
ing dream-pop since Beach House, as intimate
as a late-night phone call and blissfully self-
assured. Indie rock is diverse enough to regain
its edge one day, especially if the mainstream
gets lazy. In the meantime, it need not agonise
about changing the world. It’s enough just to
transform a listener’s day.

Lindsey Buckingham/ Lorde Goldie

Christine McVie Melodrama The Journey Man
Photographs Getty Imges

NEW With Stevie Nicks Lorde was just 16 when she One of the drum’n’bass
RELEASES AWOL, the long- became pop’s most coolly pioneers, and its only real
anticipated return of understated star and she’s celebrity, releases his first
Fleetwood Mac’s classic line-up has taken her time making a follow-up with album under his own name in 19 years. It
mutated into an album of duets by the new collaborator Jack Antonoff. Inspired may be unreasonably long but there’s
band’s fire and air, backed by the rhythm by “being alone”, it’s richer and more plenty to enjoy as it meanders through
section. Nicks’ absence is barely felt. emotional: a coming of age. jazz, soul, breakbeat and techno. DL
Atlantic. Out on 9 June. Virgin EMI. Out on 16 June. Metalheadz. Out on 16 June.

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 137

 Hours Winston Churchill deliberated over
sending a million Allied troops to Normandy

24 in 1944. Brian Cox stars as Britain’s wartime

premier in Churchill, a biopic about history’s
largest invasion – and the likeness is uncanny
(sorry, Brian). Out on 16 June.

FILM

Why no one sings

in Hollywood’s
new musicals
Edgar Wright’s latest crime
thriller joins the innovative
soundtrack sync-ups playing
from a separate song sheet
STORY BY Stuart McGurk

HE LATEST film from Edgar Wright, Baby

Driver, is a new kind of musical, in the

T sense that the characters are aware of the

music. That and the fact no one actually
dances. Oh, and the fact no one actually
sings. I know what you’re going to say: doesn’t that, you
know, actually make it not a musical? Well, yes and no.
But more specifically: no. It’s just a new type of musical.
In a traditional musical – Mamma Mia!, say – the Tune up (from left): Baby
musical interludes are essentially tacked on, awkwardly Driver’s non-lyrical gangsters
Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx,
stapled into the plot, ensuring that deeply weird moment Eiza González and Jon Hamm
where everyone looks to the camera and starts to sing;
every Hollywood musical is a Frankenfilm.
In Baby Driver – in which a young getaway driver
(Ansel Elgort) must pay off his debts to a bank-robbing
Mr Big (Kevin Spacey) by doing what he does best –
the music isn’t stapled on, but stitched into the fabric
of the film. Elgort’s character has tinnitus and so listens
to music through earphones all the time to drown it out,
which we, the audience, not only hear but see: scenes
play out directly to the peaks and troughs of the music,
from car chase ballets to scenes where we watch people
simply walking down roads to the rhythm of the beat,
sweeping around corners to the climaxes and shuffling
to crescendos. The movie is part of the music so no one
needs to sing.
Baby Driver is, in a way, the natural culmination of

Three more non-singing ‘musicals’

1. Footloose 2. Step Up 3. American
The original dancing- The series that launched Psycho
’cause-we-can film, Channing Tatum and Granted: not a musical,
from 1984, Kevin Bacon then just wouldn’t end, but it was adapted for
shows a small town starting in 2006 with Broadway. The 2000
that has banned rock Step Up (later Step Up 2: film boasted a classic
music and dancing – The Streets, then Step Eighties soundtrack,
it was a not a socio- Up 3D, then Step Up with people rhythmically
realist film, it must be Revolution, then… you slaughtered to the
said – how to have a get the idea), sees rhythm of Genesis
good time all the time dancers fulfil their and Huey Lewis And
by dancing. dancing dreams. The News. SM

138 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 BOOKS

The long, slow death of rock, plus

Joshua Ferris’ wheels of misfortune
Uncommon People:
1
The Rise And Fall Of The Rock Stars
By David Hepworth (Bantam Press, £20)
THE MOST important thing about
David Hepworth’s marvellous
new book is not the litany of
often well-worn stories it
contains, nor the beautiful way it
is written, and nor – incidentally
– is it Hepworth’s rather brilliant
ability to squeeze yet more juice
out of the by-now pummelled
rock’n’roll lemon. Instead, it’s his
unabashed declaration that the
narrative arc of modern rock
music is reaching its end.
He’s right. As the likes of David
Bowie, George Michael and Prince
shuffle of, they are not replaced
in our hearts by modern-day
equivalents. They are being
replaced by less stellar stars of
yesteryear simply because they
are still around. Would Leonard
Cohen have been so venerated in
his latter years if Bob Dylan were
more accessible? Would ELO
have been aforded a successful
comeback if The Beatles had still
been around? We celebrate those
on the margins of rock’s golden
age because we know it is coming
to an end. As Hepworth says,
the music world is now steered
almost exclusively by hip hop
stars, soul-baring divas and the
mayflies of TV talent shows.
The age of the rock star is over
and Hepworth’s never-less-than
fascinating book is a more than
fitting farewell. DJ Out now.

Scenes play out to the

peaks and troughs of the The pie-chart review
soundtrack. The movie is What goes down in Joshua Ferris’ new short-story collection
part of the music so no 1. ‘The Pilot’
1. ‘The Valetudinarian’
2. ‘ Life In The Heart
one needs to sing ions
Ment Q
of G
Of The Dead’

Prostitution
hs
at
De

the non-singing musical in recent years. Whiplash, the 1. ‘The Pilot’

2014 Best Picture nominee from La La Land director
Damien Chazelle, was the quintessential non-singing
musical, and one that similarly had the music in its 1. ‘A Fair
Murderous

Price’
assaults

DNA, being about the trials of a jazz drummer (Miles

Teller) at a prestigious music school and his terrifyingly
overbearing instructor (JK Simmons). As we saw Teller
go through the rigours of practice, pid-pad-bopping
away, the camera swooped in and out of the orches-
tra, zooming in and around snare drums, floor toms and
crash cymbals. The film was not just about the music; Adultery
the music was an essential part of the cinematography. Criminal
damage
Traditionally, the musical has always been an awkward 1. ‘Ghost Town Choir’ 1. ‘A Night Out’
fit for film and in recent years have mostly been stage- 2. ‘More Abandon’ 2. ‘Fragments’
to-screen efforts (take your pick from Chicago, Mamma 3. ‘The Stepchild’
Photographs Allstar; Collection Christophel; Rex

Mia!, of which, in fairness, you could argue no one

actually sings either, or Les Miserables, in which they
never stop singing) that ramp up their awkwardness in
switching from talking to not – we know we’re cheesy!
we know it’s weird! – rather than try to hide it.
The classic in the genre of the non-singing musical
is Saturday Night Fever. Quite apart from the dance
floor scenes, which speak for themselves, every frame
of it swings to the Bee Gees’ music: the opening scene
sets the tone, Travolta strutting down the street, each
leg to the beat, swinging paint can as metronome. As
in Baby Driver, the movie was part of the music.
Baby Driver is out on 28 June.
2 The Dinner Party
By Joshua Ferris (Viking, £14.99)
Out on 29 June Pages 256 Number of short stories Eleven
The author of the almost supernaturally prescient Then We Came
To The End (published in 2007, he nailed the disintegration of
a Chicago ad agency in the fallout from the dotcom boom years
just in time for the Great Recession) follows his Man Booker-
shortlisted To Rise Again At A Decent Hour with a collection of
short stories that spares little in its refraction of chiefly masculine
attributes by the cool light of contemporary norms. No wonder
he thanks his agent and his wife for allowing him to summon
(if not embody) his characters’ worst traits... BP

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 139

FROM GQ! INTERACTIVE EDITIONS
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play

08 Jun
POLITICS
You can’t handle
the post-truth...
With once-trusted institutions failing in a digital age
indifferent to falsehood, could parliament be an
unlikely source of the fightback against the web of lies?
STORY BY Matthew d’Ancona
NE OF the quirks of the UK
political system is that, while
O incomplete legislation dies
once parliament is dissolved for
a general election, inquiries by
select committees do not. Which is especially
welcome in one particular case: the investi-
gation by the Commons Culture, Media And
Sport Select Committee into fake news will
continue when the House Of Commons recon-
venes and, in due course, deliver its report.
Why am I so exercised by this inquiry? For
personal reasons – I have just published a
book on the post-truth phenomenon, of which
fake news is such an integral part. In a much
broader sense, however, it is a threat to the
very fabric of modern democracy.
If you think I exaggerate, consider the fol-
lowing: in December 2016, an Ipsos poll for
BuzzFeed of more than 3,000 Americans found
75 per cent of those who saw fake news head-
lines judged them to be true. In one extreme
case, a phony report alleging that Hillary Clinton
was at the heart of a paedophile conspiracy con-
vinced 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch from
Salisbury, North Carolina, to “self-investigate”
the ludicrous claims by firing an assault rifle in
a Washington DC pizza parlour.
As it has gained currency, the term “fake
news” has been used too loosely. President
Trump has routinely accused his media critics
of peddling “fake news” simply because he dis-
likes their stories and analyses. But fake news
is not the same as mistaken reporting or lazy
journalism that requires correction. It is the
deliberate presentation of falsehood as fact.
We consume what we
already like and
shy away from the
unfamiliar. This
is not a design flaw
Grayson Perry: The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!
“Nothing pleases me more than meeting someone at one of my exhibitions from what museum
people call a ‘nontraditional background,’” says Perry. Timed to coincide with the
Serpentine’s busy summer season, this exhibition of new works examines what kind of art people
want to see, why they visit galleries, and the relationship of traditional art to social media. SH
Serpentine Sackler Gallery, 8 June – 10 September. serpentinegalleries.org
Bad news travels fast
Among the most-read fake news stories
of 2016, repeatedly churned out across
social media, were the examples above.
If you think the phenomenon is confined
to the US then think again. During the
EU referendum, a story claiming that
David Cameron had told a group of Asda
shoppers in Southend he would ignore
the result if the electorate voted to leave
was viewed more than 400,000 times.
Why is the problem so prevalent? There are
many reasons, but two are fundamental. The
first is that trust in traditional institutions has
collapsed – from the financial crash of 2008,
via the BBC Jimmy Savile scandal, to the par-
liamentary expenses affair and the Leveson
Inquiry. These institutions are meant to act as
guard rails, guarantors of honesty.
Their serial failure has undermined the idea
that there are authoritative sources of factual
information. We look instead for emotional res-
onance, stories that feel right. This is what the
Leave campaign understood and its Remain
rivals – with their reams of statistics – did not.
In the new context, emotion trumps fact.
Second, the digital revolution has provided
fake news with the perfect vector, because the
web is indifferent to falsehood. In the conse-
quent cacophony, the flow of information is
increasingly dominated by peer-to-peer inter-
action rather than the traditional media. We
consume what we already like and shy away
from the unfamiliar. This, it should be empha-
sised, is not a design flaw: the algorithms are
meant to connect us with the things we like, or
might like. They are fantastically responsive to
personal taste and fantastically blind to fakery.
In their preliminary findings, Damian Collins
and his committee have isolated four main
themes. First, responsibility: there is a need
for all in the information supply chain, from
tech giants to parents, to acknowledge
the problem and shoulder the burden.
Second, education: just as pupils are
taught how to understand printed
texts, their critical faculties should be
honed to meet the different challenges
of a digital feed. Third, sanctions: the
flight of advertising from disreputable
sites will be a key force. But Collins
and co are ready to countenance more
drastic measures, including a licensing
regime that penalises offenders.
This is difficult terrain. How much state reg-
ulation of the web is too much? How do we
ensure any policing structure that comes into
being remains absolutely apolitical? What is
certain, however, is that the tech giants will not
take meaningful measures unless they fear the
consequences of inaction. It is no accident that,
just as advertisers and governments are start-
ing to rattle their sabres, Google, Snapchat,
Facebook and Apple are declaring they are
determined to crack down upon it.
Fourth: the select committee wants to see
more reliable content and professional jour-
nalism. Who doesn’t? The task of reporting is
not to appeal to readers’ feelings or to reinforce
their prejudices, but to reveal the complexity,
nuance and paradox of public life, to ferret
out wrongdoing and, most important of all, to
water the roots of democracy with a steady
supply of well-sourced news.
But none of this will happen unless ordinary
citizens demand it. Are we prepared to pay for
decent journalism? Are we ready to defy those
who trade in junk information, phony science,
sensational memes? Do we want to be chal-
lenged or soothed by the words and images on
our screens? In the end, it is down to us. All
claims to the contrary are fake.
Post-Truth: The New War On Truth And How To
Fight Back by Matthew d’Ancona (Ebury Press,
£6.99) is out now.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 141
Our annual guide
to the finest timepieces
in the WIRED world

Av a i l a b l e i n p r i n t a n d
CHARLIE SURBEY
PHOTOGRAPHY:

d i g i t a l w i t h W I R E D ’s J u l y
edition, out June 8
 E D I T E D BY PAUL HENDERSON

BEAR GRYLLS p.144 PERSONAL TR AINING p.145 TENNIS KIT p.147 MASTER THE INTERVIEW p.148 HUGO RIFKIND p.150

The fast track

to wellness
Photograph Getty Images

Forget the beach and the spa: an active holiday

will show you the path to true relaxation.
Grains of truth: GQ shows you how to climb, hike, ski and ride
The Arabian dunes
are the perfect your way to health and happiness
place to unwind in a
spirit of adventure STORY BY Bear Grylls

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 143

 BEAR GRYLLS: #26

Embrace
the spirit of
adventure
Taking your foot off the
pedal doesn’t mean staying
put. Re-energise with an
action holiday in one of
these intrepid locations

I’ve been so lucky to

travel to some of the
most extreme, wonderful,
surprising places on
earth. Some of them have
knocked the air from my
lungs with their beauty.
Many of them I’d be happy
never to set foot in again. I’m often asked
which of all these different, varied locations
I’d recommend for a holiday. I think back to
some amazing moments, whether that be
the summit of Everest, surveying the bleak
wonder of the Antarctic, trekking across
deserts and seeing life in all its fecundity in
the heart of a steaming primary rainforest,
and that’s what makes it a particularly hard
question. But the truth is that the parts of
the world that require you to live on your
wits aren’t the most vacation-friendly! So
these are my five favourite holiday locations.
1 For hiking
The town of Wanaka, situated on Lake
Wanaka on New Zealand’s South Island,
has it all. I’ve spent a lot of time there and
it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve
ever been. If you want the natural world
as your playground, Wanaka’s the place.
It has paragliding, jet-skiing, rafting,
kayaking and mountain biking. The climate
here is perfect and if mountaineering and
hiking are your thing, Wanaka is a good
access point to the wonderfully
named Mount Aspiring
National Park. You can
hike in the summer and
ski in the winter, when
you might also see the
Southern Lights. There
are millions of reasons
to go and almost none
to leave.
Peak performance: Bear Grylls climbing in Abu Dhabi
2 For variety
The islands down by Abu Dhabi in the United
Arab Emirates are an incredible mixture of
luxury and culture: crystal-clear waters and
huge stretches of white-sand beach, but also
ancient mosques, vibrant souks where you
can buy fresh fish from the local fisherman,
hills for hiking and shores littered with the
hulls of old wooden dhows. There are
more than 200 of these islands, offering
everything from escapism to comfort.
You’ll never get bored.
3 For skiing
I love to ski, and the Alpine town of Verbier
is my go-to destination when I want to
get on the slopes. It’s the main resort in
Les 4 Vallées, the largest skiing area in
Switzerland. From the top of the resort,
you can see as far as the Matterhorn – first
climbed by one of my heroes, the 19th-
century Alpine explorer Edward Whymper
– and Mont Blanc. You can pretty much
guarantee snow in Verbier and if you like
your skiing on the challenging side, it’s the
place to go.
4 For climbing
Wanaka, Abu Dhabi and Verbier will all
satisfy your wanderlust. But, if holidays are
about being with people you love in
the places you love, chances are
you won’t have to travel far at all.
I know I don’t. The county of
Sutherland, in the Scottish
Highlands, is as remote, rugged
and wild as anywhere I’ve ever
been. It was the location of our
first ever Bear Grylls Survival
Academy. It’s also home to one of my
favourite mountains – Ben Loyal, an amazing
pinnacle of rock and heather. It was here that
I spent time training to climb Everest. More
importantly, it was on the coast of Sutherland
that I met my wife, Shara, before skinny-
dipping in the sea on New Year’s Day. When
Shara cool-headedly then accompanied me up
the steep side of Ben Loyal, I had a suspicion
I had met the girl of my dreams. I often
return, and I love Sutherland for the people,
the terrain, even the weather. It’s one of the
only places in the world where the rain really
does appear to fall straight up and there’s
something about the unforgiving nature of
the elements there that I love.
5 For family
But of all the places I’ve been, our tiny island
off the coast of Wales is always going to be
number one. It’s not glamorous. There’s no
mains electricity and we collect rainwater to
wash with. But time spent there with Shara Photographs Ben Simms; Alamy; Getty Images; Steve Neaves
and the boys is the most precious time
I have. We get away from it all, we unwind,
we have picnics, we climb, we swim and we
explore. Most of all, we simply enjoy our
days together. And for me, that’s what
holidays are all about.
Ahead of the pack:
Get away from it all
on a cycling holiday in
Wanaka, New Zealand;
(left) hiking in Wanaka

144 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 LIFE

PERSONAL TRAINING: #6

Preparation
Lock handles
together securely.
Grasp with your right
hand, palm facing in.
Lean back and walk
feet forward at
hip-distance apart Pull-up
so body is on the
diagonal. without
rotation
Right arm is extended
out in front of you, Maintain square hips
left arm is bent, and shoulders as
elbow drawn back you pull yourself
at shoulder height. forward, right elbow
close to side of your
body, left arm reaches
forward in opposition. This exercise is great in
Return to start that it challenges the body
position under control.
Repeat 5 times. unilaterally, plus adds
strength and endurance to
your core, arm, shoulder
and back muscles. Using the
TRX, the rotating single-
Pull-up with arm row is a combination
rotation of side plank, single-arm
Repeat sequence, this
time begin with your
row and torso rotation,
head looking over your Try 3 sets which translates into a
left shoulder and a little
rotation in the upper
of 15 reps lot of muscle mass being
each side.
body. Hips stay square. involved in every rep and
As you pull yourself
forward, head and torso
therefore more calorie burn
turn to face front. and greater metabolic boost.
Reverse movement Plus, the sequential nature
and return to start
position. Repeat of this movement requires
5 times. Pull-up with a strong mind-body
rotation and
open arm connection and good
Repeat the sequence,
coordination – you
this time begin on the will need to visualise the
diagonal with torso and
hips rotated to the left, movement as you perform
left arm straight, finger
tips reaching for the floor.
it to master it. Like all
As you pull yourself to TRX exercises, intensity is
vertical, left arm bends
bringing left hand to left
easily adjusted to suit any
shoulder, then reaches level just by changing body
forward in opposition as
right arm draws back. position. Jonathan Goodair
Reverse sequence and jonathangoodair.com
Shorts by Adidas, £35. return to start position
adidas.co.uk. Trainers under control. Repeat Suspension Trainer by
by Adidas, £90. At TRX, from £99.95.
Oice. oice.co.uk 5 times. trxtraining.co.uk

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 145

 B O D Y, M I N D A N D S P I R I T

Swing when
you’re winning
Golf’s world No1 Dustin Johnson on the wellbeing

Cup
wisdom that helps him keep his eyes on the prize

DUSTIN JOHNSON is grinning. And why
wouldn’t he be? Over the past few years the
6ft 4in South Carolina native has been doing
life right, steaming up the ranks, never looking
down. After some time away from the sport
in 2014 he returned renewed: in January
2015 he fathered a child with his partner, the
model/singer Paulina Gretzky; in 2016 he
won the US Open; then in February he was
crowned the world’s No1 golfer. GQ met him on
a course near his home in Palm Beach, Florida,
where he’s just been made an ambassador for
Hublot watches. Throughout our interview,
the grin never fades. The secret to the 32-
year-old’s success, he explains, is multifaceted.
Here are some of his tips for the top.
Body
Discipline is key, especially in the  gym.
“I train hard. I’ve always been fairly fit, but
I was sporadic with my workouts,”
says Johnson. “I’d work out for a
couple of months and then I might
take a month off. All of last year
and this year I’ve focused on
training and I’ve been routine about it.
ma
tc
h:
through the whole bag. If I haven’t warmed
up, the first few shots don’t feel so good,
because I’m not loose.”
Mind
The brain needs to be as fit as the body.
“They say golf is 90 per cent mental,” Johnson
says. “I try to simplify everything, to keep
things fairly straightforward as far as routines
are concerned. In the past I’ve worked with
sports psychologists, but I don’t now. It all
depends on you and your personality. For me,
the golf course is my comfort zone.”
Staying balanced keeps you calm. “I try
to stay pretty level. I don’t get too excited or
Family tee: Dustin
Johnson celebrates
with (inset) Paulina
Gretzky and their
son Tatum
D
us
ti
n
Jo
hn 6
so 01
nw
on t un e2
he US Ope n in J
too down. Emotion on the course could get in
the way. It doesn’t bother me if I hit badly. I
don’t get upset. I might get a little frustrated
once in a while, but that’s golf. I hit bad shots
all the time. Why would I get mad for hitting
a bad shot? It’s just a game!”
Spirit
Family is vital to success. “When Paulina
and I had our son, Tatum, that changed the
way I approach everything,” he says. “It gives
you a different perspective on things. Even if
I have a bad day on the golf course, when I
get off and I see Paulina and Tatum, it doesn’t
matter what happened on the course – I’ve
already forgotten about it.”
Taking time out can also be crucial to victory.
“Getting away from golf for a few days is impor-
tant,” he says. “Just to reset everything, to let
your mind recharge, clear your head of every-
thing. I like to fish and I also like to scuba dive:

Photographs Getty Images; Roger Stillman

I’m usually in the gym for an hour and when you’re under the water, it’s a different
a half. Plus I do weights and cardio. I world, and you’re completely out of
also cycle a lot, both in the gym and on your element. And I love to ski.
the street.” Being on a mountain in the snow,
Golf warm-ups on the course it’s really peaceful and quiet,
are essential. “If we tee off at just you and the mountain.
7am I’ll get up at 4am. I’ll get And that’s like golf – when
ready, go to the gym. Then I’ll head I’m playing, it’s just me and
to the course, eat, go to the range and start the course.” Alex Godfrey
warming up an hour and 15 minutes before Dustin Johnson is a brand ambassador
my tee time. Chip and putt, hit balls, go for Hublot. hublot.com

Rise and shine different people’s demands. But if we start every day knowing
what we need to achieve, we have a better chance of reaching
WELLNESS

In his new book, Irresistible: The Rise Of Addictive
Technology And The Business Of Keeping Us Hooked
(Bodley Head, £18.99), New York University professor Adam
Alter tells us that “Seventy per cent of oice emails are
read within six seconds of receiving them.” If your sole aim
is to stay on top of your inbox then life is peachy. However,
those of us with a bigger game to play must detach
ourselves from the addictive technology dopamine hit.
Most of my clients start their day by checking emails:
their minds immediately wandering into a cacophony of
our goals. Spend the first ten minutes after waking sitting quietly,
away from digital devices – ideally outside, but as long as you
find a space that is peaceful and connecting, you are good to go.
Ponder your number-one priority for the day; the big thing
that, once achieved, will create a larger impact than anything
else on your to-do list. Once you are clear on what your big
thing is, make it the first thing you do. If your diary won’t allow
such focus, carve out some time later and protect it above all
else. By making technology our slave, not the other way around,
we make sure that every day counts. Chris Baréz-Brown
uppingyourelvis.com

146 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 LIFE
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Tech attire by
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An Andy
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Cap by
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Under Armour
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Everyone
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Court FF tennis shoes by Asics
Durable, comfortable and supportive.
This month’s essential
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Zoom Vapor tennis
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Revolt Pro 2.0 trainers by Head

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Jacket by Ralph Lauren

Perfect for the
Wimbledon warm-up.
£139. ralphlauren.co.uk

Pro Staf RF97 by Wilson Co-designed by Roger Federer. £220. wilson.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 147

 CAREER

It’s been
emotional:
How to
up your
interview
game
The expert team at
Rehearse It! have
combined science
with the performing
arts to help even the
most shrinking
violet land a dream
job. Their secrets,
your success...

IT’S 11AM on a Friday and in a regal interview hurdles, the people Before setting up the company last
room in London’s Theatre Royal, here can help. At one-day group year, Roberts spent two decades at an
Drury Lane, I’m having a fake job workshops, you’ll be given a primer executive search firm, where he was
interview with a fake job interviewer. in the behavioural science that a senior partner. There, he saw many
Again and again. A film director is underlies what they teach, then board candidates “totally screw up
observing me, telling me after each undertake practical rehearsals that their interviews”. Feedback would be
dry run what I’m doing wrong. I’ve deconstruct the interview process and that these candidates were hopeless;
usually made, based on
The number of minutes

been asked to pretend this room is help you to become a shining star. he knew that they were not. Intrigued,
deep-rooted instincts

a lobby where I’ve just met my fake “Our performance is way more he began to research why it was
in which a decision is

interviewer and we’re walking important than the content of what happening, and began thinking
towards a nonexistent interview we’re saying,” says Rehearse It!’s about what he could do to help.
room. I’ve been told to make small erudite founder, Robin Roberts. Back in my fake job interview,
talk and as I ask my fake potential “A powerful actor can say some lame I’ve made it to the fake office. My
employer about the statues in front things and come across as being a interviewer, sitting opposite me, asks
of us she improvises back, reeling off man of great gravitas and insight. about my journey in. I was genuinely
some false history, gesticulating. Another guy can say clever things, late thanks to a slew of delayed
“OK, stop,” says the director. “That but say them in a rubbish way and trains. She tells me she rather likes
was good, but you weren’t mirroring be judged as not knowing much.” train delays as it gives her more time
enough. Let’s try it again and be more He speaks proudly of a 25-year-old to sit and think before getting to
overt with your arm movements.” We client who was failing in his quest to work. I disagree (the delay had
go again and I swing my arms around become an asset manager because made me rather grumpy), but after
in line with my interviewer’s as she he found the interviews too stressful. cutting us off, the director tells me I
Photographs iStock Illustration Magoz

talks. I feel ridiculous, but the director After being put through his paces at shouldn’t have. Negative grumbling
is happy. This, apparently, will help Rehearse It!, he landed a corker. isn’t going to do me any favours, he
me get a job.
This is the mission at Rehearse It!
(their exclamation mark): getting
people hired. Since the company
launched in March 2016, it says it has Sitting in the interview
Don’t: Lean forward.
had 96 per cent success. It won’t get This means you’re nervous.
Joe Schmo into Nasa, but if you’re Do: Sit up straight –
qualified and keep crashing down at relaxed but attentive.

148 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017


First impressions: “You don’t have to do too much for too long to have a positive impact,”
says Rehearse It!’s Robin Roberts. “First impressions really do count”
When shaking
hands
Don’t: Dominate
– certainly
don’t press your
hand flat on
top of theirs.
Do: Shake firmly
and friendly.
says – I need to find some positive
agreement to start forming that bond.
We go again.
“I’m a zoologist by training,”
explains Roberts of Rehearse It!’s
behavioural science. At the workshop
I attend, there’s much talk of research
gathered from university psychology
departments. “I’m really interested
in the science in animal behaviour,”
continues Roberts. “So I did a
deep-dive literature review of the
research about it, about how people
come to judgements about other
people. Influencing behaviour. And
then I realised, of course, we are
homo sapiens, we are animals. We
Performance anxiety:
Nervous body
language can reflect
badly on you during
an interview
are a highly social species and we
respond in a very predictable way to
certain behaviours in front of us.”
This information is presented to us
at the workshop, where we’re told
how crucial first impressions are.
Research from Princeton in 2006
found that people judge us on our
looks in one tenth of a second. In half
a second, they’ve judged us on our
looks and voice together. After 15
minutes in our company, major
decisions are made. These are
deep-rooted instincts, says Roberts.
Frankly, it is a bit depressing. You’d
hope powerful people in the position
of hiring potentially powerful people
would know better than to succumb
to such primal reflexes. Surely
Roberts finds these statistics
dispiriting?
“Well, yes and no,” he laughs.
“I’m not suggesting for a minute that
anyone makes a hiring decision in a
tenth of a second. But I am saying we
LIFE
can deploy things and nudge an Standing in attendee, the first as he started the
interviewer in our favour. Say reception day, the second at the end, after his
there’s a hiring manager – let’s Don’t: Project
training. The former video shows the
swagger. Your
call her Sarah – and recognise that masculinity really suited man behaving perfectly
because Sarah is human, she cannot is not that naturally and normally – no great
impressive.
avoid extrapolating a huge amount Do: Project disaster. The second, though, puts it
of information from hands. She positivity and in perspective – now, his confidence
confidence.
is human because of that. For her shines, his small talk is charming,
species, hands are the most important Sitting in his presentation as he reels off his
tool. She’s also a member of the reception achievements clear and digestible.
ultimate social species. And so for Don’t: Slouch “The military have done huge
with your legs
her it is life and death to choose spread. It suggests studies into this,” Roberts explains
a member of her team who is useful arrogance. to me later. “They use shock of
Do: Sit upright,
and competent. Hands have nothing with a level gaze.
capture to train airmen how to deal
to do with the complex job you’re It shows you’re with being captured. It’s this massive
going for, but it’s well proven that, interested. physiological thing: we go small, blood
albeit in a subconscious way, she will Your personal
pressure rises, digestion stops and we
extrapolate a lot of good things about information begin to lose the ability to think,
you if you show her your hands. So if Don’t: Assume because we are in genuine physical
that they’ve read
you want the job, don’t sit on your all of your CV.
jeopardy. And the same physiological
hands. Show them to her!” Do: Ofer to effects happen when we’re in a job
This body language, says Roberts, give a concise interview, but in a milder way. We’re
rundown of your
is vital. In my fake job interview, CV, presented obviously not in physical jeopardy –
I’m told to relax more into my chair in digestible the jeopardy is that we will get a no
chunks.
– don’t slouch, but don’t lean forward and that causes us stress because it
nervously, which I wasn’t aware What to do with will have a negative impact on our
I was doing. The man giving me these your thumbs professional future.”
suggestions is Adam Batchelor, a Don’t: Hide or It can certainly seem like life or
young film director hired by Rehearse
clasp your thumbs
in your palms – it death, sometimes. “Exactly. I don’t
It! to train enrollees. After collating makes you look
nervous.
claim that a client pitch meeting is
his research for Rehearse It!, Roberts Do: Keep your
the equivalent of being kidnapped.
had “a great epiphany” to headhunt But the same physiological effects
and form a team of performing arts
thumbs visible –
this denotes are happening and it’s the way we
specialists to work with his science
confidence.
respond that causes our counterpart
and help to polish performances. What to do with to choose someone else.”
“I told them, ‘All we’re going to do your hands I began my day at Rehearse It!
Don’t: Rub your
is teach what the science says works. face during an
feeling relatively confident, perfectly
It’s not a drama class,’” he says. interview. It capable of handling myself in
“And that was genius, because the shows you’re the right job interview. And while
stressed.
combination of the science and the Do: Keep your I did feel like a bit of a donkey
performing arts has given us such a hands on the with the physical mirroring and the
desk – it helps
high success rate.” Batchelor is one the interviewer sycophantic small talk, I left a few
of a handful of teachers, which also to engage. hours later with extra skills and
includes casting directors Michele reminders of how important it is to
Walking to the
Leach and Janey Fothergill, and interview room
carry yourself; how subtle, seemingly
actor Felicity Montagu, aka Alan Don’t: Walk in unimportant demeanours and
Partridge’s long-suffering assistant, silence – their gestures can make a world of
judgement has
Lynn, who can’t join us today, already begun. difference. Alex Godfrey
presumably stuck in a traffic jam Do: Make small Rehearse It! workshops take place in
on the Chiswick Roundabout. talk – make it Oxfordshire and Manchester and cost
comfortable for
The first thing the Rehearse It! team your interviewer. from £800. For more information,
do with recruits is give us our own visit rehearseit.co.uk
starring role. Their version of “shock
of capture” has them videoing us
going through all the motions of a job Ending well: Don’t check your
interview, from sitting in reception, phone when the interview’s
to walking to the room, doing the
interview, then leaving. We’re shown
over, keep the bonding
one they made earlier: before and process going. It’s not over
after videos of a Rehearse It! until you’re out of sight
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 149
 LIFE
COMMENT
IS IT from Adele? It’s from Adele, right?
You used to be together years ago
and then you weren’t, and now she’s
popped into your messages with some-
thing short (“Hello. It’s me”) and you’re
wondering whether you can get away
with ignoring her or whether that will
mean she writes a massive, platinum-
selling album about what a bastard you
were. Again. To which I can only say,
this is a fair concern. Also, yes. You
should reply to Adele.
If it isn’t Adele, then there are two
factors to consider.
First, are you single? Second, what
sort of ex are we talking here, anyway?
They can run the gamut from homely,
quite boring people with whom you
collided when you were young merely
because they’d have you, all the way
to those hair-flicking, jagged shards of
sexual energy who drove their stilettoed
heels into your heart before bedding
at least four of your friends. Perhaps a
soulmate, perhaps just an available flat-
mate. Perhaps they were less flame and
more kindling, with sparks of promise
that never quite caught. Or perhaps you
just never knew them sober.
Do understand that a refusal to
engage with an ex arriving in your
inbox is, in itself, a form of engage-
ment. They will know you have seen
the message. (Everybody has always
seen the message.) At best, they will
merely think you rude. Equally possi-
bly, though, they think you don’t want
to sleep with them, which sounds fine
but isn’t, because that will entail them
also thinking you’ve thought about it,
which makes you a sleazy bastard.
Or they might even come away con-
cluding that you actually really, really
do want to sleep with them, but are
consciously avoiding them because you
fear this might get you into trouble.
150 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Beware the Twitter message
that rekindles old flames
Should you reply to an ex-girlfriend’s DM? Whether she’s the great
lost love of your life or a past mistake you’re tempted to remake,
whatever your response you’re walking into trouble
“Ugh,” she will then think. “What has
he become? I only said hello.” Then she
will tell people about this, and word
will get around, and your name will
be dirt. Which will feel terribly unfair.
Especially as it is probably true.
Worse still, word might eventually
reach your current other half and she
might think the same thing. This will be
even more unfair, because she’d think
that if you had replied, too. You can also
go wrong, in this respect, by a) telling
your current partner about any contact
If she broke your heart, leave
her hanging. Don’t assume the
fact you’ve since earned a few
quid will make a difference
immediately, b) never telling her about it
or c) telling her about it at any other time.
Or, to put that another way, everything
you can possibly do here will be wrong.
Sorry.
However, the outcome you definitely
want to avoid, I think, is the one where
you do reply, and chat on and off for
weeks, and arrange to meet up for a
drink, and only then tell your current
partner about it, with your only – albeit
entirely true – excuse for previous
silence being, “I got the first message
when I checked my phone in the loo
that time we went out for dinner last
month and I didn’t want to come back
and have an argument.”
If you’re single, all of this is easier. If
she’s a bitch who broke your heart, I’d
recommend leaving her hanging. The lure
of the grudge f*** may present itself, but
you’re better than that. She’ll only turn
out to be all broken and needy now and
it will be depressing. And, if she isn’t,
and you couldn’t handle her back then,
don’t assume the fact you’ve earned a
few quid and bought quite a nice car will
make all the difference. Any other form
of ex, though, is definitely worth a shot.
The homely girl might have got a tattoo;
the party girl might have a PhD.
The one who got away might be eve-
rything you’ve been missing ever since,
or a damn lucky escape. You might
learn something. We have all of us for-
gotten, at least in part, the people we
used to be.
Still, if you were single you prob-
ably wouldn’t be asking, would you?
So let’s assume you aren’t. Ultimately,
do you fancy this person? More impor-
tantly, will your partner think you
fancy this person? Is it all, in the
end, going to be worth the bother?
Illustration Antony Hare
If it all feels safe, go for it, and if it
doesn’t, don’t. You’ll know. Though
also know, full well, that you still might
get into trouble anyway. Especially
if it’s Adele.
Hugo Rifkind is a writer for the Times.

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Tony
PARSONS
Stand up and be counted
Voting is a privilege and must never be taken for granted, even when you have no
love for the names on the ballot. Having a stake in democracy is what makes us free...
D
uring the general election cam-
paigns of my childhood, my
father would always make me
tramp the streets leafleting on
behalf of the Liberals.
They never came close to winning one of
those general elections but victory, or even
the possibility of victory, was not the point of
those dreary hours on the stump. And it hardly
mattered that my father was only a Liberal by
default because he so heartily hated the Tories
and Labour – “The Tories are for big business
and Labour are for the trade
unions and neither of them
are for me,” he would tell me You either have
the vote, or you
as we marched up another
dismal garden path.
What counted with my dad have someone’s
was playing his part in the
democratic process. What jackboot on
my father cared about was
having his say in the way his
your throat
country was run. What was important to my
old man was voting.
Democracy was real to my father. Freedom
was not an abstract concept to him. It was why
he had once put on a uniform and killed other
men, and watched his friends die, and why his
entire upper torso was a tangled mess of scar
Illustration Sam Kerr
tissue from a German grenade.
Nothing in my father’s life encouraged him to
take voting for granted. Because he despised
the established parties with a passion, he
was happy to campaign endlessly to get the
anti-government vote out. But what he truly
believed in were fair and free elections by com-
peting political parties. The democratic system
was everything to him.
And so to my father, voting was sacred.
There is a more modern school of thought
that will tell you that voting is pointless, and
the system is rigged, and your little vote is
ultimately meaningless, a drop in an ocean.
This view does more than take democracy
for granted – it takes democracy as a given,
as though elections are as
inevitable as the sun coming
up. And of course that is
not true.
Would they fashionably
sneer at voting in nations
such as Syria, North Korea,
Sudan, Zimbabwe or the
many other authoritarian
regimes across the planet?
Probably not. You either have the vote or you
have someone’s jackboot on your throat. And
when the voting stops, the slaughter starts.
The Democracy Index is compiled by the
Economist Intelligence Unit and monitors the
state of democracy across the globe. The most
recent figures for 2016, record that just 4.5
per cent of the world’s population live in full
democracies. The lack of democracy is worst
in the Middle East and Africa, where the situ-
ation is miserably unchanging over the course
of the years.
LAST MAN STANDING
A large part of the human race dreams of the
right to a vote they are denied. To be born in
a country where you get to vote in free elec-
tions is to win the lottery of life. Even if – like
my father – you live and die ruled by politi-
cians you despise, just having that stake in the
democratic process means you are a free man.
So you should do more than appreciate your
right to vote. And you should do more than
exercise your right to vote. You should cherish,
relish, love it – you should see voting as the
distinguishing characteristic of a free society.
And you should consider voting to be the
most important thing that a man can ever do.
S 
ome have seen a refusal to vote as
a rejection of a corrupt system.
“No, I don’t vote,” the comedian
Russell Brand told Newsnight’s
Jeremy Paxman in 2013. “It is not
that I am not voting out of apathy. I am not
voting out of absolute indifference and wea-
riness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery
and deceit of the political class that has been
going on for generations. I don’t think it works.”
The trouble with this attitude is that if you
abstain from voting, you leave the future to
other people – the ones who care enough to
vote. Meanwhile, you are destined to become an
irascible Twitter bore, raving on about “a social-
ist, egalitarian system based on the massive
redistribution of wealth” before you weary of
revolutionary rhetoric and move out to Henley-
On-Thames. You become Russell Brand.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 155
 LAST MAN STANDING
And in the end, even Russell Brand got
tired of being Russell Brand. One look into Ed
Miliband’s big, cow-like eyes, and the come-
dian was urging all the hip cats to vote Labour.
“You’ve got to vote Labour, you’ve got to get
the Conservative Party out of government in
this country so that we can begin community-
led activism, so that we can be heard
continually on housing, on poverty, inequality,
on working,” Brand cried.
It is easy to mock Brand for turning his back
on voter disengagement only to pick a loser,
but he deserves credit for seeing through the
greatest lie in politics – that they are all the
same. They were not the same when Brand
was staring into Miliband’s eyes. And they are
never the same.
I always liked Ed Miliband and I always
thought David Cameron was a second-rate
man with a first-class education. And yet
I voted for Cameron twice because I believed
that Labour would destroy the economy and
ravage my wallet. That general election was
a choice between incompetence (Miliband) and
mediocrity (Cameron). There is always a choice
to be made. If you do not vote, the choice will
be made without your participation.
And it is not a mark of shame to vote without
your blood boiling with passion. Enthusiastic
voters – for Tony Blair in 1997, for Nick Clegg
in 2010, for Donald Trump in 2016 – always
end up bitterly disappointed in the candidate
who was going to change their world. Passion
has its place in the polling booth. But some-
times in the grown-up world, you cast your
vote for the lesser of two evils.
The case against voting is that it changes
nothing. But this makes the infantile assumption
that your vote should have the ability to change
everything. Voting is your personal share of
freedom. Voting is your stake in democracy.
Voting is a mark of maturity and an acceptance
that this world is unlikely to be remade to your
satisfaction. You have, in the end, just one vote.
But it is not an insignificant thing. Democracy is
not the perfect system, but it is infinitely better
than any other system invented.
Look at Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. Look at
Saddam’s Iraq, Gaddafi’s Libya, look at most
of the nations in the Middle East for most of
their wretched history. History tells us that
countries where the people do not have the
power to dissolve the government are always
run by governments who have the power to
dissolve the people.
The notion that voting doesn’t matter was
quietly buried on Thursday 23 June 2016.
After that date with destiny, the school of cool
156 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
nihilism that doesn’t believe in voting looked
about as modern as a record store.
For the EU referendum was the biggest
vote in British history, with a massive 72.2
per cent turn-out with 17,410,742 (51.9 per
cent) voting to leave and 16,141,241 (48.1 per
cent) voting to remain. Even the losing side in
the EU referendum got more votes than the
two biggest popular vote election victories of
recent history – John Major with 14 million (42
per cent) in 1992, and Tony Blair with 13.5m
(43 per cent) in 1997.
Passions ran high and run high still. And
can anyone seriously doubt that every vote
cast meant something? Whatever the cost,
chaos and pain, the UK will certainly be
leaving the European Union just as a vote
to remain would have locked us into the
EU for another few generations. The future
direction of the UK – and
possibly Europe itself –
was decided in the polling Men died so you
booths of summer.
I donated money to the could throw out
Leave campaign. I wrote,
spoke and fought for it. But
your masters
by far the most important – not so you
thing I did was vote for it.
More than 17.4m people could whine
ignored the advice of polit-
ical giants like Christine
on Twitter
Lagarde of the IMF and Bob Geldof of The
Boomtown Rats mostly because Remain never
really addressed the democracy deficit that is
at the heart of the EU project.
This country has not been successfully
invaded for almost 1,000 years. The freedom
to kick out our masters is deep in our DNA.
That is why the likes of Jean-Claude Juncker,
Donald Tusk and all the other Brussels big shots
are so unloved in this country. That is why they
had to go. Because we never voted for them.
he rural corner of Essex where my
T
  father and I tramped the streets is
a bellwether constituency. Since its
creation, it has always elected an
MP from the party that went on to
win the general election, from that of Margaret
Thatcher’s in the Eighties to Blair’s in the Nineties
to Cameron’s in the new century. It was par-
ticularly arid ground to campaign on behalf of
a party with no chance. Yet still my father did
it, with me in reluctant tow, because he would
have considered not taking part in the demo-
cratic process – and not voting simply because
he hated the two main parties – to be unmanly.
Real men vote, believed my old man.
They make sure they are registered to vote
– a blindingly simple process if you go to gov.
uk/register-to-vote – and then they find five
minutes in their day to go to the polling station
and pick up that stubby little pencil on a little
string in a booth with the dimensions and the
still calm of a confessional. And men should
vote even when they have no particular affec-
tion or expectations for the name next to the
box they mark with an “X”. And they should
vote even when there is no chance of winning.
And they should vote because not bothering to
vote reveals a kind of moral lethargy, an unfor-
givable passivity and an adolescent nihilism.
These past few years have seen votes of epic
significance – the Scottish referendum, the 2015
general election, last year’s EU referendum and
now the general election of 8 June. They were
all votes with the power to change the course
of nations and to impact on millions of lives.
How could you not want
your say? And wherever you
are on the political spectrum,
how could you not want
your voice to be heard? Only
choosing to abstain from
democracy changes nothing.
Only not voting is a mean-
ingless gesture.
In this lucky land where
peace and prosperity are all
we have ever known, it is
understandable that we take voting for granted.
But democracy is not the natural state of
human affairs. Our right to throw out our
elected representatives has been hard-earned
by the generations who came before us. Men
did not give their lives so we could whine on
Twitter. They died so that we could throw out
our masters if they displeased us. Voting is
a privilege, blessing, duty and joy. Your right
to vote is priceless. You should crawl across
broken glass to cast one.
The stakes have never been higher than in this
year’s general election. The 17.4m who voted to
leave the European Union will see it as the final
push to make Brexit a reality. The 16.1m who
voted Remain have a last chance to turn back
the Brexit tide. The Labour Party is poised on
the edge of oblivion. After the chinless chumoc-
racy of Cameron and George Osborne, Theresa
May has the chance to reshape the Tories as the
natural party of government for generations.
How can any sentient human being claim that
their vote does not matter?
History is in the balance. When you cast
your vote, you place your weight on the scales.
The polling stations open at 7am on Thursday
8 June. And the future will be determined by
the people who show up.

LIVE
SOUL FOOD
On one of Lanzarote’s most serene white beaches, a luxury resort
will nourish, heal and revitalise you. Introducing the Princesa Yaiza
There’s so much noise about wellbeing these
days, it’s easy to forget how simple it should
be. Apps, gadgets, seminars, webinars and
mindfulness colouring books all compete to
tell us how to get peace of mind. But all you
really need to do is get away.
Lanzarote was created by volcanic
eruptions. Its origins are everywhere on the
island – the lava fields boast extraordinary
alien beauty, and, away from the hustle and
bustle, there lies a world of supreme natural
nourishment. Playa Blanca, by far the most
tranquil (and whitest) of Lanzarote’s major
beaches, is a pristine piece of paradise with
stunning views – and it plays host to a
privately owned luxurious five-star hotel
that’s perfect for a big unwind. With nine
restaurants, Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort
is a culinary nirvana. Its gastronomic bastion
though is Isla De Lobos, an exclusive
gourmet experience that picks the island’s
finest raw materials, and works with local
farmers and fisherman to provide traditional
cuisine of exceptional quality. Meanwhile,
Princesa Yaiza has recently introduced a
monthly event, every last Saturday, that
allows guests to get up close and personal –
a guided tour of the beautiful private
dairy farm Finca De Uga, which supplies
the hotel, introduces you to 60 Jersey
cows, 400 Majorera goats and 250 Canarian
sheep – before culminating in an evening
of impeccable wining and dining at Isla
De Lobos itself.
For further vivification, the resort also
houses the seafront Thalasso and Spa Centre,
F A S H I O N
T R A V E L
L I F E S T Y L E
which offers enlivening relaxation rituals.
Thalassotherapy uses seawater and other
elements from the marine environment to
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Yaiza’s new Special Fatigue and Stress
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You won’t want to come home in a hurry
– but when you do, you’ll feel revitalised
and rejuvenated. No colouring books
required. princesayaiza.com

MEN
YEAR
OF
THE
2017
Do you want to join the most glittering gathering of the
year? As GQ’s annual celebration of man races into view,
find out how to win two of the hottest tickets going
T 
he GQ Men Of The Year awards
in association with Hugo Boss are
notable for a number of reasons.
It brings more celebrities together
than even the Baftas. It’s held in Tate
Modern’s cavernous Turbine Hall. It’s an event
without rival. But what’s more, where else would
you see Amy Schumer on stage talking about
relations with Sir Patrick Stewart? That, after all,
is the beauty of the GQ awards – last year saw
a comedy inspiration (Billy Connolly) rubbing
shoulders with modelling’s It girl (Bella Hadid);
a football manager who achieved the impossi-
ble (Claudio Ranieri) mingling with a politician
158 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Sadiq Khan and
Professor Green
Simon Pegg and
Chris Pine
David Gandy
who broke barriers (London mayor Sadiq Khan);
a comic genius (Ricky Gervais) mixing with a
legendary actor (Sir Michael Caine); a multi-
instrumentalist (Jack Garrett) breaking bread
with a multimedia star (Casey Neistat).
And this year – our 20th, held on
5 September and including the all-new
Maddox Gallery Artist Of The Year award –
it will be even better. What’s more, we want
you to help choose our Vertu Breakthrough
Actor award. Go to GQ.co.uk to vote and one
Bella Hadid
lucky reader will win two tickets to the cer-
Tinie Tempah
emony and a money-can’t-buy goodie bag and Mark Ronson
from Hugo Boss.
 MEN OF THE YEAR
Jack Garratt

Anthony Joshua Team GB

Sir Michael Caine

Sir Elton John
and Alessandro

Harlow
Winnie
Michele
Calvin Harris

.co.uk
Ricky Gervais
To vote for the Vertu
and Sir Patrick
Stewart
Breakthrough Actor
award winner, email
Amy
Schumer
gqletters@condenast.co.uk
or vote online at GQ.co.uk
Photographs James Mason; Antonio Salgado;

Closing date

30 June 2017
Stella McCartney

C AT E G O R Y S P O N S O R S
Richard Young

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 159

 PRINCE WILLIAM

Navy cashmere coat the Prince’s own

by McQueen.alexandermcqueen.com.
Cotton denim jersey shirt by
Richard James. richardjames.co.uk
Jeans and watch Prince’s own.

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 161

 Navy cashmere suit Prince’s own by Richard James. richardjames.co.uk

162 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 PRINCE WILLIAM

AC: So what’s a nice future king like

Born in the same year as the Queen, 1926, and given the same Christian
name, Elizabeth, my mother “Betty” was a fervent monarchist; indeed one
of my earliest political memories is of the row provoked when, about half
a century ago, I refused to listen to the Queen’s Christmas Day message. She
and I also used to argue about Prince William’s parents as the disintegration
of their marriage provoked a bitter propaganda war between them and their
supporters. Once I got to know Princess Diana, in a series of extraordinary
meetings (see my diaries, volume one) before Labour won power in 1997,
despite the nasty columns I used to write about her as a journalist, I became
something of a fan. I was smitten indeed, and so took her side in the Charles-
Diana rows taking place in homes up and down the country. My mother was
more for Charles, seeing as how he was going to be the next king.
It is not a conversion from republicanism that has sparked this meeting with
the Prince – though “President Trump” would challenge anyone’s faith in an
elected head of state – but a common cause, namely the desire to eradicate
the stigma and taboo surrounding mental illness. Prince William, his wife
Catherine and his brother Harry, have chosen mental health as their main
cause, and their Heads Together campaign has been successfully promoting
the importance of being as open about our mental health as we are about
our physical health. When they started off down this path, the republican
in me was annoyed they could get so much traction for anything they did;
but the Time To Change mental health campaigner was overjoyed.
They have overseen the making of a series of short films showing the
importance of talking about mental health problems rather than bottling
them up. To my surprise, I was asked to take part in a film, talking with my
partner Fiona about how my mental health troubles impact on us. Then, even
more surprisingly, given how few extended interviews he gives, he agreed
to be interviewed for GQ. I had met him a few times, on the British and Irish
Lions rugby tour of New Zealand in 2005, for example, and more recently
at a dinner where I asked him whether he would follow the lead of his
grandmother when he became king, by never giving an interview as monarch.
Here, I was keen to test two things in particular. One was whether
his commitment to this cause was real and whether he had a proper
understanding of the issues. You can make up your own mind on that, but
after an hour and a half at the palace, mine was made up in his favour.
Secondly, I wanted to see how close to the public persona the more private
man in his own habitat might be. Would he speak with the same stilted style
that seems to characterise his public speaking? He didn’t. Would he have a
sense of humour? He did. Would he stand on ceremony? He didn’t. Was there
any real passion behind the shy exterior? There was. Indeed, were she still
here, I would have called my mum and told her, “Good news – I liked him.”
What son doesn’t miss his mother when she’s gone? As you shall see, almost
20 years on from that car crash in Paris, Prince William clearly misses Princess
Diana intensely, saying it is only now he feels able properly to talk about her
death, the extraordinary week that followed it, and the enormous impact it had
on him and his brother. He doesn’t believe she had mental health problems,
and nor does he think that he does. But the trauma he suffered losing her so
young, and in such awful circumstances, partly explains why he is determined
to get the nation talking more about our emotions, not least because, in life
and death, his mother changed the way we express them.
you doing with an old leftie republican
like me?
PW: That’s a very good question Alastair
[laughs]. To be honest, I really don’t care
where people come from, I like meeting
and talking to people from all backgrounds.
And this is a good opportunity to talk about
something that is very close to your heart,
and very close to mine.
AC: And why is mental health so close
to yours?
PW: Practically everything in my charitable
life, in the end, is to do with mental health,
whether it be homelessness, veterans’
welfare, my wife and the work she is doing
on addiction; so much of what we do comes
back to mental health. Also, if I think about
my current job as a helicopter pilot with the
air ambulance service in East Anglia, my first
job there was a suicide and it really affected
me. I have been to a number of suicides, self
harms, overdoses.
AC: In what way did it affect you?
PW: Not just the person who lost their life,
but the people they leave behind. One of the
stats I was given was that, just in the area
we cover in the east of England – my base is
in Cambridge – there are five attempted
suicides every day. Yet suicide is still not
talked about. So people have the pain of loss,
but also the stigma and taboo means they
are sometimes ashamed even to talk about
how a lover, a partner, a brother, a sister,
a best friend, how they died. That stat –
five attempted suicides in the East Anglia
region alone – it blew my mind, I thought,
“Oh my God, this is such a big issue.”
AC: I am a patron of the Maytree suicide
sanctuary in north London, and you and
your wife made a private visit there.
What impact did that have?
PW: The thing that made an impression
on me, it wasn’t just the feelings of the
people, the pain they were going through
and the care for them, it was that this is
the only place of its kind in the UK. It may
be the only one in the whole of Europe,
and I thought, this is terrifying, it really is,
there should be more places like this, where
people can go when they’re desperate. I
have spoken to suicide groups and having
been through personal grief myself, I had an
inkling of what to expect, but it was all so
raw. When someone does end their own life,
[there are] so many questions, people feeling
guilty, why didn’t we see it, why didn’t we
do more, and all surrounded by this massive
taboo. I found it eye opening, so revealing as
to what goes on in people’s minds.
AC: When you land in your air ambulance
and you get out, what on earth do they
say when they see you?

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 163

 Princess Charlotte, The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge, Prince George (and Lupo the family’s English Cocker Spaniel)
photographed by Norman Jean Roy for British GQ at Kensington Palace, 20 April

164 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

PRINCE WILLIAM

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 165

PW: We are only likely to be there if people
are in deep trauma or unconscious.
AC: But the other people there?
PW: We are often the first on the scene. Also,
I do hang back a little. We land, we secure
the scene, I will be sorting the comms for
the next flight, and then I might be running
around helping with equipment and so on.
AC: Nobody ever has to explain, say,
“Sorry, don’t worry about him”?
PW: Most people seem to guess, but I do
keep as far back as I can and let the team
do what they have to do. I maybe carry the
stretcher, carry the kit, sort the comms for
the next leg. It is all very fast paced.
AC: Why do the three of you work
together on Heads Together?
PW: It is a bit of an experiment really. The
Royal Family has not normally done this,
three members of the family pulling
together to focus on one thing. Normally
things are quite disjointed, we follow our
own interests and see where it goes, but we
thought, well, if we tied it together and had
a focused approach, how would that work?
We wanted to see the impact we could have.
AC: You must get bombarded with
approaches and requests? How do you
decide what causes and events to support?
Do you try to be strategic about it?
PW: Focused rather than strategic, I would
say. When I settle on something, I want to
dig deep, I want to understand what I am
involved in, I want to understand the
complexities of all the issues and, above all,
I want to make an impact.
AC: Do you not get frustrated, though?
Of course, there are advantages to your
position but there are limitations too,
because you cannot stray into politics. So
you can’t do what I do and bang the drum
for more resources and more action from
government. Is that not really frustrating?
PW: It can be frustrating at times. I watch
the political world, I am interested in it, at
times I feel there are things going on I could
really help with, but you have to understand
where you sit and what the limits are; and
with regard to what we do in our charity
work, I like to think you can do just as much
good but in a different direction.
AC: It’s great you guys are getting
involved in mental health. Generally, my
worry, though, is there is a danger that
making improvements on stigma and
taboos is seen as a substitute for services,
not an accompaniment. Presumably you
saying something like that goes beyond
acceptable limits?
PW: No, not at all. I can say that. If I attack
government policy, no, I can’t, but I can
certainly make that kind of point. What we
can do is convene, bring people together,
000 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
organise private meetings, get experts in one
room who might otherwise not always meet,
they tend not to refuse an invitation, and we
can thrash things out.
AC: Is it very much Harry on veterans,
Kate on addiction and young women,
you on men in general?
PW: A little bit. Harry has the Invictus
Games and focuses a lot on veterans. But we
are not stuck in our boxes. We are all three
of us trying to understand the tentacles of
mental health, which go everywhere. I do
think if you are focused about general aims
you can have a much greater impact. So we
do try to stay focused, not splurge around.
AC: Are you in the mental health space
for the long haul?
PW: Medium to long term, definitely. What
we would love to do is smash the taboo.
Getting the London Marathon as the
mental health marathon, that was a big
thing, and I hope we are reaching a tipping
point. But it is a bit like wading through
treacle. It is tough. We are now looking at
a legacy programme. We are not going to
rush, and the mental health sector has to
believe in what we might propose, so we are
getting expert opinion and then we will pick
and choose and decide what we do.
AC: Why don’t you do the London
Marathon yourself?
PW: I would love to, but from the policing
point of view, they tested it and they were
like, “What?” I am keen to do a marathon
but it won’t be London.
AC: What about getting a treadmill in
here and doing it while everyone else is
pounding the streets?
PW: It would be so boring.
AC: Be great television.
PW: I think I would have mental health issues
if I was just staring at that wall. I do want to do
it though – and the training. In the military
we did plenty of similar things to marathons,
like yomping over the Brecon Beacons with a
ton of kit on your back. I am just pleased we
got London as the mental health marathon.
AC: Do you have specific goals and
outcomes for the campaign?
PW: Smashing the taboo is our biggest aim.
We can’t go anywhere much until that’s done.
People can’t access services till they feel less
ashamed, so we must tackle the taboo, the
stigma, for goodness sake, this is the 21st
century. I’ve been really shocked how many
people live in fear and in silence because of
mental illness. I just don’t understand it. I
know I come across as quite reserved and shy,
I don’t always have my emotions brewing,
but behind closed doors I think about the
issues, I get very passionate about things.
I rely on people around me for opinions,
and I am a great believer in communication
on these issues. I cannot understand how
families, even behind closed doors, still find it
so hard to talk about it. I am shocked we are
so worried about saying anything about the
true feelings we have. Because mental illness
is inside our heads, invisible, it means others
tread so carefully, and people don’t know
what to say, whereas if you have a broken leg
in plaster, everyone knows what to say.
AC: This is my vested interest speaking
here, but what with the marathon and the
other things, do you think you might stay
in this mental health space for good?
PW: We want to see what impact we
can have.
AC: You are making an impact now.
PW: I feel we’re going in the right direction,
but not making as much impact as we would
like. You know what it is like, you want to get
there, grapple with all the issues, get there
quickly, make the change that is needed.
AC: But in your position, can you do that?
PW: You can, but you have to do it
carefully. Maybe we do make change but the
way we do it is slower. We get the benefits
of more publicity for the things we do.
AC: I do remember when your father’s
letters used to come into Number Ten.
Will you go down that route, with his
very frank letters to ministers?
PW: [Laughs.] Could you read them?
AC: It wasn’t the handwriting that was
the problem.
PW: I have written to ministers but purely
to point them towards people I think they
should see. So a charity might ask me if I can
help with someone and I can help get them
access to the people in government.
AC: So you don’t lobby but you introduce?
PW: There are issues I am interested in and
I am happy to connect people to ministers.
AC: But you’re perhaps not as robust as
your father?

PW: My father has always come at this from
a depth of knowledge and a desire to help.
He only gets involved in anything when he
has those two things: knowledge matched to
a desire to help. He genuinely cares. We can
argue till the cows come home about whether
what he says is right or wrong, but he lives
this stuff every day, goes into minute detail,
wants to help inform opinion and provide
knowledge. I would love to know what the
public really think, whether they feel shocked
or pleased he gets involved. He has done this
for a long, long time, and I think he has used
his role really well to raise a lot of questions
that people need to ask.
AC: So what might this mental health
legacy be?
PW: One idea is getting mental health first
aiders in schools. Teachers are under such
pressure, they face so many challenges every
day. They cannot be expected to be mental
health counsellors as well, so we thought
there must be a way of having mental health
first aiders who can be attached to one or
two schools.
AC: Is that something you would promote
or fund?
PW: That is what we need to work out. It
is a bit of a challenge, but we have a whole
range of ideas we are looking at.
AC: Now, tell me about the idea of the
films – and thank you for asking me to
do one.
PW: Thank for you doing it. I watched it
this morning.
AC: What was the purpose of them?
PW: This was predominantly about the
importance of the conversation. The point we
wanted to get over was that, often, talking
is the best thing you can do – it can start the
whole process of recovery. For a lot of people
things brew up, particularly men maybe, they
don’t want to talk about problems.
AC: When you were growing up, at school,
did you feel you were surrounded by
people who couldn’t talk about feelings?
PW: Yes, I think so, but I do think a
generational shift has gone on. If I look at
my parents’ generation, there was a lot more
stiff upper lip going on. Don’t get me wrong,
there is a time and a place for the stiff upper
lip, and, for those of us in public life, times
when you have to maintain it, but behind
closed doors, in normal everyday life, we
have to be more open and upfront with our
feelings and emotions. Mental health in the
workplace is a huge issue, and a sensitive
area, and leadership is important here. When
you see people in high-powered jobs in the
City and big corporations who got there
despite their mental health problems, that is
a huge success story and it shouldn’t be seen
as anything else.
AC: Or maybe people get there because of
their mental health problems too.
PW: Absolutely.
AC: I feel I owe mine quite a lot.
PW: Absolutely, but what is really
important here is that we are normalising
mental health, so if a CEO comes out and
says, “I went through this, I got through
these dark times,” that is amazing,
it normalises, it has an impact then in that
organisation and beyond. But without that
kind of thing, people tend to make excuses,
avoid talking about issues that may be
affecting them, pretend everything is fine.
AC: So as an employer, if one of your staff
came and saw you and said, “I am really
struggling,” do you think you would deal
with that properly?
PW: Definitely. I am not pretending I am
an amazing counsellor, or a specialist, I’m
not, but I would take it seriously and if they
needed help I would find it for them.
AC: Now, on the stiff upper lip, I can see
why there may be a place for that. But
listen... my mother died when I was 56,
she had a full life, died quickly, relatively
painlessly, but it was very upsetting. I am
not sure I could have walked behind her
coffin with millions of people around the
world looking at me, without crying.
PW: No.
AC: So how hard was that?
PW: It was one of the hardest things I have
ever done. But if I had been in floods of
tears the entire way round how would that
have looked?
AC: How can you not be in floods of tears
if you feel like being in floods of tears?
PW: In the situation I was in, it was self-
preservation. I didn’t feel comfortable
anyway, having that massive outpouring
of emotion around me. I am a very private
person, and it was not easy. There was
PRINCE WILLIAM
a lot of noise, a lot of crying, a lot of
wailing, people were throwing stuff,
people were fainting.
AC: As you were walking?
PW: Yes. It was a very unusual experience.
It was something I don’t think anyone could
have predicted. Looking back, the outpouring
of grief and emotion was very touching but
it was very odd to be in that situation.
AC: When you were up at Balmoral
through the week, were you conscious of
how big it all was down here in London?
PW: No, not at all. All I cared about was that
I had lost my mum.
AC: So you were protected from
everything happening on the Mall?
PW: Yes. I was 15, Harry almost 13, and
the overwhelming thing was we had lost
our mother.
AC: So when you came back, and you saw
how big the reaction was?
PW: I didn’t take it in. I still didn’t realise
what was going on, really.
AC: Did you grieve?
PW: That is a very good question. [Pause.]
Probably not properly. I was in a state of
shock for many years.
AC: Years?
PW: Yes, absolutely. People might find that
weird, or think of shock as something that
is there, it hits you, then in an hour or two,
maybe a day or two, you are over it. Not
when it is this big a deal; when you lose
something so significant in your life, so
central, I think the shock lasts for many years.
AC: My favourite soundbite of the
Blair era was not from him, but your
grandmother after 9/11, when she said,
“Grief is the price we pay for love.”
PW: Yes, absolutely.
AC: But for you to say you felt you were
in shock for years – how much harder is it
when you are having to grieve or try to
grieve with this extraordinary level of
global scrutiny, and the endless ridiculous
fascination in every detail of your and
your mother’s lives.
PW: It does make it more difficult. It doesn’t
make you less human. You’re the same
person, it is a part of the job to have the
interest. The thing is, you can’t bring all your
baggage everywhere you go. You have to
project the strength of the United Kingdom
– that sounds ridiculous, but we have to
do that. You can’t just be carrying baggage
and throwing it out there and putting it on
display everywhere you go. My mother did
put herself right out there and that is why
people were so touched by her. But
I am determined to protect myself and the
children, and that means preserving
something for ourselves. I think I have a more
developed sense of self-preservation.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 167
Princes William, aged six,
and Harry, aged three, with
their mother Princess Diana
in the gardens of Highgrove,
August 1988. Photographed
by Jayne Fincher.

Opposite page: Mourners

leave thousands of bouquets
and cards outside
Kensington Palace in the
build-up to Diana’s funeral
in September 1997

Opposite page image Corbis via Getty Images

168 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

PRINCE WILLIAM

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 169

AC: Yet the Heads Together campaign is
all about saying we should talk, be more
open about our emotions, out with the
stiff upper lip, in with more talking.
PW: Absolutely.
AC: So is it different for you?
PW: Well, I am in the role I am in. But if
I had mental health issues I would happily
talk about them. I think the closest I got was
the trauma I suffered when I lost my mother,
the scale of the grief, and I still haven’t
necessarily dealt with that grief as well as
I could have done over the years.
AC: Who do you talk to?
PW: Family, friends, I talk to those around
me who I trust.
AC: But it can’t be easy in your position to
find people you can trust totally.
PW: It is hard. But I have always believed in
being very open and honest. One of the few
strengths I might have is I am good at reading
people, and I can usually tell if someone is
just being nice because of who I am, and
saying stuff for the wrong reasons.
AC: Have you ever talked to people other
than friends and family about your
feelings?
PW: No I have not talked to a specialist or
anyone clinical, but I have friends who are
good listeners, and, on grief, I find talking
about my mother and keeping her memory
alive very important. I find it therapeutic to
talk about her, and to talk about how I feel.
AC: So we are coming up to the
20th anniversary of her death. Are
you looking forward to that? Or are
you dreading it?
PW: I am not looking forward to it, no,
but I am in a better place about it than I
have been for a long time, where I can talk
about her more openly, talk about her more
honestly, and I can remember her better, and
publicly talk about her better. It has taken
me almost 20 years to get to that stage. I still
find it difficult now because at the time it was
so raw. And also it is not like most people’s
grief, because everyone else knows about it,
everyone knows the story, everyone knows
her. It is a different situation for most people
who lose someone they love, it can be
hidden away or they can choose if they want
to share their story. I don’t have that choice
really. Everyone has seen it all.
AC: The first time I met your mother, in
1994, she said, “Why did you write those
170 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
horrible things about me when you were
a journalist?” I said, “My God, I can’t
believe you read that stuff.” But she did. I
was shocked that she had read it and also
remembered it, it was years earlier. It
made me think at the time that some
people reach a certain level of fame at
which media and public cease to see them
as human beings. Do you think that is
what happened to her, and do you think it
has ever happened to you?
PW: Not with me, no. I think with her it
was a unique case. The media issue with my
mother was probably the worst any public
figure has had to deal with.
AC: What? The intrusion, the harassment?
PW: Yes, but more the complete salacious
appetite for anything, anything at all
about her, even if there was no truth in
it, none whatsoever.
AC: So you don’t have any sympathy
with the argument that she cultivated
her own friends in the media and fed the
whole thing?
PW: I have been exploring this. Remember,
I was young at the time. I didn’t know what
was going on. I know some games and
shenanigans were played, but she was
isolated, she was lonely, things within her
own life got very difficult and she found it
very hard to get her side of the story across.
I think she was possibly a bit naive and
ended up playing into the hands of some
very bad people.
AC: Media people?
PW: Yes. This was a young woman with
a high profile position, very vulnerable,
desperate to protect herself and her children
and I feel strongly there was no responsibility
taken by media executives who should have
stepped in, and said, “Morally, what we are
doing, is this right, is this fair, is this moral?”
Harry and I were so young and I think if she
had lived, when we were older we would
have played that role, and I feel very sad and
I still feel very angry that we were not old
enough to be able to do more to protect her,
not wise enough to step in and do something
that could have made things better for her. I
hold a lot of people to account that they did
not do what they should have done, out of
human decency.
AC: Were you not tempted to give
evidence to the Leveson Inquiry?
PW: We discussed it, but decided in the
end not to. Remember, we were the first to
expose the phone hacking.
AC: You seem to get a hard time from one
or two papers these days. Do you think
there is a bit of score-settling going on?
PW: I don’t know.
AC: Do you get followed and chased by
paps on bikes?
PW: Not often. But there is a lot of quite
sophisticated surveillance that goes on.
AC: So even if not phone hacking, which
is far from guaranteed, the press have
moved on to other things?
PW: I suppose the one glimmer of light is that
because of what happened to my mother, we
do not get it as bad as she did. We still have
problems, for sure, but do have a little more
protection because of the ridiculous levels
it got to for my mother – the fact she was
killed being followed, being chased, I think
there are more boundaries to their actions.
AC: Really?
PW: It is a little better than it used to be.
AC: During the week of her death, Tony
Blair spoke to your father and he said
to me afterwards, “This is going to be
a problem, those boys are going to need
help, they are going to despise the media,
blame them for her death, yet the media
will be a part of their lives.”
PW: Yes, they are.
AC: When you were in Paris recently,
posing for hundreds of photographers with
President Hollande, did you look at them
and wonder if any of them were among
the ones who chased her that night?
PW: I’m afraid those are the kind of things
I have just had to come to terms with. It is
so hard to explain, using only words, what
it was like for my mother. If I could only
bring out what I saw and what happened in
my mother’s life and death, and the role the
media played in that, that is the only way
people would ever understand it. I can try
to explain it in words but to live it, see it,
breathe it, you can’t explain how horrendous
it was for her.
AC: Do you think the reaction to her
death was a big factor in diminishing the
stiff upper lip approach, and changed the
way we mourn? Do you think the kind of
reaction we saw when, say, David Bowie
died last year, would have been the same
without that reaction for your mother?
PW: No it wouldn’t. The massive outpouring
around her death has really changed the
British psyche, for the better.
AC: You do think it is for the better?
PW: Yes, I do think it is for the better.
AC: How much did that week after `
your mother’s death bring you and
Harry together?
PW: We are very close.

AC: And that feeling of shock, sadness,
you never felt it strayed over to what
I would know as an illness, depression?
PW: I have never felt depressed in the way I
understand it, but I have felt incredibly sad.
And I feel the trauma of that day has lived
with me for 20 years, like a weight, but I
would not say that has led me to depression.
I still want to get up in the morning, I want
to do stuff, I still feel I can function. Believe
me, at times it has felt like it would break
me, but I have felt I have learned to manage
it and I’ve talked about it. On the days when
it has got bad I have never shied away from
talking about it and addressing how I feel. I
have gone straight to people around me and
said, “Listen I need to talk about this today.”
AC: Like when?
PW: Last week with the air ambulance, I flew
to a really bad case, a small boy and a car
accident. I have seen quite a lot of car
injuries, and you have to deal with what
you see, but every now and then one gets
through the armour. This one penetrated the
armour, not just me but the crew who have
seen so much. It was the feelings of loss
from a parent’s point of view, the parents
of the boy. Anything to do with parent and
child, and loss, it is very difficult, it has a big
effect on me, it takes me straight back to my
emotions back when my mother died, and I
did go and talk to people at work about it. I
felt so sad. I felt that one family’s pain and it
took me right back to the experience I had.
The more relatable pain is to your own life
the harder it is to shake it off.
AC: How has the passing of time helped?
PW: They do say time is a healer, but I don’t
think it heals fully. It helps you deal with it
better. I don’t think it ever fully heals.
AC: Is there a part of you that doesn’t want
it to heal fully because for that to happen
might make her feel more distant? So you
feel the need to stay strongly attached? If
grief is the price we pay for love, maybe
you want to keep the grief out of fear
that loss of grief means you love her less?
PW: One thing I can always say about
my mother is she smothered Harry and
me in love. Twenty years on I still feel the
love she gave us and that is testament to
her massive heart and her amazing ability
to be a great mother.
AC: How different do you think the
country would be if she was still here?
PW: I have thought about that, but mainly
from my own perspective. I would like to
have had her advice. I would love her to
have met Catherine and to have seen the
children grow up. It makes me sad that she
won’t, that they will never know her.
AC: What about the public Diana?
PW: I think she would have carried on,
really getting stuck into various causes
and making change. If you look at some of
the issues she focused on, leprosy, Aids,
landmines, she went for some tough areas.
She would have carried on with that.
AC: She was an extraordinary woman.
PW: She was.
AC: How hard do you find the scrutiny?
I mean you can’t even do a bit of bad dad
dancing without someone taking a video?
PW: [Laughs.] Honestly, I can dance better
than that. It’s true though, camera phones,
Twitter, there’s not much privacy. I don’t think
it was too bad. It wasn’t as if I was falling out
of a nightclub, totally wasted. I think people
realise everyone has to blow off a bit of
energy and tension every now and then.
AC: So how did you feel when some of the
papers said you don’t work hard enough?
PW: Criticism is part of the turf, I’m afraid.
I think the public are much more nuanced.
I have my air ambulance job, I carry out the
duties the Queen asks me to, I have my
charities and causes and I am raising a young
family, so I can’t let that criticism get to me.
AC: A couple of the papers do seem to
have turned against you, though?
PW: There is a certain element of Fleet Street
getting fed up with nice stories about us.
They want the past back again, soap, drama.
AC: Do you see it as part of your job to
avoid giving them that? A bit of
normality, stability.
PW: I couldn’t do my job without the
stability of the family. Stability at home is
so important to me. I want to bring up my
children in a happy, stable, secure world, and
that is so important to both of us as parents.
I want George to grow up in a real, living
environment, I don’t want him growing up
behind palace walls, he has to be out there.
The media make it harder but I will fight for
them to have a normal life.
PRINCE WILLIAM
AC: But surely you must accept it is an
abnormal life?
PW: Totally, but I can still try to protect
them as children.
AC: The Queen, your father, you, now
George. Four people on the planet who
might one day be the head of state in
the UK. It is fair to say republicanism
has lost, not least thanks to your
grandmother. The monarchy seems to
have bucked the trend even though we
live in a non-deferential, anti-
establishment age. Do you feel that?
PW: I do feel the monarchy is in a good
place and, like you say, my grandmother has
done a remarkable job leading the country
– her vision, her sense of duty, her loyalty,
her steadfastness, it has been unwavering.
We now have three generations of working
royals, four altogether, and having that
movement through the generations allows
for the monarchy to stay relevant and keep
up with modern times. You are only as good
as your last gig and it is really important you
look forward, plan, have a vision.
AC: Do you not look at the Queen, yet
another garden party, yet another
investiture, yet another state visit, and
think how on earth can she keep going?
PW: Yes I do.
AC: Do you, your father and the Queen
ever sit down, just the three of you, and
just natter?
PW: [Laughs.] What, about Lady Gaga or
something? [Prince William had recently
recorded a Facetime chat with Lady Gaga for
the campaign.]
AC: I was thinking more about being head
of state. I mean, how do you learn?
PW: You learn on the job. There is no
rulebook. I sometimes wonder if there
should be, but in the end I think probably
not. Having that difference in how we
do things makes the Royal Family more
interesting and more flexible. If we all
followed the same line, it would all be quite
stifled. Our characters are different and the
different opinions are important to have.
AC: Your grandmother has always
believed in there being a bit of mystique
attached to it all as well.
PW: Absolutely.
AC: Never ever given an interview.
PW: No. Never. I seem to have sold the pass
on that one. headstogether.org.uk
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Alastair Campbell vs Tony Blair (June 2017)
Colombia’s Explosive Peace (Jonathan Heaf, May 2017)
Alastair Campbell on Jeremy Corbyn (April, 2017)
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 171
 Princess Charlotte, The Duke of Cambridge and Prince George photographed by Norman Jean Roy for British GQ at Kensington Palace, 20 April

172 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

PRINCE WILLIAM

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 173

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 FASHION

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MICHAEL OMARI JR is making a stand.

Against the major label bosses he beat in
the charts. Against faithless journalists
and graspers from his past. Against every
expectation of what grime MCs should want
and feel. Shut up, sit down and listen.
This is the world according to...

S T O R M Z Y

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 175

Stormzy
and the whip
A ten-seater tour van, its windows conspicu-
ously blacked out, waits outside the rapper’s
home on a crescent in west London. A decade
ago, when he was called Michael Omari Jr and
he was growing up some miles to the south –
in troubled territory where London postcodes
surrender to Croydon’s, and where this British-
Ghanaian teenager decided to take on the
name Stormzy because storms were powerful
– he always favoured vehicles with darkened
windows. Back then it was because the ano-
nymity could appreciably lengthen the odds of
a young man getting his head kicked in. Time,
fortune and the canny application of musical
talent have changed Stormzy’s circumstances
and these days the window tint only helps
prevent a mobbing by well-wishers outside
shows. Later tonight, at a gig in Birmingham,
fans will rumble him anyway. They’ll identify
Stormzy’s vehicle – his “whip”, as he calls it,
using the slang he grew up with – and security
guards will have to erect barriers to prevent
a crush.
Stormzy is having a year. The first grime MC in
a decade to make a serious sortie into the main-
stream, his debut album, Gang Signs & Prayer,
went to No1 in the UK charts in March. He is
currently underway on the associated tour, a
sellout, five-star-reviewed foray around the
UK, Europe and the US that will culminate
in Stormzy’s appearance at Glastonbury this
month. When he topped the album charts, he
pipped a same-week release from Rag’N’Bone
Man, a Brit Awards-endorsed newcomer who
has a record deal at Columbia and so came to
the fight with the full promotional muscle of the
label’s owner, Sony, at his back. That Stormzy
won should decently petrify all the major labels,
because he’s achieved what he’s achieved this
year without being signed to any of them.
Indeed, he once rejected their overtures, found-
ing instead a two-man label called #Merky with
his old Croydon mate and now manager, Tobe
Onwuka. Stormzy is 23 and Onwuka is 26.
As far as I can tell, they run #Merky off their
phones, wherever they happen to be.
Today, Onwuka rapid-thumbs emails from
a seat inside the blacked-out van. He frowns
with the hunted but satisfied look of a manager
whose client is much in demand. A booking for
Stormzy to perform in the US on The Late Late
Show With James Corden is taking shape. An
LA-based music magazine has just put in a bid
to run a profile. Stormzy might be having a
year, but right now he’s inside his flat having
a massage, an hour’s rubdown from an order-
in physio called Antonio. Hurry-up messages
are exchanged: whip to flat, flat to whip. The
whip waits.
176 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
When he emerges onto the street, Stormzy
looks happy and loose; he later tells me that his
predeparture routine also involved him finish-
ing off a joint left over from the night before.
He wears on each of his feet a thin slice of
luxury attire, slippers from Louis Vuitton, but
is otherwise flawlessly outfitted in self-brand.
Stormzy’s T-shirt says “Stormzy”, his jacket
bears the name of his label and his tracksuit
trousers the name of his album. Stormzy’s
height came in young. He was pushing 6ft
as a preteen. These days he’s basketball-big,
6ft 5in, carrying around the neat, triangu-
lar muscularity of a slender man who’s lifted
his way to heft. “Too slim for all of that gym
stuff,” Stormzy was rapping, back in 2013,
when he was a locally known and rising MC
on the London grime scene. Two years later,
on another track, “Might go gym/Might go get
hench” – a prediction he made good on. Inside
the tour van, Stormzy crams himself into the
seat with the most leg room.
Driving out of the west London crescent, the
van goes by one of Stormzy’s neighbours’ cars,
a low and lovely black Ferrari. Onwuka teases
his client, “Even if it was yours, would you fit?”
Stormzy and bars
The van leaves the city on the M40, Kanye
West blasting. The journey to Birmingham
will take two-and-a-half hours. Phones and
computers are jacked into outlets in the furry
interior. Cup holders are plugged with bottles
of Lucozade and branded smoothies. The driver,
addressed as Rimes, sometimes Adrian, is a
childhood friend of Stormzy’s. There’s a trio of
tour DJs on board, one of whom is Stormzy’s
sister Rachel Omari. I sit in the van’s middle
row with Stormzy’s publi-
cist and confidante, Rachel
Campbell, burning through
‘I was this big
notebooks in a bid to keep huge kid and
up with the group as they
recount, giddily, hilariously, I done proper
their recent triumph over
Rag’N’Bone Man in the
beautiful
charts. Campbell: “All poetry. Proudly.
week we were 700, 800
sales ahead. Then on the It wasn’t secret’
Thursday, Rag’N’Bone Man’s
Amazon numbers came in.” Stormzy: “He was
2,680 in front... All the facts were telling me
I was going to lose. Everyone thought I was
going to lose. All those label c***s.” Onwuka:
“I was told on Friday morning we got the No1
– but it wasn’t certified yet. So I didn’t want to
tell Stormz.” Campbell: “I misheard. I patched
him in on the call.” Onwuka: “So then we had
to tell him.” Stormzy: “There was nothing to
say. It was a moment of perfection.”
In the van, recalling it, Stormzy gestures
with his hands in front of his face, snatch-
ing at the air for words. The fast, thrusting,
hostile-by-default register that characterises
grime music is not to everybody’s taste.
Whatever you think about Stormzy’s genre,
though, this rapper is by any standards
a first-rate lyricist. He’s exact, economical, a
master-hand at the necessary rapper’s bluster
and often very funny. (“I come to your club and
I f*** shit up,” raps this Manchester United fan
in popular song “Know Me From”, “I’m David
Moyes.”) The Notes app on Stormzy’s phone
is crammed with fragments and couplets and
chunks of verses – “bars” is the word Stormzy
favours when discussing his lyrics. And his
oral dexterity as a rapper extends to a general
talent for chat. For now, though, as he con-
templates the spring’s unlikely commercial
triumph, the words that tend to come to him
so easily just won’t. “I can’t even. I can’t even,”
Stormzy says.
Out of The Ends
“A place where your big bad brother can’t save
you,” he once rapped, about the neighbour-
hood he grew up in. It’s an area – Thornton
Heath and South Norwood, on the Croydon
borders – he has always referred to in his lyrics
as “The Ends”. There, he tells me, “You didn’t
show weakness. You didn’t show vulnerability.
You weren’t having it from anyone. You weren’t
getting taken for a mug.” He did not have a sub-
stantive relationship with his father, Michael
Omari Sr, a cab driver. (Twice in his life, Stormzy
said, he went to his father’s place of employ-
ment in Croydon to pick up informal alimony,
£20 left in an envelope.) Instead, he was raised
by his single mother, Abigail Owuo, with his
three siblings. They ate together, slept under
the same roof, attended church on Sundays and
otherwise led self-governing
lives. “Mummy was always
working. Everyone else got
up to what they got up to.”
In Stormzy’s case, going
by his lyrics, this included
trading in small amounts
of weed, robbing strangers,
beating up a kid who owed
him money in a JD Sports
and getting stabbed in a
fight. He also wrote poetry.
“I was this big, f***ing huge kid, getting up to
f***ing all types of shit, and I done real poetry.
Proper f***ing beautiful poems. And proudly.
It wasn’t some secret thing I was doing, away
from the mandem. It was out there.”
As a student at Harris Academy in South
Norwood, he seems to have calibrated his
behaviour to maximally infuriate educators.
Clever. Hard to control. A little poet and a
little terrorist (his word). He was suspended
for a period and the Academy’s benefactor,
Lord Harris of Peckham, had to sit him down
for at least one straightening-out talk. “He
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JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 177

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178 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017


was a boy who had lots of ability and was
very naughty,” Lord Harris recalls. The Tory
peer has a framed poem by Michael Omari Jr
on the wall of his office, hung there for years
without him knowing what became of the
boy. “His English was fantastic,” Harris says.
“I thought it could have got him to Oxford or
Cambridge.” Stormzy: “We had that conversa-
tion quite young. I don’t think it was naive of
him [to suggest those universities]. I had the
grades.” What changed, Stormzy says, “was my
desire for it. I got caught up in other things.
I wasn’t feeling the whole education thing.”
He sacked off his programme of AS-level
studies in the middle of
an exam: not feeling it. He
took a job in a Screwfix,
‘Me getting
but that didn’t last beyond stabbed. How
a probation period. Later,
he won a place on an engi- big is that now?
neering apprenticeship and
stuck with it, graduating
Not so big. Who
to become a 19-year-old wants to talk
employee at an oil refin-
ery on the south coast. about that?’
“Computers, clipboards,” is
Stormzy’s summary. He wanted to be MCing;
he’d established a reputation in London clubs,
one that he knew he must now tend. In 2013,
he felt sure enough of his greenhorn talent to
boast on a track, “Rapping’s easy, don. I do it
in my sleep.” By 2014, he’d quit the refinery.
On another track that year, Stormzy made
a polite enquiry: “I’m good enough to get
signed, right?” Time to mount a career.
One day, in the autumn of 2014, he was
driving with Onwuka and asking his old friend,
not for the first time, for managerial advice. It
occurred to them both to make the arrange-
ment more permanent. Onwuka was selling
Land Rovers for a London dealership at the
time. “That same car journey,” he recalls,
“I drafted my letter of resignation.” Onwuka
had been putting aside some of his salary, a
sum that in 2014, he says, was just shy of five
figures. This became the seed money for an
ambitious enterprise that Onwuka calls “real-
ising the superstar that was so obviously there
in Stormzy”. While seeing out his notice at the
dealership, Onwuka incorporated Stormzy Ltd
with Companies House. He got the pair of them
a lawyer and an accountant. “I expressed the
need to Stormzy that he not ever worry about
finances. That had to be my job, while Stormzy
worked on Stormzy.”
This the rapper duly did, writing in quick suc-
cession the vivid, vinegary, slander-rich tracks
“Not That Deep”, “Know Me From” and “Shut
Up”. A one-take performance of the last – an
epic of insults and retorts – was filmed by one
of his friends in a carpark and uploaded to
YouTube. To date, it’s been viewed 55 million
times. Early in “Shut Up”’s ascent through the
millions, the majors came courting. Onwuka
took meetings with at least six imprints
attached to the big three labels, Sony, Universal
and Warner. “From the outside looking in,” the
manager says, “labels are these places you go
to as a musician and they make you. They do
something. In these meetings I said, ‘So now
we’re here in front of you, what is this thing
that you do?’ And I never heard an answer.
I never got it.” Before long, Onwuka was back
on the Companies House website, incorporat-
ing #Merky Records. “You’ve got a booking
agent. You’re doing shows. You’ve registered for
a PPL licence [to collect royalties],” he recalls.
“Slowly you realise you’re
three-quarters of the way to
becoming a label. Why don’t
you just become a label?”
If there were aspects
of the business that were
beyond #Merky as a start-
up (promotion, plugging,
the effective distribution
of their music) these had
become services that could
be bought in, on a pay-
as-you-go basis, from the majors. Employees at
Atlantic Records, a Warner subsidiary, handled
Stormzy’s media promotion and his radio plug-
ging. ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance),
also part of Warner, was subcontracted to dis-
tribute Gang Signs & Prayer. When that record
sold 100,000 copies in a fortnight, profits would
have been mostly #Merky’s. Brand association
deals, by then, had already been inked with
Adidas and Pepsi. The rapper is currently in
a position, he says, where he doesn’t have to
check his bank account. Twice in the last year,
he guesses. “Money’s there. Money’s being
made. But I don’t focus on it.”
Zoots and the pregame
On the road to Birmingham, one of the tour
DJs in the van – he goes by Jukess – watches
episodes of the TV show Scandal. Stormzy
prods away the laptop screen so that it faces
towards the unspooling motorway. It’s a
gesture that for a moment I interpret as
disdainful, a small show of who’s boss, until
Stormzy says something about season five
and spoilers. When we pull up outside the
venue, the driver, Rimes, parks carefully and
turns in his seat. Stormzy and Onwuka are on
their phones. Only the rapper’s sister Rachel
gets out of the van and heads towards the
dressing rooms. Rimes looks to me and the
publicist in the middle row and asks, “Are you
staying on, or...?”
The publicist says, “Oh!” She gathers up her
things, urging me to do the same. “Unless you
want to get high as a kite.” We climb out and
when the door of the van clicks shut behind
us it stays shut for a while.
FASHION
Inside the venue, later, Stormzy has to dis-
abuse me of a long-held misunderstanding.
Since it went online in May 2015, I’ve watched
the video for “Shut Up” many dozens of times,
always paying special attention to the opening
moments, when the rapper prepares himself to
perform. It’s a 50-50 trick, MCing – physical as
well as mental. However talented a writer you
are, you have to be able to get the words out,
audibly, assuredly. At the beginning of the “Shut
Up” video, Stormzy enacts a sequence of tics
that I thought might offer some special insight
into his technique. He steps from side to side,
as if hard-wiring the track’s 140bpm rhythm
into his body. “Yeah,” says Stormzy, as we talk
through this backstage. And while stepping from
side to side, I say, you allow a smile onto your
face, as if summoning the necessary cheek to
deliver all of those dense, joke-rich bars. “Uh,
yeah,” Stormzy says – less sure of my thesis now.
And then you keep licking your lips, I say, as if
the taxing tongue-work to come will need every
drop of saliva you can muster. “Bruv,” Stormzy
says, sleepily. He rubs his jaw. “I was probably
just high. I was probably just mad high.”
Stormzy and the ‘paigons’
This rapper does not like to be paraphrased. He
feels the precision-wordsmith’s contempt for
journalists who would take away his great long
monologues and compact them into shorter,
blunter quotes. When I find him in his dress-
ing room, two hours before the evening show,
Stormzy is in a mood to take someone from
the media to task over this, and I’ll do. “I just
don’t trust a media outlet with my story,” he
says. I’ve tried to ask him about a specific per-
sonal matter and it’s annoyed him. “I think
I was silly to ever trust a media outlet with my
story, because then it’s a piece of press. It’s an
angle. It’s bait.”
Some background. In the weeks leading
up to our meeting, Stormzy has endured a
grim little saga involving Channel 4, NME
and some quotes he gave to the former about
periods in his life when he has felt depressed.
Stormzy raps about depression on Gang Signs
& Prayer – about “lows” that have induced
crying jags and flat-bound feelings of aimless-
ness. In offering these genre-rare admissions of
frailty, the rapper infused his debut album with
much of its originality and strength. Stormzy
regrets, however, discussing the matter outside
the music. A fortnight after he opened up
to a reporter from Channel 4 News about
“the whole depression [thing]”, NME took the
quotes and used them as part of a special issue
of the magazine about musicians and mental
health. Without Stormzy’s permission or his
foreknowledge, that week’s NME appeared
with a picture of him looking glum on the
cover, under the headline: “Depression, it’s
time to talk.” Stormzy tweeted furiously at
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 179
 the magazine’s editors. He called them
“paigons” – betrayers. “Imagine a personal
battle of yours,” he wrote, “being published
on the front of a magazine.”
The rapper has been cordial and patient with
me all day. But, thinking of the NME fiasco,
he’s peeved. Around us, members of his entou-
rage have already stood up to leave, to give us
some privacy, but Stormzy has waved them to
sit. “Stay, stay.” The truth is, I sympathise with
him and I respect his wish to leave the specific
matter of his depression alone given how it’s
been crudely pawed over by the media. But I
can’t go as far as to agree with him that one
outlet’s carelessness gives him a universal pass
to dodge the discussion of so many other per-
sonal matters that are examined in his music.
He says he doesn’t want to talk about his
estranged father, because “I don’t want to
promote him.” Fair enough. When I try to ask
about the complicated and intricate politics of
skin tone within the community he grew up in
– Stormzy has rapped about the local handi-
caps of being a “dark-skin boy” – he answers,
“Do you know what? I’m not gonna talk about
this. Because I feel like in print this is another
thing that’s going to look so neeky. It’s gonna
look stupid, dumb.” We get into a little squab-
ble when I try to question him about the time
he was stabbed.
Stormzy would argue, not unfairly, that as a
self-exploratory lyricist he gives up as much
as he wants to about his life in the music. His
religious conviction is expressed in a beautiful
two-parter on the new album called “Blinded
By Your Grace”; his frus-
tration with his father is
there on album-closer “Lay
‘If it doesn’t add
Me Bare” (“You ain’t seen up, I give it to
my face for time/And the
first thing you’re asking God. Me getting
me for is [money]?/F***
you”); his gratitude towards
that No1 doesn’t
a mother who raised him add up. I give
alone is there all through
the mid-album track “100 it to God’
Bags” (“I ain’t too proud/
That you’re living on the road [where] your
son got stabbed”). I would argue that however
finely turned these lyrics, it’s only human for
me to be curious, having heard them, about
what it’s like to get stabbed.
Stormzy shifts in his seat. His contempt for
the paigon-like question is obvious. “To talk
about getting stabbed... I get it. The negative
story always looks sick. ‘Oh, my days! He got
stabbed! There’s a story!’” His entourage laugh.
Stormzy takes a breath. He acknowledges that
getting stabbed was an extreme thing that hap-
pened to him, “But not a defining thing... It
happened, how old was I? About 18. So that’s
almost six years ago now.” He gestures around
himself – a gesture encompassing the room,
180 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
the entourage, the venue, the wider tour, the
No1 album, the next album that will soon be
in the works. “Me getting stabbed in my life.
How big is that now? Not so big. Definitely a
thing that happened. But not so much a big
one... If I saw someone today and they said,
‘Yo, Stormz, remember when you got stabbed?’
I’d think, ‘What a weirdo.’ Look at where my
life is and you brought that up. Who wants to
talk about that? That was time ago. F***ing
hell. Can’t even remember the c***’s name.
I get it, though,” he says. “I do get it.”
Stormzy and grace, or how
they beat the labels
When he takes to the stage in Birmingham,
Stormzy immediately rouses the crowd to
a moshing fury with his energetic, frankly
warmongering, performances of two early
singles, “Wicked Skengman 4” and “Scary”.
Then, abruptly, he changes the mood, requests
that the moshers cool off and props himself
on a stool for a ballad. His audience, who 30
seconds earlier seemed absolutely ready to tear
down the venue’s concrete pillars, obediently
sing along. He’s in total control, through a few
more bangers, including the name-making
“Shut Up”, then a false encore in the form of
the ruminative and religious “Blinded By Your
Grace”. Finally, the audience is brought back to
a valedictory frenzy with a super-adrenalised
rendition of “Know Me From”. A thousand
voices holler in delighted unison. “I f*** shit
up, I’m David Moyes!”
Stormzy leaves the stage to a ludicrous
ovation. Another nerveless,
meticulous performance. It
helps the rapper to reach
for football analogies and
religion when discussing
his aptitude for this work.
“Put Ronaldo in the cup
final,” Stormzy says, “and
he plays ball. We don’t
know how he does it; he
just does it. Because he’s
Ronaldo.” He says young
hopefuls sometimes come up to him and ask
for pointers. He tells them, “Bruv, I can write
you a whole list of how to rap. You’re still not
going to be able to do it unless you can do
it. It’s unexplainable.” And anything unex-
plainable, Stormzy says, he credits to a higher
power. “If it doesn’t add up, I give it to God.
Me getting that No1 on the last day doesn’t
add up. I give it to God.”
In his dressing room, after the show, Stormzy
stands against a wall. He’s topless and his feet,
for some reason, are inside a cardboard merch
box that’s otherwise full of branded track-
suits. The entourage in the room has grown
to include friends and family who’ve made
the trip up from London. Moët is uncorked. A
bottle of Courvoisier is about to be circulated
before Stormzy notices that three-quarters of
the cognac has been drunk. He berates one of
his DJs for not taking better care of it. “You
offered it to bare people earlier,” the DJ pro-
tests. Stormzy lets him off. The rapper doesn’t
drink when he’s on tour, in the interests of
keeping his twitch Ronaldo instincts intact.
Even the bottles of Moët, I’m told, are a special
occasion thing. At midnight tonight, Stormzy’s
manager, Onwuka, turns 26.
These old friends are in a mood to remi-
nisce, with Onwuka’s birthday looming, and
in Birmingham they take a moment to remind
each other of the one time they had a pro-
fessional disagreement. It was back when
Stormzy Ltd was first turning a profit. The
rapper had asked his manager if he could dip
into the funds to buy himself something nice.
As Stormzy recalls: “It was the only time I
asked Tobe for money. I can’t remember what it
was for.” Onwuka: “It was a vehicle.” Stormzy:
“He said, ‘Nah, we can’t.’ And suddenly it
was clear to me that Tobe had been funding
a lot of our shit with his own money. Getting
loans out. Doing all sorts of things to keep us
afloat, to proper protect my wellbeing.”
They’re both proud of that early restraint
and how it has lasted into this period of
their success. Stormzy says, “You know
when you see a day-in-the-life of a rapper
[on TV]? And they go to, like, Harrods? And
buy a watch? Bro, I’d rather order a Deliveroo
in my bed, finish off that zoot that’s in the
ashtray.” As the rapper explains it, “How
can I enjoy the luxuries and the glitz and
the glamour when I’ve still got something
to do? Because in my head, I can’t sit down
and say, ‘Mandem, we’ve done it. It’s done.’
Not until all of my friends are millionaires. So
nothing’s done.”
Post-show, his entourage buzz around the
dressing room, stepping around Stormzy’s dis-
carded towels, snacking on the complimentary
Haribo – millionaires, unknowingly, in the
making. What happens to the rapper, I wonder,
once he’s made his friends rich? Once he’s said
all he wants to say? Stormzy is insistent. “The
day I’m stopping, f***ing hell, I’m stopping.
I’m f***ing it all off. I’m going bed. I’ll be in
my country home with my dogs and I’m not
leaving that house for any purposes, not for
promo, not for music, nothing. I’m having,”
he says, picturing it, “a zoot. I’m chilling.”
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Ed Sheeran (George Chesterton, March 2017)
How Craig David Made His Comeback (Mark Russell,
November 2016)
Stormzy: The 22-Year-Old Grime MC Making British
Music Cool Again (Eleanor Halls, August 2016)
 FASHION

Jacket, £110. Trousers, £95.

Both by Adidas Spezial.
adidas.co.uk. T-shirt by
CP Company, £65.
cpcompany.co.uk

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 181

 Jacket by Versace, £1,460.
versace.com. T-shirt by
Fendi, £365. fendi.com

182 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Customised polo shirt by

Polo Ralph Lauren, from £85.
ralphlauren.com

Hair Michael Harding

Grooming Maria Asadi
Photography assistants
Guillaume Blondiau;
Tom Weatherill
Style assistant Oliver Sharp
Digital operator
Jeanne Buechi

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 183

 R E A DY F OR
Universal pictures
If Virgin Galactic’s new spaceship, VSS
Unity, is successful, passengers will be
able to look back at the earth as they
float weightlessly around the cabin for
four minutes. Stars such as Tom Hanks
and Brad Pitt are rumoured to have
bought advance tickets, priced from
$200,000 to $250,000

184 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 SPACE TRAVEL

BL AST OF F ?
Three years after its spaceship exploded in a tragic accident,
VIRGIN GALACTIC has regrouped. SIR RICHARD BRANSON hopes to start
lying passengers in 2018. GQ went behind the scenes as the
company attempts to fulfil the dreams of a generation of would-be astronauts
STORY BY Charlie Burton

‘I’m not one

for giving up.
Whatever
happens,
we’ll carry
on until we
succeed’
Sir Richard Branson

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 185


S
omething wasn’t quite right. It was
a little after 10am on 31 October
2014 and, in the skies high above
the Mojave Desert, David Mackay
had just launched Virgin Galactic’s spaceship
VSS Enterprise from the underside of his
aircraft. Now he was scanning the airspace
for the distinctive plume of Enterprise’s
rocket motor, which would mark the start
of the spaceship’s fourth powered test flight.
“I remember looking down and thinking, ‘Well
that’s strange, the motor must be burning
really clean,’ because I couldn’t see it at all,”
recalls Mackay, Virgin Galactic’s chief pilot.
“Then we immediately started to hear things
[on the radio] that indicated something bad
had happened.” Out of Mackay’s line of sight,
the spaceship had, in fact, ignited its rocket
and accelerated into the sound barrier as
planned. Four seconds later, however, it had
exploded at 46,000 feet. Enterprise’s pilot Peter
Siebold had been thrown from the spaceship;
despite being injured and starved of oxygen he
would remarkably manage to parachute to the
ground. His copilot, Michael Alsbury, would
later be found dead in the wreckage, his body
still strapped into his seat.
186 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Wreckage from the VSS Enterprise near Cantil, California, 1 November 2014.
The spaceship exploded at 46,000 feet on its 55th test flight, killing
copilot Michael Alsbury. Miraculously, pilot Peter Siebold survived
Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin
Galactic, was at his home in the British
Virgin Islands when he learned of the acci-
dent. He took a jet straight to California. “The
few hours that it took me to fly to the Mojave
Desert – obviously I had a lot of time to think,”
recalls the 66-year-old. “At that stage we didn’t
know whether the spaceship had let us down
or whether it was pilot error. If there was
some kind of fundamental flaw with the space-
ship then, I suppose, there would have been a
possibility that we may have called it a day.”
Media speculation was rife about what had
gone wrong – a popular theory was that the
rocket engine, which was trialling new fuel,
had exploded. Although the official investi-
gation by the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB) would take almost a year, instru-
ment data and cockpit camera feeds allowed the
team at the Mojave Air & Space Port, where
Virgin Galactic develops its technology, to
quickly reach a conclusion: pilot error. The
spaceship’s design includes a hinged twin-boom
tail that’s moved upwards before re-entry from
space. In that position, it causes drag crucial
for controlling orientation and descent speed
while heading back to earth. For a reason that
After the fall
remains unknown, Alsbury had unlocked it
too early, before Enterprise was supersonic.
Subjected to aerodynamic overload, the ship’s
carbon-composite body simply ripped apart.
The media trained its guns on Branson. Even
Wired magazine, the self-styled champion of
futuristic endeavours, ran a piece headlined
“Space Tourism Isn’t Worth Dying For”. Its
opening salvo: “A brave test pilot is dead and
another one critically injured – in the service
of a millionaire boondoggle thrill ride.” But the
entrepreneur was cool-headed. He consulted
staff at Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites,
the partner company developing the space-
ship, who said they wished to carry on. So, too,
did more than 97 per cent of Virgin Galactic’s
customers. In an article published on Virgin’s
website the day after the crash, he vowed to
continue. “Space is hard,” wrote Branson, ”but
worth it.”
Photographs Getty Images
Three years on, Virgin Galactic is testing a
new spaceship, VSS Unity. It looks similar to
its predecessor: it’s another reusable suborbital
spaceplane of a type called SpaceShipTwo,
designed to be launched at high altitude from
the same mother ship that Mackay was flying
the day of the accident. The control system,
 SPACE TRAVEL

‘ Space is hard,’ wrote Sir Richard Branson, ‘but worth it’

Earning their wings
Above: The unveiling of the ill-fated VSS
Enterprise, the first SpaceShipTwo spacecraft,
attached to its catamaran-style mother ship,
WhiteKnightTwo, at Mojave Air & Space Port,
7 December 2009; Virgin Galactic and The
Spaceship Company staf pose with VSS Unity,
the second SpaceShipTwo, on 19 February 2016

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 187

 1 2

4 5 6

Planetary Rovers When VSS Unity is towed to and from its hangar (after all, you can’t exactly use a rocket motor to taxi down a runway),
it is Jaguar Land Rover that provides the horsepower. “It is hard to think of a brand that is more synonymous with exploration and adventure,” said
Richard Branson in April 2014, when he announced news of the oicial vehicle partner. “The safety and engineering excellence of Land Rover’s
vehicles, which have been the stuf of legend for more than 65 years, are attributes that also lie at the heart of Virgin Galactic.” The car manufacturer
won’t just serve the flight system: a fleet of Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover vehicles are already supporting Virgin Galactic’s pilots
and personnel. When the time comes for future astronauts to blast of, Land Rover will be integral to their time in New Mexico, whether it’s bringing
them from their hotels to Spaceport America, or taking them to the spaceship to begin their journey to the stars.
Photographs Getty Images; Mark Greenberg

188 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017


Watch this space
1. WhiteKnightTwo, holding the Enterprise
spacecraft in “captive carry” mode, performs
a fly-by at Spaceport America, New Mexico,
22 October 2010. 2. The first ever commercial
spaceport, and the base from which Virgin
Galactic flights will launch, Spaceport America
has a 110,000 sq ft terminal designed by
Foster & Partners. 3. Enterprise during its first
supersonic powered flight on 10 January 2014.
Just nine months later it was destroyed due to
pilot error. 4. Richard Branson in a boardroom
at The Spaceship Company, 3 October 2014.
Founded by Branson and Burt Rutan, the
firm manufactures SpaceShipTwo crafts and
WhiteKnightTwo carriers. 5. Virgin makes its
own rocket engines. This is the NewtonThree
being tested at Mojave Air & Space Port on 13
February 2017. 6. The WhiteKnightTwo carrier
aircraft, VMS Eve, on the tarmac at Spaceport
America, 31 October 2014. 7. British pilot David
Mackay flew for the RAF and Virgin Atlantic
before joining Virgin Galactic
however, has some crucial differences. The
NTSB concluded that although Enterprise was
indeed brought down by pilot error, the blame
lay with Scaled Composites for its “failure to
consider and protect against the possibility that a
single human error could result in a catastrophic
hazard”. Unity has extra safety measures,
including a failsafe that prevents the tail from
being unlocked prematurely. Since its unveiling
in 2016, the spaceship has been steadily
advancing through its test flight programme.
First, “captive carry” flights, attached to the
launch aircraft throughout, and then “glide”
flights, in which it’s released to sail unpowered
back to earth. Next up will be the stage that
Enterprise reached: rocket-powered test flights.
The boundary between the earth and space,
as defined by Nasa, is at a distance of 80km
above sea level. Virgin Galactic needs to take
its passengers beyond it – at least fractionally
– in order to qualify as a space flight. The first
powered test flights will likely remain within
the atmosphere; the final series will head for
the stars. Enterprise never passed the bound-
ary where space begins. If Unity manages to, it
will be a landmark moment for the commercial
space industry, which has regained momen-
tum thanks to billionaires such as Amazon’s
Jeff Bezos and Tesla’s Elon Musk making high-
profile advances in their own space operations.
It will also be welcome news for Virgin Galactic
customers. There are approximately 700 “future
astronauts” – Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Justin
Bieber reportedly among them – who have paid
$200,000-$250,000 (£155,000-£195,000) up
front for a ticket. The only person who has been
offered a free trip is Stephen Hawking. Booking
opened 12 years ago, so for many it has been a
long wait. If those final test flights are success-
ful, the wait could at last be over.
Naturally, Branson intends to be one of the
first passengers up. “I certainly would be very
disappointed if I don’t go up next year. And I
7 before she retired in 2004, but she didn’t act
‘We started to hear
things on the radio
that indicated
something bad
had happened’
David Mackay, Virgin Galactic pilot
would hope it’s earlier than later in the year,”
he says. “The programme says that we should
be [testing] in space by December, as long as
we don’t have any setbacks between now and
then.” Setbacks are one thing, but what if the
worst happens: could Virgin Galactic survive
a second crash? “That was the most difficult
conversation that George [Whitesides, chief
executive of Virgin Galactic] and I had with
each other the day after the last accident. We
can’t guarantee that there won’t be another
one, and we can’t guarantee that the next
one won’t be technical. What would we do if
that happened? How would we all feel?” says
Branson. “We’d have to look at what had gone
wrong and then decide at the time. But I’m
not one for giving up. In my ballooning adven-
tures we had many catastrophes but we kept
pushing on. So my instinct would be that, what-
ever happens, we’ll carry on until we succeed.”
ally Krusing never knew how much
S she wanted to go to space, until one
day in 2004 when she agreed to
help out a friend practise her life-
coaching skills. Her friend asked, “What
would you do if you knew you wouldn’t
fail?” Without hesitation, Krusing replied,
“I’d be an astronaut.” She was surprised at
SPACE TRAVEL
the conviction of her own answer. Krusing
had grown up in Tampa, Florida, and when the
skies were clear she used to watch the rockets
taking off from Cape Canaveral. They captured
her imagination: in ninth grade, she made a
plaster-of-Paris model of Jupiter for a school
project. But she was no scientist, so she never
dreamed of working for Nasa, and then life got
in the way. “I didn’t go to college right out of
high school, as my parents couldn’t afford it,”
says the 69-year-old, who now lives in Tucson,
Arizona. “So I got a job with Eastern Airlines.
That’s the closest I got to space.”
A few years later, she did go to college, and
tried to get back into aviation after graduat-
ing, but the airlines weren’t hiring. Instead, she
took a marketing job with IBM. The conversa-
tion with her life-coach friend happened just
on it – how could she? Then, in 2009 she trav-
elled to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
On the plane she picked up a magazine and
read, for the first time, about Virgin Galactic.
She decided to go to space.
Back then, Virgin Galactic was charging
$200,000 a ticket but permitted its custom-
ers to pay a ten per cent deposit on the basis
that they’d pay the full amount shortly before
flying. In 2012, Krusing paid $20,000 and was
given a reservation number towards the back
of the queue, around the 650 mark. Later, she
was told that if she paid the full amount, she
would be bumped forwards. The only option
was to borrow money from the bank. “I debated
long and hard, and for a while I thought, ‘There
is no way I can do this, I don’t see how I can
possibly afford that,’ and I got depressed. I got
anxious. Then I said, ‘You know, life is too short
– you gotta just go for it.’ When I’m 80 or 90 I
don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I had
done this.’” She borrowed $100,000 and with-
drew the final $80,000 from the savings she had
been building since she was young. In return,
she was given the reservation number 382.
Krusing says she didn’t countenance pulling out
after the 2014 accident. “There will be a lot of
people going before I go. Any travel is not as
safe as living in a cocoon so it doesn’t bother
me at all. And if I crash, then that’s OK. I’ve
had a good life.” Based on her number, Krusing
anticipates flying in 2020.
Here’s how her trip to space will unfold.
Krusing will travel to New Mexico and stay
in one of Virgin Galactic’s designated hotels
either at the small town of Las Cruces or the
even smaller town of Truth Or Consequences.
(That’s its real name: in 1950, the host of a
radio quiz called Truth Or Consequences prom-
ised to broadcast the tenth anniversary edition
from the first town that renamed itself after
the show. Hot Springs obliged and the rest is
history.) For four days, she will be whisked
from here to Spaceport America, the site
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 189
 from which Virgin Galactic will fly its pas-
sengers. Designed by Foster & Partners, it is the
world’s first commercial spaceport, a 110,000 sq
ft structure in rust-coloured metal standing in
the middle of the Jornada Del Muerto desert
basin. From the air, it looks like a grounded
UFO. Here, Krusing will undergo three days of
training, getting to know the spaceship, rehears-
ing dry runs of the flight in a full mock-up
simulator and learning how to manoeuvre in
zero gravity (hint: “swimming” won’t help).
On the morning of the fourth day she will
rise early, as this is when flight conditions are
best, and arrive at the site just shy of 4am.
Once through security, she will pass a road
sign reading “Asteroid Beltway” and another
reading “Half Moon Street” (the location
of Virgin Galactic’s original London offices)
then pull up at the Spaceport’s “Gateway To
Space” terminal, before making her way inside
with her five fellow passengers to don a soft
helmet and a flight suit made by the Adidas
brand Y-3. They will take the lift down to say
goodbye to friends and family, then walk out
through the terminal’s enormous glass façade
and into the New Mexico dawn. At that time
of the morning, the landscape will be still and
unearthly, all orange skies and purple moun-
tains. A fleet of Land Rover vehicles will shuttle
the future astronauts to a SpaceShipTwo
(possibly VSS Unity but more are in the
works), which will be waiting, attached to the
catamaran-style WhiteKnightTwo – the largest
carbon-composite plane ever built – at the end
of Spaceport’s 12,000 foot runway.
At around 7am, WhiteKnightTwo will take
off, the would-be astronauts strapped in three
rows of two inside the spacecraft hanging
from its belly. After an hour, they will reach
a height of 50,000 feet. The pilots will start
a countdown then drop the spaceship into
free flight. In the SpaceShipTwo cabin, there
will be a moment of tranquillity as the noise
of WhiteKnightTwo’s engines dies away, but
it won’t last. Three seconds later, its rocket
motor will ignite, blasting out 70,000 pound-
force of thrust. The craft will accelerate rapidly,
pressing passengers hard into their seats as
they smash through the sound barrier, causing
the spaceship to tremble. The SpaceShipTwo’s
pilots will then point its nose directly up at the
sky and roar to Mach 3.5 (4,322 km/h). Out
of the cabin’s 12 large windows, Krusing will
see the skies fade through deeper and darker
shades of blue. At 150,000 feet, beyond the
bulk of the atmosphere, the rocket motor will
cut out. Silence will fall, and momentum will
carry them on up to 360,000 feet. The pilots
will have rotated the hinged tail into position
by now, flipping the spaceship on its back (the
windows are mostly on the ceiling). They have
made it to space. With automated cameras
recording the adventure for posterity, Krusing
190 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
and her co-passengers will now be permitted to
unbuckle and float around the cabin. They will
gaze down at the earth and, in the distance,
its blue halo glowing in front of the star-
flecked void. After about four minutes, they
will be instructed to strap back into their seats.
Gravity will start to take its course. They will
descend as if in a space capsule, pulling five Gs
as they hit the atmosphere. At 70,000 feet, the
tail will be rotated back to its original position,
turning SpaceShipTwo back into a plane. The
pilots will glide towards the Spaceport. As the
craft is now unpowered, they will have just one
shot at a smooth landing. When she emerges,
Krusing will be an astronaut.
t’s a bright California morning, and the sun
I  is beating down on the vast hangars of the
Mojave Air & Space Port. Located in the
desert an hour and a half’s drive north of
Los Angeles, this former military base is a pecu-
liar combination of aeroplane boneyard and
future factory. Its tenants include ten young
space exploration companies, with names such
‘The accident
didn’t bother me
at all. If I crash,
then that’s OK.
I’ve had a good life’
Sally Krusing, future astronaut
as Stratolaunch and Interorbital, all building
the components and vessels required to take
satellites and humans to the stars. The place
has a motto: “We eat explosions for breakfast.”
While developing its spacecraft here, Virgin
Galactic also uses the base to host customer
visits. With its space programme running years
behind schedule, such events are vital to main-
tain goodwill. Today, eight future astronauts
have arrived at the site, some with relatives in
tow, to see first-hand the spaceship in which
they soon hope to travel. Sally Krusing is one
of them (she has had the Virgin Galactic logo
painted onto her toenails for the occasion),
alongside some future astronauts of consid-
erably more means. There’s Blair, for instance,
former CEO of a private jet company. For him,
the attraction of going to space is being a
pioneer. “If you were one of the first people in
the world to cross the Atlantic, and it was safe,
would you have done it?” he asks. “Well, this is
my chance.” Another future astronaut is Luke,
who sells industrial workwear in Australia and
has just spent two weeks as a guest on Richard
Branson’s Necker Island. “To borrow a saying
from Tom Cruise in Top Gun,” says Luke, “I
feel the need, the need for speed.” Alex, a
money manager, hopes to be the second ever
Romanian in space.
The future astronauts disembark from their
vehicles outside Building 79, a prosaic name
given what happens inside. This hangar-like
structure is where Virgin Galactic makes the
bodywork of its spaceship. The production
manager gathers the group, picks up a thin
panel – two layers of carbon fibre sandwiched
around a brown “honeycomb” core – and passes
it around.
“This is actually pretty much the exact same
structure as what’s in the cabin,” he explains,
“separating you from space.”
“That’s it?” a future astronaut shouts out.
Everyone laughs.
“The cabin is somewhat overdesigned to be
extra strong. It’s actually three to four times
stronger than it needs to be to protect you
from space.”
“Thank you,” the future astronaut replies.
“We appreciate that.”
Today’s main event, however, lies at Faith, the
“Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar”.
Inside its cavernous and brightly lit main room,
surrounded by engineers, is the star of the
show. “This is SpaceShipTwo Unity,” announces
Virgin Galactic president Mike Moses. The
glistening, 60-foot white craft is in test mode;
the edges of its wings have been removed to
expose internal hydraulic cylinders, and it is
undergoing a stress assessment. The vehicle
looks like a cross between an aeroplane and a
rocket, not unlike the Nasa Space Shuttle. Its
true ancestor, however, is the much smaller
SpaceShipOne. In 2004, that ship won its devel-
oper the $10 million Ansari XPrize, for being
the first private organisation to fly to space in
a reusable vehicle twice in two weeks. It was
built by Scaled Composites, owned by Burt
Rutan, an experimental aviation engineer who
came up with the idea of a hinged tail section
and also saw the benefit of launching from a
mother ship to avoid having to power through
the lower atmosphere. Branson was a sponsor
of its final flights. He had long been fixated on
going to space, ever since watching the moon
landings as a child. Once Scaled Composites
succeeded, he partnered with Rutan on The
Spaceship Company to build Virgin Galactic’s
spacecraft: SpaceShipTwo. Unity is the second
SpaceShipTwo, and more are in the works.
Branson believes that demand will be so high
that Virgin Galactic will struggle to build further
ones fast enough.
Whenever future astronauts visit, Virgin
Galactic arranges a Q&A with its staff. The engi-
neers, pilots and management congregate on

Guardians of
the galaxy
When it comes to the future of
space travel, Virgin Galactic is not
the only organisation to keep
an eye on. Meet the next generation
of astronomic entrepreneurs
SpaceX
Founded by Tesla’s Elon Musk, SpaceX
has two goals. The first is to make it much
cheaper to take payloads to orbital space
– satellites, say, or re-supplies for the
International Space Station (ISS). For
this it has developed the Falcon 9 rocket
(above), which can be reused after flight.
Musk’s long-term ambition, however, is
to colonise Mars.
Blue Origin
Amazon’s Jef Bezos (above) is more of
a direct competitor to Virgin Galactic – he
wants to take tourists beyond the boundary
of space in a capsule, initially for suborbital
flights. Like SpaceX, Blue Origin employs a
reusable rocket (its current model is called
New Shepherd); when it’s time to return to
earth, the capsule will land via parachute.
Bigelow Aerospace
Robert Bigelow, who owns the American
hotel chain Budget Suites Of America,
is in the space habitat game. Bigelow
Aerospace is developing expandable
modules for establishing or extending
space stations. It currently has one
module attached to the ISS (which
was launched via SpaceX in 2016),
and two further modules in orbit.
rows of chairs at the far end of the hangar; one
of them is wearing a red T-shirt that reads “I’m
a Virgin”. The customers are asked what aspect
of the flight they most want to be prepared
for. The responses range from the flippant (“I
want to learn how to do cool zero-G moves!”)
to the serious: a future astronaut called Yayoi
is concerned about how they’ll ensure every-
one is strapped into their seats before re-entry.
Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut trainer Beth
Moses reassures her that the process will be
rehearsed exhaustively in training at Spaceport
America. Still, Yayoi has stumbled on an impor-
tant issue. When Moses joined the company,
she later recalls, she asked the pilots, “What’s
the one thing you need the customers to do or
not do, so you don’t crash the ship?” They all
said the same thing: “Get in your seat!”
Unbeknown to the future astronauts, Moses
uses events like these to make observations
that help her tailor their eventual training.
A particularly useful moment will come
later that afternoon, when they ride in a
SpaceShipTwo simulator. “I’m secretly taking
observations: who reaches for the wall to brace
themselves, who points as if they have their
full orientation about them still,” she says. “I
feel a bit like a stalker when I describe it to
you this way.” When the simulator ride is over,
marking the end of the Mojave tour, the two
pilots at the controls turn and ask if anyone
has any further questions. They don’t. A future
astronaut shouts out: ”We’re ready to go!”
ir Richard Branson, fresh from a swim
S  on Necker Island, is musing on what it
will be like to go to space. “I’ve been
lucky enough to meet a number of
astronauts who have been there and come back
and I think, without exception, they all feel
that they were changed people as a result. The
earth is so beautiful and just to be able to see
it from space and experience something that
only 500 people have experienced – it’s going
to be incredible.” To be precise, 536 people have
experienced it. Virgin Galactic has around 700
customers already, meaning that in the first few
years of service, Branson intends to fly more
people to space than in all of human history.
Before the 2014 accident, Branson planned
to take his children, Sam and Holly, with him
on the first passenger flight. Today, that has
changed. “Both my children have now got
young children, two lots of two-year-olds, so I
think I would most likely choose to do it myself
initially, but we’ll see a bit nearer the time,”
Branson says. He may even go up during the
test flight programme. Is he confident about
safety? “We’ve still got the test programme
to be completed,” Branson says. He believes
the testing will be successful but, “Only when
that’s absolutely completed will I be able to say
I feel confident enough [to take passengers].”
SPACE TRAVEL
He brushes off the need to win the so-called
“new space race” between him, Jeff Bezos and
Elon Musk. “I don’t think it’s that important,”
he says. “What Jeff is doing is really exciting –
it’s very different to what we are offering and
I suspect a lot of people would like to do both.
I think Elon’s not really interested in putting
people into space. His vision is much more to
go into deep-space exploration.” In fact, Virgin
may be about to become involved with Musk
through his Hyperloop project, a proposed
earth-based transport system involving levitat-
ing pods zooming around near-vacuum tubes
at almost the speed of sound. “Hyperloop and
Virgin – there’s something on the horizon.”
In the future, taking a trip with Virgin
Galactic will be significantly cheaper: in 20
years time, Branson believes that it may cost
just $20,000 for a ticket. The company may
also extend its offering to hypersonic “point-
to-point” travel, taking off at one spaceport,
travelling through space and landing at another
– this way, passengers could fly from LA to
Tokyo in an hour. Branson’s vision extends all
the way to the edge of the sci-fi spectrum. At
Mojave, he says, Virgin is working on flying
cars, and he hopes that one day there will be a
Virgin hotel on the moon. “Maybe in my kids’
lifetime,” he says, “if not in mine.”
ack in Tucson, Arizona, a few months
B
  after her trip to Mojave, Sally Krusing
has completed an astrobiology class at
the state university and is now stud-
ying “orbital perspective” – the art of viewing
the earth from space. “When I think about
[the flight] it gets me so excited, I can hardly
stand myself,” she says. “It makes my current
lifestyle seem boring.” It invites the question:
Krusing will be unlikely to go up a second time,
so does she ever think about how she’ll feel
once it’s all over? “I try not to think about it,”
she says. “I think I’ll feel let down after I’ve
done with it and wonder, ‘What’s next for me?’
And I don’t know what that is.” For now, she’d
rather focus on enjoying the months ahead,
living the life of a future astronaut.
On a wall in Virgin Galactic’s hangar at the
Mojave Air & Space Port, a photograph of
Krusing hangs among those of the company’s
other customers. It shows her in front of VSS
Unity, her hands aloft in double peace signs.
Underneath she has written a caption in black
pen. It reads, simply, “Living my dream.”
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Jack Of All Trades (Charlie Burton, June 2017)
I’m Sorry, Dave. I’m Afraid I Can Do That
(Charlie Burton, May 2017)
Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Drivers
(Jason Barlow, February 2017)
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 191
 STORY BY

Stuart McGurk

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

Herring & Herring

STYLING BY

Joanna Schlenzka

Dress by Versace, £5,440. versace.com. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik, £635. manoloblahnik.com. Bracelets by Miansai, from £320. miansai.com
 LILY JAMES

Leaving behind the corset and glass slippers of CINDERELLA,

LILY JAMES has broken free from the Hollywood fairy tale. As the star prepares
for a run of major stereotype-defying roles, GQ meets the past darling
of Downton Abbey and War & Peace before she takes a spin in big-cast musical
crime thriller of the summer BABY DRIVER
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 193
 ILY JAMES laughs like other people do the Heimlich manoeuvre. It’s a winning laugh, you under-
stand, endearing, just one she seems to have as much control over as someone holding a tiger by
the tail. Sometimes a “hur-hur-hur-hur” will grip her like a coughing fit – unapologetic, mouth-
open, I’m-laughing-here – and often she’ll end it with a snort, like punctuation, or a redneck’s
satisfied post-beer burp.
Put another way: we can probably just skip the part where I mention she’s not particularly like
either a demure Cinderella (in, appropriately, 2015’s Cinderella) or the prim Lady Rose MacClare
(in ITV’s Downton Abbey) or the pining Natasha Rostova (in the BBC’s War & Peace).
I meet James in her local pub in north London, on a hill above Hampstead Heath, near the flat
she shares with her boyfriend – a former Time Lord by the name of Matt Smith – and I find her
at the bar, ordering a gin and tonic she will later forget she hasn’t paid for. (“Oh, God. I have such
a terrible memory. My brother has to write down the names of everyone he meets.”)
Her new film is Baby Driver, and it’s one that a) is brilliant fun, b) is a particularly happy
moment for the 28-year-old, as it meant she’s no longer in a corset or a ballgown or wearing
slippers made of material with a distinct lack of give, and c) will maybe stop people comparing
her to the demure period waifs for which she’s become known. In it, she plays a sparky southern
waitress, the love interest to Ansel Elgort’s getaway driver. It’s the latest film from Edgar Wright
(Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) and plays like Drive crossed with a Hype Williams music video.
“I so enjoyed doing scenes that were just more conversational and natural. I’ve done a lot of
highly emotional stories, from books where there’s huge peaks and troughs, huge emotional
journeys.” This was different. “We did every scene to music.”
Baby Driver is fun for a lot of reasons – not least the supporting cast of Kevin Spacey (as the
criminal mastermind), Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm (as two
members of the bank-robbing crew for which Elgort’s char-
acter drives) – but the main one is the music. Every scene is ‘The press
set to it – Elgort’s character (called Baby) was in a car crash
as a child, so listens to his iPod to drown out his tinnitus – said I’m
meaning dramatic scenes climax with musical crescendos, a bad role
gun battles happen to drum beats and the car chases are The
Fast And The Furious crossed with La La Land. model, but
They filmed, says James, with miniature earphones inside
their ears, so they could get the rhythms of the scenes bang
I eat! I just
on the music. Even the scripts came with sonic instructions. have an
“We got an app to download. On the script there was a
little dude with headphones that looked like Ansel, and as
hourglass
soon as you got to that, you pressed so the music played shape’
while you read. You’d read the stage directions, the car door
slams, and they’ll be like, a bcooooow in the song.”
On the day we meet, Emma Thompson is in the news for speaking out about
Hollywood’s “worsening” anorexia problem and mentioning she once threatened to
walk off the set of Brideshead Revisited after one of the female cast was pressured
by the producers to lose weight. James – who’s naturally petite – was herself crit-
icised about the size of her waist in Cinderella, but says it was unfair. “The press
were saying I’m a bad role model. I’ve always been healthy. I eat!” It should be
pointed out she’s eating while she says this. “I do have a tiny waist and quite
big hips so it looks in proportion, you know? I have an hourglass shape.”
Has she heard of women on set being asked to lose weight?
“Yeah, I’ve heard that story. And you hear those stories all the time. It’s
so disheartening. I hope it’s not getting worse, because people are talking
about it and people are aware.”
Coming up she’s got three films where she’s further throwing off her cor-
seted shackles, which she’s glad about, but which also presents another
worry. Namely: “They’re all set in the Second World War!”
Still, she’s probably not about to be typecast as the next Vera Lynn
any time soon. And besides, she adds, as they’re mostly quieter roles,
they’re different from how she’s currently seen, which is also good.
“Like, I love Michelle Williams. I’ve watched every film Michelle
Williams has ever done. I probably love her because she’s the
opposite of me, such stillness, such mystery. I’m quite big and
I play...” That laugh again. “Hur-hur-hur-hur! I play quite
vivacious characters.” In fairness, we’re not complaining.
Baby Driver is out on 28 June.

194 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 LILY JAMES

‘I’ve done a lot of highly

emotional stories, from
books where there’s huge
emotional journeys’
Dress by Alexander Wang, £950. alexanderwang.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 195

 Dress by Alexander Wang, £950. alexanderwang.com. Earrings by Astley Clarke, £95. astleyclarke.com

Photographic assistant Miro Arva Styling assistant Leah Jennings Make-up Mary Greenwell Hair Leigh Keates Manicurist Lyndsay McIntosh using YSL Beauty

196 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 LILY JAMES

‘Michelle Williams is
the opposite of me...
such stillness. I play
vivacious characters’
Jacket, £495. Trousers, £215. Both by Zadig & Voltaire.
zadigandvoltaire.com. Earrings by Miansai, £130. miansai.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 197

 Hepple Gin
Hepple Gin started when
Mark Hix’s friend and
cocktail guru Nick
Strangeway went to visit
Walter Riddell up at
Whitfield Hall in
Northumberland with
Cairbry Hill and Valentine
Warner. They discovered
that the surrounding
area, a Site Of Special
Scientific Interest, had
one of the most abundant
populations of wild
juniper and was perfect
for gin production.
In 2015, these food
and drinks industry
experts had something
to shout about when
they launched Hepple
Gin with head distiller
Chris Garden, who had
formerly worked at
Sipsmith. As with Sacred
Gin (opposite), Hepple is
vacuum-distilled at a low
temperature, which keeps
the freshness of the key
ingredients: juniper and
Douglas fir needles.
The final stage is
one that the boys
have pioneered in the
drinks industry, called
super-critical CO2
extraction. Previously
used only for fragrances,
it helps capture and
retain the aromas of the
botanicals, getting
the most out of the
1 The MORE
ingredients with very
little efort. £36.95.
BLACKMOOR
hepple-gin.com

Gin Putting a spin on

198 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 GIN COCKTAILS

2
The FULL ENGLISH NEGRONI
Sacred Gin
Once Great Britain’s tipple of choice, gin has become the Since 2009, mad
artisan spirit of the age. As a new generation of gin-thusiasts scientist Ian Hart has
made Sacred Gin in his
emerges, seeking botanical perfection from their own front front room in Highgate,
north London, the
rooms and farms, restaurateur MARK HIX introduces smallest commercial
distillery of its kind.
his favourite makers with some classic and creative cocktails He has a 100-strong
botanical library, from
which he draws to
make nine gins, plus
Sacred English Spiced
Vermouth and Sacred
Rosehip Cup, a fantastic
alternative to Campari
– all the ingredients
for the perfect Full
English Negroni.
£30.95. sacredspirits
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Chris Hoare company.com
 new gin to try lands on my desk on an
almost weekly basis. Why? I would say
that the boom in cocktails over the past
ten years has caused a revival that has
helped young, ambitious distillers to
revive a lost art.
Drinkers’ palates are changing, too:
vodka has traditionally dominated the
UK spirit market as it’s a neutral flavour
(From previous page)
and can be mixed into anything, from
Bloody Marys to long, thirst-quenching
cocktails. Gin, however, is infused and
1. The MORE BLACKMOOR
distilled with botanicals such as juniper, “The blackcurrant-infused gin recipe below is
which can be acquired tastes. enough for a whole bottle, so it’s worth making
and keeping some for the future.”
In fact, gin has never quite had the
kudos of other spirits and, from child- Ingredients (serves 2)
hood memory, it was often tagged as O 100ml Blackcurrant-infused Hepple Gin
“mother’s ruin” and a depressant, which suggested that mothers who drank this evil (see below)
spirit were alcoholics or severely unhappy. I’m not sure that was quite the case. O 60ml Martini Rosso
The popularity and consumption of gin in this country fell away after the war, and
gin production and distilleries became a rarity, even in the capital, where gin production O 20ml Campari
found its fame in the form of London gin and the famous Beefeater bottle, illustrated O Top up with English sparkling wine
with Tower Of London gatekeepers on the label. Back in the 18th century, during the For the blackcurrant-infused gin
“gin craze”, the city had around 1,500 distillers, which is difficult to imagine as only Infuse 250g of fresh or frozen blackcurrants
five years ago you could count them on one hand. in a bottle of Hepple Gin for 12 hours. Then
It’s impossible to know how many gins are being produced right now in the UK, but strain through a fine-meshed sieve or muslin,
I do know that eight years ago Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall and distiller and historian reserving a few blackcurrants for the garnish.
Jared Brown made a big noise when they were awarded a distilling license to start pro- Method
ducing Sipsmith in their garage in Hammersmith, London. They woke up regular gin Stir the first four ingredients on cubed
drinkers and tempted new ones, making gin-drinking cool again and forcing established ice in a mixing glass for about a minute,
brands such as Beefeater and Plymouth Gin to rethink the market. All of a sudden, dis- and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
tillers such as Sipsmith were winning food awards and scooping accolades alongside Top with the English sparkling wine and
great artisan food producers. When I visited Sam in Hammersmith in the early days, he garnish with some fresh blackcurrants.
proudly showed me his distilling certificate, which was the first to be issued in 200 years.
I suppose they set a precedent and made a pathway for the rest to follow.
Gin starts life as a grain- or molasses-based spirit, much like an unrefined vodka: a
neat industrial spirit that you wouldn’t want to drink until it has been distilled and
flavoured with botanicals. For me, the best test of a gin is in a Martini, as you get the
pure hit of the finished spirit and all the botanicals used in the distilling process will
be apparent in the mouth, rather than hiding among the other ingredients in a longer
cocktail. I quite like the simple rule of using three main ingredients in menu dishes
and mixed drinks.
When I first moved to London 30 years ago, Camden was where we went to see live
(From previous page)
music. I saw The Smiths at Dingwalls there, and we would often go to Camden for vintage
clothes and second-hand vinyl. I used to wonder what went on in the area’s lovely old
warehouses and, had I connected street names such as Juniper Crescent, I may have
2. The FULL ENGLISH
taken a bit more interest in its history. Back then people talked a lot about “gin palaces”, NEGRONI
which were large old Victorian pubs built in the early 18th century, featuring lavish bars “Finally someone is making British vermouth
selling the spirit of London. A few still existed and new ones were copying the look and Campari, the two key ingredients of a Full
(rather like the Irish pubs you find all over the world today), but eventually they all English Negroni. If Sacred’s vermouth is too
spicy, try The Collector, made in Somerset
became big pubs selling an awful lot of lager and not a lot of gin.
by the folk behind The Ethicurian restaurant.”
Pubs designed in the style of the gin palaces
are sadly disappearing and becoming craft beer Ingredients (serves 2)
pubs. I hate that name – why don’t they just Sipsmith’s O 100ml Sacred Gin
call it real ale like they used to? Good brewers
are artisan craftsman, like cheese makers, but
distilling O 100ml Sacred or The Collector vermouth

the latter don’t call themselves “craft cheese certificate, O 100ml Sacred Rose Hip Cup
makers”. I suppose it’s something we picked up
from the United States and it has stuck.
the first O2 twists of orange peel or a slice of apple

Those palaces may be a thing of the past, but to be issued Method

the producers featured on these pages are cel-
ebrating gin in all its forms – just follow these
cocktail recipes to do them justice.
Pour the three liquid ingredients into a mixing
in 200 years, glass and top with ice cubes. Stir for 15 seconds.
Strain into a tumbler over an ice sphere.
set a precedent Serve with an orange twist or slice of apple.

200 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 GIN COCKTAILS

3 The MARTINI
No3 London Dry Gin
“With six balanced ingredients, this gin from Berry
Bros & Rudd, the capital’s oldest wine merchant,
makes a perfect Martini. If a bottle could talk, there
would be no end to a long lunch.” £35. no3gin.com

Ingredients (serves 1)
O 70ml No3 London Dry Gin
O 5ml dry vermouth
Method
Pour all of the ingredients into a mixing glass,
add cubed ice and stir for 10-15 seconds.
Strain the contents into a small coupe glass
and a mini carafe.
Cut a 5cm strip of lemon skin, twist it over
the glass, allowing the oil to spray onto the
surface, then drop into the drink as a garnish.
Serve the mini carafe in a small bowl of
crushed ice on the side of the coupe.

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 201

Conker Spirit
Launched in 2014,
Conker Spirit is Dorset’s
first gin. Since Julian
Temperley began making
Somerset Cider Brandy
in the southwest some
25 years ago, the area
has started to produce
some fantastic spirits,
including Black Cow
vodka, and gin was the
missing link.
“When I was a child,
playing conkers was
a regular playground
activity come the
autumn, so I was
interested to hear, a few “Chestnuts in syrup are best for this,
years back, that Rupert and you can use the syrup from the
Holloway was to start can in the cocktail as well.”
producing Conker Spirit
Ingredients (serves 2)
gin in my home county
of Dorset,” says Hix. O 100ml Conker Spirit Gin
Conker Spirit gin is
distilled using British O 4tsp chestnut syrup
wheat spirit, New Forest O 400ml tangerine or mandarin juice
spring water and ten
botanicals, including OSoda water to top up
some rather distinctive,
but unusual, Dorset O2 chestnuts in syrup to garnish
flavours such as gorse Method
flowers, samphire
Put the gin, chestnut syrup and juice
and elderberries.
in a highball glass or similar and mix.
Before he put Conker
Spirit on the market, Half-fill with ice, then top up with
Rupert supplied Hix soda water. Garnish with chestnuts
with – if not the first – on cocktail sticks or orange rind.
a very early batch for
the launch of the Hix
Academy in Weymouth,
and it created this
cocktail for the opening.
£35.95. conkerspirit.co.uk
4 The CONKERER

Tarquin’s Gin
Tarquin Leadbetter
launched Tarquin’s Gin
in 2013 when he was only
23. His intention was to
use traditional botanicals
and a wheat spirit base.
Production started
small at a distillery at
Higher Trevibban Farm,
in Wadebridge, Cornwall,
with only 300 bottles
made per session in
a copper pot still. This
was named Tamara after
the goddess of the River
Tamar, and is the only
old-school, naked-flame-
operated pot still in the
country. Leadbetter uses
a paella stove to heat it
and bread dough to seal
the top. He keeps a close
eye on the distilling
process and, once the
gin is rested, cuts it
with local Boscastle
water. He then bottles,
corks and seals it.
Like most gin distillers,
Leadbetter likes to add
a little twist in terms
of the botanicals, using
local(ish) Devon violet
leaves to add freshness
and individuality.
Tarquin also makes
a Navy Strength edition,
which is 57 per cent
proof. Commissioned
by the Royal Navy, it
was so popular that he
continues to produce it
under the Sea Dog label.
You may have seen
Cornish pastis in
specialist shops and
wondered what it was.
Well, this is Leadbetter’s
very own West Country
pastis: a great addition
to any collection of
alternative British spirits.
Gin and pastis, £30.95.
Navy Strength, £39.95.
southwestern
distillery.com
5 The QUINCE PRINCE
GIN COCKTAILS
“I named this cocktail after the food
writer Rose Prince and her husband,
Dominic, who brought me some fruit
from Tarquin’s orchard. The infusion
keeps well and can be used for all
sorts of drinks.”
Ingredients (serves 2)
O 150ml quince-infused Tarquin’s Gin
(see below)
O 150ml poached quince
cooking liquor (see below)
O The juice of 1 lemon
O The white of 1 egg
For the quince-infused gin
Mix 500g quince, coarsely grated,
peel and all, a litre of Tarquin’s Gin
and 30g sugar; seal in an airtight
container. After 3-4 weeks, strain
through a fine sieve and store
in airtight bottles until required.
For the poached quinces
Peel 5 quinces and put them in
a nonreactive saucepan with a small
piece of cinnamon stick, 6 cloves,
6 juniper berries, 200g sugar and
1 lemon, halved. Cover with water,
bring to the boil and simmer for 45
minutes or until tender. Keep the
poached quinces in the cooking liquor
to use as a dessert or garnish for game.
Method
Mix all four ingredients in a cocktail
shaker with ice, shake and pour into
suitable serving glasses.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 203
 6 The DUKE
Ingredients (serves 2)
O 100ml Half Hitch Gin
O 80ml port
O 40ml grenadine syrup
O The juice of a blood orange
O Top up with English sparkling wine
Method
Mix the first four ingredients
together and chill over ice or
in the freezer until cold.
Pour into champagne saucers
and top up with sparkling wine.
DEVON IN THE DETAIL
Launched in July 2016,
Salcombe Gin distillery is on
the site of the Island Cruising
Club boat repair shed, making
it one of the few gin distilleries
in the world that can be
accessed by land and sea.
£37.50. salcombegin.com
204 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
Half Hitch Gin
Back in the 18th century,
Camden was the hub of
London gin distilling and
warehousing, with a daily
express train shipping the
spirit out for export
around the world.
Half a century after gin
production ceased here,
Mark Holdsworth started
up Half Hitch in late 2014
in the old Camden Lock
warehouse vaults. The
name was inspired by the
knots used to tie up the
barges. The Half Hitch
flavour profiles are
bergamot, Malawian black
tea, pepper and hay.
Upon launching,
Hix asked his head
barman, Dustin MacMillan,
to create a cocktail for
Pitch@Palace at St James’s
Palace, hosted by the Duke
of York. Here, Brits have
the opportunity to show
of their creations and
inventions to enhance and
promote the country’s
artisans. This is the result.
£39.95. halfhitch.london
 GIN COCKTAILS

7
Ingredients (serves 2)
O 150ml or more Seedlip

The FILTHY SEEDLIP MARTINI O 3 large, green, good-quality olives along

with the brine
Method
Seedlip
Put the Seedlip with a couple of tablespoons of
And, finally, something for the teetotallers (or designated drivers). In 2015, Ben Branson, who the olive brine into a cocktail shaker and half fill
was previously a food and drink brand designer, came up with what he calls the world’s first with ice cubes.
distilled nonalcoholic spirit, which looks like gin, more or less tastes like gin, but isn’t gin at all.
Seedlip, which currently comes in Spice 94 and Garden 108 varieties, has the botanical aroma of Stir for about 20 seconds, strain into martini
gin and is sold in a bottle you could easily accuse the shopkeeper of misplacing on the shelves. glasses or similar and place some olives
It’s carefully distilled using more or less the same botanicals as gin – juniper, plus lemon peel, skewered onto cocktail sticks into each glass,
cardamom and cascarilla tree bark – and it really will ensure you don’t feel like a gooseberry in then serve immediately. (Alternatively, if you’re
the company of friends who are drinking the real thing. As Hix did when he first discovered it, using Seedlip Garden 108 rather than Spice 94,
you could be knocking back Filthy Seedlip Martinis like they’ve just come into fashion then drive garnish with a split pea pod hung on the rim of
everyone home. £27.95. seedlipdrinks.com the glass instead of the olives.)

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 205

 Shirt by Saint Laurent,£588.
At matchesfashion.com.
Jeans by Levi’s, £54. levi.com.
Sunglasses by Garrett Leight,
£287. garrettleight.com. Watch
by Baume & Mercier, £1,690.
baume-et-mercier.co.uk.
Necklace by The Great Frog,
£243. thegreatfrogoflondon.
com. On sunloungers: Shirt,
£153. T-shirt, £69. Both by
Levi’s. levi.com

206 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Soar into summer with the Bafta-winning hero of 

Spider-Man: Homecoming, as Marvel’s newest blockbuster superstar
TOM HOLL AND
steps out of the spandex and into classic Californian poolside chic
STORY BY PHOTOGRAPHS BY STYLING BY
Stuart McGurk Carter Smith Warren Alfie Baker

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 207

When TOM HOLLAND found
out he’d landed the much-coveted
role as the new SPIDER-MAN,
it wasn’t via an agent’s text, a call
from a studio head, or the director
leaving a voicemail. Instead, the
21-year-old discovered he was
to play the most famous victim of
a spider bite via INSTAGRAM.
S
itting in his childhood bedroom at
home in Kingston Upon Thames
on a Saturday, having just played
(“and been badly beaten by”) his
dad at a morning’s round of golf,
he suddenly came across the Marvel account,
showing a picture of Spider-Man and direct-
ing followers to the website to find out who
the actor would be. It was him. Holland, pre-
dictably, went nuts. The dogs started barking.
His mum rushed upstairs, thinking he’d hurt
himself. What’s wrong? I’m Spider-Man!
It was his older brother who advised caution.
It was just after the Sony hack. Have they
actually called you? Well, no...
Luckily for Holland, it was caused by a leak
rather than a hack; Marvel rushed out the
news after it was about to spill anyway, hence
the late phone call, which duly came from the
studio half an hour later.
“So I think before it looked like a leak,
Marvel did a big press release to make it look
like they had released it. Though obviously
I’ve just kiboshed those plans by telling you!”
Plus, he says, not only was it a relief when
he did get the call to confirm it, he’d also got
the proper celebrating out of his system. “I was
lucky to get the huge excitement out of the
way, then have a calm, collected conversation
with my new bosses.”
The role sees Holland – who first came to
prominence in tsunami drama The Impossible
playing the son of Ewan McGregor and Naomi
Watts – as the second Brit (following Andrew
Garfield) to slip into the spandex of one of
the US’s most iconic superheroes, and also
helped him win the recent Rising Star Bafta.
208 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
It may just be the latest Spider-Man reboot
(this will be the third series in 15 years), but
what sets this one apart is that he will join
the larger Marvel universe, which meant a
wise-cracking cameo in last year’s Captain
America: Civil War and recently saw him shoot-
ing the Marvel royal rumble that is next year’s
Avengers: Infinity War, also starring (deep
breath) Robert Downey Jr (as Iron Man), Brie
Larson (as Captain Marvel), Scarlett Johnasson
(as Black Widow), Vin Diesel (as Groot), Chris
Hemsworth (as Thor), Chris Pratt (as Star Lord),
Chris Evans (as Captain America), Elizabeth
Olsen (as Scarlet Witch), Mark Ruffalo (as
The Hulk), Benedict Cumberbatch (as Doctor
Strange), Paul Bettany (as Vision), Paul Rudd
(as Ant-Man), Jeremy Renner (as Hawkeye)
and Bradley Cooper (voicing a genetically mod-
ified racoon called Rocket).
It meant, as Holland was also filming a
Cumberbatch Oscar-bait film about the birth
of electricity (The Current War) at the same
time, “shooting two days in Atlanta, two days
in London, flying every third day in between”.
There was a time he was held up in customs,
he says, only getting to his hotel at 4.30am,
before being picked up for a 16-hour Avengers
shoot an hour later, then flying directly back to
London. That, he says, was not fun.
T
alk to most actors slipping on a
cape or into spandex and they will
tell you what a fan they were of
the comics as a child. But Holland’s
Spider-Man obsession surely goes
one step beyond.
Over the years, he says, “as a child, I defi-
nitely went through multiple costumes. I’d go
to bed in my costume, wake up in it, spend
all day in it...” Tom Holland liked Spider-Man.
Just five years ago, he adds, he went to a
party dressed as – you guessed it – Spider-
Man. There was just one problem. “It wasn’t a
fancy dress party. It was just a regular party.
And I was there as Spider-Man.”
The real costume, he says, was trickier.
Due to a head he describes as “weirdly egg-
shaped”, he wore a helmet under the suit.
Once the eyes were clipped in, he says, “I
could only see about five feet in front of me,
with no peripheral vision.” It led, once, to him
being clobbered by a stuntman. “Yeah, I got
punched in the face. I was supposed to dodge
it and I just didn’t see it coming. He cracked
me in the head. He had this massive gauntlet
in his hand, a big metal fist type thing, and
he punched me in the face so hard, like you
wouldn’t believe. But it looks great! I hope
they use it. It’s one of those things where you
stand up and you’re angry, like, ‘What the hell,
man? You punched me in the head!’ Then you
realise it’s entirely your fault.”
Next up, he says, he’d naturally like to play
some edgier roles (“I’ve played a lot of wide-
eyed kids”), but before then there’s the small
matter of being contracted for three more
Spider-Man movies. “But on the second film,
we’re gonna have to sort the suit.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming is out on 7 July.
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Hollywood Now (Stuart McGurk, May 2017)
Alfie Allen: A Man Of Many Parts
(Boyd Hilton, November 2016)
Josh Whitehouse: Millennial Rising
(Jessica Punter, April 2016)
Web master (left): Tom Holland has
signed to appear as Spider-Man in six
films, more than the previous two
wall-crawlers combined
 FASHION

‘It wasn’t a fancy

dress party. Just
a regular party.
And I was there
as Spider-Man’
Jacket by Dolce & Gabbana, £2,582.
dolcegabbana.com. Shirt by Levi’s Vintage,
£153. levi.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 209

 Suit by Boss, £662. hugoboss.com. Shirt by Levi’s Vintage, £153.
levi.com. Watch by Montblanc, £3,160. montblanc.com

210 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Shirt by All Saints, £121.

allsaints.com. Trousers
by Theory, £192. theory.com.
Sunglasses by Garrett
Leight, £266. garrettleight.
com. Necklace by
The Great Frog, £243.
thegreatfrogoflondon.com
 ‘He punched me in the
face, so hard, like you
wouldn’t believe.
But it looked great!’
Jacket by Giorgio Armani,
£2,268. armani.com. Sunglasses
by Garrett Leight, £310. At
matchesfashion.com. Necklace
by The Great Frog, £243.
thegreatfrogoflondon.com

212 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Jacket, £2,190. Trousers,

£1,328. Both by Giorgio
Armani. armani.com. Watch
by Montblanc, £1,460.
montblanc.com. Necklace
by The Great Frog, £243.
thegreatfrogoflondon.com.
Sunglasses by Garrett
Leight, £388. At matches
fashion.com

Fashion Editor Grace Gilfeather

Producer Ariana Trinneer
at Copious Management
Hair Christine Nelli at The Wall Group
Shot on location in Los Angeles

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 213

TOMI LAHREN became one of the
most watched women in the world thanks
to her alt-right takedowns of Beyoncé,
Barack Obama and Black Lives Matter
– a love of CONTROVERSY that has
even pitted her against her own ultra-
conservative fans. GQ went toe-to-toe with
Trump’s post-truth pin-up to discover what
chance the liberal media stands against...

‘White STORY BY
Alex Hannaford

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

power
James Breeden

Barbie’
214 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
 TOMI LAHREN

‘I’m a smart ass

and I’m very proud
of that. I wish
people would see
I’m a smart ass’

Right this way:

Tomi Lahren
photographed
in TheBlaze studios,
14 December 2016

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 215

A
t first, his protest went
unnoticed. It was a presea-
son game in mid-August
and Colin Kaepernick,
a 6ft 4in quarterback with
the San Francisco 49ers
American football team,
sat quietly on the bench
while everyone else in the stadium stood, hand
on heart, for the national anthem.
Kaepernick’s was a silent protest, specifically
against the alarming number of African-
Americans who had died at the hands of
police across the US, either on the streets or
in custody, and more generally at a country
he felt still oppressed black people more than
50 years after the end of the Civil Rights era.
By the middle of the month, now joined by a
handful of other players, his continued protests
had become national news. On 29 August, in a
brief three-and-a-half minute video clip titled
“Sit Down Colin Kaepernick”, a 24-year-old
conservative television host called Tomi Lahren
took him to task. “Let me eviscerate this mouth
diarrhoea for you sentence by sentence,” she
began. “If this country disgusts you so much,
leave. And Colin, how dare you sit there and
blame white people for the problems in minori-
ty communities. After all, aren’t you half white?
Didn’t two white parents adopt you after your
parents weren’t willing to raise you? For a racist
and horrible country filled with racist and hor-
rible white people, that’s really something isn’t
it? Maybe you should also decline the paycheck
from the white owner of your team.”
The clip, posted on the Facebook page of
Lahren’s then-employer, TheBlaze, had more
than 67 million views. A month before, she
had equated the anti-racist activist movement
Black Lives Matter with the Ku Klux Klan; in
2015 she’d gone viral after accusing President
Barack Obama of a “half-way, half-baked, tip-
toe, be-friendly-to-jihadis mentality”.
And in response to Beyoncé’s perceived
support for Black Lives Matter in her Super
Bowl half-time show, in which her backing
dancers dressed as Black Panthers and she gave
the black power salute, Lahren accused her
of “ripping off the historical Band-Aid”, that
instead of acknowledging that “little white girls
want to be like you, just like little black girls
do... you’d rather perpetuate the great battle of
the races”. And Lahren didn’t stop there, aiming
her sights at Jay Z, too: “Your husband was a
drug dealer. For 14 years he sold crack cocaine.
Talk about protecting black neighbourhoods.”
Wielding her toxic brand of right-wing
vitriol – whether in 140 characters or direct-
to-camera on her television show, On Point
With Tomi Lahren – she made hosts on Fox
News, the bane of Democrats since the chan-
nel’s creation by Rupert Murdoch in 1996,
look positively pedestrian. Despite being called
216 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
“white power Barbie” by adversaries online, it
seemed that Lahren, an athletic blonde woman
who hails from South Dakota, had settled com-
fortably into her role as the new media darling
of Trump’s United States, eschewing subtlety
and balance in favour of boorish, partisan and
often offensive attacks.
But then, in March, during an appearance on
The View, Lahren admitted to something that
didn’t sit well with mainstream conservatives:
being pro-choice. She said, “I’m someone that’s
for limited government. I can’t sit here and be
a hypocrite and say I’m for limited government
but I think that the government should decide
what women should do with their bodies.”
Afterwards, she tweeted: “I am not glorify-
ing abortion. I don’t personally advocate for it.
I just don’t think it’s the government’s place to
dictate... I have moderate, conservative and lib-
ertarian views. I’m human. I will never apologise,
to anyone, for being an independent thinker.”
The backlash was swift. Her boss, Glenn
Beck, the 53-year-old controversial conserv-
Lahren has settled
comfortably into
her role as the
media darling of
Trump’s America
ative talk show host who made his name on
Fox News before launching TheBlaze in 2011,
tweeted, “Wait, libertarian views? Help me out
on Trumpcare, stimulus and executive orders.
Trump is anything but libertarian.”
He then suspended Lahren from TheBlaze for
a week before terminating her contract alto-
gether. Conservative political blog Red State,
called Lahren a “spotlight-loving chameleon
whose opinions change based on the crowd
[she’s] playing to”.
But Beck is a traditional conservative who has
repeatedly railed against Trump on his show (last
year he admitted he spent $300,000 backing
unsuccessful presidential candidate Ted Cruz).
Lahren, meanwhile, had been one of the presi-
dent’s most vocal supporters. In March, she even
said Trump had called her to thank her after she
had said favourable things about him on con-
servative pundit Sean Hannity’s Fox news show.
Even with her departure from TheBlaze (in
April she filed a lawsuit against Beck, alleging
wrongful dismissal; Beck then countersued,
saying Lahren was suspended for “insub-
ordination”), the US hasn’t seen the last of
Tomi Lahren – and if anything, her axing only
further illustrates how different Trumpism is
to mainstream conservatism. Just as Trump
is unpredictable, so too are his fiercest high-
profile supporters. As Politico magazine said in
March, Lahren “might have run afoul of social
conservatives, but with her wide reach and
trademark sass, her future could be positively
Trumpian”. It added, “The Beck-Lahren divorce
is only the most recent and visible example of
the way the many uneasy bargains – hastily
struck among Republicans, conservatives, lib-
ertarians and moderates since Trump’s election
– are being tested now, and will continue to be.”
n December 2016, I went to Irving, Texas,
I  just west of Dallas, to meet Lahren at the
offices and studios of TheBlaze. Beck’s
company poached her from San Diego-
based One America News Network in
October 2015, after the Obama rant went viral.
Lahren was part of a drive to increase
TheBlaze’s audience share after its fortunes
took a dive. In April 2016, a year after an initial
round of layoffs, the network cut between
35 and 45 more staff, according to AdWeek
– a move designed, said the Daily Beast, to
“satisfy the requirements of a multimillion-
dollar bank loan taken out to keep Beck’s
revenue-challenged enterprise running”. Chris
Gannett, TheBlaze’s then-senior vice president
of marketing, told me a recent leadership team
change was paying off.
From the outside, Mercury Studios, which
houses TheBlaze, is a nondescript concrete
building in the middle of a car park. Inside,
it’s a strange combination of offices, record-
ing studio and museum which houses Beck’s
bizarre collectibles. There’s a life-size replica
of the Oval Office; a piano that was played
by protesters in Independence Square in Kiev
during the Ukraine uprising; the bench from
the movie Forrest Gump; and – disturbingly –
a handkerchief that once belonged to Hitler,
apparently stained with his blood.
The last segment of Lahren’s show, “Final
Thoughts”, a three-minute diatribe on a news-
worthy (and usually controversial) topic, had
been freed from TheBlaze’s paywall. These
were the clips that often went viral and which
made Lahren’s name. Today, her Facebook page
has more than four million likes.
“That’s all we can put online,” she told me
in her dressing room while her make-up artist
applied the finishing touches before the day’s
show. “There’s a maximum seven minutes we
can pull from each show because of cable con-
tracts, so ‘Final Thoughts’ is perfect for that.
I tell people the misconception about me is that
I’m angry – that that is my schtick. But more
so than anything I’m a smart ass and I’m very
proud of that. So I wish people would see I’m
a smart ass.”
 TOMI LAHREN

In her prime: Lahren uses her Instagram

account to promote her conservative
values, as well as to connect directly
with more than 740,000 followers

She responded
to Beyoncé’s
perceived
support for
Black Lives
Photographs Instagram/@tomilahren

Matter. And
then aimed her
sights at Jay Z

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 217

 ‘I’m not a politician or a president, so I’m
not trying to unify the country’

The vision thing: Behind the

scenes of former TheBlaze
show On Point With Tomi
Lahren, 16 December 2016

218 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017


Arguably, watching entire episodes of
Lahren’s show on TheBlaze, viewers would
also see at least an attempt to look at the
issues through a more balanced lens. She
often invited left-leaning guests on. But “Final
Thoughts” – the vehicle through which most
people became aware of her – offered none of
that. The Dallas Morning News said she casts
herself as a truth-teller “even as she can casu-
ally brush aside nuance, context and history”.
Although she denied being controversial
for clicks – an accusation even conservative
critics would level at her following her abortion
comments – I pointed out that Facebook and
YouTube rewarded publishers for views. She
said whether she got five million or 66 million
views, it didn’t affect her salary. Either way, it
certainly did wonders for her profile.
Lahren is part of a wave of Trump champion-
ing commentators which includes CNN pundit
Scottie Nell Hughes (who American GQ called
the “world’s most loyal Trump surrogate”);
Ann Coulter, the right-wing polemicist whose
new book is In Trump We Trust; and Milo
Yiannopoulos, the ultra-conservative British
writer and self-publicist who refers to Trump
as “Daddy” and was banned from Twitter for
life last summer after reportedly spearhead-
ing a campaign of racial harassment towards
the black Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones.
(Yiannopoulos declined an interview with GQ,
saying the magazine was “banned”.)
his chorus of support for Trump coin-
T
  cided with a divisive presidential
campaign during which he referred
to Mexican immigrants as rapists,
promised to build a “big, beautiful
wall” on the US border with Mexico, belittled
the Gold Star parents of a Muslim Army captain
who died in a car bombing in Iraq, perpetuated
the racist “birther” conspiracy theory that held
Obama was born in Kenya and repeatedly
refused to repudiate the support he’d picked up
from former KKK leader David Duke. (Trump
would blame a “lousy” earpiece for that.)
Worse, perhaps, was the association between
Trumpism and the so-called alternative right.
The term (“alt-right” for short) was coined
eight years ago by Richard B Spencer, the
38-year-old chairman of white nationalist
think tank the National Policy Institute, and
Colin Liddell. According to civil rights organi-
sation Southern Poverty Law Center, the term
refers to “a loose set of far-right ideals cen-
tered on ‘white identity’ and the preservation
of ‘western civilisation’”.
Before joining the Trump campaign
as its CEO, Stephen Bannon, now the
Photograph Rex
president’s chief strategist, served as exec-
utive chairman of the media organisation
Breitbart News, identifying it as “the platform
for the alt-right”.
Insta gratification: Lahren used social media to
build a following for her show on TheBlaze. Both
fans and detractors were always quick to respond
‘LGBT...Q...A...F...
I don’t even know
its name, but
that doesn’t
make me a bigot’
In his first days as president, Trump added
two Breitbart staffers to his administration.
Julia Hahn, who had covered immigration issues
for Breitbart through what CNN described as
an “aggressively anti-immigration lense”, is
now special assistant to the president, and
Sebastian Gorka, a British-born defence expert
who was the site’s national security editor and
a huge critic of Obama’s handling of terrorist
groups, now serves as deputy assistant. Gorka
pleaded guilty to an attempt last year to carry a
handgun onto an aeroplane – a federal offence.
Yiannopoulos, meanwhile, whose planned
talk at the University Of California at the begin-
ning of February was cancelled after protesters
rioted, also worked as a journalist at Breitbart
News in London (he resigned the same month).
The New York Times noted in August that a
TOMI LAHREN
publication that was once a “curiosity of the
fringe right wing, is now an increasingly pow-
erful voice and virtual rallying spot for millions
of disaffected conservatives who propelled
Trump to the Republican nomination for pres-
ident”. Hillary Clinton called Breitbart “racist,
radical and offensive”. Spencer, meanwhile, said
Bannon would “push Trump in the right direc-
tion”, which “would be a wonderful thing”.
At the tail end of January, Trump alarmed
many already suspicious of Bannon’s influence
when he elevated him to full membership of
the National Security Council – a decision
Trump has since reversed – while simultane-
ously downgrading the director of national
intelligence and the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs Of Staff.
Bannon, meanwhile, claims his definition of
the alt-right differs. It is, he insists, “younger
people who are anti-globalists, very national-
ist, terribly anti-establishment” – and that the
Breitbart website hosts myriad different views.
Bannon, Trump and their supporters have
persistently fomented public mistrust in the
mainstream media (think: the New York Times,
CNN, NBC, CBS etc), with Trump condemn-
ing the outlets as “fake news” and saying his
perceived “bad treatment” by them is “record
setting”. Bannon referred to the media as
“the opposition party” and said it should be
collectively “embarrassed, humiliated and keep
its mouth shut”.
This has all left many in the media won-
dering whether it’s part of a master plan to
sow seeds of doubt so that Trump can push
through his agenda free from scrutiny – or at
least scrutiny that any of his supporters will
believe. According to an analysis of Trump’s
social media feed, the New York Times claimed
he often backs up dubious claims with links to
Breitbart News or right-wing blogs that often
promote conspiracy theories, highlighting “the
bounty of misinformation accessible on the
web and its power in a deeply divided America
– especially when endorsed by someone of Mr
Trump’s influence and visibility”.
In a message to his staff at the end of
January, the editor-in-chief of the Reuters
news organisation said that in an era where
the president refers to journalists as “among
the most dishonest human beings on earth” his
reporters should tackle the administration in
the same way they would in places like China,
Zimbabwe and Russia, where “the media is
unwelcome and frequently under attack”.
But Trump and Bannon’s continual demon-
ising of the mainstream media has also given
supportive commentators such as Lahren
more oxygen, although she too has been
forced to distance herself from the damag-
ing alt-right label, saying she would never be
“a cheerleader or an apologist for the KKK or
any other hate group”.
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 219
 Gannett, who would leave TheBlaze for a
new job shortly before Lahren’s departure, told
me that although American GQ called Lahren
the “alt-right queen”, that label “is not in
theory, concept or philosophy anything that
we share... She bristles at that and does not
aspire to that.”
ahren, an only child, grew up in
L
  Rapid City, South Dakota, a city of
about 70,000 in the shadow of the
Black Hills mountains. Her parents,
both from ranching families, are
conservatives – dad, Kevin, works for big box
retail store Target Corporation, handling its
air conditioning repairs in the district; mum,
Trudy, is a loan officer at a bank.
She said her parents are her biggest
supporters and have now become minor
celebrities in Rapid City. They didn’t mind
the invective Lahren directed towards
her perceived enemies on her show, but
they don’t like to hear her swear. “I said
‘blow job’ on ‘Final Thoughts’ once and
they weren’t happy,” she said.
After graduating from the University
Of Nevada in 2014, where she studied
journalism and political science, an
internship at One America News
Network led to her own show. Last year,
while working at TheBlaze, she became
an informal advisor to the Trump cam-
paign on its social media use, and according to
the New York Times, did some Facebook Live
broadcasts in the final weeks before the elec-
tion on its behalf.
She compares what happened with the US
election with the UK over Brexit. “I think you
can relate to it very well,” she told me. “The
silent majority was tired of being silent; tired
of being ignored.”
The mainstream media in the US, she said,
only caters to people living on the two coasts
– “LA, New York City and the surrounding
areas, because that’s where they’re based.
There’s this giant section in the middle of
the country which is largely ignored and
they’re the ones losing their jobs; they’re the
ones going through the hardest time with the
slowest recovery we’ve seen from a reces-
sion, stagnant wages, and those people said
it’s time for a change. Obama didn’t give them
the change they were looking for, so they’re
looking for someone outside of the mould, and
Trump came in at just the right time.”
Lahren said she was just trying to give those
Trump voters in middle America a voice. “I’m
not a politician or a president, so I’m not trying
to unify the country.” But she insisted Trump
is. “It’s the economy, stupid,” she told me. “You
wouldn’t have had blue-collar workers and
Democrats voting for him in states that had
turned blue if he wasn’t unifying. It’s about
220 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017
optimism. Ridding ourselves of the shackles
of political correctness and fixing immigration.
That, to me, is very unifying.”
I pointed out that Trump’s campaign – and
the beginnings of his term in office – hardly
screamed “unifier”; and that railing against
political correctness felt like disparaging
a system designed to protect the marginal-
ised. Didn’t language matter?
“Here’s the difference between being polit-
ically incorrect and being an asshole: I don’t
encourage people to be assholes or openly
offend people,” she told me. “There are some
people – LGBT... Q... A... F... NMG – I don’t
even know there are so many. And just because
I don’t know that and I say the wrong thing,
it doesn’t mean I’m trying to offend [them] or
Show and tell: Mercury Studios in Irving, Texas,
where TheBlaze – owned by conservative Glenn
Beck – records its shows, December 2016
‘I criticise Black
Lives Matter and
all of a sudden I’m
a member of the
new Ku Klux Klan’
be intolerant or that I’m a bigot. Sometimes
being politically incorrect means I don’t know
what to say in such a way that’s not going to
offend anyone. I’m not going to walk up and
throw the “N” word out. No. That’s rude. It’s
disrespectful. But it doesn’t mean I can’t speak
to a black person and say I believe Black Lives
Matter is disjointed and has lost its legitimacy.
Let’s have a conversation about it.”
Yes, let’s have a conversation about that
Black Lives Matter tweet. It came at 3.30am
one morning, the day after a man called Micah
Johnson shot and killed five police officers in
Dallas – the deadliest attack on law enforce-
ment in the US since 9/11. Here’s what Lahren
tweeted to her 693,000 followers: “Meet the
new KKK, they call themselves ‘Black Lives
Matter’ but make no mistake their goals are
far from equality. #Dallas #bluelivesmatter.”
Johnson’s attack came at the same time
a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest was
taking place in the city in response to the con-
troversial police killings of African-American
men in Louisiana and Minnesota. A former
US soldier, Johnson was apparently aveng-
ing the deaths of those black people killed,
but at a press conference, then-Dallas police
chief David Brown made it clear that Johnson
was upset not just at the police shootings,
but also at the Black Lives Matter movement.
For Johnson, Black Lives Matter – which
sprang up in 2013 in the wake of the acquittal
of George Zimmerman, the neighbour-
hood watch captain who shot to death
unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin
in Florida – was toothless.
Despite deleting the tweet shortly
afterwards, Lahren remains unrepent-
ant. “When you had the Civil Rights
movement you had declared leaders who
people looked up to – Martin Luther King
and similar – who would denounce vio-
lence. So Black Lives Matter needs to
establish some kind of leadership if they
are in fact going to be a legitimate move-
ment and those leaders should come out
and say we don’t want looting, rioting,
we don’t believe in vandalising police cars,
lighting them on fire, throwing rocks at the
police, blocking the highway system.”
I pointed out that the Civil Rights era did
have its share of riots and violent protest – and
that few look back now and say it shouldn’t
have happened that way. Regardless of the
level of violence or otherwise at any given
Black Lives Matter protest though, Lahren
still compared it to the KKK, equating a loose
movement of people protesting what they see
as racial injustice in the United States with a
violent, extremist group whose sole aim was to
purify American society to further their white
supremacist agenda.
I wondered whether Lahren’s world view
came from leading a sheltered existence; that
her lack of compassion comes from not ever
having tried to truly understand the experi-
ence of being a member of a minority in the
US. The problem is she had – and will have in
the future – a stage from which to share that
sheltered world view, and loudly.
It’s certainly not the only time Lahren’s
tweets or “Final Thoughts” incurred the wrath
of her detractors. In January some social media
users began retweeting some old tweets she’d
sent while she was in college. One read:
“Does anybody at this school speak English?
#thisisamerica.” Lahren responded that she
couldn’t understand the scandal seeing as she’s

openly said on her show that she’s frustrated
“with people who are living in this country
and taking advantage of the greatest nation
on Earth if they don’t feel it necessary to learn
to speak English”.
Of Chelsea Manning, the former soldier con-
victed of espionage after leaking thousands of
classified military documents, who came out as
transgender in 2013 and whose sentence was
commuted by President Obama in January,
Lahren said: “Anyone selfish enough to let their
emotions or gender dysphoria get in the way
of their service, the safety of their fellow war-
riors, or their country, is 100 per cent a traitor
and should be treated as such. Not applauded
for his ‘trans bravery’ – are you kidding me?”
And she called the millions of women who
in January marched in many cities across
the country in protest at the election of
Trump “snowflakes” (a pejorative term
used by the right to describe those on
the left who they see as being overly
sensitive) who were whining about the
results and “playing the victim card”.
But perhaps more significant, though,
than the tweets or controversial “Final
Thoughts”, are the responses they elicit
from some of her fans and followers.
In January, for example, Lahren voiced
her disgust at the story of a woman who
broadcast the vicious beating of a man
on Facebook. During the attack, the
aggressors were heard shouting “F*** Trump”
and “F*** white people.”
The first response on Lahren’s Twitter feed
from one of her followers was: “Make America
Safe Again!” together with a hand-scrawled
picture of a white person and a black person
separated by a line, and the words “Bring
Back Segregation”.
Asked how she felt being grouped together
with white supremacists such as Spencer,
Lahren said nothing angered her more. “Have
they not learned they lost the election because
they over-labelled people? I’m not a racist.
I criticise Black Lives Matter and I’m a Trump
supporter and all of a sudden I’m a member of
the alt-right which is the new KKK. I’ve never
done anything that would exhibit that, that
would exhibit I’m a member of the alt-right
or a white nationalist.”
Each night she reads a good deal of the
mentions she gets from people who like what
she has to say on Twitter and many from those
who don’t. Instagram, the photo-sharing app,
lets you block certain people from commenting
on your pictures by compiling a list of “banned”
words. Lahren’s filter, which she describes as “a
mile long”, includes the following: racist, slut,
Photograph Rex
bitch, prostitute, mayonnaise, whore, ho. She
inspires support and vitriol in equal measure.
Until she added a comment filter on
Instagram she says she couldn’t post a picture
of her dog without attracting messages such as,
“You racist bitch. You’re killing black people.”
“I’m like... Really? My dog and me sitting
here on a Sunday and we’re killing black
people? I’m glad you got that from a photo of
my dog and I.”
It came as a surprise to some conservatives
that Lahren is fairly liberal on social issues.
On gay marriage, she told me, “I don’t care if
someone chooses a same-sex partner.” As for
abortion – her stance on which cost her her
job – she said, “The only issue I have is I don’t
believe in funding it through my taxpayer
dollars, but beyond that I don’t really care.”
Even guns: she believes in the right to
bear arms, and she’s a gun owner (for self-
protection, in her home), but she doesn’t shoot
The president’s men: Trump calls Australia’s prime
minister in the presence of his advisors Michael
Flynn and Steve Bannon, 28 January 2017
To do what Lahren
does when talking
about an issue is
simple: you just
subtract empathy
recreationally. “I don’t particularly like guns,
but I do believe people have the right to own
them... I believe background checks are impor-
tant and I even believe in the three-day cooling
period” (which forces a potential gun buyer to
wait three days before they can take owner-
ship of their weapon).
As for climate change, she said there are
conservatives who think the “man-made
apocalypse” is over-hyped. “That’s where
I fall. I believe in conservation. I believe in
common sense. But I think there’s a middle
ground. I do not believe in regulation that
is going to stifle innovation, job growth or
energy independence.”
TOMI LAHREN
ahren thinks she speaks for a lot of
L
  young people – millennials – who
are more concerned with a pay-
check and a job. On the issue of
immigration, however, she is far
from moderate. “I think we need extreme
vetting,” she said. “If there are people coming,
travelling back and forth to Syria, Turkey etc,
who is keeping an eye on these folks and
knowing what their intentions are?”
I watched Lahren as she recorded “Final
Thoughts” for the show to be broadcast that
same evening. She was professional, slick and,
after running through it quickly, did the entire
thing in one take. She even took aim at Trump,
although certainly not for my benefit. “Please,
for the love of God, learn,” she told him. “Get
off Twitter and learn. Take a break from
your chest-beating victory tour and go
to a security briefing.”
But criticising Trump is far from
the norm for Lahren. Even now, post-
TheBlaze, she has been reaching out to
her considerable number of social media
followers, espousing her views and offer-
ing support for his administration; in
between the Bible verses and advertising
her many public appearances, she
posts Trump quotes – and gets thousands
of retweets.
Tomi Lahren plays to her base. She’s
not going to use her Twitter feed (or any
new television show) as a platform for how
she is pro-choice, for gay marriage and thinks
that there should be a three-day waiting period
on all gun sales. That wouldn’t go down well
at all – as she’s found to her detriment. It’s not
that she doesn’t believe what she says – she
does. But she knows her core support, picking
and choosing what she is willing to share.
She Instagrams pictures of herself holding
her handgun, tweets comments about “illegals
pouring in”. And that’s what gets clicks, raises
her profile and makes her attractive to a future
employer. Fox News, perhaps?
To do what Lahren does when talking
about a controversial issue is simple: you just
subtract empathy. And this elicits both cheers
of encouragement from her fans and disdain
from her detractors. She can see this, in real
time, when she cycles through her social media
feeds. “I read 100 nasty comments, then the
last one I read before I go to bed will be some-
thing nice.”
MORE For these related stories,
FROM GQ visit GQ.co.uk/magazine
Black Cops Matter (Alex Hannaford, December 2016)
What The US Can Learn From UK Gun Control
(Alex Hannaford, June 2016)
Living In A Box (Alex Hannaford, March 2015)
JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 221
Jacket, £920. Shirt, £180.
Tie, £120. All by Canali.
canali.com. VR headset by
Freefly, £48. freeflyvr.com

222 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Colour blocking just got technical. Channel a panoramic vision of fashion

with monochrome suits and VR headsets tailored for the brave and the bold

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Arthur Belebeau

STYLING BY Eric Nicholson
CREATIVE DIRECTION BY Paul Solomons

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 223

 Xander wears suit, £1,840.
Shirt, £596. Tie, £124. Shoes,
£575. All by Dolce & Gabbana.
dolcegabbana.com. Socks by
Pantherella, £20. pantherella.
com. VR headset by Kaiser
Baas, £40. kaiserbaas.com

Farah wears dress by

Begum Salihoglu Couture.
Shoes by Tom Ford. Both at
Albright Fashion Library.
albrightnyc.com

224 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

Xander wears jacket, £1,245.

Shirt, £290. Tie, £140.
All by Ralph Lauren Purple
Label. ralphlauren.co.uk.
VR headset by Samsung,
£65. samsung.com

Farah wears dress by

Christopher Kane, £3,995.
christopherkane.com

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 225

 Suit, £800. Shirt, £199. Tie,
£105. Shoes, £300. All by
Boss. hugoboss.com
Socks by Reiss, £12. reiss.
com. Daydream headset by
Google, £69. vr.google.com

Opposite: Suit, £1,900. Shirt,

£350. Tie, £130. All by Dior
Homme. dior.com.
VR One Plus headset by
Zeiss, £130. zeiss.co.uk

Styling assistant
Nicholas Centofanti
Photographic assistants
Daniel Powers; Go Sugimoto
Digital assistant Ethan Klein
Models Xander at Soul
Artist Management; Farah
Holt at Muse Management
Hair Antonio Diaz at
Bryan Bantry
Make-up Aidan Keogh at
Honey Artists
Manicurist Isadora Rios

226 GQ.CO.UK JULY 2017

 FASHION

JULY 2017 GQ.CO.UK 227

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 #OTL
JONATHAN HEAF IS...
...with SCOTT HARRISON
GQ finds new depths of
philanthropy with the
reformed party-boy
founder of Charity: Water
hen I was younger, charity
W
  seemed such a dirty word.
And by “dirty” I, of course,
mean naff. Almost as naff as
“doing God”. Round my way
– Islington via Surrey, upper-middle-class sub-
urbanite metamorphosed into aspiring hipster
gonzo wannabe – if you happened to be both
religious and philanthropic, well, good luck,
buddy. There wasn’t a members’ bar north of
Peckham that would let you in.
During my teenage years, in the Nineties, the
best thing about charity was watching Philip
Schofield getting gunged for Comic Relief.
During my twenties, it was the hacked-up
animals I felt sorry for. I wept when I saw wastepaper bins made from
black rhino tusks. I tutted loudly when dinner party hosts brought
forth soup made from drag-netted bluefin tuna carcasses. Naturally,
I abstained when served silverback steak as a main. (Very sinewy,
apparently.) But issues such as widespread famine? Human suffering on
a global scale? Well, it felt so Eighties, didn’t it? Like sing-along charity
singles. Anyway, didn’t Sting and Midge Ure solve Africa already?
Of course, you have to remember that most men are utter idiots during
their twenties. (I’m sure my narcissism wasn’t alone, ironically, in its
prevalence at this age.) It wasn’t until my thirties that I took a keener
interest in how philanthropy could harness creativ-
ity and ingenuity to change – and even save – lives. ‘My life before
I remember when I first heard about a nonprofit called
Charity: Water, an American-based fundraising organisa- was wild but
tion that launched last year in the UK. It was five years puddle-deep’
ago and I was in New York. A grossly famous fashion
photographer (natch) mentioned he’d met some good-
looking chap on Richard Branson’s Necker Island and,
along with a sizeable number of bitcoins he was planning on spending to
get into space, the man in question was drumming up support for his goal
to bring clean drinking water to the 663 million people without it. This
man, I believe, was Scott Harrison – the very same 41-year-old man that
sits before me today looking energised, yet not a little harried. Our loca-
tion? Me, London; him, New York. We’re on a Skype call. Unsurprisingly,
considering Charity: Water’s ambition, he’s busy.
“I don’t know if that was me,” he ponders about my anecdote. Well,
why let truth get in the way of a good story? Turns out this is precisely
why Harrison’s organisation, started eleven years ago, has been so
successful – a lack of transparency was killing good causes. “I came
VERDICT Hair +++++ Charm ++++,Resourcefulness +++++Ambition ++++,Connectivity +++++Conversation ++++,Overall ++++,
to realise that no one trusted charities,” he
explains. “Back then, I didn’t. People think
philanthropic bodies make millions of dollars
in cash, yet how much actually goes towards
the people who really need it? Eighty per cent?
Fifty per cent? I wanted to change that.”
It was as simple and as effective as setting up
two bank accounts. “One used for the running
costs of the charity and one for the donations.”
The running costs would be obtained from
high-income donors; the donations would be
the funds given by the public. “I was adamant
we would never use the donations from the
public for anything other than getting clean
water to those who really need it. No book bal-
ancing, no top-ups, no fudging. Ever.”
Harrison’s mission for hyper-transparency
seems to be working. So far, the group, which
operates on a $40m annual budget, has funded
nearly 23,000 projects affecting seven million
people in some of the poorest parts of the
world. The work they do isn’t cheap – the average cost of installing
a clean water pump in an isolated village in Africa, for example, is in
excess of $10,000 – but the tech used to monitor the engineering helps
keep the money and, thus, the clean water flowing. Sensors attached to
pumps and wells allow the company to track how well they are actually
working. It’s this tech that endears the charity to a new breed of Silicon
Valley angel investor: Jack Dorsey, Daniel Ek, Jonathan Ive and Angela
Ahrendts have all contributed big sums in the past.
So what about Harrison himself? Has he always wanted to help others?
Rather than make me feel guilty about my hedonistic tendencies during
my twenties, he has sympathy. Turns out he too dug
the fast life, rather than the good life. “My life before
Charity: Water? I was a nightclub promoter, being
paid to ensure splashy clients ordered $500 bottles of
vodka and champagne. It was wild but puddle-deep.”
After waking up one morning with a hangover the
size of his plush Manhattan bachelor pad, he realised
he wasn’t the person he wanted to be. After some soul
searching, he accompanied a charity to Liberia, West Africa, where,
working as a photojournalist, he saw things he couldn’t unsee. “It
snapped me out of my slumber. Hey, it’s never too late, man...”
Illustrations Anton Emdin; Zohar Lazar
From popping bottles to popping clean water pumps, no doubt there’s
a certain flow to Harrison’s story. By the way, lunch for Harrison and
myself was a glass of water, fresh from the tap, something that is pre-
posterously easy to take for granted. Don’t. I donated the amount we
would have spent in a posh London restaurant to Charity: Water instead.
Next time a client wants to take you to Nobu why don’t you do the
same? It was easy. It made me feel smug. After all, isn’t empathy what
charity is really all about? charitywater.org