British GQ Jan/Feb 2020

Until the death of Elvis Presley, the summer of 1977 belonged to George Lucas and Star Wars. Released on 25 May, the film instantly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon, easily outstripping 1975’s blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Produced with a budget of just $11 million, the film earned $460m in the United States and $314m overseas, surpassing Jaws as the highest-grossing film of all time, a title it kept until being overtaken by Spielberg’s ET The Extra Terrestrial in 1982. Go big or go home, they say, and George Lucas never really adhered to anything else. While he had no idea the original Star Wars movie would help change cinema forever, the film itself was mammoth in its narrative ambition. Lucas, the young filmmaker who rose to prominence with American Graffiti, spent…

Alfred TONG GQ contributor Alfred Tong worked on the 2020 Best-Dressed Men list for this issue. “What I love about it,” says Tong, “is that it reflects the menswear moment we’re in. It’s all about figuring out who you are, what you stand for, finding the look to match and then wearing the hell out of it. In 2020, the only way to be modern is to be yourself – and then some.” Stuart McGURK As stabbings in London continue at such a pace that most no longer even make the news, GQ Associate Editor Stuart McGurk shadowed a doctor working in the major trauma centre at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, which treats new victims almost every day. “The knife crime problem sometimes seems depressingly familiar: the same words from politicians, the…

Perhaps it’s something to do with the recent demise of the flare-toting percussionist Ginger Baker or maybe it’s due to the extraordinary success of Tarantino’s Sixties romp Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood (viz Leonardo DiCaprio, right) – either way, wide trousers are officially fair game for autumn. Both the AW19 and SS20 runways were awash with wide-leg slacks – some were straight up, straight down (see Prada and Burberry), while others opted for more traditional flares (Gucci and Givenchy). The most surprising thing about this shift, however, was how appealing the look was. Worn on the right frame, a pair of Givenchy’s grain de poudre flares will look sexy and flattering – accentuating excellent thighs and pelvic areas, concealing awkward calves – while a pair of Prada’s or Dior’s…

TEQUILA gets a new lease of LIFE Story by Charlie Burton Consider the archetypal tequila entrepreneur: Y-chromosomed and with a number of years under their belt. That’s why a new premium tequila, Satryna, is causing a stir – the force behind it is 24-year-old businesswoman Nitzan Marrun. Made exclusively from blue weber agave grown in the volcanic soils of Jalisco, near Guadalajara, Mexico, her product has come to the UK in two forms: the Satryna Blanco (triple distilled), which offers notes of honey, petals and citrus, and the Satryna Cristalino (añejo claro), which foregrounds oakiness and vanilla. Murrun is drawing on generations of knowhow by partnering on the venture with the “maestra tequilera” of one of Mexico’s great distilleries, Tequilera Newton, but the presentation speaks to modernity. The bottle design depicts the…

Exit Here offers clients a more personalised approach to funerals Oliver Peyton is breathing fresh life into death. Exit Here is a new kind of funeral service, an attempt to disrupt a sector that has remained largely unaltered since the Victorian era. Peyton, renowned for his restaurants and being a judge on Great British Menu, is transforming the way people celebrate the end of their life – creating a new, modern funeral business delivering greater choice and trying to restore trust in funeral services. At the heart of its offer is the opportunity for clients to take a more personalised approach to remembering the lives of loved ones. Exit Here is opening its first funeral home in Chiswick, London, and will initially cater to South East England, with celebrated florist Nikki…

Ultra-thick and with a “knitted-by-nanas” bent, the big accessory trend for Autumn/Winter 2019 is massively oversized scarfs, à la the annoying children from Harry Potter. During the shows, balaclava-hybrid styles were the order of the day at Bobby Abley, while loosely flung, ultra-fluid scarfs sashayed their way down Etro’s and Acne Studio’s respective runways. There was an academic bent to Kent & Curwen’s and the super-long, crusty-cum-cosy pieces wrapped round models’ necks at E Tautz, Loewe and Valentino had a Starter For 10 appeal. When it comes to wearing your own oversized scarf this winter, team it with one of AW19’s other big outerwear heroes, the duffle coat, for full children’s book effect. Or, failing that, just wear with your suit and look like, well, a stylish adult. Your call. Model…