British GQ

WELCOME TO GQ’S inaugural Global Creativity Awards issue. We’re swimming in a big and murky sea of award ceremonies, so let me ask the question for you: why, now, are we launching a whole new awards programme? And why focus on creativity? (Aren’t the Grammys enough? The BAFTAs? What about the Academy Awards and the BRITs and the Turner Prize?) Well, we believe that this moment of creativity calls for something new. That the internet and the smartphone have changed everything, and birthed the kind of creativity that does not – often cannot – fall into a single category, discipline, or even industry. In 2023, you can run a creative business off an iPhone, you can score a symphony on an iPad, and, with enough application, you can learn, step-by-step, the…

A FRESH COAT Mac Collins upgrades and rethinks standard furniture. And so do classic brands. Same wardrobe cornerstones as you’d expect from Lanvin and Emporio Armani, but boxier, wider and cooler. BIG TICK Upfront: a classic watch from Switzerland’s Frederique Constant. On the back: a see-through window into the Highlife Heartbeat, a house special that’s found new life with a new engine (£1,895). MONEY BAG “Made from calf leather” sounds pretty money. Add an ivory hue and you’ve got a proper Lanvin baller bag (price upon request). BELT UP The Nigo administration at Kenzo is slightly preppy, a lot wavy and full of big finishes, like this mid-noughties elephant belt buckle (£175). EMBROIDERED SHIRT Things in fashion eventually come full circle. That applies to Dolce & Gabbana with this early noughties club shirt, pulled out of the archive, made…

IT WAS A-COLD-WALL* founder Samuel Ross who first put Mac Collins on the radar. “Tell me how many Black furniture designers or artists you know. There’s David Adjaye, and that’s it,” Ross told GQ last year, after he awarded Collins one of his Black British and POC artist grants. “Mac fills the void.” The British-Caribbean artist is carving out a name for himself in the design world – an industry that has long been ring-fenced to a small, privileged few. Collins’s designs are not the stuff for lazy Sundays in front of Netflix, but rather artful pieces which explore the boundaries of what you might traditionally consider furniture. And Collins’s own dual heritage is clear in almost every design. “My thing is to critique,” Collins says, speaking from his studio in…

THE EMERGENT CATEGORY of micro-brands – composed of small, independent companies – is quite Tsuddenly responsible for some of the most exciting and collectible watches being made right now. These modern, market-savvy watchmakers use their relatively small size as a virtue, making scaled-down manufacturing and direct-to-consumer marketing work to their advantage. They can be more nimble and more responsive to the desires of their fans, and they can keep prices under control by minimising any costs that don’t go directly into the product being sold. They stay lean and focused, pouring their attention into a limited range that speaks directly to the obsessives who line up (online) to buy from them. Here are four of my favourite small but mighty watch micro-brands. MASSENA LAB William Massena was a die-hard collector for over…

Creativity can feel ineffable. Mysterious. Elusive. A “you have it or you don’t” type of thing. In reality, it’s for everyone. A muscle you need to work like any other. But how? We asked our favourite creative minds to share the rules they return to again and again. The tricks that help them get inspired, stay productive, and translate good ideas into masterworks. Indie film king Jim Jarmusch, comedian Ramy Youssef, and novelist Joyce Carol Oates think you should take a walk. Others say you should trust your gut. Write everything down. Be your most radical self. With this brain trust, we assembled GQ’s “Secrets to Unlocking Your Creativity.” So open your mind. Find your inner genius. And for the love of God, go for a walk. Rule No. 1 →…

I T’S ONE OF the most competitive events of the year, the biggest names in motoring all gunning for glory. It wasn’t Silverstone or Goodwood, but the 15th annual GQ Car Awards. Held at the Savoy Hotel, the biggest names in the automotive world came together to celebrate the coolest cars of 2023. And, for the second year in a row, they were all EVs and plug-in hybrids. GUESTS FROM THE world of motoring and beyond enjoyed a glass or two of Laurent-Perrier champagne, before sitting down for an intimate dinner in the Savoy’s Beaufort Bar. There, over a few bottles of Penfolds wine and Jenson Button’s Coachbuilt Whisky, hosts Mike Christensen and Paul Henderson opened the envelopes to reveal the winners. Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Lotus, and Jaguar all took home awards; Renault…