British GQ December 2020

According to the rule of law, some politicians become invisible, while others have invisibility thrust upon them. In last year’s general election – a contest that perhaps inevitably, and almost immediately, became a presidential contest, as Jeremy Corbyn (remember him?) and Boris Johnson (actually, remember him?) battled it out for media prominence – one of the most illuminating themes was the enforced disappearance of those senior Labour and Conservative figures deemed to be too embarrassing or off-message. According to researchers at Loughborough University, in the run-up to the election, more than half the weekday press and TV election coverage focused entirely on the two leaders, with Johnson on 31.7 per cent and Corbyn on 26.9 per cent. Keir Starmer, then shadow Brexit secretary, was as invisible as any possible trade deal and…

Alex Bhattacharji Although fans will now have to wait until next year to see him on screen, No Time To Die villain Rami Malek spoke to Alex Bhattacharji for this month’s cover story. “You can’t help but be struck by his intelligence, intensity and coiled physicality,” says Bhattacharji, “but also how unassuming he can be. Nothing about him feels in any way prefabricated.” David Walliams For this issue, actor, comedian, writer and GQ contributor David Walliams interviewed Shaun Bailey, the Conservatives’ underdog candidate for the London mayoral election – initially due to happen in May of this year, but now rescheduled for 2021 – about his electoral platform and his particular vision for the capital. Ilaria Urbinati For this month’s cover shoot, Ilaria Urbinati styled Rami Malek, with whom she has a long collaborative friendship.…

Emma Corrin plays Princess Diana in the new series of The Crown and, as such, there is one thing people want to know: what does the actress think Princes William and Harry will make of the show? “I can’t imagine,” says Corrin, treading cautiously. “I’d be interested to know what they think,” she admits. Not that she would relish the awkwardness of asking them herself. “If I ever saw them at a party, I’d probably leave!” Corrin plays the princess between the ages of 16 and 28, the years in which “England’s Rose” met Prince Charles, gave birth to the boys and found her private life becoming increasingly complicated. I meet the 24-year-old in Claridge’s, a place Diana visited often for official engagements. The actress – brunette, baggy jumper, large specs…

Time was, dive watches were a matter of life and death. In the golden age of scuba, your watch was the only tool that could tell you when you needed to surface. If it failed, well, so did you. That created a market for reliable timepieces with useful innovations, such as timing bezels. But Jaeger-LeCoultre noticed a problem. Scuba diving was about enjoying the feast for the eyes that lurked below the waves – your attention wasn’t exactly gripped by the minute hand on your watch. Its solution came in the form of 1959’s Memovox Deep Sea. It was the first dive watch to be equipped with an alarm (hence “Memovox”) to alert its wearer it was time to resurface. This was succeeded ten years later by a much improved version:…

Ah, splashy hotel launches, how we’ve missed you. Set directly across from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, in a 19th-century former magistrates court, NoMad London plans to open its doors next month – and it’s generating quite the buzz. Why? The New York and LA NoMads are famously vibey and the owners, NY-based Sydell Group, also partnered with Soho House on London’s The Ned. The idea behind NoMad London is to bring a touch of bohemian energy to the capital. The interiors, created by Roman And Williams Studio, have been inspired by the history of the building – snugs in the basement will be adorned with painted scenes from Salome by Oscar Wilde, who was once imprisoned in its holding cells – but its centrepiece, a breathtaking glass…

Our One Per Center’s Aeropex AfterShokz vibrated and he answered, trying not to sound too out of puff. In fact, he felt like throwing up onto his hiking boots (optimistically branded “Skyline Summits”). “Why are you calling me? You know I’m Everesting,” he snapped, as he panted for breath and looked out over the tor-studded terrain of Dartmoor. It wasn’t cold or raining. There were even raggedy patches of blue. But he couldn’t take in the majestic beauty of the landscape. He could barely suck water from his Camelbak. He didn’t have to explain to Miranda what Everesting was, as she’d heard of nothing else for weeks: how he’d repeatedly climb the same peak until he’d scaled 8,848 metres (the height of the tallest mountain on the planet) and thus join one…