British GQ November 2018

HRH The Prince of Wales All in all it was, no matter how or by what mechanics you might choose to measure it, something of a tremendous evening. The 21st GQ Men Of The Year Awards – once again in association with the wonderful Hugo Boss – were held at Tate Modern, on Wednesday 5 September and a good time appeared to be had by all. Johnny Marr performed a more-than-heroic version of The Smiths’ “How Soon Is Now?” (his vocals being so good that many of us wondered why we had liked Morrissey so much in the first place), John Legend played an incredibly moving version of “All Of Me” (making at least three people on my table cry) and the London Gay Men’s Chorus (who we originally booked to…

Behind the scenes at the GQ Awards 2018 Backstage host Maya Jama interviewed the night’s winners and presenters, who revealed all. Learn what Chrissy Teigen’s original speech to her husband was going to be. Watch Wednesdays Each week, GQ’s Deputy Editor, Bill Prince, brings you the latest information on new releases and guidance on what to invest in. The making of Johnny Depp’s cover Read more about how our November cover was created, with a piece by Jonathan Heaf, who interviewed the actor in France. What’s ailing you? The GQ Doctor, Nick Knight, answers your questions, published each Friday at 1pm. Get in touch using #GQDoctor. Discover GQ’s ‘10 Best New Menswear Items In The World This Week’ Every week, a wealth of cool new menswear pieces land on our desks. GQ’s Senior Fashion Assistant Angelo Mitakos and Junior…

Greg WILLIAMS GQ photographer Greg Williams, who previously shot Sir Michael Caine and John Boyega for us, photographed our cover star Johnny Depp at his home in France. “There was no styling or grooming. I went without an assistant or lights and just took really honest photos,” says Williams, who has been friends with Depp for years. “It’s good to see him so happy after some really tough times.” Kamal AHMED With his new role as editorial director of the BBC, Kamal Ahmed, who releases his memoir, The Life And Times Of A Very British Man, this month, has become a powerful shaper. In The GQ Drop, he reflects on being a British-Sudanese boy in Seventies Britain. “It seemed timely to discuss where we are as a country,” he says, “and how our…

Cultural appropriation brings out the worst in everyone. It hurts some people and makes others looks ridiculous. It triggers the excesses of identity politics and kneejerk nastiness from the inevitable backlash. And even when it’s debated with civility, there’s a nagging doubt that there are more important things to worry about. The uncomfortable truth is that culture can’t be owned. And what can’t be owned can’t be stolen. For some that is a tragedy, for others it’s offensive or merely a joke – but that doesn’t stop it being true. I’m not arguing that being insensitive about the identity of others is fine or that ignorance is an excuse for a lifetime as an unwitting cog in the mechanics of capitalism. But borrowing and, yes, taking from other cultures just keeps…

You could guess that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were behind comedy-horror Slaughterhouse Rulez by the premise alone. As its star Hermione Corfield describes it, “It’s about the dangers of fracking – monsters come out of a frack site and attack a school.” Corfield plays “badass” student Clemsie Lawrence. “Clemsie ends up brutally killing a small monster,” she offers by way of example. In what manner? “I wrap it in my shirt and slam it on a rock until it dies. Just your average day, you know?” She jokes, but the truth is this pretty much is Corfield’s average day. Slaughterhouse Rulez is one of the 24-year-old’s smaller films since her film debut in 2015. You know things are going well when your CV is a sea of colons: Mission: Impossible…

Sir Elton John told Greta Van Fleet they’re “the best rock band I’ve heard in 25 years”, but that didn’t stop him passing on a word of advice when he met them in London. “He said, ‘You boys are young. You’ve got to flaunt what you’ve got,’” remembers 22-year-old guitarist Jake Kiszka. “That’s when I went from wearing T-shirts to wearing halfcut jackets with nothing underneath. If Sir Elton John says ‘flaunt it’, no one else can tell us otherwise. We’ve got permission from the knight himself.” The band – three brothers and a childhood friend from the tiny town of Frankenmuth, Michigan – now have the flamboyant style to match their towering riffs. Their early EPs sounded so much like lost Led Zeppelin outtakes that Robert Plant joked singer Josh Kiszka…