British GQ September 2016

‘IT seems like a lifetime ago now, but when Brexit Britain woke up on 24 June, the world had tilted a little on its axis. OK, maybe not the world, but Europe was certainly reeling, as were a considerable percentage of the UK population. To say the result of the referendum was a surprise is the political understatement of the year, possibly the political understatement of the millennium. And, as has become lore, the person who was most surprised of all was one of the Leave campaign’s most virulent supporters – publicly at least – Boris Johnson. The domino effect that transformed British politics over the following days and weeks is something that will keep journalists, students and political analysts occupied for decades to come. In cases like these, context is…

Sebastian FAENA Photographer Sebastian Faena did not expect comedian, writer and now US chat show host James Corden to be so reserved. Faena, who has shot Cindy Crawford and Kate Upton, was surprised when he met this month’s cover star. “I found a sweet, kind man who was actually quiet,” says Faena. Quiet, that is, until Corden produced his on-set playlist and began singing at the top of his voice. Alice RAWSTHORN David Adjaye is the British architect behind the National Museum Of African American History And Culture, which opens in Washington DC next month. Alice Rawsthorn, author, journalist and former director of the Design Museum, spoke to him about this epic project. “Adjaye expresses the building’s spirit in its structure. The more you interrogate the thinking behind his projects, the more intriguing…

Agaggle of third-year media students – all female – ask if I can meet them one evening and talk to them about newspapers and broadcasting and my professional journey. They want to meet at a nice restaurant in Notting Hill and offer to buy me dinner. I agree. Six of them turn up, all smart, stylish, confident. We order drinks and they ask me questions about why and how and when I became a journalist and columnist. They are animated and eager. The menu arrives and all but one of them claim to have various food allergies or sensitivities. Between them, they reject all dairy products, meat dishes, carbs and sugar. Fish is fine, but they need detailed information on where it came from. Beatrice (not her real name) has…

GQ INTEL RIO 2016 WILL BE THE BIGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA OLYMPICS IN HISTORY, WITH AN ESTIMATED THREE BILLION PEOPLE USING MOBILE DEVICES AS THEY WATCH THE ACTION UNFOLD ON TV LET’S be candid: the appeal of the Olympics goes beyond the immediate sense of competition. While we’re not for a moment suggesting that the nation isn’t primarily drawn to the beach volleyball for its athleticism, there is, well, a scintilla of pleasure to be found in marvelling at the finely tuned physiques on display. And this year, there’s a cohort of women heading to Rio determined not only to be stars of track and field, pool and pitch, but also – after Instagram clocked up millions of views during London 2012 – to emerge triumphant on social media. For your convenience…

1 Swim by yourself Sartre was right: hell is other people, as anyone who has ventured into a local pool on a Saturday morning can attest. The key is to ditch the lanes in favour of “wild swimming” in secluded natural waters, and you’ll find favourable sites at wildswimming.co.uk. The best one near the capital? Head out to Pangbourne, Berkshire for a picturesque, safe stretch of river. 2 Waterproof your summer shoes Since 2007 the UK has been in a cycle of wetter Augusts thanks to shifting ocean currents. And yet the shoe of the summer is the eminently permeable espadrille! Our advice is to buy some beeswax and rub it all over the upper. Next, use a hair dryer to melt the wax before leaving it to dry as a waterproof seal.…

HERE’S what Netflix’s The Get Down has got going on: a tale about the birth of disco, punk and hip-hop in the Seventies South Bronx; Baz Luhrmann in the director’s chair; Jaden Smith in a serious role; and Grandmaster Flash advising. (Yes, we’re psyched too.) Flash, of course, was one of hip-hop’s pioneers but there’s always been a mystery – who actually invented scratching, Flash or fellow DJ Grand Wizard Theodore? We asked Flash for his take... “Well, let me clear this up. I’m credited with being the first DJ to put my fingertips on the record which allows crabbing, scratching. And my first student was Grand Wizard Theodore because his big brother [Gene ‘Mean Gene’ Livingston] was my DJ partner. But when I tried to show Mean Gene [scratching], he…