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British GQ Style November 3rd, 2020 Digital Back Issue Cover

British GQ Style Issue 31 (Digital)

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Aniefiok Ekpoudom WRITER ‘To me, liberation means having the freedom to express and achieve your potential.’ Taylor Okata STYLIST ‘Liberation to me is when you are able to live your most authentic self.’ Julia Sarr-Jamois STYLIST ‘The freedom to be who you want to be.’ Kemi Alemoru WRITER ‘Liberation is freedom in its purest and most euphoric form. Creating a space for us to just be.’ Nick Grimshaw DJ, PRESENTER AND WRITER ‘It is the freedom that comes from the acceptance of others, equal rights and equal opportunities for all.’ Candice Bailey STYLIST ‘The ability to be completely free and authentically oneself.’ Corey Stokes STYLIST ‘Liberation is a world where Black and brown people are free from oppression. It is reparations for the abuse of Black and brown people for over 400 years. Liberation means that we live in a world where everyone, regardless of race, gender or financial status,…

EDITOR’S LETTER

Welcome to the 15-year anniversary issue of GQ Style. A moment of celebration that I never thought would align with a year with so much polarity in the world. 2020 could be described as an on-going existential crisis; bewildering, exasperating, infuriating. The most positive change that can come from this year is that we, as a global community, become more engaged, stop blindly following and instead rise up as individuals and take personal responsibility. But with so much heaviness in the world, this celebratory issue of GQ Style isn’t looking back, it’s championing optimism and change. It’s a call to action! 2020 may be a year some might want to forget, but it has also made us confront a lot of issues we’ve avoided for so long, and which needed to be…

Blackie. Paki. Nigger. Half breed. Coloured. All words that most people of colour have been called at some point in their lives. These words are not outlawed. They walk with the same freedom as hello, good morning and goodnight. My first memory of being subjected to this abuse was as a seven-year-old, when visiting my mum’s family in the north of England. I was chased by a group of boys, and stones were thrown at me. This was followed by an altercation on holiday at Butlin’s in Skegness. While exploring the resort, I was followed by two boys who told me that I was a dirty nigger. My mother was always there to support me through these times, sometimes in subtle ways. She introduced me to the work of an artist named…

YOUNG, FRESH & NEW

Marvin Desroc For Martinique-born, Paris-raised designer Marvin Desroc, infusing his designs with his identity and heritage means everything. ‘To share your story and put a bit of yourself into your work is the most gratifying thing ever, especially when others share similar experiences too,’ he muses. Desroc made his debut at Central Saint Martins’ MA graduate show last year, and his slinky offerings – think hosiery-inspired tops with ruffled peplum details, knee-high lace socks and leather trousers that balloon into giant bows at the crotch – explore the rarely exhibited sensual side of Black masculinity. ‘That’s the problem when it comes to Black bodies,’ he asserts. ‘We are often portrayed in a very animalistic way, or raw and tougher looking. I want to appeal to anyone who likes to dress up…

YOUNG, FRESH & NEW

NEW-SEASON DROPS

FLIP, REVERSE IT! What could be better than a cosy cashmere Brunello Cucinelli bomber jacket this autumn? Well, two of them, that’s what. This reversible, two-way zip-through bomber jacket is expertly crafted from thin cashmere double cloth. One side is in a buttery-cream and the other in a smooth caramel, but both with the same soft-to-the-touch appeal. With contrasting grey ribbed cuffs, deep front pockets and a drawstring hood for those days when you just can’t even, this jacket is ripe for the snuggling and adaptable to your mood. It’s a two-for-one bomber jacket but with a luxury, artisan Cucinelli twist. Obvs. Reversible bomber jacket by BRUNELLO CUCINELLI One hand in your (Burberry) Pocket Oh, the humble pocket. Carrier of secrets, snacks, should-have-rejected business cards and everything in between. You can tell a lot…

NEW-SEASON DROPS

It was when his first daughter was born that Julian Knox had his personal moment of reckoning. The London-based poet, artist and man behind the alias Julianknxx was working for a luxury paint brand at the time. ‘That was the turning point,’ he says. ‘I had to ask myself, what legacy do I want to leave behind? It made me realise that I was tired of being silenced.’ Hailing from Sierra Leone, Julian left his country at the age of nine, during the civil war. He grew up in London and his daughter’s birth gave him the momentum to do what he is now celebrated for – write poems that he performs and turns into short films, telling stories of his heritage. ‘You don’t hear much of Sierra Leonean stories,’ he says.…

KRIO to be krio is to know life / is full of impossible / unicorns in the rainforest / the sketch of an ocean / we came here by order of lost clocks / to kick start time / before Africa was another world / to be krio / is to know the place before us / children missing from wombs / stories / mouths keeping wool / a place where the sun empties itself over the black of bodies to be krio / is to know history is a sliced violence / on the tip of a Yoruba tongue / a kiri yo / aimless yet satisfied wanderers / to be born dotted around the blue / missed moving lips / recoiling from swords / bullets / cannon fodder / to make your house in a…

AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER

Tommy Hilfiger, the brand known as the embodiment of the American dream and responsible for some of the greatest streetwear looks in popular culture, celebrates its 35-year anniversary this year. While the brand started life as clothes for the new American man wanting to look and feel more in tune with the new modern America, all that changed in the early Nineties when an exciting new hip hop artist working under the name of Snoop Doggy Dogg appeared on Saturday Night Live sporting a Hilfiger sweatshirt. The rest is history. Suddenly, not only did the whole hip hop and R’n’B community want a piece of Tommy, but it seemed the rest of the world shared the same interest. The UK, especially, went wild trying to look like the Tommy guy…

AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER

CAN YOU KICK IT?

Louis Vuitton is never one to shy away from a streetwear collaboration. This year alone has seen the LV Squared drop and a capsule collection co-designed with Japanese designer Nigo; and who could forget the mega-hyped Supreme hook-up back in 2017? The meeting of design aesthetics and the merging of logos, these collaborations have always celebrated streetwear culture as a whole. But there’s something different about this latest venture. The result of LV Men’s Artistic Director Virgil Abloh’s obsession with skate culture and a collaboration with pro skateboarder Lucien Clarke, the first-ever Louis Vuitton skate shoe has been born. Clarke was given free rein by Abloh and the resulting shoe, named A View, is reminiscent of the Nineties DC shoes. Crafted in a mix of suede and mesh uppers, with…

CAN YOU KICK IT?

Introducing… Rhythm Nation

Pa Salieu When he was young, 23-year-old rapper Pa Salieu was sent to live in Gambia with his grandparents. Those early experiences have subtly moulded him into the man and the artist he is today. The stay in Gambia taught Pa about his history and ‘how unapologetic I could be about myself,’ he says. ‘I know who I am, I know my family.’ The fallout from that sense of clarity is found in his music. Hailing from Coventry, he has a cadence that is gruff but firm. A subtle Gambian inflection creeps into his melodic drawls. Breakout single Frontline – recorded two years ago but released in January – sees him writhe over haunting, moaning drums and wailing sirens as he brings listeners into the bleak landscapes of Coventry’s inner city. The city…

Introducing… Rhythm Nation

Gucci’s Chime for Change Zine dedicates entire special digital edition to #sayhername Continuing with its mission to convene, unite and strengthen, Chime Zine – powered by Gucci – has unveiled its latest edition, which is dedicated to spotlighting the often invisible names of Black women and girls who have been killed by police violence or while in state custody. Collaborating with the African American Policy Forum (AAPF), the platform will uplift their stories and work to advance a gender-inclusive narrative in the movement for Black lives. At a time when people around the world are increasingly demanding intersectional social justice, Chime for Change calls on the global community to join AAPF in their #sayhername campaign to encourage conversation, self-expression and meaningful action around this critical issue. The time is now. Say.…

Statues of liberty

We erect statues to venerate, celebrate or commemorate events and people. We remember together and that is one of the reasons why we choose specific commemorative dates alongside statues. These statues are ‘sites of memory’. We walk past most of them in our daily commutes or on our way to mundane activities. Some of these statues have become an integral part of our history, even when we do not remember who erected them or why. In recent years, removing them has created a sense of anxiety that echoes the fear of losing one’s space in society or one’s place in history. Fear of erasure of our story and, by extension, our connection to a celebrated past are only some of the reasons that have led to resisting the removal of…

Statues of liberty

Educate and liberate

Martine Rose How has your ethnicity and heritage influenced your work? Growing up in a Jamaican household, music and style were fused together. My grandad was a tailor, so fashion has always been a part of my culture. Style is important in Jamaica – it’s not associated with money, but something you have innately. There wasn’t a lot of disposable income, so fashion was a real mixture of the high and low – like Clarks and a string vest. How did you become a designer? I was always into culture, particularly youth culture, from an early age – watching my cousins and siblings – but it was a slow burner. I didn’t identify that my interest was fashion until I was much older. When I finished art school, I specialised in textiles. That’s when…

Educate and liberate

Right here, right now!

In association with In early 2016, photographer Michael Mayren created Brother, the model agency that has not only been changing the way we cast, but also challenging our perceptions of beauty. Since then, Brother models of all shapes, sizes and races have graced some of the biggest catwalks – not to mention magazines – on the planet. So how is Brother adapting to a changing world? ‘The BLM movement definitely caused an influx of brands casting more Black models,’ says Mayren. ‘I feel very responsible for my models – their mental health is a priority, and also making sure they are getting paid correctly, especially when a pandemic is causing huge production cuts.’ As for many of us in the industry, there is a worry that the dramatic rush to hire diverse models…

Right here, right now!

THE ESSENTIAL SELECTION

Lewis Munro STYLIST for Rhythm Nation ‘I’m obsessed with jackets, so AW is my favourite season. I’m into bold prints and brightly coloured outerwear, something to help lift the mood during dull winter months. It’s also a bit more exciting than head-to-toe black, although I do tend to keep the rest of my look pretty low key. I think everyone should invest in at least one statement coat, and if you’re going to spend the money, why not get something that stands out?’ Ekua King PHOTOGRAPHER for Every Little Step ‘My signature style is very classic and minimal, with hints of sportswear. My go-to colour palette is monochrome and I love to accessorise with chunky gold jewellery. My working week is quite varied, from shooting and meetings to location recces and castings, so clothing that…

THE ESSENTIAL SELECTION

PORTU GUESE SHOES APICCAPS

Photo: Frederico Martins Styling: Fernando Bastos Pereira assisted by Nelson Lima Hair: Rui Rocha Make-up: Patricia Lima Photo assistant: Pedro Sa Production: Snowberry Models: Estian and Rachide 'We are Models', Alex Arana 'Face Models', Marcelo Zhang 'Blast Models' Special thanks: Wrongweather.net…

PORTU GUESE SHOES APICCAPS

BLACK LIVES MATTER

THE 15th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE This is a Black Square. The Black Square represents an opportunity to do what you want, say what you want and be who you want. There are no rules within the Black Square; it symbolises freedom. For the AW20 issue of GQ Style, the Black Square is our cover star. Within this feature, numerous friends and collaborators have created their own message, to contribute towards this monumental cultural shift. The Black Squares are messages of support, to create a better world for everybody. Elgar Johnson CURATOR, ISSUE 31 ‘Every person in this picture has suffered racist abuse at some point in their life. We stand together as one. We are family.’ Amoako Boafo for Dior ARTIST ‘I intend for my works, including the work for this cover, to burst with values of liberation, all confronting and challenging representations…

BLACK LIVES MATTER

TRANSATLANTIC LOVE AFFAIR

For true progress, for lasting, tangible and revolutionary progress, Blackness in the eyes of white society must exist outside of a trend. Black lives can’t matter if we are only consumed in parts, if we are only seen and accepted in parts. Throughout Western history, the Black experience has been dissected, diluted and appropriated by a world that was built in part by us, but not for us. Black music, Black hair, Black slang, Black style, Black bodies, Black sexuality, Black culture have been embraced, but often without the context of truly understanding Black lives, or the roots from whence Black culture came. There is little understanding that Blackness in its truest sense is, by nature, resistance and resilience. In the West it was born out of survival, passed down generation…

TRANSATLANTIC LOVE AFFAIR

EVERY LITTLE STEP

Groomer Tariq Howes Skin Lesley Vye, using NARS Models Andre, Diayo, Jeffery, Joram, Shakiel and Taylor c/o Troy Westwood Casting director Troy Westwood Photo assistant Kwesi Dean Stylist’s assistant Ruairi Horan Production KO Collective Location 63 Sun Studio…

EVERY LITTLE STEP

IDK The London-born, US-raised rapper knows a thing or two about life experience. At 28, he’s already worked with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of The Neptunes. He’s currently in the middle of devising a music business programme at Harvard University, but his own education has been a tougher kind. Here, he talks candidly with Nick Grimshaw (in a Zoom chat back in October) about growing up in Maryland – where the music scene wasn’t exactly what he was into – finding therapy through his own music and using his influence for positive change in a tumultuous time… Where in the world are you? I am in LA, although I’m looking to get a place in Maryland as well so I can be close to home. Maryland is where I’m from. Do you…

EXPRESS YOURSELF

‘I think my intention as a mom was very much to raise free Black children’ JASIATIC ANDERSON‘It’s necessary to be loud, to be in the streets, take up space and let your voice be heard’VUAI AYUBU‘Liberation is an aspiration. It hasn’t been something that’s existed for everyone. And if it’s not existed for everyone, then it truly has existed for no one’ BLAIR AMADEUS IMANI‘Liberation means equal opportunities to create your own version of existence, whatever that looks like, as long as it isn’t hurting others’ IO TILLETT WRIGHT‘If you eliminate systems of oppression, and invest in systems of accountability that prevent other oppressive systems thriving, you build up a culture of accountability’ KENDRICK SAMPSON‘I organise because I believe that the voices of the people aren’t being heard’ DAVID CUNNINGHAM‘All…

EXPRESS YOURSELF

After a long time out of favour, figurative painting has returned to the contemporary art scene with some fanfare. Few artists, however, have enjoyed such a stratospheric rise over the last couple of years as Amoako Boafo. Before then, few in the upper echelons of the art world had heard of the 36-year old Ghanaian figurative painter. Though he’d lived in Vienna since 2014, not many curators, critics and dealers had heard so much as a rumour about the brilliant portraitist toiling away in his studio right under their noses, painting his huge, bold, expressive and joyful pictures with his fingers, capturing the Black creatives and friends that make up his social circle and inspire him. In the spring of 2018, however, the American painter Kehinde Wiley discovered Boafo’s work on…

DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER

‘People need to be accountable’ Text WILFRIED ZAHA Crystal Palace footballer Wilfried Zaha reflects on being racially abused, the anonymity of social media, and why education is the key to change This year, racism and our attitudes towards race have been thrust to the front of the conversation, thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement. In football, reports of abuse in the professional game have risen 42 per cent. It’s a statistic I’m all too familiar with, having been on the receiving end of such abuse throughout my career, and it’s encouraging that more voices fighting against this are now being heard – and listened to. But whilst gestures such as the No Room For Racism badge on every Premier League kit feel like a step in the right direction, at the end of…

DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER

KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR

Kingsley Ben-Adir is feeling liberated. ‘When you work with someone like Regina King and you play a character like Malcolm X, suddenly a whole world of possibilities comes up in your mind. Creatively, you enter a new space. It feels like my mind has been set free.’ Around Christmas-time last year, just when the 33-year-old actor from Kentish Town, north London, was preparing to play Barack Obama in major TV drama The Comey Rule, he found out he’d also been cast as iconic activist Malcolm X in the film One Night In Miami, directorial debut of Regina King, who recently won an Emmy for her role in HBO’s Watchmen. But they needed to be filmed at the same time. Sure, Obama was a smaller role – featuring in a handful of scenes…

KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR

FOR THE CULTURE

When friends – and self-confessed art geeks – actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament decided to record their animated chats about art and release them as a podcast, they had no idea if anyone would listen, let alone that in the space of two years it would become one of the most popular art podcasts in the world. Two years on, more than 1.5 million downloads and a book deal later, with nearly 100 interviews with leading artists, musicians, writers, actors and gallerists under their belts – including Sir Elton John, Lena Dunham, Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin – the friends are bemused by its success. ‘We set it up for ourselves, basically,’ says Russell, best known for roles in The History Boys, Years And Years and The Good Liar,…

FOR THE CULTURE

Shaznay Lewis In keeping with its ocular connotations, 2020 has been a year that has brought many issues into focus. Following the killing of George Floyd and the disproportionate Covid-19-related deaths, job losses and policing in Black communities, there continues to be social unrest around the world. Out of the embers of this riotous summer, Shaznay Lewis has begun to reflect on Black Britishness, revealing that she’s never felt prouder of her heritage. She hopes that this moment of collective reckoning can also create a space for us to celebrate inspirational figures who are pushing the culture forward. ‘With everything that is going on, I personally think it’s important to celebrate that there are so many people out there to look up to and to be inspired by,’ she says, before flashing…

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