British GQ September 2020

GQ’S GLOBAL MANIFESTO Just what is the collective noun for a group of GQ Editors-In-Chief? In April, as the world staggered into lockdown, 20 GQ Editors convened on Zoom for the first time since our global conference at the beginning of 2019. We were experiencing the same sense of dread and upheaval as everyone else, a feeling that change was upon us, whether we liked it or not. We do this kind of thing every now and then, principally because we generally like each other, but also because it makes no sense to work for a global company if you don’t know what your counterparts are doing in the rest of the world. Why wouldn’t you want to find out what your colleagues are up to in – deep breath – Australia,…

Ciaran THAPAR Youth activist and GQ Hype columnist Ciaran Thapar addresses the fallout from the killing of George Floyd in the US. “It’s a myth that racism towards black people only exists in America,” notes Thapar. “The protests in Britain were valid and necessary.” Olive POMETSEY “One thing that kept me going through lockdown is the incredible new music released this year,” says BSME Award-nominated writer and GQ Junior Digital Editor Olive Pometsey. “It’s enough to soothe any festival season fomo, all of which we’ll cover online.” Giles DULEY Award-winning photographer Giles Duley spent a fortnight capturing NHS staff at three London hospitals over the summer. “I spend my life documenting global humanitarian crises,” says Duley. “I never expected to do a story like this in my hometown.” Mateo NOTSUKE GQ Video Producer Mateo Notsuke’s short film…

As a white man, I’ve long been aware of the barely concealed privilege the colour of my skin has afforded me. It’s probably helped me to get ahead in fashion and in the media, it’s almost certainly granted me a sense of freedom I’m not even aware I possess and it’s definitely ensured that I never feel fearful when I walk past a police officer in the street. What the international outrage and race-related discourse that came in the wake of George Floyd’s death have taught me, however, is that I’m not nearly aware enough. It’s a shift in mindset that has made me determined to make some changes in my life. Rather than lament the cause of the racially disenfranchised from a respectful distance, I’m going to work hard to become…

‘I was the only kid in the playground… The Beverly Hills Hotel was like a graveyard’ Bereft of its usual cast of beautiful, sun-kissed humans, Hollywood looks more like the abstract idea of a city than a living, breathing area of LA – almost like a deserted backlot. At least, that’s how photographer Tony Kelly describes it, after shooting on the empty streets of his adopted neighbourhood during the coronavirus lockdown for his new photo book, Nowhere. Following the official “shelter-in-place” announcement in California in mid-March, Dublin-born Kelly headed out every day from his home off Sunset Boulevard. “This place is like a playground for me,” Kelly says, “and I was the only kid in the playground. I would drive around every day and just shoot.” In the weeks following lockdown, Kelly…

Americans like a dynasty. For all their egalitarian passions, they are attracted to (and will vote for) inherited wealth, privilege, patronage and fame. And America’s dynastic families have become more ridiculous, or vulgar, as the mass media age has evolved: the Roosevelts, the Kennedys, the Bushes, the Clintons and now the Trumps. Make no mistake, even if President Donald Trump fails to be re-elected in November, the Trump family will march on in American politics. The Republican Party has become the party of Trumpism – and Trumpism is now the Trump family business. The Republican establishment may wish to pretend otherwise. In the 2024 presidential election they will most likely elevate Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the United Nations. She is attractive; she hates taxes and likes wars –…

Time was, dabbling in song rights required Scooter Braun levels of not only wealth, but also connections. Now, disruptive companies are making it a viable play for the retail investor. The starriest is Hipgnosis Songs Fund, run by industry veteran Merck Mercuriadis. Since launching in 2018 with the likes of Nile Rodgers on the advisory board, it has been on quite the shopping spree, spending more than $1 billion on the rights to 12,000 songs, including a majority stake in Mark Ronson’s catalogue and hits such as Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. Want a slice of the action? Easy: Hipgnosis is listed on the London Stock Exchange, so you can buy in through an app, such as Hargreaves Lansdown. But what if you want to own a song directly? That’s the proposition at Royalty…