British GQ Style

Published twice a year, GQ Style is the authority on men’s fashion, offering a comprehensive overview of the current fashion season. With the most experienced men’s fashion team ever assembled, GQ Style delivers the latest on fashion, style and all notions of “cool”. A magazine for aficionados and enthusiasts alike, it is cosmopolitan, individual and unique. Frankly, if it isn’t GQ Style, then you don’t need to bother about it. GQ Style will guide you safely through any style and fashion pitfalls that might befall you. Write in with your style conundrums and GQ Style’s Style Shrink will make all your worries go away. Learn who’s hot and who’s not with the most stylish man of the moment awards, and learn why – so you can emulate the sharpest looking of them, and avoid those foolish fashion faux pas.

GQ Style

CONTRIBUTORS • We asked our contributors this issue the question: ‘What does liberation mean to you?’

EDITOR’S LETTER

LIBERATION.

YOUNG, FRESH & NEW • Over the past few years, we have finally started to see more and more exciting young Black designers attracting the acclaim they deserve, taking their rightful place in the spotlight and capturing the industry with collections that celebrate their array of heritages. With fashion now under a magnifying glass and focused on continuing diversity beyond the catwalk, GQS meets four talented Black graduate designers ready to take the world by storm

NEW-SEASON DROPS • Heads up – these AW pieces are everything

POETIC JUSTICE • Julian Knox – aka Julianknxx – uses words, moving images and performance to tell stories that are rooted in his heritage, the complexity of identity and the unspoken history of Sierra Leone

‘Krio’

AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER

CAN YOU KICK IT? • Heaven is a halfpipe… and the new Louis Vuitton skate shoe hits the sweet spot, too

Introducing… Rhythm Nation • Meet the new Black British music artists mining their heritage, and their experiences of life in the UK, to create a soundtrack for our times

DO MORE. • Proving the power of fashion to transform society, these brands are working for empowerment, justice, equality and change

Statues of liberty • Where are the Black British figures in our urban landscape?

Educate and liberate • Five London-based designers explain how their heritage, family roots and education have informed their creative

Right here, right now!

To my dear friend Judy, Thinking of you, love Elgar x

THE ESSENTIAL SELECTION • Four creative talents who played a vital part in making this issue share their fashion and culture picks for the season and beyond

PORTU GUESE SHOES APICCAPS

BLACK LIVES MATTER

TRANSATLANTIC LOVE AFFAIR • Model and activist Munroe Bergdorf highlights the on-going fight for Black and transgender equality, and curates a celebration of transgender talent, strength and beauty from the UK and the US

EVERY LITTLE STEP

THE KNOWLEDGE

COVER UP • To mark the 15th anniversary of GQ Style, here are all our covers in a retrospective that celebrates not only 15 years of fashion, but also the talent that goes into producing each and every cover, from our legendary photographers and stylists to the exciting and diverse cover stars who bring it all to life.

EXPRESS YOURSELF • These are the faces of activism in Los Angeles, working for liberation

AMOAKO BOAFO • The acclaimed Ghanaian painter presents his collaboration with Dior – wearing it for the first time – and reflects on the evolving interconnection of art, identity and fashion

DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER • After six months of protests, activism and societal reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s death, five writers share their thoughts on the fight for racial...