British GQ July 2021

A few weeks ago, Paul Weller appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show, the kind of thing he would normally run a country mile from. He sat in a big comfy chair and playfully sparred with Ross, who at one point accused him of not being an especially happy person. “I’m a very happy person,” Weller said, by return. “I’m very settled with what I’ve got. I’ve just got a miserable face. I can’t help that.” And he smiled. Weller joked about Noel Gallagher, was charming to Ross’ other guests (including Line Of Duty stars Vicky McClure and Martin Compston) and generally mucked in. Having just arranged the Mary McCartney piece with him in this issue, I knew he was going to do the show, but for others, maybe casually turning on the…

Sam Leith James Patterson isn’t so much a novelist as a literary phenomenon: it’s reported that one in 17 of all hardbacks sold in the US have his name on the cover. In this month’s issue, writer Sam Leith asks if it’s time to stop sneering. “I’m interested in how, with his cowriters, Patterson is as much a brand as an author,” says Leith. “That goes against the tide – and it works.” Alex Hannaford In 1997, Allen Pace masterminded the largest cash heist in US history and, for this issue, GQ contributor Alex Hannaford heard the inside story from the man himself. “I was playing the long game with Pace,” says Hannaford. “We exchanged emails until he was released from prison and later he agreed to a phone interview. Allen had never…

Like many of us in the pandemic, Matt, a 39-year-old screenwriter, rises late, partly due to a worklife balance that is entirely his own and partly because even his previous commute to the coffee shop has now become a few short strides to a folding desk. The first order of business is always the same: exchanging morning affirmations over texts with two friends (“one always texts back quicker”), a mixture of the things they should feel grateful for and the things they’ve simply decided to be grateful for. That one can become the other is part of the point. These will be Matt’s first-of-the-day’s “manifestations”, the genuine idea that one’s thoughts can cause positive events just by thinking them. But these texts are mere breakfast snacks – all-purpose get-up-and-go mood-lifters that are…

We get it: your slippers, slides and shearling-lined clogs are comfortable. More than that, they make you feel like you’re getting a hug on your feet every time you wear them – given hugs have been banned this past year, it’s a quality that has been pretty important. But let’s be real: those slippers aren’t going to cut it in the big bad world. It’s time to re-enter the arena wearing footwear designed with “out there” firmly in mind. From leopard-print loafers that will look the business with your new black office suit to smart patent monk straps with edges so sharp they’d make the Child Catcher’s footwear look cosy, we’ve selected the best of the new breed of back-to-life shoes to make your return to reality that little bit…

Perhaps it’s due to the fact we’ve all been cooped up for so long or maybe it’s because perfumers are feeling extra libidinous after months of lockdown, but right now all the big men’s fragrance releases are as sexed up as they are ultra-macho. From Versace’s new Eros EDP, which, says Donatella, was inspired by a “Greek god”, to Penhaligon’s vetiver-drenched The Inimitable William Penhaligon (the bottle for which comes with a ram’s head-shaped stopper, for Pete’s sake), summer 2021 is all about going full throttle with testosterone-laced fragrances. Explorer Ultra Blue by Montblanc £72 for 100ml. montblanc.com Created for modern explorers, Montblanc’s new scent brings to mind high jinks on the high seas, imbued as it is with a metallic marine accord that rubs against the rich amber base with a rough…

At 31, she’s the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire and the founder offeminist dating app Bumble. With 42 million monthly users and an IPO in February that valued her company at £9 billion, here’s what one-time Tinder alum Whitney Wolfe Herd has learned… Don’t try to ‘change the world’, try to solve a specific problem When you think about these big male-led tech businesses, the founders always say, “We’re going to change the world. This is going to revolutionise X and Y.” There’s no promise we’re making at Bumble to solve the world’s problems. The promise we’re making is [about something] I identified that felt broken: the way men and women have been trained to treat each other. In my opinion, this is broken on a global level and has been for…