British GQ December 2016

It was the boots I noticed first, as they looked as though they belonged to another person entirely. Theresa May was perched precariously on a rickety chair in a primary school classroom somewhere on the outskirts of Birmingham, and frankly the only thing anyone was looking at was her gigantic pair of leopard-skin boots. They weren’t exactly knee-length – which would have been too much even for her – but they wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Milanese nightclub, on a Parisian catwalk, or indeed in the pages of Vogue. She was sitting quietly, watching David Cameron, her boss at the time, telling a bunch of teachers, county councillors and local dignitaries why they should vote for him at the next general election. This would have been about…

Danielle BENNISON-BROWN This has been a great month for GQ Video. “Two Whiskies With...” – in collaboration with Haig Club and starring David Beckham – won two Lovie Awards, and we worked with James Corden for our series “Celebrities Explain Complicated Things”. “In a short time, GQ Video has established itself as a must-visit channel,” says Group Director Of Video Content Danielle Bennison-Brown. AA GILL This month on GQ.co.uk, AA Gill mulls over how, like a fine malt whisky, the best Hollywood actors get better with age. “Most young actors are so terribly bad at acting,” says Gill. “Acting has boy-band bubblegum disposability. They simply walk on, take their shirts off, smile and vanish. On the other hand, lots of older actors have talent.” Nick CARVELL Innovative London-born designer Craig Green is this year’s winner…

What would you do if you were standing on the 100-metre Olympic track in the Bird’s Nest stadium, where the world record had been smashed a few days before? Boris Johnson had the same thought. Even in a suit and shiny shoes, the urge to chase the ghost of Usain Bolt down those lanes was pretty strong. But this was a sober moment. Late August 2008. I was chaperoning the new mayor of London to the critical rehearsal of the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games. Scary Chinese soldiers were watching, as were diplomats, protocol experts and state choreographers. “Hey,” says the blond. “That’s where Bolt set a new...” “I know.” “You. Me. Now.” “Don’t be silly.” “Why not?” And off he went, the tighthead prop who captained Eton (so he claimed) accelerated fast. I beat him in…

There was a time when the most notable thing about Zoë Kravtiz was her father, Lenny. That seems like worlds ago. Whether it’s starring in capital-B Blockbusters (the insane and insanely brilliant Mad Max: Fury Road or the upcoming James Franco picture Kin) touring with her R&B band Lolawolf or simply being a face of Calvin Klein and Balenciaga, the 27-year-old has rapidly become one of the brightest new stars in the sky. As she told GQ, “You used to have to be a triple threat to make it in Hollywood” – and it seems it still helps (as does, one imagines, having such arresting looks). So remember: when your nephew demands a trip to this month’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, in which Kravitz stars alongside Eddie…

GQ INTEL STEVE COOGAN RETURNS TO THE BIG SCREEN NEXT YEAR IN AN ADAPTATION OF HIT 2012 BOOK THE DINNER. THE BOOK INTERVIEW GQ: You didn’t succeed in having the walk made into a TV series. Was it tough to secure the publishing deal? Alan Partridge: In hindsight, this walk was never suited to television. I discovered that the physical exertion of rambling makes me go puce red. I’d never realised! (An exgirlfriend had told me that I go red during sex, but I’d assumed she was just getting her own back on me because I’d said she had differentsized feet.) No, this walk was always destined for print. And so on completion I dangled it under the hungry noses of the publishing industry and waited for a bite, incrementally lowering my price once…

THE LONDON SCENE The trend: Beak-to-claw Where to find it: Poultry’s answer to nose-to-tail all began at the Michelin-starred Clove Club in Shoreditch, which serves crispy chicken feet. The gamble paid off and the idea has spread. Check out the chicken livers at Legs in Hackney, stir-fried chicken hearts at Soho’s Hoppers or a deep-fried carcass with Sichuan rub at Chinese Laundry in Islington. For the less adventurous, there’s Hen on Upper Street for chicken-skin mayo. But the best example is: Le Bab. Combining beak-to-claw with another trend – upscale kebabs – it serves chicken liver parfait on a lokma doughnut with peanuts and a molasses glaze. Worth crossing the road for. Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, W1. eatlebab.com The trend: Gorge on goat Where to find it: High in protein, low in fat and now…