British GQ August 2018

GENTLEMEN’S QUARTERLY It would be difficult to find many people to say that Lewis Hamilton doesn’t flabbergast on the race circuit. The four-time Formula One champion doesn’t so much tower over the sport he has been involved with, in one way or another, since he was boy, as hover above it, like a kind of petrolhead deity. To understand his achievements, you only need to look at the numbers. His tally of Grand Prix victories is the second highest of all time, behind only Michael Schumacher’s. He won his first World Championship title with McLaren in 2008 and, having moved to Mercedes, won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015 before scooping his fourth title last year. Statistically the most successful British driver in the history of motor racing, Hamilton holds records…

Wimbledon coverage Whether watching from the couch or courtside, we’ll be covering everything from the best-dressed men to what to wear in attendance. Lewis Hamilton behind the scenes After you’ve read our interview with the F1 star, join GQ behind the scenes on the shoot, as our cover star showcases his collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger. Alastair Campbell vs Caitlin Moran This month’s tête-à-tête was between Alastair Campbell and Caitlin Moran. Head to the GQ YouTube channel to experience the full blast of Campbell’s interrogation. Donald Trump’s UK visit Our columnist Tanya Gold reports from the protest, on the eerily poignant Friday 13th, to speak to those in attendance. Read the long-form piece online. Best trainers of the week With so many drops each week, it’s hard to pick your new favourite footwear. Fear not: GQ Junior Style Editor, Zak…

GENTLEMEN’S QUARTERLY William RALSTON On 20 April, Tim Bergling, the Swedish musician who performed as Avicii, took his own life aged 28. William Ralston, the European editor of music website XLR8R, went to LA to speak to Avicii’s inner circle and examine mental health issues in the music industry. Says Ralston, “In no other world would you throw an 18-year-old into a life of drink and drugs and celebrate rather than chastise it.” Erin O’CONNOR This month’s Foreword is a personal essay from the British supermodel Erin O’Connor, who has written about her complex relationship with the Me Too movement. Her upbringing, she says, taught her to be wary of expressing big opinions. “I didn’t want to feel pressured into support for a hashtag without understanding the meaning behind it,” she writes. Having found…

As a girl growing up in the suburbs of Irish, working-class Birmingham, I learnt very quickly the fastest way to gain acceptance was doing as I was told. Having an independent opinion didn’t occur to me, or anyone else I knew for that matter. I have no horror stories, no complaints against my family – we were all just really good at gallantly accepting our imposed limitations. Society’s pecking order and its economic confines meant we didn’t know how to access the power of our voices. It was an environment in which to talk about yourself was boastful and unbecoming, where to be assertive or have self-belief was a form of arrogance. My childhood experiences and the career that followed created contradictory perceptions of my supposed self – at times causing…

In 2011, when Cardi B lost her job at the Amish Market deli in New York’s Tribeca, it was her former boss who suggested her new career path. “You have such a nice body,” he told her. “Why don’t you go across the street and work at Private Eyes?” She took his advice, but taking her clothes off for money was never going to be her destination. Videos of her sharing her South Bronx street wisdom went viral, landing her on reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York in 2015. It was only then that Cardi – born Belcalis Almanzar – began taking music seriously, leading some to assume that her rapping was a gimmick to bolster her celebrity. They were wrong. Her hit “Bodak Yellow” was the most…

Patrick Munsters, the Dutch founder of luxury label Salle Privée, has flown over from Amsterdam. He’s only in town for a few hours and it’s a bit of an honour. Munsters is something of a legend in the ’Dam. One of the brains behind hit international label Scotch & Soda, which he left in 2010 after 22 years with the company, he is also the founder of Marie-Stella-Maris, a bottled water initiative which, since its inception seven years ago, has been responsible for delivering clean water to more than 20,000 people in Africa and Bangladesh. More recently, in 2016, Munsters founded Salle Privée, an accessibly priced menswear brand with a low-key aesthetic (so low-key, in fact, that you probably haven’t heard of it yet). With his leonine sweep of silver hair,…