GQ Australia - Sep-Oct'17 - PDFCOFFEE.COM (2025)

AUSTRALIA

THE BIG STYLE ISSUE LIAM GALLAGHER UNFILTERED THIS IS NOT FAKE NEWS WHY WE BELIEVE THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE

PLUS

25-PAGE WATCH SPECIAL

the real

james franco PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATTHEW BROOKES

EDDIE R E DM AY N E ’ S CHOICE

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N E W S TO R E O P E N : G O L D C O A S T S Y D N E Y • M E L B O U R N E C O L L I N S S T R E E T A N D C RO W N • B R I S B A N E

B RU C E W E B E R

CONTENTS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

1 8 2 COVER STORY James Franco in his most honest interview yet. 1 9 4 THIS IS NOT FAKE NEWS The science behind why so many people believe thingsthat aren’t true. 2 0 0 THINK FENDI We survey the new AW17 collection – and meet the woman behind the label. 2 0 6 ANTHONY LISTER The iconic Sydney street artist, in his own words. 2 1 2 DIOR HOMME The latest collection from the French label – shot onthe streets of Paris (where else?) 2 2 0 GOOD JEANS How to wear this season’s best new denim styles. 2 2 8 BACK TO BAGHDAD We head to the Iraqi capital with Munjed Al Muderis, more than two decades after he fled for his life. 2 3 4 ALL HAIL THEKING How designer Alessandro Michele turned Gucci into fashion’s hottest property. 24 0 CITY SLICK The coolest new tones toadd to your wardrobe.

ON THE COVER

Denim/shearling jacket, $3785, byGucci; cotton T-shirt, $360, byGiorgio Armani; ‘Coach Man’ fragrance ($85; 60ml), worn throughout. Photographed by Matthew Brookes Styling Olivia Harding Grooming Diana Schmidtke at Something Artists The GQ Australia teamflew toLA with Qantas; qantas.com

Shop 3035 Level 3 Westfield Sydney (02) 8203 0901

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P120

CONTENTS C NT SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

P140

P212

P255 P88

6 1 THE BRIEF On set of Blade Runner 2049; the creator of BoJack Horseman; the best new tablets; how to make a Hollywood blockbuster (the easy way), and much more. 8 0 THE COLUMNIST Dan Rookwood on thepros (and cons) ofin-flight wi-fi. 9 5 TASTE & TRAVEL Why Lisbon is Europe’s coolest city; Australia’s best new openings; natural wine is a thing.

P100

1 0 2 A NIGHT AT... The Mornington Peninsula’s swanky new Jackalope Hotel. 1 07 GQ STYLE The latest, greatest runway trends from SS18; aviator sunglasses; the best new accessories; JWAnderson teams upwith Uniqlo.

P107

“I’VE BEEN SOBER FOR SIX MONTHS ONCE BEFORE – AND IT DROVE ME TO DRINK.”

1 47 GQ INC The GQ Guide on how toplot your nextcareermove. 1 5 3 GQ WATCH The best of Baselworld 2017; our exclusive with Hublot ambassador, Michael Clarke.

G Q & A : L I A M G A L L AG H E R PAG E 8 8

P161 P206

1 4 0 CARS Into the Outback with the new Land Rover Discovery; tackling Bathurst with Ferrari; the future of motoring, according to BMW.

2 5 1 GQ FIT In defence of dad-bods; how to master being asports photographer.

L

EDITOR’S LETTER

ooking back, I should never have turned my phone notifications on. Every morning my alarm goes off and I reach for the bedside table, only to find the real wake-up call is seeing what’s been happening overnight, in the good old US of A. You see, news alerts have become somewhat of an obsession for me, ever since a certain real estate mogulturned reality TV show host decided he wanted to play politics. And I know I’m not alone here. American presidential campaigns have always had a certain showbiz quality to them, but this one was downright gruelling. Every day, it seemed there was some new revelation; a new twist in the story so shocking that even West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin couldn’t have scripted it better. And I was hooked; each day’s news arriving like a fresh instalment of House of Cards. The political intrigue was captivating. Then in early October, I woke up to the Washington Post’s scoop of the notorious Access Hollywood tape, recorded in 2005. Trump, at that point a hugely influential public figure – a man who by then was on the cusp of his sixties – was caught describing not just his appalling treatment of women, but the fact that “when you’re a star, they let you do it”.

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G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

Shocking revelations were a daily occurrence at this point, but there was something different about this. Something truly startling. In many ways, it is those unguarded moments, when we think people aren’t listening, that have more weight than what we tell people, or even ourselves. Those are the moments that show others who we really are. In the end, it made little difference. Trump is in the White House and the revelations keep pouring in, one news alert at a time. This is the leader of the free world. A man so out of his depth, so trapped in out-dated ideas of what it means to be a man, so cast adrift from reality, there seems little chance of the spectacle improving anytime soon. For us or for him. At GQ, I’ve been lucky enough to witness the evolution of men over the past decade. Aussie guys used to be afraid to show an interest in fashion or talk about their feelings. But these days, we realise there is no single definition of masculinity or set of rules that we all have to live by – and that’s a very good thing. Just look at sports people; cricketers were once portly, beer-swilling blokes and today they’re style icons. The same is true of some politicians – unlike Mr Trump, Obama has always known the benefits of a well-cut suit, and Canadian PM-cum-style icon Justin Trudeau even recently graced the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

PHOTOGRAPHY: TIM ASHTON.

T H E

Beyond the fact they scrub up well, these two men have been champions of women, minorities, immigrants and LGBTIQ individuals. The kind of people who now find themselves struggling to see where they fit in Trump’s world – or if they even fit into it at all. But it’s comforting to know that there are great role models out there for today’s young men – you just have to know where to look. Take James Franco. Yes, our cover star is one of the most handsome men on the planet, but it’s what he says in our interview that really caught my attention. In what must be his most open, honest interview to date (p182), Franco discusses coming to terms with his success, discovering who he really is, and finding time to be present in the moment. Sometimes we have to slow down to get ahead. It’s advice I’m trying to take on board, too. I still check my news alerts each

Cotton/cashmere shirt, approx. $1620, by Tom Ford at Harrolds; denim jeans, approx. $620, by Fabric-Brand & Co.

morning (hey, the man has his little hands on the nuclear codes now), but I’m trying to make sure I try my best to truly appreciate each moment as it arrives. Even though most days my calendar barely allows me enough time for a quick coffee between travel, shoots or meetings, I still try to make an effort to sit back, take a breath and be present whenever I can. After all, I have to admit that being the editor in chief of a magazine like GQ does come with its perks. One of those is being able to introduce this, our fantastic September/October magazine. I’m very proud that our Big Style Issue is packed with opportunities to sit back and appreciate the world we live in. Whether it’s our frank chat with the hilariously mouthy Liam Gallagher (p88); our foray into the incredible world of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci (p234); a visit to Iraq, more than adecade after the conflict began (p228); ourbumper GQ Style section (p107); or ourin-depth lookat why people believe conspiracy theories (p194) – I’m confident there’s something foreveryone. It truly is one of our biggest and best issues of the year. And that, I’m very happy to say, is some good news.

NICK SMITH EDITOR IN CHIEF

FOLLOW NICK @NICK_SMITHGQ

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G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

STYLING: OLIVIA HARDING. PHOTOGRAPHY: MATTHEW BROOKES.

Enjoy.

CONTRIBUTORS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

PERRY OGDEN

SH OT OU R CAM E L AN D COLOU R STO RY I N PAR I S; P24 0 What is your favourite subject to photograph? People. How does shooting fashion differ to portraits and places? Not that much as I tend to see everything as one. Though with fashion you have to keep an eye on the clothes. What impact does photography have on men’s style? I think people are looking at photographs more than ever before so there is definitely an impact though it’s hard to know exactly what that impact is. The greatest moment in your career? There have been many great moments. Going to the Venice and Toronto film festivals with my film Pavee Lackeen (The Traveller Girl) are definitely two of the highlights. And the most difficult thing about your job? Dealing with customs!

OLIVIA HARDING

FASH ION E DITO R What are your top three moments from fashion weeks, and why? 1. Loulou restaurant with Patrick Demarchelier. There’s only one Patrick. 2. The Prada show – it’s always magical. 3. Sitting opposite Aziz Ansari and dancing along to The Beatles at Paul Smith. Two wardrobe essentials every man should own? A great leather jacket and a pair of RM Williams boots. The best thing about your job? The opportunity to travel and meet / work with photographers whose work I have long admired. Is it possible to predict ‘trends’? And if so, how? Yes, of course. Read GQ, we’ll get you clued up. What fashion advice would you offer any gent who asked for some? Choose fit and comfort over fashion. There is nothing more awkward than looking pained or uncomfortable. The most prominent thing about James Franco on set? James is intelligent, charming and very cool but above all he was respectful and professional. It was very endearing.

44

FROM TOP Prada’s Men’s SS18 show in Milan in June; Miuccia Prada.

ANDREW MALLETT

I NTE R N E D W ITH TH E FASH IO N TEAM

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

Do you have a favourite story you worked on? I quite enjoyed working on the GQ Style on-model story. I got to help with the planning and organisation of that shoot. To see the process evolve from the theme, styling and shoot toit being on layout was really rewarding. How would you describe your own style? Fluid. I love the classic nature of suiting and the structured silhouettes that it can provide. However, I do also love attention to detail and feminine accents. Accessories are also a major part of my style as I believe it ‘puts

the cherry on the cake’. Who are some of your style icons and why? Law Roach is definitely one due to the work that he has done collaborating with Zendaya and Celine Dion, as well as his creative direction and progressive thinking. It’s a path I’d love to one day follow. What’s your dream job? I would love to be a part of the styling team of a main fashion house – Dior Homme, Burberry or Ann Demeulemeester are some favourites. To put forward my creative input and to experience the process of design would be an absolute dream.

You were a hand and leg model in our previous issue. Any plans to expand your career? I loved being in front of the camera – it was interesting to see the other side of the story. I would be up for anything in the modelling field, I think it would be a great opportunity to learn more about the industry. You’re moving to London soon. What are you most looking forward to? I can’t wait to experience the diverse fashion culture as the scene in London has played a part in shaping my style. I’m also excited to dive into all opportunities that come my way.

W A T C H

B E Y O N D

B R 0 3 - 9 2 D I V E R · VIC Bell & Ross Boutique, Melbourne, 03 9650 7421 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Emporium Melbourne, 03 9639 6175 8th Avenue Watch Co., Westfield Doncaster, 03 9840 6304 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Chadstone S/C, 03 9569 7652 · NSW Hardy Brothers, Sydney, 02 8262 3100 Hardy Brothers, Chatswood, 02 8423 2800 | Wamada Jewellery, Haymarket, 02 9281 8182 | Heinemann Tax & Duty Free, Sydney Airport QLD 8th Avenue Watch Co., Pacific Fair S/C, 07 5575 4883 | Hardy Brothers, Brisbane, 07 3625 8000 · WA Hardy Brothers, Perth, 08 6318 1000 · www.bellross.com

dior.com

W I L D AT H E A R T

AUSTRALIA

EDITOR IN CHIEF DEPUTY EDITOR RICHARD CLUNE

NICK SMITH

MANAGING EDITOR MIKE CHRISTENSEN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT LARGE JOSH BEGGS

STYLE DIRECTOR KELLY HUME

FEATURES EDITOR JAKE MILLAR

FASHION DIRECTOR AT LARGE TREVOR STONES

SENIOR SUB-EDITOR CHRISTOPHER RILEY

FASHION EDITOR OLIVIA HARDING

GROOMING EDITOR DAVID SMIEDT

FASHION ASSISTANT LEILA AMIRPARVIZ

DIGITAL COMMERCIAL EDITOR JACK PHILLIPS

DIGITAL ASSETS & RIGHTS MANAGER TRUDY BIERNAT

ONLINE ASSOCIATE PRODUCER NIKOLINA SKORIC

OFFICE ENQUIRIES 02 8045 4784

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Timothy Anscombe-Bell, Adam Baidawi, Tiffany Bakker, Kate Barber, Richard Brown, Stephen Corby, Noelle Faulkner, Damian Francis, David Halliday, Anthony Huckstep, Dan Rookwood, Nick Ryan, Will Storr.

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Tim Ashton, Adam Baidawi, Tim Bean, Matthew Brookes, Richard Bulley, Delly Carr, Neal Franc, India Hartford Davis, Alina G’Ozina, Neale Haynes, James Mullins, Edward Mulvihill, Frank Ockenfels, Perry Ogden, Martin Olman, Carly Ravenhall, James Robjant, Giuseppe Santamaria, Antonietta Scotto, Edward Urrutia, Chris Vidal Tenomaa, Chloe Yeoman, Saskia Wilson.

INTERNS

Jessica Campbell, Milly Hanley, Hayley Kaplan, Andrew Mallett, Archie Pham.

NATIONAL SALES & STRATEGY DIRECTOR, STYLE

Nicole Waudby 02 8045 4661 HEAD OF BRAND STRATEGY, STYLE Merryn Dhami 02 9288 1090 HEAD OF BRAND STRATEGY, STYLE Jane Schofield 02 8045 4658 GROUP SALES MANAGER, STYLE Cheyne Hall 02 8045 4667 NSW KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER, STYLE Kate Corbett 02 8045 4737 NSW KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER, STYLE Catherine Patrick 02 8045 4613 NSW KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER, STYLE Elise De Santo 02 8045 4675 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP MANAGER, STYLE

Hannah David-Wright 02 8045 4986

DIGITAL BRAND MANAGER, STYLE Laura Saleh 02 8045 4655 NSW CAMPAIGN IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER, STYLE

Kate Dwyer 02 9288 1009

NSW ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, STYLE Tessa Dixon 02 8045 4744 NSW ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, STYLE Caitlin Pater 02 8045 4653 VIC SALES DIRECTOR, STYLE Karen Clements 03 9292 3202 HEAD OF SALES, VIC Bethany Sutton 03 9292 1621 VIC KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER Nadine Denison 03 9292 3224 VIC ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, STYLE Sarah-Jane Bacon 02 9292 3208 VIC CAMPAIGN IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER, STYLE

Rebecca Rodell 03 9292 1951 QLD COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR, LIFESTYLE Rose Wegner 07 3666 6903 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Rebecca White 1300 139 305 ASIA Kim Kenchington (852) 2882 1106 ADVERTISING CREATIVE DIRECTOR Richard McAuliffe 02 8045 4724

ADVERTISING CREATIVE MANAGER Eva Chown 02 8045 4720 ADVERTISING HEAD OF COPY Brooke Lewis 02 8045 4726 ADVERTISING GROUP ART DIRECTOR Caryn Isemann 02 8045 4714 ADVERTISING SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Georgia Dixon 02 8045 4718 ADVERTISING COPY EDITOR Robert Badman 02 8114 8931 PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle O’Brien ADVERTISING PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Gina Jiang iPAD PRODUCTION Stuart McDowell GROUP CIRCULATION MANAGER Grant Durie DIGITAL PRODUCT MANAGER Tina Ishak MARKETING DIRECTOR Diana Kay ACTING MARKETING MANAGER Melissa Morphet ACTING BRAND MANAGER Kimberley Grace MARKETING EXECUTIVE Rachel Christian EVENTS MANAGER Danielle Isenberg EVENT MARKETING MANAGER Brooke King CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Nicole Sheffield GENERAL MANAGER, NETWORK SALES, NSW Paul Blackburn GENERAL MANAGER RETAIL & CIRCULATION Brett Willis DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Sharyn Whitten PRESTIGE & LIFESTYLE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR IN CHIEF

Nick Smith

AUSTRALIA magazine is published by NewsLifeMedia (ACN 088 923 906), Level 1, 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010. NewsLifeMedia is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited (ACN 007 871 178). Copyright 2015 by NewsLifeMedia. All rights reserved. Address: 2 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010. Tel: (02) 9288 3000. Email: [emailprotected] Advertising tel: (02) 9353 6666, fax: (02) 9353 6600. Creative Services fax: (02) 9353 6611. Melbourne Office: HWT Tower, Level 5, 40 City Rd, Southbank, Vic 3006. Tel: (03) 9292 3200, fax: (03) 9292 1695. Brisbane Office: 26 Chermside Street, Newstead, Qld 4006. Tel: (07) 3620 2000, fax: (07) 3620 2001. Distributed by Gordon & Gotch Australia Pty Ltd, tel: 1300 650 666. Printed by PMP Limited, Paper fibre is from sustainably managed forests and controlled sources. CONDÉ NAST INTERNATIONAL Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive CONDÉ NAST ASIA PACIFIC James Woolhouse, President

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THE BIG STYLE ISSUE LIAM GALLAGHER UNFILTERED THIS IS NOT FAKE NEWS WHY WE BELIEVE THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE

PLUS

25-PAGE WATCH SPECIAL

the he real al

james es francoo PHOTOGRAPHED BY MATTHEW BROOKES OOKES

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ONLINE G Q . C O M . AU

GQINC.

GQInc. LIVE

Our ever-expanding bible of the best places throughout Australia. Here, two of Melbourne’s standout burger joints.

We’re taking the business arm of GQ onthe road with a networking event that brings together small business leaders from across New South Wales. GQInc LIVE will host 100 guests, four leading business figures and four game-changing talks tohelp you achieve greater professional growth in 2018.

Huxtaburger

Another legend of the new wave of burgers from the crew that once had hatted restaurant Huxtable. Must order: Bill’s, agrass-fed beef patty, bacon, egg, pineapple, beetroot, cheese, mustard, mayo, tomato sauce, tomato,lettuceand pickles. 106 Smith St, Collingwood (and Prahran, CBD, Eastland and Hawthorn)

Follow us @GQAustralia Tag us #GQAustralia

SUMMERTIME SHREDDING SORTED

The days are getting longer andthe air is getting warmer. It’s time to stop bulking up andstart stripping down with our workouts that focus on helping you achieve cheesegrater abs and a body of which any Baywatch brute would be proud. Also keep an eye out for exclusive dietary advice from experts in the field. 52

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

8bit

A tribute to the pixels of the arcade-game past. 8bit is amodern take on old-school fish ‘n’ chip shops kids across the country used to hang out infora bit of arcade downtime along with a burger. Must order: The After Burner, afiery ride of beef, tomato, red onion, lettuce, cheese, chilli sauce, jalapeños, mustard andchipotle mayo. 8 Droop St, Footscray (and CBD)

FEEDBACK

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER DATA

Right on GOT Day. Well played @gqaustralia

VI RG, VIA I N STAG R AM

STA R LETTER

The king in the north!

B R E NT, VIA I N STAG R AM Thanks guys, who knew Game of Thrones was sopopular? Great article, I enjoyed reading that. Pity there arefew genuine people inpolitics, nobody could saythat Barnaby is insincere inhis words oractions. Keepflying thecountryman’s flag!

SUSAN, VIA FAC E BOOK

Shorten would play you offa break, Barnaby – he probably wouldn’t even have YOU as an enemy – atleast Bill can put words together that make sense!

B I LL , VIAFAC E BOO K

Looks like our Barnaby Joyce interview has dividedopinions.

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J ESSE, VIA E MAI L

This issue gave me an escape from the everyday, helped me relax and had a lot of great information and advice to help better myself and my life. Thanks. Jay, via email

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

Thanks for taking the time to write such a lengthy message of appreciation. And sorry we had to cut it down – but we’ve only got 264 pages to play with, this issue.

Chance to Win For the chance to win a Panasonic ‘DMPUB400 4K Ultra HD’ Blu-ray Player worth more than $500, tell us what you think of this issue by going to GQ.com.au/win or emailing [emailprotected]. Experience Hollywood at home with the Panasonic ‘DMP-UB400 4K Ultra HD’ Blu-ray Player, and enjoy dazzling images just as the director intended. panasonic.com

THE SURVEY Tell us what you really think. Each issue, we’re askingreaders to share their thoughts and thistime,it’s all about style – from where you like toshop, to whose style you like to replicate. Here are the results. WHOSE STYLE DO YOU MOST ADMIRE? DAVID BECKHAM

22%

A$AP ROCKY

7%

HARRY STYLES

22%

RYA N G O S L I N G

27%

JARED LETO

1%

OTHER

21%

WHICH MOVIE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

Blade Runner 2049

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

The Emoji Movie

Battle of the Sexes

Other

57%

0%

7%

1%

21%

14%

W H AT’S YO U R FAVO U R I T E ONLINE STORE? MR PORTER THE ICONIC OTHER

50% 21%

29%

HOW OFTEN DO YOU SHOP FOR CLOTHES? EVERY WEEK

14%

EVERY MONTH

64%

EVERY SIX MONTHS

21%

ONCE A YEAR

1%

PHOTOGRAPHY: EDWARD MULVIHILL; GETTY IMAGES.

E

very month Ieagerly await the arrival of GQ Australia. But to my shock, after seeing the cover I discovered that Barnaby Joyce would be featuring in this month’s issue. I wasn’t getting my hopes up for an insightful article to stimulate my mind. But, you know what? Iactually found myself liking Mr Joyce. Yes, me – a socially progressive, gay, Laborvoting young man, found himself sympathising with his antithesis. You really gave an insightful understanding of the man – and early on in the piece it was easy to see why he garners so much support in rural regions of Australia. The Deputy PM really gets country people. And guessing not many other pollies can claim to have been a bouncer at their local pub. Thank you for a terrific interview – one which has helped our Deputy PM connect to a segment of the population that he may not have appealed to in the past.

MANUFACTURE FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH Handcrafted in-house movement. Manufacture Collection : in-house developed, in-house produced and in-house assembled movements.

More information on frederiqueconstant.com

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THE AGENDA BY PAUL MURRAY

‘ACCESS’ ISN’T A KEY TO TRUTH, OFTEN IT IS A BUFFER AGAINST IT

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PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

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The heroes of the modern media here’s one word that aren’t the ones with the biggest Twitter stands between people following, or who pop up on TV all the knowing the truth about time to trump their own ‘exclusives’. virtually all areas of life – The people I look up to are the reporters ‘access’. This is the ability who roam freely with no fixed beat. of the media to stay on They are not full-time sports, political the inside of a story by being able to talk or business reporters. They bring to the powerful. But it often comes with fresh eyes to a situation because they a heavy cost. One where there’s an entire don’t need the gatekeeper and couldn’t industry that enforces the rules of the care less what the company, politician, game. A game from which the reader, athlete or subject of their focus thinks viewer or listener often gets removed. of their story. Little will prevent them Increasingly it is this ‘access’ that governs from seeking out the truth. And they so much of what you see in the media and certainly won’t be concerned with its is a big reason behind what you don’t. T H E A N C H O R O N PAU L M U R R AY L I V E possible repercussions. They used to say a reporter is only as I S C O N C E R N E D J O U R N A L I S T S A R E N OT One of the most famous examples good as their contact book; a reference G E T T I N G W H AT T H E Y N E E D TO W R I T E T H E S TO RY YO U, T H E R E A D E R , D E S E RV E . of this came about 10 years ago when to who they knew and their ability to get D O E S H E H AV E A P O I N T? Rugby League was rocked by a salarythe inside word on a story. Now there are cap scandal at the Bulldogs. This wasn’t plenty of old-school reporters who still exposed, as it should have been, by afull-time footy reporter. Rather, know the people they report on personally. But the next generation by two wonderful old-school reporters Kate McClymont and Anne isn’t as well connected. They have put more time into getting to know Davies. What started as stories about property development ended with the gatekeeper. ‘PR’, ‘Media Liaison’, ‘Advisor’, ‘Communications the team being stripped of all their points andreceiving a hefty fine. Professional’ – going by many names, they’e skilled and often nice We need more of these genuine outsiders in the Australian media. people. But all become an almost impenetrable barrier between the Who aren’t afraid of the buffer, who don’t obsess about their standing media and what they are trying to write or film or talk about. in the press gallery in Canberra, or play the access game with business Politicians love the buffer; it means they are rarely caught off guard leaders or celebrities. in an interview. There is a group of people to handle not just media From our end, when trust has never been lower in the media, we – the requests for comment on the day’s news, but dozens of people who use media – need to be fearless to help restore some faith in our profession. ‘access’ to string the media along. A year ago, I was told by one of them if So, if you are in the business, my advice would be to break free of the I was nicer to their minister on TV then he would give me an interview. pack and remember, while the media companies pay your wage, we We never spoke again and suffice to say my editorials didn’t change. only owe one group true loyalty: the people who turn to us toknow For a real democracy to work, you need to believe that there are people what’s really going on. who ask hard questions and make powerful people feel uncomfortable, Paul Murray LIVE, Monday-Thursdays airs at 9pm AEST holding them to account for their inconsistencies and the consequences on SKY NEWSLIVE of the decisions they make.

Hugh Jackman and the new TimeWalker Chronograph The new TimeWalker Chronograph is inspired by performance and the spirit of racing. montblanc.com/timewalker Crafted for New Heights.

Sydney · Melbourne · Brisbane · Perth 1300 36 4810

W H AT ’ S T R E N D I N G I N P O P C U LT U R E R I G H T N O W

T H E

BRIEF EF

BLADE RUNNER 2049

T H I R T Y- F I V E Y E A R S A F T E R T H E C U LT S C I - F I C L AS S I C H I T S C R E E N S, W E P R E PA R E TO R E V I S I T T H E DYS TO P I A N U N I V E R S E T H AT B L E W M I N D S A N D C H A N G E D C I N E M A FO R E V E R .

E D I T E D BY JAKE M I LL AR

BRIEF

I

t’s already dark in LA, but Denis Villeneuve is still on set. This is the pointy-end of production, the phase when sound and visual effects are tweaked and re-tweaked and, hopefully, everything finally all comestogether. It’s been a 13-hour day. “We’re running towards the finish line,” he says. “It’s the last step, but it’s really crucial. To make the shot look good is not that difficult, but we want to make it look great – something that will make a statement. But it’s the fun part, it’s the icing on the cake.” The cake, of course, is Blade Runner 2049. Rumoured to be in the works since at least 2009, the sequel has been through a few different cooks and a few different recipes. Ridley Scott, who directed the original, was reportedly on board – and then he wasn’t. Ditto Christopher Nolan. And then in early 2015, it was finally official: Canadian Denis Villeneuve would be in the director’s chair. Best known for Prisoners, Sicario and Oscar-nominated Arrival, Villeneuve approached the project as most people would: with equal parts excitement and sheer terror. “It was not a decision I took lightly,” he reflects. “First of all, I was one of the biggest fans of the original movie – it was a big part in my desire to become a filmmaker. The movie really influenced me and I’m such a fan of Ridley Scott’s work. To make a sequel to such a masterpiece, I was like... wow. I was pretty moved that the producer asked me totake that challenge.” There are many ways to make a bad sequel to a sci-fi classic like Blade Runner, but there are two main ones. The first is topiss off fans of the original. The second is to make anerd-fest that can only be enjoyed by fans of the original. Coming three decades after the first movie hit screens, there’s every chance your average millennial won’t have seen the first movie. Oreven heard of it.

TH E S E T O F TH E S EQ U E L WAS M AD E A LM OST E NTI R E LY W ITH O U T TH E U S E O FG R E E N SC R E E N .

F R O M LE F T: D I R EC TO R D E N I S V I LLE N E U V E O N TH E S E T O F B LAD E R U N N E R 204 9; RYA N G OS LI N G AS K W ITH CO - STAR A NA D E A R M AS .

“We built almost everything... It was pretty amazing to walk onto those sets.” “It was something that we made sure was inthe screenplay right from the start, that there would be a balance,” says Villeneuve. “We had to make sure we didn’t repeat things that people already know, but also that we don’t lose new people who don’t know the universe so well.” The film will again be set in LA but takes place 30 years after the events of theoriginal. It stars Ryan Gosling as LAPD Officer K, who uncovers a secret that threatens the future of humanity. Original lead, Harrison Ford, reprises his role as Rick Deckard, and is also joined by Jared Leto andRobin Wright. When it was released in 1982, Blade Runner was hailed as a visual masterpiece, earning aswag of awards, as well as two Oscar nominations. But when it came to recreating the eerie, futuristic atmosphere of the sequel, Villeneuve was keen to avoid taking the green-screen route.

“I strongly believe that it’s better for actors if there is a real environment,” he says. “We built almost everything – we built the road, we built the streets. It was a pretty amazing experience to walk onto those sets. I never thought I would see something like this inmy life.” Following such an epic production, it might be easy to assume Villeneuve’s next project would be something smaller. One ofthe indie numbers he directed, back before Hollywood came calling, perhaps. Not quite. Villeneuve’s next film is Dune – yes, the epic, complex series of sci-fi novels that David Lynch famously tackled back in1984 and which is widely considered the worst film of his career (it is). Presumably, Villeneuve looked back on that whole fiasco and thought: where do I sign? “Right now, my brain is totally focused onthis,” he says. “It was quite a journey todoBlade Runner and I’ve really loved it. Butitrequires a huge amount of energy todoaproject like this and I would definitelyneed to take two weeks off [before startingDune] – for my sanity.” Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I lived in a small town and most of the movies Icould access were American movies, made in Hollywood,” he recalls of his Québécois upbringing. “So this has been a dream, since my youth. But I never thought Iwould have the opportunity todo it.” B LAD E R U N N E R 204 9 I S I N C I N E M ASOC TO B E R 5

PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANK OCKENFELS; STEPHEN VAUGHAN; ALCON ENTERTAINMENT.

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#BornToDare

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T H E

BRIEF

T H E 6 9 T H A N N U A L E M M Y A W A R D S I S TA K I N G P L A C E O N S E P T E M B E R 1 7 A N D W I L L B E H O S T E D B Y S T E P H E N C O L B E R T – W H O S E O W N S H O W I S N O M I N AT E D F O R B E S T VA R I E T Y TA L K S E R I E S .

FIVE THINGS TO TA K E YO U R M I N D O F F G A M E O FT H R O N E S .

The hit list

THE BOOK

He’s best known as a fashion photographer who’s shot some 200 covers of Vogue. But Mario Testino’s latest tome features barely any clothes at all. With the likes ofKate Moss and previously unseen images, Undressed isa series of intimate portraits that offer afresh perspective on the way we perceive bodies and beauty. Or, at least, that’s what we’ll be telling the mother-in-law when she spots it on the coffee table. UNDRESSED, $49.99, BY TASCHEN; AU.NEWHOLLAND PUBLISHERS.COM

THE ALBUM

THE EVENT

There is still a chance for you to get tickets to Antidote, this year’s most exciting ideas festival. Held at the Sydney Opera House, it brings together thinkers from all over the world to discuss politics, fake news, climate change, money and more. Among this year’s line-up are the editors of satirical news site The Onion and Dutch brainiac Rutger Bregman, author of the sensational book Utopia for Realists. Get in fast. ‘ANTIDOTE: A FESTIVAL OF IDEAS, ART & ACTION’ RUNS FROM SEPTEMBER 2-3; ANTIDOTE.SYDNEY OPERAHOUSE.COM

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THE COLLAB

THE TV SHOW

Paranormal Aussie drama Glitch is finally back for season two. It stars Patrick Brammall as a small-town cop, whose otherwise regular day is interrupted by the Risen; a group of people back from the dead. It also features Hannah Monson and emerging talent Sean Keenan (both pictured). GLITCH AIRS ON ABC FROM SEPTEMBER 14

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

In 2015, Mr Porter released its first ‘costume to collection’ in partnership with blockbuster Kingsman: The Secret Service. It went gangbusters with the line now in its sixth season. So it’s little surprise they’re joining forces for the film’s sequel. Designed alongside director Matthew Vaughn and costume designer Arianne Phillips, the new instalment has everything from suiting to accessories. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE IS IN CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 21; THE MR PORTER x KINGSMAN COLLECTION IS ON SALE SEPTEMBER 7; MRPORTER.COM

Four years since their last effort, Trouble Will Find Me, The National are back with their seventh studio album. Entitled Sleep Well Beast, it was produced by Aaron Dessner, with some help from Matt Berninger and Bryce Dessner. With song titles including ‘Day I Die’ and ‘I’ll Still Destroy You’, it is unlikely to break with the band’s tradition of creating music that’s equal parts brooding and brilliant. SLEEP WELL BEAST IS OUT ON SEPTEMBER 8

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BRIEF

S TA R O F G A M E O F T H R O N E S A N D 2 0 1 8 ’ S A Q U A M A N , J A S O N M O M O A W I L L B E AT T E N D I N G O Z C O M I C C O N I N B R I S B A N E , S E P 2 3 - 2 4 , A N D S Y D N E Y, S E P 3 0 - O C T 1 ; O Z C O M I C C O N . C O M

TELEVISION

BoJack Horseman is back AS T H E A N I M AT E D S H O W R E T U R N S FO R A FO U R T H S E AS O N , W E CATC H U P W I T H I T S M U LT I TA L E N T E D, D O U B L EBARRELLED SHOWRUNNER, WRITER – AND SOMETIMES VO I C E AC TO R – R A P H A E L B O B -WA KS B E R G .

WILL ARNETT STARS ASBOJACK HORSEMAN, AWASHED-UP ACTOR; AARON PAUL PLAYS TODD, HIS DEADBEAT HOUSEMATE.

I

t’s a tale as old as time itself. A horse lands a starring role in a ’90s family sitcom, makes his fortune, then lives out the rest of his days in a flashy Hollywood Hills pad – growing more bitter and disillusioned and drunk, bythe day. That’s the elevator pitch, anyway. Starring Will Arnett as BoJack; Amy Sedaris as his agent, a cat named Princess Carolyn; Alison Brie as his (human) girlfriend, Diane; and Aaron Paul as his (alsohuman) housemate, Todd, the Netflix series may sound a little offbeat. “I never really thought it was that weird,” protests Bob-Waksberg. “You’ve seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit, right? That’s what it is– humans and animals.” He’s not wrong. But it’s also a hilarious, often dark, look at fame, success, love and life that might just be the smartest show on TV. We talk to the man who started it all.

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GQ: Is season four all done anddusted? Raphael Bob-Waksberg: Yeah, it’s been delivered. So if something big happens in the world that we need to address, well, it’s too late. GQ: We live in uncertain times. Has that ever happened to youbefore? RB: Occasionally. But very rarely in a major way where we’ve had to change a story or something. It’s hard because we want our show to be somewhat timely but somewhat timeless, so it will hold up for afew years. We had a joke aboutCarrie Fisher this season, so we had to go back into the recording booth and change it. Hopefully nothing else happens, but at acertain point you have to beOK with it.

GQ: Four seasons is a big deal. Do you ever think about the Seinfeld thing – going out on top, not milking it? RB: Oh no. I’ll milk it for as longas I can. When I’m out of stories, that’ll be time for me toend it – not when America orthe world has lost interest. Though Iguess if Netflix has lost interest, they’ll tell me it’sdone. GQ: They must have all kinds ofstats about who’s watching, when they’re zoning out. Is that helpful? RB: I think Netflix has access toall of those stats, but they don’t share them with me. Iremember hearing stories about House of Cards and earlyon, that they would call [executive producer] David Fincher and tell him when he was losing people. He was like: ‘I don’t want to know. Never tell people that’. It would drive me crazy. All I need to hear is: ‘Make more’. GQ: A doco called Showrunners described the job as painting, while writing a novel, while doing your taxes. Is it? RB: I don’t know. We’ve entered this era of the ‘showrunner asauteur’ – like they’re this

mysterious genius who has todo every single job. I don’t think that’s necessarily how good shows get made. For every Louis CK who’s incredibly talented, there are five other executive producers who think they’re that, but are total megalomaniacs who just makegarbage. GQ: You’ve got an email on display in your office from a fan who suggested you’d forgotten to add tails to the characters. RB: Yeah. What I really like about that email is this person felt so passionate about what we’re creating. One of my favourite shows, ever, is Mad Men and I loved it in a way that felt so personal. So I like that people feel strongly enough that someone could love everything about the show – except, ‘why don’t they have tails?’ That’s the one thing holding it back. GQ: Maybe something for season four, then? RB: Yeah, we have a bit of timebefore it premieres. Maybe we’ll try to squeeze inafew tails. SEASON FOUR OF BOJACK HORSEMAN STREAMS ON NETFLIX SEPTEMBER 8

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F O L L O W I N G PA B L O E S O B A R ’ S D E AT H , T H E T H I R D S E A S O N O F NARCOS PICKS UP WITH THE DRUG BARON’S SUCCESSORS, COLOMBIA’S CALI CARTEL. IT AIRS ON NETFLIX ON SEPTEMBER 1.

INTERIORS

Get the inside scoop

G I V E YO U R H O M E A S T Y L E M A K E OV E R , W I T H T H E S E INTERIORS TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS WHO KNOW H O W TO M A K E A G R E AT F I R S T I M P R E S S I O N .

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here are usually two options when you travel. Find a hotel, or get a feel for the area and book a short-term stay in a rental home. But it turns out there’s athird option. Luxico offers the best ofboth worlds, with a range of high-end private properties available for short- or long-term stays that combine luxury (cheese and wine platters, 24-hour concierge), with the feel of staying with alocal (shopping tours, restaurant recommendations). We asked Luxico’s experts for their tips for making astriking first impression –and what it takes to turn agood home into a great one. To browse properties or find out more about listing your home, head to luxico.com.au.

Ask the experts LESS IS MORE

The first five minutes a guest spends in your home will leave a lasting impact during their stay. Avoid leaving out too many household items – leftover food in the fridge or pantry, too many toiletries inthe bathroom, appliances in the kitchen – which can make people feel less like guests and more like they’re invading your space.

ADD SOME PERSONALITY

While too many knick-knacks can make a home look messy, you don’t want it to look too sterile, either. Soft furnishings like throws or pillows are a good way to add a personal touch to your home, and carefully placed artwork will inject a pop of colour and give a space an instant facelift.

BRING THE OUTDOORS IN

Cut flowers may look nice when you buy them, but they don’t tend to last long and will have the opposite effect once they begin to wilt. Instead, potted plants last longer andhelp bring a room to life.

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BRIEF

F O O F I G H T E R S , F A L L O U T B O Y, R I N G O S TA R R A N D S Y N T H - L O V I N G ’ 8 0 S M U S I C I C O N G A RY N U M A N A R E E AC H R E L E AS I N G N E W A L B U M S O N S E P T E M B E R 1 5 .

THE P L AY L I S T

LCD Soundsystem AMERICAN DREAM

In 2011, LCD Soundsystem said they’d never be back. But last year, they finally were – headlining Coachella, announcing Aussie shows andeven a new album. American Dream is the group’s first in seven years and heralds areturn to form. Does it live up tothe synth-soaked super-hype? Put on your dancing shoes and find out.

Josh Homme wants you to dance

O U T S E P TE M B E R 1; LC DSO U N DSYSTE M .CO M

The Horrors V

W

hen Queens of the Stone Age announced they would be working with Mark Ronson on new album, Villains, the internet – as it always does – responded with many an opinion. Granted, the loudest protests came from diehard Queens fans who still define front man Josh Homme by his former heavy-rock outfit, Kyuss. Still, the idea that a producer so fond of big-band brass was working with the stoner rock legends was widely considered sacrilege. But Ronson turned out to be Queens’ secret weapon. Literally – Homme had previously said, “no special guests will feature” on the album, and the producer was hidden from view, right up until its announcement in June. But the signs were there. 2013’s …Like Clockwork saw cameos from Dave Grohl and Elton John, among others, and Homme had only recently joined Ronson for Lady Gaga’s epic single ‘Perfect Illusion’. “I saw how Mark worked and after watching him for about an hour, I knew,” says Homme, whose son introduced him to the “tight and vacuous” groove of ‘Uptown Funk’, a place close to where he wanted to take Queens. “I knew I wanted to change our sound

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alittle bit... He’s very beat-centric, like we are; so there was so much overlap between what he likes and what we like... which I think is part of the cool surprise of it all.” Homme has never cared much for critics when it comes to his band’s distinct evolution. “It’s not about trying to recreate a hit,” he says. “That’s for somebody else. This is about taking a chance that may make all our fans say, ‘I wish you hadn’t done that’.” He co-credits this ‘seize the moment’ headspace to Iggy Pop, who he worked with on the icon’s Post Pop Depression, released last year. “The only thing you really control is letting go. If I make something for myself that I feel is honest and real, then I can deal with the worst criticism in the world. I know not everyone’s gonna like it. But I need to make something I believe in and that my guys believe in – I’d rather fail out of new mistakes than make the old ones, you know?” The result is Villains, a beat-conscious album that – one way or another – just wants to get you moving. “My goal has always been to walk between the raindrops and not get wet” quips Homme. “This record is about just trying to grab people by their shirt collar and say: ‘Youcan use your feet – to dance or to walk away – butyou can’t sleep’.” VI LLAI N S I S O UT N OW.

Speaking of synths, fans of ‘80s new wave, post-punk electronica and industrial trance will find their happy place in this genre-blurring record. Teaming up with legendary Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globe and Brit award-winning producer Paul Epworth has paid off, as this is one record that should not be glazed over, even if it does have an early ’00s tinge. O U T S E P TE M B E R 2 2; TH E H O R R O R S .CO.U K

alex cameron FORCED WITNESS

If cinematic-‘80s-road-noir was a genre, then Alex Cameron has it conquered with album number two. Recorded in Berlin, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, thishigh-concept LP from theex-Seekae frontman features Angel Olsen, Brandon Flowers (The Killers), epic hornfrom Roy Malloy – and undercurrents of dark hedonism. O U T S E P TE M B E R 8; ALEXCAMERONONLINE.NET.AU

WORDS: NOELLE FAULKNER.

W I T H A L L T H AT’ S H A P P E N E D I N T H E FO U R Y E A R S S I N C E T H E I R L AS T A L B U M , YO U M I G H T E X P E C T Q U E E N S O F T H E S TO N E AG E TO P R O D U C E A DA R K , B R O O D I N G FO L LO W- U P. I F S O, YO U ’ R E I N FO R A S U R P R I S E .

BORN IN LES GENEVEZ, SWITZERLAND*

*

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BRIEF

A M O N G T H E S TA R - S T U D D E D C A S T O F T H E E M O J I M O V I E A R E S O F Í A V E R G A R A , J A M E S C O R D E N , C H R I S T I N A A G U I L E R A A N D S I R P AT R I C K S T E W A R T, W H O V O I C E S A C H A R A C T E R C A L L E D P O O P.

FILM

How to make a Hollywood blockbuster

W I T H T H E E M O J I M OV I E S E T FO R R E L E AS E , I T’ S O F F I C I A L : A N Y T H I N G CA N B E T U R N E D I N TO A F E AT U R E F I L M . A F T E R A L L , T H E P I R AT E S O F T H E CA R I B B E A N S E R I E S H AS M A D E N E A R LY $ 5 B N –A N D T H AT’ S B AS E D O F F A D I S N E Y L A N D R I D E . W E ’ V E P U T TO G E T H E R A C H A R T FO R C H O O S I N G T H E P LOT O F YO U R N E X T B OX- O F F I C E S U C C E S S . DO YOU HAVE AN O R I G I NAL I D E A?

WHO’S GOT THE TIME?

YES ARE YOU WES ANDERSON? ERM, NO

WHAT GENRE?

ACTION

OK. WHO’S IT FOR?

KIDS

ADULTS

OBVIOUSLY

YES!

WITH ANIMALS?

YEP

STARRING IS LEO ON BOARD?

ANIMATION?

VIN DIESEL?

WHO?

THANK GOD

YIKES

A LONELY ROBOT WHO DISCOVERS EMPATHY?

YES

FAIR ENOUGH

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YOU MEAN DWAYNE JOHNSON?

F I DG E T S PI N N E R S

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

WHY NOT?

WITH ADAM SANDLER? NO! A REMAKE OF CLASSIC ‘80S TV SHOW

YES

UGH. OK

I GUESS

A FAST AND THE FURIOUS SEQUEL

NO

SOUNDS A BIT HIGH-BROW

A FA M I LY OF E LE PHANTS

THE ROCK

NO IS IT A BIOPIC?

LITE R ALLY ANY TH I N G

COMEDY

LIKE CHEERS?

AREN’T THERE ALREADY 8 OF THOSE? YEP EXACTLY

FINE!

E LO N MUSK

SOM E TH I N G ABO UT S PAC E

FAST AN D TH E F U R I O U S IX

CHEERS: TH E MOVI E

AN AF FAB LE I D I OT

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY.

YES!

AGREED

©2017 COACH®

JAMES FRANCO Introducing The NEW FRAGRANCE for MEN

T H E

BRIEF

TECH

W H E TH E R FO R B U S I N E S S O R PLE AS U R E , TH E S E A R E O U R TO P TA B LE T P I C KS :

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Yes, tablets are still a thing

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S M A R T P H O N E S A R E G E T T I N G B I G G E R , L A P TO P S A R E G E T T I N G L I G H T E R , A N D TA B L E T S A R E F E E L I N G T H E S Q U E E Z E . B U T C O M P E T I T I O N M E A N S I N N OVAT I O N . H E R E A R E F I V E O F T H E B E S T TA B L E T S O U T R I G H T N O W. You could argue that the current HP‘Spectre X2’ is the best-looking tablet around. The new one is better and lighter. The Bang & Olufsen logo on the side, however, is like putting a Porsche badge on your mountain bike. With Windows 10, Intel Core i5 processor power and 256GB SSD storage, plus two USB type C ports, it’s hardly lacking. The four speakers are fine but headphones are better, and the screen has been updated to 3000 x 2000 resolution. It’s a smart looking machine, but it would want to be atthat price point. ‘S PEC TR E X2’, F R O M $1 9 9 9, BY H P; H P.CO M . AU

2. Microsoft

It’s tried, tried and tried again, but finally Microsoft has come up with atablet to challenge the iPad. The ‘Surface Pro’ mixes the best in tablets with the best in laptops. Full Windows 10, a specific tablet mode, USB port, SD card slot and apin-sharp 12.3-inch display. Pair with the optional keyboard cover (the best in class) and stylus, and you’ll want to lose your laptop. You’ll pay for the convenience, especially because you need to

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ignore the base model driven by aCore m3 processor and splash out on at least the Intel Corei5 model to get the most out ofWindows 10. ‘S U R FAC E PR O’, F R O M $1 1 9 9, BY M I C R OSO F T; M I C R OSO F T.CO M . AU

3. Lenovo

The ‘ThinkPad’ series (formerly of IBM) is famous in business, but the‘Miix 720’ tablet is worthy of thesame clientele. This Windows 10 tablet can only be optioned with apowerful Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and also packs a 12-inch QHD+ screen, USB type C port and asizeable 256GB SSD. Unlike most others it comes with the keyboard (a respectable typing experience) and stylus. While the ‘ThinkPad X1’ tablet is also a contender, the ‘Miix720’ is newer, cooler and better value. ‘M I IX 720’, F R O M $1 6 9 9, BYLE N OVO; LE N OVO.CO M . AU

4. Lenovo

Android tablets have gone a bit quiet of late. We’re waiting patiently for the Samsung ‘Galaxy Tab S3’ and we didn’t quite get the ‘Google Pixel C’. But Lenovo has plugged onwith Android with its truly unique

G Q ..COM COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

‘Yoga Book’. As an operating system in tablets, Android is becoming analso-ran. It doesn’t have the clout of Windows 10 oreven iOS, but the ‘Yoga Book’ redeems itself with adual screen that changes depending onyouruse.

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‘YOG A B O O K’, F R O M $7 9 9, BYLE N OVO; LE N OVO.CO M . AU

5. Apple

With the ‘iPad Pro’ now available ina10.5-inch model, Apple has mixed convenience with power. Theretinadisplay with 120Hz refresh rate redefines stunning, while the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories (sold separately) almost make it a laptop replacement. Almost. But the biggest win will be when the free iOS 11 arrives in spring with a Dock, the sensational Files app (a sort ofiCloud Drive replacement), Dragand Drop and updated multi-tasking. It will be more like your MacBook than ever before. Still nonative USB, but at least Apple has been kind enough to leave the headphone jack. ‘ I PA D PR O’, F R O M $97 9, BY A PP LE; A PPLE .CO M . AU

5 WORDS: DAMIAN FRANCIS.

1. HP

T H E

BRIEF

S TA R R I N G E M M A S T O N E A N D S T E V E C A R E L L , A N D B A S E D O N T H E C O N T R O V E R S I A L 1 9 7 3 T E N N I S M AT C H B E T W E E N B I L L I E J E A N K I N G A N D B O B B Y R I G G S , B AT T L E O F T H E S E X E S I S I N C I N E M A S O N S E P T E M B E R 2 8 .

CLOCKWISE FROMLEFT: ‘SEPTEMBER’ 2009; ‘STANDREW’ 1988; ‘ELLA’ 2007; ‘PHANTOM INTERCEPTORS’ 1964.

Get your culture fix A MAJOR EXHIBITION OF ONE O FT H E W O R L D ’ S G R E AT E S T L I V I N G PA I N T E R S I S C O M I N G TO Q U E E N S L A N D ’ S M O D E R N A R TG A L L E RY. D O N ’ T M I S S I T.

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n 2012, a painting from Gerhard Richter’s Abstraktes Bild series sold for $35m – the highest price ever paid fora work by a living artist. It was arecord the German artist broke the following year, when his Domplatz, Mailand was bought for $39m – only for Richter to again outdo himself, when another Abstraktes Bild was snapped up for $50m in 2015. In short, Richter is a pretty big deal.

READING LIST TH R E E AWAR D W I N N I N G AUTH O R S W ITH N E W R E LE AS E S S E T FO R B E ST S E LLE R LI ST S – AN D O U R B E DS I D E TAB LE .

But even if you don’t have ahandy $50m lying around, you’ve still got a chance to enjoy his work, thanks to Queensland’s GOMA. The first major exhibition of his work in Australia, Gerhard Richter: The Life of Images features more than 90 pieces that showcase the artist’s broad range of styles – from photorealistic portraits to abstract landscapes and archival project Atlas, acollection of photographs and newspaper clippings that Richter has been working on since the mid ’60s. In addition to the artworks, there will also be a program of talks, tours and discussions by local and international experts.

G E R HAR D R I C HTE R : TH E LI F E O F I MAG E S, R U N S F R O M OC TO B E R 1 4 - F E B R UARY 4 , 20 1 8; Q AG O M A .Q LD.G OV. AU

Salman Rushdie

He’s received a Booker Prize, aknighthood – and is still enduring a fatwā from Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini. This, histwelfth novel, focuses onthewealthy Golden family through the eyes of an aspiring filmmaker, touching onsome recent key political touch points. TH E G O LD E N H OU S E , $3 2 . 9 9, O N SALE S E P TE M B E R 7; PE N G U I N .CO M . AU

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Jennifer Egan

Jeffrey Eugenides

B EAC H, $3 2 . 9 9, O N SA LE OC TO B E R 3; H AC H E T TE .CO M . AU

CO M PL A I NT, $3 4 . 9 9, O N SA LE O C TO B E R 5; H A R PE R CO LLI N S .CO M . AU

Egan published her first novel, The Invisible Circus, back in 1995. But it was her fourth book, A Visit from the Good Squad, that won the Brooklyn-based writer international acclaim – and aPulitzer Prize. Manhattan Beach is Egan’s longawaited follow-up, set in New York duringthe Great Depression. MAN HATTAN

Another Pulitzer Prize winner, Eugenides is best known for his acclaimed novels Middlesex, TheMarriage Plot and The Virgin Suicides. Fresh Complaint is theauthor’s first collection of shortstories. For those new to Eugenides, it’s a handy intro; for fans of his work, it’s a no-brainer. F R E S H

FROM THE FRONTMAN TO THE MUSIC FAN WE’VE GOT YOUR FIT

STEV E SMY TH F RO NTMA N # LI VEIN MU SI C FOL L OW T H E ST ORY AT L IVEINM US IC.CO M. AU

T H E

BRIEF

B A S E D O N S T E P H E N K I N G ’ S 1 9 8 6 N O V E L , I T S TA R S B I L L S K A R S G Å R D A S F R E A K Y C L O W N , P E N N Y W I S E – T H E R E A S O N Y O U W O N ’ T B E G E T T I N G A N Y S L E E P A F T E R I T H I T S C I N E M A S O N S E P T E M B E R 7.

FASHION

Time to upgrade your wardrobe AS T H E F R E N C H FAS H I O N H O U S E P R E PA R E S TO R E L E AS E A N N E W CA P S U L E C O L L E C T I O N , G Q TA L KS TO D E S I G N E R LU CAS O S S E N D R I J V E R – T H E M A N B E H I N D YO U R S N E A K E R S O B S E S S I O N .

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here was a time when high-end sneakers seemed like a contradiction in terms. Now, they’re everywhere. And the man who many credit with starting the trend is Lanvin’s head of menswear, Lucas Ossendrijver, who first introduced them more than a decade ago. His latest move is to join online boutique Matchesfashion.com for an exclusive capsule collection. And, yes, there will be sneakers.

GQ: You joined Lanvin back in 2006. What’s been the biggest change in fashion since then? Lucas Ossendrijver: There is much more interest in fashion than there usedtobe. The way welive now means information about fashion is immediately available worldwide, no matter where you are. Fashion has become democratic and everybody has an opinion about it.Itis less elitist than it usedto be. GQ: Has the role of adesigner changed? LO: In men’s we started doing pre-collections, soinstead of two shows it’sfour collections now. This constant demand for newness put a lot more pressure on us designers. Men started to buy

clothesmore like women do – less about needs, and more impulsive. You have to deal with those things but it also creates new opportunities for us to adapt. That’s what I love about fashion. GQ: High-end sneakers are everywhere now. Did you think the trend would be asbig as it is today? LO: I am very proud of how they have developed over the years. Trainers play animportant part within the men’s accessory collection, almost like handbags for women. Personally, I wear them most of the time and every season I try to renew and adjust the proportions. Gradually, they have become an iconic product. GQ: How would you describe your own style?

LO: I have the most boring wardrobe! When I design, I project on somebody else – it is a fantasy about someone else, otherwise it’s too personal. I think about fabrics, shapes, colours and textures 24 hours a day – so I do not want to think of how I look as well. It’s almost asauniform: I always wear jeans, T-shirt and a shirt and then maybe a tailored

coat. I have a huge wardrobe full of Lanvin andsometimes I dig out older pieces to rediscover and wear them. GQ: What are three things every man should have in his wardrobe? LO: A good pair of jeans – either old vintage or raw and new – I don’t like new jeans that look ‘fake’ old. Italso has to have the right cut – not too tight but also

not too wide. A well-made shirt in light blue or white –good for all occasions; it can be dressy or casual – and the fit is important. Not too tight! And finally, atailored jacket. Again fit and construction are very important, so buy less but buy quality. Nothing isworse than a badly cut suit or jacket; in tailoring itreally shows. Matchesfashion.com

sneak peek

Here’s what to expect from the Lanvin x Matchesfashion.com collaboration. From left: Sneakers, $525, Canvas backpack, $1020, Wool trousers, $738, Wool ‘New Wave’ jacket, $1595. 78

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

FROM THE FRONTMAN TO THE MUSIC FAN WE’VE GOT YOUR FIT

MA RTY DOY LE RADI O P RESENTER # LI VEIN MU SI C FOL L OW T H E ST ORY AT L IVEINM US IC.CO M. AU

THE COLUM COLUMNIST

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fly long haul at least once a month. I don’t enjoy sitting in a cramped seat, fretting about deep vein thrombosis. Nor am I afan of breathing recycled air that annihilates my immune system. But I do love several hours of moreor-less uninterrupted me time. Time to sleep, time to watch movies, time to think, time to write. Without the constant distraction of the internet, I find a little window seat to be an extremely productive hot desk. And though long flights are physically draining, the headspace is mentally restorative. But that is all changing thanks to the insidious creep of in-flight wi-fi. It started off as a novelty. “Oh wow, I can receive emails at 30,000 feet!” Only a few planes had it, and only on a few routes. But now they’ve gone and rolled it out globally and you can’t escape it. The last remaining enforced refuge from the incessant digital bombardment has gone. There is no going back. You might be on a red-eye, wedged up into the armpit of awarthog, but that’s no excuse not to reply to your boss’s emails or to check in on Facebook. The downside of never having to switch off your phone is that you’re never able to switch off your phone. We are the first generation to become addicted to these devices so the long-term effects are unknown. But in 30 years’ time I believe there’ll be a public health outcry, similar to the one about cigarettes, due to their ruinous psychological impacts. I used to have a concentration span greater than 10minutes, now I feel like I have ADD. I love and hate my smartphone, the little wanker. “If you don’t stop stroking it, you’ll go blind.” I hate that I can’t put it down, that I feel anxious if it is out of arm’s reach or if the battery suddenly plummets to sub-10 per

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COUNTING THE COST OF SKYHIGH WI-FI. cent. My upper right thigh is so used to the buzz of an incoming alert in my pocket I get those phantom vibrations all the time. Remember that oft-quoted statistic that men think about sex every seven seconds? That was before the iPhone when men used to stare into middle distance/at a cleavage and daydream. Now the average person apparently checks their phone every six and a half minutes. According to a study conducted by Nokia (ah bless, remember them?), in the 16 hours most people are awake per day, they check their phones 150 times. I’d say that was a conservative estimate. These days, if I do manage not to touch mine for more than a few minutes, the damn attention-seeker will trill or buzz with a passive-aggressive push notification alerting me to Trump’s latest dickmove, a celebrity’s Tweet I “may have missed” or a special offer from diapers.com. It used to be that planes were one of the few places where no one could reach you,

allelectronic devices wereshut down or switched to flight mode, giving travellers a few hours’ respite. But now they’ve introduced fly-fi. And the main problem is, compared to the high-speed 4G we’re used to on terra firma, up in the air it’s abit shit – about as secure as a job in the White House. This, despite the fact that, depending what airline you’re flying with, you may have been charged an Uber-style surge price during times of peak demand. Stand-up comedian Louis CK used to do an amusing bit on in-flight wi-fi called ‘Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy’, about how we live in age of mindblowing technological advancement, yet all we do is moan about it. But he first performed that in 2008. Nine years on, I’m still waiting for YouTube to load. The speed of technology can never keep pace with human impatience. First-world problems, you say? I could just not turn it on and enjoy a few hours of digital detox as before. But that’s like putting a box of doughnuts in front of Homer Simpson and saying he doesn’t have to try one. If it’s on offer, I want it. I am a hard user. There is an expectation to be available at all times. I feel obligated to reply to every message. And six hours without validation from strangers on Instagram? Are you actually kidding me? So for those of us who are addicted, some internet is still just about better than no internet. Which means despite the service or lack thereof, we end up forking out for sky-high wi-fi that just makes us swear and tut: the equivalent of sucking at a tiny kinkedstraw for hours when we are used to gorging on broadband. And wecan’t complain to the provider because the connection just dropped out again.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GIUSEPPE SANTAMARIA .

DAN ROOKWOOD

IN-STORE • ONLINE • SELECTED MYER STORES

EXPOSURE

GQ x PERONI PITTI UOMO PARTY

To celebrate European style during this year’s Pitti Uomo, GQ and Peroni hosted anintimate gathering at IlSalviatino, a 15th-century villa in the hills of Florence. In true Italian fashion, guests experienced a culinary journey to the origins of Tuscan cuisine and rediscovered old classics created by the hotel’s renowned chef, Giuseppe Imparato, all washed down by afewPeronis. Guests included Jarrod Scott, Lee Oliveira, Sam Wines and Grant Pearce.

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F R O M TO P Kurt Ji and Jiawa Liu; Grant Pearce and Jibran Saleem Sheikh; IlSalviatino courtyard.

PHOTOGRAPHY: CARLY RAVENHALL.

C LOC K W I S E F R O M TO P Ryan Ritchie; entrance to Il Salviatino; Jarrod Scott; Sam Wines; Shaun Birley.

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SMART CHOICE

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WHAT’S YOUR STYLE?

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The smartwatch for men who like their tech encased in a bold, minimalist design.

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2. EMPORIO ARMANI ‘RENATO HYBRID’

An elegant option for gents who are as serious about design as they are about tech. 3.FOSSIL ‘Q MARSHAL’ 4

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A stylish smartwatch with the look of a classic timepiece and the functionality of the ‘Gear S3’.

W O R D S N O E LLE FAU LKN E R

&A

LIAM GALLAGHER

PHOTOGRAPHY: NEALE HAYNES.

I T’ S B E E N A TO U G H F E W Y E A R S FO R T H E OAS I S S I N G E R – B AT T L I N G T H E B R E A K– U P O F H I S M A R R I AG E A N D FO R M E R B A N D, W I T H A N U N E X P E C T E D LOV E C H I L D T H R O W N I N FO R G O O D M E AS U R E . T H E M A N C U N I A N W H O CA M E TO D E F I N E ‘ 9 0 s S WAG G E R A N D I S, H I S W O R D S, ‘ T H E G R E AT E S T F R O N TM A N O F O U R T I M E ’, TA L KS A B O U T H O W I T’ S A L L L E D H E R E – TO A D E B U T S O LO A L B U M A N D C O N T I N U E D D E S I R E TO W I N D U P B R OT H E R N O E L .

GQ: It must feel good to be talking about music and being creative, instead of the shit that’s been swirling the past few years. Liam Gallagher: Oh, yeah, without a doubt. I mean, they’re always gonna talk about the shit, because the shit sells – so there’s always gonna be a bit of that. And I don’t actually mind that, either, you know what I mean? ’Cause it can’t all be music, music, music – some fuckin’ muso, going, ‘Oh, yeah, man, the album is great’, you know, being afucking dork and doing interviews like Sting, talking about how ‘This fucking song’ssaved my life’. It’s like, ‘Fuck off, mate’. GQ: Yeah, ‘get back to your tantric meditation’ and all that. LG: Exactly. So, yeah, I don’t mind a bit of the drama. Because it’s real life, you know what I mean? But I’m definitely glad to have the music alongside of it. GQ: Well, you’re back where you belong, behind the mic. Tell us about the past three years and where you’ve been – because we heard something about moving to Majorca? LG: After we knocked it on the head with Beady Eye, I was going through a divorce and all the other stuff [court cases relating

tohisfathering of a love child with journalist Liza Ghorbani] – it was just dealing with lawyers on a daily basis until I fucking went to sleep at night. I was thinking, ‘Fuck this shit’ and I planned to get out of England for abit. So I went to Majorca for a holiday, had areally nice time and thought, ‘I could fucking live here’. But I didn’t. I came back, shook my head a bit, and I thought, ‘It’s time to make some tunes’. GQ: We’re glad – as we can’t imagine youwandering about in thongs and shorts full-time. LG: Me neither, I suppose. I mean, I could do it, but I gotta put lunch on that fork. But what made me want to get away from England was just the fucking constant bullshit all the time. Which I made for myself, I guess. It was my own doing. But still, I thought, ‘You know what? I need a bit of sunshine, healthy food, get fit and fucking make a plan.’ GQ: So it was simply arriving at a point where you needed to create again – to go solo. LG: I just started out with a guitar, doing it in me room and that. And then I wrote asong called ‘Bold’. And then I wrote another one called ‘What I Need’. And I thought,

‘They’re pretty fucking cool’. And I played ’em to a few friends. They were going, ‘They’re fucking really good’. Then, I met this guy from Warner Bros and he said, ‘Let’s have a listen’. So I played him these tunes on the guitar and he was like, ‘Yeah, they’re really good’ and goes, ‘Do you want a record deal?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah, go on then’. GQ: Do a lot of the songs on the album reveal more about you than what we’ve heard before? LG: Totally, man, without a doubt. But I’m not gonna do too much of that, I’ve given enough away. And you gotta keep alittle bit back for yourself. But there are bits in there about Noel. There are bits in there about my mum. There’s bits in there about my kid... my girlfriend... my other brother... They’re all personal, but, you know, I haven’t sat down to write a song about ‘this’, or ‘that’, or ‘that person’ or ‘this person’. Everything just comes in,in a song. And suddenly, it goes back out,subconsciously. GQ: It’s nice to have you back. LG: It’s nice to be back – it’s nice to wake up in the morning and have something to do. ’Cause boredom will kill anyone and I’ve been bored out of my mind the past four years, and it’s been dreadful. And it’s not like I’m curing cancer, this is just a fucking good rock ‘n’ roll record – and there’s nothing else about like this at the moment. GQ: Do you think a lot of rock ‘n’ roll frontmen have gone a bit soft? LG: Oh, yeah, without a doubt. But I don’t think rock ’n’ roll has. It’s always there if you want it. It’s just people are choosing not to do it because apparently, it’s not trendy at the moment... There’s a lot of these rock ’n’ roll bands, or so-called rock ’n’ roll bands – they’ve got guitars and that but they’re wearing ’em like pieces of jewellery. Plug thefucking thing in and turn it up. The sounds are meant to be loud, and concerts aregonna be loud, you know what I mean? And some rock ’n’ roll bands are making dance records – they’re sitting on the fence with a foot in the dance world... It’s like, ‘Make your fucking mind up, man’. GQ: Since you’re considered one of the greatest frontmen of our time… LG: Yeah. Without a doubt. Without a doubt! GQ: …well, what makes a good frontman – what are these frauds lacking? LG: Life, man. Life experiences. No one seems to be getting in any trouble or getting ... I mean, I guess, it’s getting in trouble and getting out of it. They just seem to be doing a gig and going home. And that ain’t happening for me. Obviously, I’ve calmed down a lot from when I was 20 and 30 and that... Just these young bands today, man, S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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it’slike, they do the gig, they get it on and then they go fucking home. Everyone just seems to be very cautious of having a good time. It’s like, I don’t know, it’s just all a bit shit. English rock ’n’ roll at the moment is really fucking beige. And I’m here to shake IT UP. GQ: A lot of people would say the same about what’s being produced in Australia. LG: I don’t know much about Australian music – I know there’s that band DMAs, Iwent to see them a couple of weeks ago, andI like what I see. Man, they got some good tunes in there. But I think everyone seems to be goin’ to bed after the gig, you know what Imean? No one’s going out, fucking getting in shit. Maybe it’s to do withthe drugs. Maybe the drugs are shit? And thebeer’s watered down, and all... And it’s not just about the music for me – it’s about the look as well. People need to look cool, you know what I mean? Everyone just looks like fucking tramps these days. Or, they looklike they’re off a fucking a kid’s TV program. No one looks fucking cool anymore. Don’tget me started. It’s far too early! GQ: Good thing your fashion label, Pretty Green is still around then. So what would you realistically be doing if you hadn’t found rock ‘n’ roll? LG: Well, I’d either be in prison, or I’d be dead. I’d be fucking off my tits on spice, this new drug that’s killing everyone in Manchester, this mad zombie weed. Icertainly wouldn’t be working in fucking accounts or McDonald’s. So God knows. Sothat’s why I treat rock ’n’ roll with the utmost respect. It’s like, if you look after rock ’n’ roll, rock ’n’ roll will look after you. So Ido believe there’s rock ’n’ roll angels upthere, and they’re looking down on me, asstupid as it sounds, I do believe that. GQ: You consider yourself spiritual? LG: Without a doubt. I don’t pray at Buddha, and I don’t fucking pray at the Lord and all that. But I definitely just stand there. And Isort of take it all in. And I just fucking put it back out again. I believe in me, man, and I believe in me family, and I believe in me friends, and me missus, and I believe in real people. You know what I mean? I don’t have wind chimes on me fucking house and stuff. And I don’t have a yoga mat. GQ: A divorce, alimony, a band break–up – this is tough for anyone let alone someone in the public eye. How did you get through it. No doubt you’re sick of lawyers? LG: Oh, I’m fucking sick of them, mate. Thatwas just every day. It was morning, noon and night. But you’ve just gotta fucking stay strong and stay focused. I came into this without money, I’ve come out of it without money. I don’t do it for money, you know 90

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what I mean? I’ve got a great life, I’ve got more than enough, more than what I need. So you’ve just gotta stay focused, and just go, ‘Listen, you ain’t gonna take what is not up for fucking grabs, and that is my spirit. Listen, it’ll pass. Don’t go jumping off the bridge, don’t go taking a bottle of pills, and don’t fucking start to put a fucking rope round your neck. It’ll pass. It’s just a little part of your life that you fucking got yourself in, and you’ve gotta navigate your way out of it.’ There was no doubt that I would go back to music. I knew, once I got my head straight, and all that, I’d definitely go and try and make some music. GQ: Is it hard being a dad, when so much of your life – all the beefs and crazed times – is on public record? LG: I guess, but I don’t really think about it. The people in the press don’t really know me. They’ve invented who they think they’ve invented. And the stuff that they write about me is, like, fucking ridiculous. I just go, ‘You’re way off the mark’. And my kids know me – they’re with me fucking, three, four times aday. Or four times a week. They know where I’m at. They know I’m still connected, I’m not some fucking fruitcake. I’ve still got my feet on the ground, you know what Imean? It don’t matter what them dicks writein the press, it’s not in my head. GQ: So no concerns about your own mental health, given all you’ve consumed? LG: No, no, no, no. I was mad before I joined the band. It’s just the fucking thing – you’ll never get me in fucking rehab. I had my drugs when I was 14. Chewing my face off in Manchester, on magic mushrooms and all that. It’s a piece of piss. People think that you join a band, and you go, ‘Right, I’m in aband. Let’s take drugs and drink alcohol.’ I was doing that when I was fucking 14. So my mind is very definitely psychedelic. It all comes to whatever’s going down. But I can definitely toe the line. And I can do normal. Iget up and go for a run every day. I go and do me own groceries, and then I come back here and I sit and watch a bit of TV. But when nine o’clock comes, and there’s a microphone, it’s time to kick outthe jams, as we say. GQ: Are recreational drugs and booze still part of your life? LG: I booze it – don’t really do much of the other stuff, no goodies anymore, not proper stuff... I certainly can’t drink before I go on stage or a night before. The voice don’t handle that anymore. I’m 44 now, so it’s like, get a good night’s kip, get out for a run in the morning. Get to the gig. Do the gig. Give the people what they want. And then, it’s my time. I’ll never be fucking sober. Well, I’ll be sober – I’ve been sober for six months once

there before, and it’s fucked. Being sober drove me to drink. GQ: This is what made you want to skip out on England – sobriety? LG: Exactly, yeah. I’d been six months sober, I was going, ‘Fuck this shit. This is boring. Gimme a drink!’ GQ: How much do you enjoy winding up your brother Noel – it feels like you have some fun with it. LG: Oh, it’s my favourite thing to do. But there are some serious issues in there as well. I think he stitched me up with Oasis. We gotto a point where he was like, ‘Look,wemight not be selling as much as what we were, I could do with going solo’. A lot of people were pissing in his ear. And he basically fucking set up a couple of booby traps and I walked straight into ’em. Then he went off and did his solo career. And I was left with the fucking mess of ‘You split Oasis up’ – one of the nation’s favourite bands. I’m pissed off about that, and I always will be. Wedidn’t just split up over a fucking argument. There was some fucking dark activity at play there... That shit still hurts me. But he’s had four years of running amok. And now I’m back. I wanna shine a light on how fake he is. But all the fucking winding up and stuff, is pure fucking... yeah, I love it. GQ: Because you know the public get off on it too, right? LG: Yeah, I get off on it! And so be it, man. I don’t wish him any fucking harm, I just wanna let people know that he’s a fake andI’m not. GQ: It appears that age has mellowed you abit – all said and done. LG: Definitely, man. But not to the point where fucking people pull the wool over me eyes. I still got me eye on people, you know what I mean? I’m watching what’s going down. I’ve definitely chilled out, though. Yeah, I have, but not too much. GQ: It’s been a few years since you were in Australia. How do you look back on the times that you’ve been here? LG: I like it, man. My mate lives out there. He lives in a place called Wagga Wagga or something like that? GQ: Yeah, Wagga Wagga – so good they named it twice. LG: It’s like the New York of Australia [laughs]. Every time I’ve been out there, it’s been cool. And we’re coming out there, doing the Falls Festival. So, we’re gonna be there for New Year’s Eve. So I can’t wait, man – Ilove it. It’s beautiful. I’m bringing me two boys out as well, they’re at the age now where they can come and travel. They’re mad for this stoner cartoon, The Big Lez Show. It’s like afucking Australian Cheech and Chong. They love a bit of that Australian vibe.

&A

“it’s just all abitshit... And I’mhere to shakeITUP.” GQ: What’s your take on the current influx of bands who are cashing in on this so– called ‘90s revival’? LG: I don’t mind it. I’m all for a bit of nostalgia... Bring it on, you know what Imean? I don’t sit there and go, ‘Oh, they’re abunch of cunts for getting back together’. Ifit’s gonna pay their bills, so be it, man. GQ: Well, you know what we’re going to ask next, right? LG: Yes, ma’am. GQ: What would it take to get Oasis back together? LG: We’ve been offered lots of money. But it’s not about the money – I don’t need it. And I’m sure Noel don’t need it, ’cause he keeps telling everyone how rich he is and that... To get Oasis back, it needs me and our kid to have a real sit-down and become friends again. And brothers, you know what I mean? And so, it’s not about how many notes we keep putting on. It’s irrelevant. Oasis was not about the money – it was about spirit and the honesty. And I mean, not fucking falling into them bullshit traps, and becoming a fucking U2, or whatever. Not becoming a part of the fucking system... GQ: … so some brotherly love is needed? LG: Once we do that, if we ever get to do that, then it’s on, but at the moment, it’s so not. If that happens, we start talking, start hanging out, and then, I think, it’d really be a natural thing. It’d be like, ‘Look, should we fucking have another crack at it? Should we fire up the chariots?’ Until that day happens, there’d be no point in me going onstage if I still hate Noel, and Noel still hates me, because people will see right through it. Listen, we get offered lots of things when we were Oasis, to do things for money. I got offered some fucking Calvin Klein adverts when Iwas 23. I turned it down. Wegot offeredfucking Coca–Cola adverts. We were like, ‘No, that’s not what we’re about, you know what I mean?’ ’Cause the minute you gointo that zone, it’s very hard to get out of it. And that’s why I think people still have areal soft spot, because it was fucking real. Itwas super, super real. And towards the end,

it just got, super fucking not real. GQ: How do you feel about the music now? Do you get a twitch when you hear ‘Wonderwall’? LG: I like all the songs. We did it the other night for the first time in ages, and people fucking loved it. So I’m not one of them people that are like, ‘I’m not gonna do it’ because I’ve had the hump with it. People pay their hard–earned cash to go to a gig... give them what they want. Send them home happy. People don’t play their hits anymore, because they’ve got an album out, and this is where they’re at in life. Fuck off, mate. Get over your fucking self. Play the fucking hits, and some of your new stuff as well.

GQ: Looking back, any regrets? LG: I’ve got a few. But not too many. Obviously, I’ve fucked a few things up and that, personally, but everything happens for areason. So, only personal ones. Musically, noregrets. Fashion sense, no regrets. It is what it is. I might have fucked a few things upon the way. But it’s all been dealt with, and it’s all been picked up, and apologised for. GQ: With all the noise and bullshit aside, how would you like to be remembered? LG: As a great rock ’n’ roll singer who did notgive a fuck – who did exactly what it saidon the tin. Liam Gallagher’s debut solo album, As You Were, is out October 6. S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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“ T R AV E L I S F A T A L T O P R E J U D I C E , B I G O T R Y A N D N A R R O W - M I N D E D N E S S . ” M A R K T W A I N

EUROPE NEXT STOP LISBON

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PA G E 1 0 0

NATURAL WINE, ANYONE? PA G E 9 8

WHERE TO EAT OUT IN SYDNEY’S CBD PA G E 9 7

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Best of the newcomers when dining and drinking.

Melbourne

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4/5

Otis Dining Hall, ACT

From top: Beef tartare with smoked eel; truffle gnocchi; Otis Dining Hall’s Damian Brabender.

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he nation’s capital has had quite an enticing food evolution over recent years – Monster, Temporada and eightysix, among others, helping give Canberra the contemporary edge it’s long craved. Otis Dining Hall, in the lakeside suburb of Kingston, manages to strike an engaging balance between progressive newcomer and old faithful – with a dose oftongue-in-cheek fun thrown in for good measure. Housed in a former Belgian beer cafe, they’ve opened up thespace and decked it out with warming dark wood paneling, mirrors,chandeliers, tall brown leather chairs and a long bar (openquite late) for those that like to dine at a bench or bend thearm after along day. The bustling bistro is backed by affable staff, and awine list that not only supports the region but looks after the bank balance too. Chef and owner Damian Brabender (formerly of Canberra’s award-winning Sage) is cooking with maturity by respecting the classics as much as reviving them with a breath of fresh air. Classic potted chicken liver pâté hides beneath a thin layer of fat. The luxurious, velvet spread benefits from a liberal serving of crisp baguette, while cornichons add a sharp exclamation mark. Meanwhile, a temptingly toothsome risotto highlights the sweet earthiness of new season peas, and the delicate grassy notes of beautifully cooked John Dory fillets. Brabender continues the nostalgic tip to suburban life with ahousemade rendition of Neapolitan ice cream – dense vanilla icecream joining fresh strawberry gelato and an aerated chocolate mousse in a bowl of grin-inducing joy. Otis Dining Hall has added to the ACT’s culinary evolution without letting go of the building blocks of the past. 29 Jardine St, Kingston; thisisotis.com.au

Sydney ROCKER Chef Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks) has joined forces with Cameron Northway (Sweet&Chilli) to raise the bar on everyday eats with a heavy European edge, served with a chilled beachside vibe. Think unctuous WA occies with crème fraiche, nasturtium and preserved citrus, or apumpkin, sage and burnt butter arriving entwined inlittle elbows (Macaroni). 5/39-53 Campbell Parade; rockerbondi.com.au

Adelaide THE POT FOOD AND WINE Formerly The Melting Pot, the new Pot Food and Wine has brought in 2016 Chef of the Year, Emma McCaskill. The menu offers whole baked flounder coated in togarashi, roasted baby brussells sprouts with Brasil nuts, raisins and black vinegar, and roasted duck with pickled plum. 160 King William Rd; thepotfoodandwine. com.au FOR MORE FROM THE GQ DIRECTORY, HEAD TO GQ .COM.AU

WORDS: ANTHONY HUCKSTEP; RICHARD CLUNE. PHOTOGRAPHY: MARTIN OLMAN; TIM BEAN.

THE REVIEW

OSTERIA ILARIA From the team that made Italian sexy and salubrious with Tipo 00, comes a modern bistro with a cracking cocktail and wine list, and simple Mediterranean food that’d make your nonna weep. Think charred, pink duck breast with radicchio, corn puree and cime di rapa, or paccheri (tubed pasta) with prawn oil and sorrel. 367 Little Bourke St; osteriailaria.com

TASTE+TRAVEL THE FESTIVAL

BACCO OSTERIA E ESPRESSO Another six over the back fence for chef and restaurateur Andrew Cibej. Here it’s a fussfree, Italian-inspired all day eatery and wine bar that delivers big on flavour. Fluffy, caramelised gnocchi are served with pistachio, butter and as a lasting memory – go for the almond and quince tart. 2–12/1 Angel Pl; bacco.com.au

ASH ST. CELLAR Just across the wayfrom Felix is this tapas temptress and wicked wine cellar. If a casual feast of shared dishes such as duck liver parfait or truffled gruyère and jamon toasties are your thing, then pull up a seat and dig deep. You’ll be heavily rewarded. 1 Ash St; merivale. com.au/ashstcellar

CHINA LANE The sibling restaurant of Woolloomooloo’s China Doll, this modern Asian eatery plays to its laneway surrounds with a cracking cocktail list and dark, salubrious vibes. Start with steamed dumplings (pork and prawn suimai), duck pancakes and follow up with the soy braised crispy porkbelly. 2 Angel Pl; chinalane.com.au

LONG CHIM David Thompson’s acclaimed homage to Bangkok street food. His Chiang Mai larp of chicken is hotter than a habanero in hotpants, the ovenbaked silver perch shows a delicate side while the mashed prawn and coconut curry is spectacular. Strap yourself in for the wildest tuk tuk ride outside of Thailand. Pitt St & Angel Pl; longchimsydney. com

A N G E L P L AC E A N D A S H S T R E E T, SY D N E Y

EAT AT T R STREET

ANGEL PLACE AND ASH STREET IS SYDNEY CBD’S FOODIE T-JUNCTION – A SOMEWHAT HIDDEN, MELBOURNE-LIKE POCKET OF GOODNESS OFFERING SOME OF THE CITY’S BEST DINING.

FELIX BISTRO Merivale’s popular Parisian brasserie serves one of the best French feasts in town, and you won’t be disappointed by the Bloody Mary’s either. Grab a pre-dinner cocktail in the bar then hit a banquette for classic steak frites. 2 Ash St; merivale. com.au/felix

MERCADO Nathan Sasi made his name at Nomad, but with Mercado he’s stamped his authority as a master of the Mediterranean. Quaff a vino at the bar, then sit in front of the open kitchen and enjoy the feast cooked, largely, in awood-fired oven. . 4 Ash St; mercado restaurant.com.au

south west’s best

Get on the gas with anynumber of known Australian chefs and they’ll eventually come tohighlight Margaret River Gourmet Escape as afavourite festival. It’s why this year will again see internationals such as Rick Stein, Thomas Keller and Andre Chiang, alongside locals Dan Hong (pictured) and Clayton Wells, among others. Presented by Audi, this year’s festival sees over 50 events take over the south west corner of the country (with various events also in Perth) November 16-19. It’s about food as much as it’s about fun - and if ever there’s areason to do as the Pet Shop Boys once implored, go west, it’sthis. gourmetescape.com.au; audi.com.au

THE BOOK

You are what you eat. It’s asimple philosophy and one that’s framed the career of acclaimed Sydney chef Mike McEnearney (No. 1 Bent Street by Mike, Kitchen By Mike). It’s anapproach he further serves up in this impressive second book that should become a solid weekly reference for those wanting delicious food that also does you good. Divided across the four seasons – highlighting and utlising the best of what’s available at any giventime – thisisabout wholefood eating that’s accessible andflavoursome. And we can’t get enough of the Malaysian spicedpumpkin andcoconut soup. Real Food By Mike, available now, $45; hardiegrant.com

THE GEAR

Leading Australian designer, David Caon, has continued his work with our favourite airline, Qantas, in creating an impressive new line of tableware that melds functionality to style. As part of Caon’s overall work on the interiors of the new 787 Dreamliner – due to take flight this December – the new range will be available to international first, business and premium economy passengers, as well as those flying domestic business. Bonappetit. qantas.com.au

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What’s all the fuss about?

WINE

AS T H E O B S E S S I O N W I T H ‘ N AT U R A L’ W I N E G R O W S, W E AS K W H E T H E R T H E N AT U R A L WAY I S T H E B E S T WAY.

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a‘sommelier’ just because they think it willget them laid. Without the skills to objectively assess quality through tasting, many are clutching at ideology as the justification for why they recommend a wine. Sometimes that will deliver utter pleasure, other times you’ll end up with tepid piss. I weep at the story of one winemaker – aproducer of meticulously farmed, sensitively made wines that sing sweetly of the place from which they come – who walked out of asales call with a Melbourne restaurant with bottles unopened because the establishment flat out refused to buy wines that exceeded their self-imposed, and unrealistic, threshold of sulfur additions above 30 parts per million. So rather than offer their customers some of the finest wines made in this country, they choose to serve only what adheres to their misguided ideas about the natural preservative that has been used in wine making since the days of the Roman empire. I’ll accept a more open-minded attitude to wine-making faults is required to enjoy a lot of these wines and I’m cool with that. But there is beauty in the flawed as well asthe perfect. A natural wine isn’t good just because it’s been made in line with the philosophies and methods that define the movement. A natural wine is good, just as any wine is, when it’s delicious and you want to put in your mouth. Make your own decisions about ‘natural’ wine. Don’t just drink the Kool-Aid.

Try these

Good Intentions Wine Company ‘Gris Diddly Dee’ 2016, $26

Bronzy pink, tautly textured, wafts of apple skin and quince. A slight aldehyde edge and deftly handled phenolic grip. Curious but delicious.

Gentle Folk ‘Forest Range’ Pinot Noir 2016, $45

Gareth Belton is among the best of the marauding band of beardies making wine in South Australia’s Basket Range. Tiny production pinot noir, withthe fragrant complexity of wholebunch fermentation and the ethereal grace that isBelton’s signature. Hardto find but well worthseeking out.

Good Intentions Wine Company ‘Noir dee doot dee dah’ 2016, $26

Smells like summer berries grown in straw andthe odd whiff of woodnymph farts. Juicy, crunchy and slippery in the mouth. A lively, supple and slinky expression ofpinot noir.

WORDS: NICK RYAN; PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

hen it comes to the most common wine question I’ve been asked in the past year, ‘What’s the story with‘natural’ wine?’ isbeaten only by ‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough?’ for the frequency of its asking. Of the two it’s certainly the one I find easier toanswer. ‘Natural’ wine – those wines where the winemaker recedes into the background and lets nature take its course rather than guide, cajole and shape what the vineyard has given them – has been the biggest trend in the world of wine over the past decade. Natural wines from here and abroad have established a strong beachhead on the local wine scene. They’re not just some passing fad. They’re here to stay. So it’s probably time to acknowledge ajourney through the world of natural wine can deliver some utterly sublime experiences but can just as easily veer of the rails and endup in a putrid stream full of dead dogsand shit. I’ve had natural wines that have thrilled me utterly and I’ve had natural wines that have made me wonder if I should rip my tongue from my mouth and wipe my arse with it rather than subject it to another drop. That’s part of the pleasure, and part of theproblem. There is a political statement inherent in the whole ‘natural’ wine movement that makes me a little uncomfortable, an unfair juxtaposition that banishes all other wines that don’t fit the criteria into a bin implied tobe ‘unnatural’. The rise of natural wine has coincided withthe widespread misuse of the term ‘sommelier’. Perhaps not coincidentally. While there are a number of dedicated wine service professionals with the training and experience to warrant the title, there’s just as many out there calling themselves

CITY GUIDE

JUST OVER A DECADE SINCE THE GFC CRIPPLED THE PORTUGUESE CITY, IT’S RIGHTED ITSELF WITH ABANG – A BEAUTIFUL, COLOURFUL AND HEADY CENTRE FOR DESIGN, ART, FOOD AND MUCH FUN.

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here’s an encouraging sight on the Lisbon skyline these days – cranes. Everywhere you look these metallic dinosaurs roam the horizon. They loom high above, lifting, shifting, adding layer upon layer to the city’s relief. Lisbon, you see, is booming. There were some rough times not so long ago – afinancial crisis that brought Portugal toits knees – but those days appear to be over. New buildings are going up. Older apartment blocks are being renovated. Investors are falling over themselves to get a piece. There’s a real buzz of optimism, a feeling that everything is going to be just fine. For visitors, that feeling manifests itself in much more than buildings. It’s in the spate of modern restaurants that are taking Portugal’s traditional cuisine and turning itinto something new and alluring. It’s inthe burgeoning arts and design culture that’s bringing the old aesthetic into the new century. It’s in the friendly people you meet, daily, who are visibly excited to have visitors returning to their shores. There’s something truly great happening inLisbon right now, and you need get there to appreciate it.

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THE BEST AREAS Lisbon is a city of clearly defined neighbourhoods, where just a short stroll can take you from the winding alleyways of ancient Alfama to the wide boulevards of modern Chiado; from the raucous heights ofparty-town Bairro Alto to the sketchy portside bars of Alcantara. Despite its steep hills, this is a compact city easily navigated on foot – though if walking doesn’t appeal, trams still run through many of the popular areas, plus there’s a metro rail system, and taxis and Uber are more thanaffordable.

Bairro Alto

Sprawled across a hilltop near the city centre, Bairro Alto is the heart of Lisbon’s nightlife, aneighbourhood whose cobbled streets are charming by day, and teeming with revellers at night. Drinking on the street is legal in Lisbon – the footpaths here asbusy as the pubs.

Alfama

Those craving historical charm need look no further than Alfama, one of Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhoods – aplace of narrow alleys and steep staircases, of small squares surrounded by brightly

tiled apartment blocks. Grandmothers call out to each other from windows; kids kick soccer balls in the street. This is also the best place to see fado, Portuguese folk music, played live in alocal bar.

Belem

Elegant, picturesque Belem has long been popular with travellers thanks to its water frontage, historic buildings and museums, and a little place called Pasteis de Belem – the pastry shop that invented the Portuguese tart. There are always long queues, but it’s worth the wait.

Principe Real

Think of Principe Real as Bairro Alto’s slightly more mature sibling,

a neighbourhood that still has plenty of bars, cafes, restaurants and ginjinherias – shops selling traditional sour cherry liqueur – but they’re of the more laidback, local variety. Principe Real is also home to some of Lisbon’s best art and design stores.

Baixa

Downtown Lisbon is aperfect grid of narrow streets and pedestrian malls that lead to the waterfront. This is where you’ll find most of the city’s hotels, as well as some large plazas in which to sit with a beer and enjoy the scenery. Baixa has a notable advantage, too: it’s dead flat, which is unusual in this undulating city.

WORDS: BEN GROUNDWATER. PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

LISBON – EUROPE’S COOLEST CAPITAL

WHERE TO STAY Olissippo Lapa Palace

This converted nineteenth-century palace oozes OldWorldcharm, with almost ridiculous baroque flourishes. Set in ritzy Lapa, huge picture windows overlook numerous mansions as well as a long stretch of the Tagus River. Set among sub-tropical gardens, it’s an urban oasis within the city, with most major attractions accessible on foot, though given the alluring, sprawling pool and luxe mediterranean restaurant, Lapa, it’s sometimes astruggleto leave. Rooms from $535 per night, Rua do Pau de Bandeira 4; lapapalace.com

NEW-SCHOOL CUISINE There’s always been great food in Lisbon – though the last few years have seen aslew of young and inventive chefs updating Portugal’s oldschool offerings. From contemporary takes on petiscos (tapas bars), toMichelin-starred fine dining, there’s plenty tobeeaten.

Belcanto

The undisputed leader of Lisbon’s new-wave cuisine is chef José Avillez, who’s amassing something of aculinary empire in his home city. Check out Mini Bar for Lisbon’s best canapés, Cantinho do Avillez for affordable modern cuisine, and Belcanto for Michelinstarred artistry.

By The Wine

One of several modern restaurants in Lisbon with slightly odd, punny English names, By The Wine not only has a huge list of

Portugal’s best drops, but an excellent range of chef José Maria da Fonseca’s nouveau cuisine, including the likes of partridge escabeche (marinated fish) and grilled pig’sear.

Sea Me

The city has long been heaven for fans of fish (check out the nightly queues at traditional seafood den Cervejaria Ramiro), and Sea Me is ushering the obsession into the 21st century with a fish market, shellfish restaurant and a sushi bar under the one roof.

TASTE+TRAVEL

MUST-DO STORES Conserveira de Lisboa

For almost 100 years, this little shop in Baixa has been selling one of Portugal’s most cherished products – tinned seafood. Even if you don’t fancy a souvenir can of smoked mackerel, Conserveira de Lisboa is worth avisit to check out the product artwork from the ’30sand ’40s.

LXFactory

This is your go-to for the best in Lisbon art, fashion and design – aformer industrial area that’s now a cultural and creative hub. Plenty of Lisbonbased designers have boutiques here, as do a few larger homewares brands, and there’s also freshfood markets and restaurants on site.

Time Out Market Lisboa

The 125-year-old Mercado da Ribeira is home to one of Lisbon’s most unlikely culinary attractions: the Time Out Market. With 35 kiosks run by the best of Lisbon’s restaurateurs and providores, this is a onestop shop for some of the capital’s finest food.

THE BEST TIME OF YEAR Lisbon is a great yearround destination (it never gets particularly cold) though like many European cities, it’s at its best in the warmer months, from May to September, when the evenings are long and thefestivals are frequent. Though the peak also means an influx of fannypacked types, so aim either side. Emirates flies daily from all major Australian cities to Lisbon, via Dubai. emirates.com S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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A NIGHT AT...

F R O M TO P Pool deck at sunset overlooking the Willow Creek Vineyard; Li enlisted the likes of Ebra to provide one-off pieces of furniture, like this gold Leatherworks chair; the Jackalope interior entrance, dark and contemporary, sets the tone for the hotel aesthetic.

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inery hotels. Historically they’re the reserve of frisky new(ish) couples or professional alcoholics. Yet an hour (and abit) south of Melbourne, on the Mornington Peninsula, sits avineyard property that’s quickly rewriting things. The 46-room Jackalope Hotel ison the grounds of Willow Creek Vineyard, and while itonly opened its burnt-black cedar doors in April, already it’s become aplace synonymous with architectural beautyandluxurious weekendsaway. Framed by plush countryside, the winding driveway opens out to a circular courtyard showcasing an impressive seven-metre-tall sculpture, from Melbourne artist Emily Floyd, of a jackalope – an antlered jackrabbit creature plucked from North American mythology. The brainchild of 28-year-old Louis Li, the hotel’s vision combines personal passions for art and food with design and folklore. The perfectly manicured grounds appear more printed than grown while the black 30-metre infinity pool adds to the sheer class of the place. It’s not simply the hotel’s looks, and damn does she look fine, that marks this place as a must – the menus add to the impressive levels of luxe. The flagship restaurant, Doot Doot Doot (really), helmed by chef Guy Stanaway, offers a four-course à la carte menu or an eight-course dégustation sitting – all built on various seasonal offerings (think oysters, venison, beef cheeks and beyond). All this served under the most dramatic restaurant chandelier in Australia, which hovers across the ceiling and is made up of10,000 lamps. Rare Hare, the cellar door adjacent to the main hotel, offers amore relaxed foodie outing alongside a fantastic selection of Willow Creek wines. It’s enough to prompt a lie-down – rooms spacious and sleek, with balconies, impressive views and a further play on darkened woods and sharp shapes. Li hasn’t let anything on display – or being eaten – pass his gaze. From the hand-crafted black and gold cutlery in the main restaurant to the stone crockery and crystal glasses that look like they were hacked from the surrounding hills – he’s across every element of Jackalope, a property deserving of the numerous awards its already bagged. So, if you want to impress your significant other, or fancy yourself apatron of the Australian arts, Jackalope will see your belly, and brain, suitably sated.

F RO M AP PR OX . $5 9 0 PE R N I G HT; JAC K A LO PE H OTE LS .CO M

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F R O M TO P Emily Floyd’s impressive Jackalope sculpture at the entrance to the hotel; room with a view of the vineyard; striking furniture pieces, like this couch and side table by Zuster, feature heavily throughout the hotel.

WORDS: JACK PHILLIPS.

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JACKALOPE HOTEL

TRAVEL | MASTERED

Image by Sony Imaging Ambassador Stefan Haworth

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PENPAL

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PRESENTING PARTNER

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

MAJOR PARTNERS

Christian Dior, Paris (fashion house) | Christian Dior (designer) Aventure ensemble, spring-summer 1948 haute couture collection Photo © Patrick Demarchelier/Licensed by Art+Commerce | Model: Sasha Pivovarova, IMG Models

MAJOR SUPPORTER

LO O K YO U R S H A R P E ST W I T H O U R E XC LU S I V E E D I T O F T H E B E ST I N M E N SW E A R A N D G R O O M I N G T R E N D S

STYLE STY YL

E D I T E D BY O LIVIA HAR DI NG & LE I L A AM I R PARVI Z

SPRING/SUMMER ’18

TREND REPORT S T R A P YO U R S E L F I N A N DG E T U P TO DAT E W I T H T H E L AT E S T F R O M T H E R U N WAY.

STYLE

VERSACE

VALENTIN0

The likes of Louis Vuitton, AMI and SSSWorld Corp (thedebut label from GQ’s reigning Man of Style, Justin O’Shea) saw a line-up of optimistic prints, loose cuts and avibrant colour palette. Not for the faint-hearted, some are better off trading their palm frond for a pina colada and calling it a day. But for the brave among us, take a cue from the sun-soaked avenues of Paris and display your kitsch prints proudly.

BALENCIAGA

PAUL SMITH

TROPIC THUNDER

Twin sets depart thetrackside as this season decisively brings street normality to the runway. Bally, Off-White and Berlutiunderstand the philosophy of comfort dressing, pairing harmonising suits with apt technical footwear (rubber sneakers, sandals and slides) and are sure to exercise opinion onwhat was once astyle taboo.

GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY

BALENCIAGA

PALM ANGELS

SPORTS SUITS

LOUIS VUITTON

FENDI

HERMÈS

SLIDES Step ahead of the game and slide into this season’s new shoe. It’s all about easing your walk with an update on aclassic summer staple – swap your rubber plugs for aleather slide, or for the cooler months pair with socks if you’re daring.

AMI

LOUIS VUITTON

SHOW LOCATIONS FROM THE W E I R D TO T H E WONDERFUL.

DIOR HOMME

GRAND PALAIS, PARIS Fresh-cut grass and sleek black pews beneath black hanging streamers.

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

UNIVERSITY OF MILAN, MILAN An orange neon tree and Japanese drummers.

PRADA

PRADA FOUNDATION, MILAN Comic-book inspired graphics filled the vaulted Via Fogazzaro space.

STYLE SUAVE SUEDES

LONG LIVE THE LOGO

BERLUTI

Chalky shades ofbuttery suede reigned supreme across the runways as winter’s favourite fabric finally translates to awarmer climate. Stick to pastel tones and pair with tailoredseparates towholly absorb thetrend. Else, keep it really easy andbreezy withasky-blue monochromatic TomFord look, asserting a carefree approach to an otherwise delicate textile.

TINTED SHADES FO R G E T A L I G , R AO U L D U K E ’ S FAVO U R E D L E N S E S W E R E S E E N AT T H E L I K E S O F V E R SAC E , E M P O R I O A R M A N I A N D D R I E S VA N N OT E N , AS H U E D L E N S E S A R E E M E R G I N G AS A N O P T I C -W E A R S TA P L E .

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

VALENTINO

GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY

VERSACE

Branding is back and bigger than ever, as heavy hitting fashion houses have revived their status of the ’90s. Emulated by Versace, Dior and Valentino, the unexpected came from Christopher Bailey, who has finally embraced the street association with Burberry by joining forces with normcore man of the moment, Gosha Rubchinskiy, to present a signature plaid-heavy collection.

RICK OWENS

PALAIS DE TOKYO, PARIS An erected scaffold runway with a view.

KENZO

LYCEE CAMILLE-SÉE HIGH SCHOOL, PARIS Aerial dancers scaling walls à la seasoned window cleaners.

JW ANDERSON

PITTI UOMO, FLORENCE A pillow-seated runway satparallel to perfectlytrimmed hedgerows.

BERLUTI

PALM ANGELS

MILAN, ITALY A huge construction tractor and pile of soil were front and centre.

HERMÈS

TOM FORD

MARNI

It’s about easy silhouettes, sensible shoes and jumper vests as we see aresurgence of old-man style. With Fendi and Hermès atthe forefront of this particular form of comfort dressing – we’re talking layered knitwear, rubber soles and high pants – it affirms the revolutionary concept that style need not be sacrificed for comfort. So go practice what’s being preached.

FENDI

PRADA

SENIOR SARTORIAL

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

SEYMOUR LEISURE CENTRE, LONDON A local community centre.

OFF-WHITE

EMPTY SPACE GALLERY, PARIS A gallery re-see in Paris with original show in Pitti.

S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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STYLE ACCESSORIES

Take a page out of the Pantone palette (197 C to be exact) and embrace head-to-toe chromatic colour. This season it’s pink as shown in the collections of Ermenegildo Zegna and Prada (to name two). If you’re not ready to block out ina bold fuchsia, try accents of an earthy tone – be it a splash on a cap, socks or tie.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY

LOUIS VUITTON

WEB BELT Seen on the waists ofCanali and AMI, the webbelt is built to last, whether cruising the streets or the hills .

KEY FOBS Belt loops have become prime estate for the streetelite. Follow suit andadornyour waist with heavy-duty hardware.

PRADA

GIORGIO ARMANI

HERMÈS

EMPORIO ARMANI

PAUL SMITH

CROSS BODY Make like the men on therunways and keep your essentials close tothechest with across-body satchel.

PINK PARADISE

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SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

PRADA

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

A new level of athleticism is born asthe mountain explorer prioritises ahi-tech wardrobe and indulges himself on the trek to fundamental style. Practical pull ties, sheltered hoods and nylon windbreakers featured heavily among functional eyewear, weighty boots and bulky backpacks to elevate a look past base camp and onto thestreets.

DIESEL BLACK GOLD

VALENTINO

ALPINE 2.0

GIORGIO ARMANI

GOSHA RUBCHINSKIY

PAUL SMITH

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA

S U N S H I N E STAT E

Wear your waistline tight, your lapel wide and keep a funky disposition while you get down to business in the new summer suit. Louis Vuitton paired wide cuts with bold prints, Fendi and Lanvin used an earthy tonal palette, and Salvatore Ferragamo kept it classic with crisp whites and sharp collars fit to rival Travolta’s Saturday Night get up.

LANVIN

Establishing a connection between function, form and style, the new season integrates technical textiles with street-worthy separates. At Dolce & Gabbana, Balenciaga and Lanvin it was artificial, weatherproof outerwear, while Hermès, Off-White and Palm Angels showcased airy puffed pieces in metallic sheer shades set to rival the guise of NASA’s space voyager. Perfect if you’re planning a trip to other galaxies.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

BALENCIAGA

LOUIS VUTTON

TECH WARRIOR

Luxury runways have never been sourban as the utilitarian jacket walked for the likes of Ermenegildo Zegna and Paul Smith. The daring types need not sacrifice style, with thepracticality ofthe piece contrasted in rich fabrics and boxy shapes with signature pockets for your adventure essentials, and more.

GIORGIO ARMANI

HERMÈS

FENDI

URBAN ADVENTURER

PHOTOGRAPHY: INDIA HARTFORD DAVIS.

STREET STYLE WHITE OUT An elementary breeze was blowing on the streets of London as the civil men offashion week kept it simple andprotested the rainbow. Subtle separates flew under the radar but standout accessories and sleek eyewear kept these men noteworthy.

STRIKE LANE Strike out with the resurgence of the bowling shirt, fit for so much more than just the lanes. Wear buttoned with chinos and a fresh pair of kicks to take you from desk to dinner, or go loose and layered over your favourite tee and jeans combo for weekend ease.

SIN CITY If the shirt issomewhat offensive, you’re on the right track as the city of lights shone brightly on the Parisian man’s love for a sinful print. Pair with aheavy-duty belt,grow out that moustache and hot tail it straight to sincity.

LOGOMANIA A trend direct from the runway, local Parisians aren’t shy towear their heart on their sleeves literally. Be it monogram shirting, or bold slogans, the luxury houses can turn you intoa talking advert. Creative or simply genius marketing? You be the judge.

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INTERVIEW

ALEXANDRE MATTIUSSI: THE FRENCH CONNECTION

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et’s be honest for a moment – the fashion world can take itself incredibly seriously at times, disgorging a level ofobscure, self-congratulatory speak about what’s ultimatelybeing delivered. Sure, it is an artful medium of talent andaspiration – but, then again, read a press blurbattached to the walk of a new collection or sit with a luxury designer for more than five minutes. You’ll likely end up down awordy rabbit hole that could well involve Alice and spiral into an obtuse dissection ofthe influence, and alleged importance, oftheMughal Empire as it relates to the straight-edge DC punk scene of the late ’80s – all part and parcel to the fashion realm’s magnificent appeal. But enter Alexandre Mattiussi – the man behind the engaging, simple lines of AMI. 11 2

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Infectiously positive and genuinely friendly, the 36-year-old’s approach is one built on a simple block – honesty. After working across various roles at Dior, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, the Frenchman found himself increasingly detached from the end product, so he decided to launch a label and create a line that’s about a wardrobe of clothes he’d wear daily. “I wanted to step back – to be connected tomyself as a designer and to be someone who would wear the clothes myself,” he tells GQ over a coffee and a few cigarettes at afavourite Marias cafe close to his Parisian design office. “I used to design beautiful things at a very expensive price with the beautiful fabrics and everything, but then, atthe end, I couldn’t afford it myself – it wasfrustrating and it left me disconnected.” AMI – his signature based on initials, which also translates to ‘friend’ in French –

launched out of the blocks six years ago. International buyers were quick to engage and Mr Porter signed an exclusive deal – thehonesty, accessibility and quality of Mattiussi’s designs an immediate hit. “AMI is connected to the life I live – Idon’tput fashion in my top priorities andwhat Imean by that is that I have fun withfriends, I go on vacation, I have dinner parties, I buy anice lamp for my apartment, and then, ifIhave some money at the end of the month, Ibuy a jumper or a jacket. But I’mnot organising my life around a jacket orapair ofshoes.” An attainable price point has also played akey part in the surging success – so too adesire to maintain simplicity in favour of so-called trends. “Being cool is great, but I want to be the brand that lasts to the future – this is my life, I want this, I’m not going to do this for five years and then go and be the creative director at Vuitton – non, that’s not my plan, it’s to build this business and have fun.” Such fun is now draped across 70 employees and, beyond some strong concessions (Printemps) and being stocked by the likes of Barneys, Saks and Opening Ceremony, runs to six standalone retail stores – three in Paris with further outposts in Tokyo, Hong Kong and London. “I want to keep the growth organic – we have people pushing us to grow though as Isay, I want things to last and do things gradually. It’s because, as a designer, I want togrow alittle – to keep what we’ve done, butto play alittle more.” His incentive to further emote was most recently unveiled against a thick Parisian heat in June – AMI’s SS18 collection stomping across pink sand by models sporting more colour, namely tri-colour tones, than what’s gone before. “The collection is complete and still Itryto dress a guy who’s 17, to my father who’snearly 80 years old. And I don’t find inspiration anywhere else but from observing people and how they’re dressing themselves. The worst thing when you are a creative, is tobecome a bourgeois – and in this business it’s easy to do that, people get more money and big contracts with the big houses, haveabig apartment and have a driver and goonvacation in the Caribbean and blah blah blahblah. They disconnect from who they are. Inmy house – there is no bullshit and I’m very lucky.” As are we. AMI IS STOCKED LOCALLY BY INCU, SNEAKERBOY AND STANDARD STORE, AMONG OTHERS; AMIPARIS.COM

WORDS: RICHARD CLUNE.

STYLE

@CALIBREAUSTRALIA

CALIBRE.COM. AU

STYLE INTERVIEW

Five minutes with… Jordan Barrett

During the madness that was Paris Fashion week, we caught up with model of the moment and GQ Man of Style alumni, Jordan Barrett, to establish where he stands on blondes v brunettes, among other things. NEW YORK OR PARIS? Always Paris CITY OR BEACH? Beach T-SHIRT OR TUX? T-shirt BOATS OR PLANES? Boats SHOWER OR BATH? Shower BEST TRAVEL COMPANION? My friends LYING OR STANDING? Standing FAVOURITE FILM? Candy FAVOURITE SONGS? I have an iTunes playlist on M2M – check it out KITCHEN SPECIALITY? Ummmm

JW ANDERSON AND UNIQLO ARE HAVING A MOMENT

O

FAST OR SLOW? Fast BLONDE OR BRUNETTE? Blonde BEST PHOTOGRAPHER? So many great ones MY BUSINESS IS… A gift I’D DROP AND RUN FOR… Any adrenalineproducing activity BELOW Aussie models, Jordan Barrett and Cheyenne Tozzi, behind the scenes for Calibre’s Spring campaign; calibre.com.au

A N D G Q WAS I N LO N D O N TO W I T N E S S I T.

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PIECES FROM THE LIFEWEAR COLLECTION; JONATHAN ANDERSON.

ajeans and T-shirt combo are refreshed, the classic staples using Uniqlo’s advanced technology and affinity for quality fabrics to create a new kind of basic, which makes up the core of JW’s everyday wardrobe. “Every morning I wake up andI don’t have to think about what I’mwearing, someone has done the thinking for me.” Among juggling 12 collections a year across two labels (his namesake label, JWAnderson, and Spanish heritage brand Loewe), curating exhibitions, judging theLoewe craft prize, collaborating withthe likes of Converse and Uniqlo, it’s no wonder he doesn’t have time to think. Mark your calendar. Get a dose ofcarefully curated LifeWear when the collection drops in Australia, September 22.

WORDS: LEILA AMIRPARVIZ.

n a surprisingly sunny morning in Tate Modern’s Blavatnik Building, Jonathan Anderson shyly awaits his introduction in the corner of the presentation space. It’s aday he’s been awaiting for a long time – the preview launch day of his highly-anticipated collaboration with Japanese high-street giant Uniqlo. “I’mhappy because I’ve been shopping atUniqlo for many years. It’s something Iwear on adaily basis and I have a lot ofrespect for what they have built and it was kind of an honour. It makes perfect sense to me.’’ Indeed, it does make sense. The 33-piece collection is all about functionality, form and thoughtfulness – each item carefully curated and created by the man himself (JW as he’s commonly known) with the wearer in mind. He speaks of the collaboration’s ability to transcend season, time and gender, reaffirming that ‘Uniqlo is for everyone’. The tartan-lined trench coat can be worn in reverse – pending mood or occasion – and the quilted puffer can be layered over the Fair Isle jumpers with the striped scarf looped tightly. For the warmer months, his simple approach to

@CALIBREAUSTRALIA

CALIBRE.COM. AU

STYLE GQ PICKS

CHOOSE WISELY

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T H E D E V I L I S I N T H E D E TA I L - T H E S E B E LT S, B AG S A N D S H O E S W I L L H E L P E L E VAT E YO U R AC C E S S O R I E S G A M E .

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P H OTO G R A P H Y E DWAR D U R RUTIA

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1. Leather holdall bag, $3275, by Ermenegildo Zegna. 2. Buckskin/rubber boots, $2000, by Giorgio Armani. 3. Leather bag, $1295, by Bally. 4. Leather/neoprene sneakers, $835, byTod’s. 5. Leather/nylon backpack, $2050, byBurberry. 6. Suede/leather belt, $595, by Salvatore Ferragamo. 7. Leather belt, $2030, by Hermès. 11 6

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1. Leather shoes, $1615, by Ermenegildo Zegna. 2. Leather weekend bag, $2690, by Salvatore Ferragamo. 3. Leather woven belt, $525, by Salvatore Ferragamo. 4. Suede/leather belt, $575, by Salvatore Ferragamo. 5. Suede/leather sneakers, $795, byBally. 6. Leather side bag, $6365, by Hermès. 7. Leather overnight bag, $5000, by GiorgioArmani.

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1. Leather moccasins, $690, by Tod’s. 2. Leather bag, $1895, by Bally. 3. Leather sneakers, $1150, by DiorHomme. 4. Cotton/leather belt, $350, Bally. 5. Leather bag, $12,325, by Hermès. 6. Leather belt, $1290,by Hermès. 7. Leather woven belt, $650, by Salvatore Ferragamo. 8. Leather boots, $1720, by Hermès. 9. Tartan wool backpack, $995, byBally.

STYLE

THE ICON AV I ATO R S

A N O B S E S S I O N W I T H ’ 70 S S T Y L E B R I N G S T H E ‘ P I LOT L E N S ’ B AC K I N FAS H I O N AS T H E S U N G L AS S E S O F C H O I C E T H I S S E AS O N .

Metal sunglasses, $380, by Prada.

Aluminium sunglasses, $570, $5 by Dior Homme.

Acetate sunglasses, $485, by Gucci.

Acetate sunglasses, es, $210, by Carrera.

Robert Redford

From Sundance Kid to Hollywood royalty, very few can claim to ageing better than the charming Redford. Fewer still can pull off mirrored aviators and still look respectable.

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Graphit sunglasses, $1375, Graphite 5, by Sener Besim at OnePointSevenFour. OneP evenFour.

Acetate sunglasses, s, $440, by Givenchy. Givenc

Clint Eastwood

Aside from the fact he’s Clint Eastwood and has been wearing aviators longer than most of us have been alive, he can actually fly planes, so literally has a licence to wear them.

Tom Cruise

Dog tags and all, the sight of Top Gun’s Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell et al playing beach volleyball was a seminal moment in aviator history. Who’s excited for the sequel?

Metal sunglasses, asses, $340, by Prada.

Metal sunglasses, $210, by RayRay-Ban.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Beard or clean shaven, smart or scruffy, if there’s one constant in Gyllenhaal’s get up, it’s every actor’s best friend, his sunglasses. What sets him apart is he always looks good.

PHOTOGRAPHY: EDWARD URRUTIA; GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY.

Acrylic/brass sunglasses, glasses, $325, $32 by Bally.

STYLE P H OTO G R A P H Y JAM ES MU LLI N S

SIX OF THE BEST F R O M W O R K S U I T S TO W E E K E N D T R AC KS U I T S, T H E R E ’ S S O M E T H I N G FO R E V E RYO N E , E V E RY DAY.

STYLE LE F T TO R I G HT

Chris wears wool sports coat, $299, cotton shirt, $219, silktie, $129, and wool pants, $299, all by Calibre. Jay wears cotton suit, POA, cotton shirt, $99.95, and cottontie, $69.95, all by Ben Sherman. Vince wears wool double-breasted suit, $1195, and cottonshirt, $189, both by Farage. Kane wears cotton suit, POA, cotton shirt,$99.95, and cotton tie, $69.95, all by BenSherman. Elijah wears cotton blazer, $359, cottonshirt, $139, cotton tie, $49, and cotton chinos, $159,all by Aquila. Josh wears cotton suit, POA, cotton shirt, $99.95, and cotton tie, $69.95, all by BenSherman.

STYLE

LE F T TO R I G HT

Kane wears wool suit jacket, $379, cotton shirt, $119, silk tie, $69, wool suit pants, $159, and leather brogues, $199, all by Jack London. Elijah wears cotton/linen blazer, $699, cotton shirt, $199, cotton jeans, $249, and leather loafers, $399, all by Calibre. Vince wears wool suit, $599, wool vest, $150, and cotton shirt, $120, all by PeterJackson; microfiber knitted tie, $35, by OTAA. Chris wears wool jacket, $699, cotton crew neck, $219, cotton shirt, $209, wool pants, $299, and leather brogues, $349, all by Ted Baker. Jay wears viscose blazer, $159, cotton shirt, $59.95, wool tie, $39.95, viscose pants, $69.95, and leather sneakers, $59.95, allby Zara. Josh wears wool jacket, $1099, cotton knit, $279, cotton shirt, $249, cotton pants, $449, leather sneakers, $539, and leather bag, $1699, allby Hugo Boss.

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LE F T TO R I G HT

Kane wears nylon jacket, $350, cotton pants, $199, and canvas sneakers, $129, all by TommyHilfiger. Vince wears cotton shirt, $59.99, by H&M; cotton pants, $89.99, and leather boots, $249, both byH&M Studio. Chris wears nylon flight jacket, $59.90, cotton shirt, $39.90, cotton chinos, $49.90, and leather belt, $49.90, all by Uniqlo; suede desert boots, $210, by Clarks. Jay wears cotton shirt, $230, by Ksubi at General Pants; cotton chinos, $149, by Dr Denim at General Pants; suededesert boots, $210, by Clarks. Elijah wears denim shirt, $160, twill shorts, $140, canvas sneakers, $220, and nylon baseball cap, $60, all by G-Star; cotton socks, $4.90,by Uniqlo. Josh wears wool jacket, $449, wool knitted v-neck, $159, cotton chinos, $149, suede desert boots,$269, and wool/cashmere beanie, $69, all by Saba.

STYLE

LE F T TO R I G HT

Josh wears cottonshirt, $99.95, cotton T-shirt, $29.95, and cotton chinos, $99.95, allby Super Dry; leather shoes, $199, byAquila. Chris wears cotton bomber jacket, $290, cotton shirt, $180, and cotton jeans, $140, all by Calvin Klein Jeans; leather sneakers, $539, byHugo Boss. Jay wears rayon track jacket, $329, cotton polo, $199, rayon track pants, $249, polyester dry fit cap, $39.95, and textile sneakers, $125, all by Lacoste. Elijah wears polyamide bomber jacket, $130, cotton shirt, $99.95, and cotton jeans, $150, allby Levi’s; leather sneakers, $539, byHugo Boss. Vince wears cotton denim jacket, $380, cotton jumper, $250, and polyester sneakers, $200, all by Diesel; cotton chinos, $89.95, by Super Dry. Kane wears cotton shirt, $99, cotton T-shirt, $39.95, cotton chinos, $120, and linen baseball cap, $49, all by Marcs; elastic belt, $109 byCalibre; leather sneakers, $120, byReebok at GeneralPants. Grooming Madison Voloshin at Viviens Creative using V76; Charlie Kielty atWork Agency using Nars from Mecca Cosmetica Talent Elijah Tyedmers, Josh Oliver, Jay Marshall, Chris Fleischer, Vince O’Malley, and KaneGaundar, all atKult Australia.

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STYLE

FRESH AS A DANDY SPRING IS IN THE AIR, AND SO ARE THESE SCENTS.

FRAGRANCE

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO ‘UOMO CASUAL LIFE’ EDT, $91 (50ml) GREAT FOR: feigningtobe Italian We can’t attest that it’s fora “dynamic man who sketches his life as an adventurous,” but it certainly is elegant with lemon, coffee, geranium, cashmere wood and a touch of white musk. AMOUAGE ‘FIGMENT MAN’ EDP, APPROX. $395(100ml) GREAT FOR: a good talkingpoint Built around a core of the purest sandalwood we’ve sniffed in a long time, next to vetiver and the guaiac wood in which the oud resin forms.

GROOMING 130

VERSACE ‘DYLAN BLUE’ EDT, $160 (200ml) GREAT FOR: day and night The statuesque new size will be a boon to those who tipped their olfactory lidto the first incarnation of VDB. Top notes of aquatics and fig cede tothe more substantial saffron, papyrus wood and patchouli. ROBERTO CAVALLI ‘UOMO SILVER ESSENCE’ EDT, $80 (60ml) GREAT FOR: bucking oldtrends This feisty floral relies on punchy cardamom and ginger over lavender and geranium. And the bottle is one of the most striking we’ve seen all year.

E D I T E D BY

DAVI D SM I E DT

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ARMANI ‘CODE COLONIA’ EDC, $115 (50ml) GREAT FOR: a touch of sophistication The ‘Code’ range takes another step forward with ‘Colonia’, a light scent that channels its Italian heritage with mandarin and pink peppercorns on top of powdery heliotrope.

PHOTOGRAPHY: EDWARD URRUTIA; FOR STOCKIST DETAILS, SEE PAGE 262.

S PEC IAL

LIVE HEALTHY. STYLE DAILY. INSPIRE OFTEN. OPEN YOUR MIND. OPEN A JAR.

For local stockist enquiries / Australia 1300 764 437 / New Zealand 0800 456 426 / [emailprotected]

STYLE

DIOR SAUVAGE ‘VERY COOL’ SPRAY EDT, $120(100ml) GREAT FOR: your springbeach bag ‘Very Cool’ in the title of aproduct usually smacks of trying too hard, though Sauvage’s latest incarnation is the exception. It’s more akin to a body spray but remains faithful to the original’s clean and fresh citrus base.

MOLTON BROWN ‘COASTAL CYPRESS & SEA FENNEL’ EDT, $88(50ml) GREAT FOR: the right sideof sharp If you like salty aquatics but feel the Mediterranean thing has been done to death, be seduced by this cooler, deeper alternative with green herbal hints.

HUGO BOSS ‘BOTTLED’ EDT, $99 (50ml) GREAT FOR: those who prefer warmth over cool at a decent price point Cinnamon and cloves in the mids provide an elegant transition between crisp apple up top and sandal plus cedar for base notes.

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DOLCE & GABBANA ‘THE ONE FOR MEN’ EDT, $73(30ml) GREAT FOR: impressing atglobal corporate HQ Just the right amount ofgreen notes such as basil and coriander, atouch of warmth thanks to ginger, and tobacco for some smoke. A stellar trans-seasonal choice.

PENHALIGON’S ‘SAVOY STEAM’ EDP, $279 (100ml) GREAT FOR: years tocome Pegged as unisex, this is the venerable British brand’s best release in ages. Clean tops of lemon and rosemary on afoundation of eucalyptus and incense.

ATKINSONS ‘HIS MAJESTY THE OUD’ EDP, $305 (100ml) GREAT FOR: smelling ofroyalty Think you’ve smelt every oud? Think again. This super-luxe version blends a hint of smoky resin with lapsang souchong tea, cloves and leather.

STYLE FRAGRANCE S PEC IAL

V76 BY VAUGHN ‘BLUE CEDAR’ EDT, $85 (100ml) GREAT FOR: authenticity Unusual notes of coconut milk and violet gives thisAmerican scent aunique profile if the current offerings are making youyearn for something different.

TOM FORD ‘NOIR ANTHRACITE’ EDP, $185(50ml) GREAT FOR: the perfect evening scent Got wood? Mr Ford certainly has in this slate-heavy release tinged with cedar, macassar and Sri Lankan sandalwood as well as apinch of ginger and sichuan pepper.

RESPECT FOR DAVID BECKHAM W E LEAR N TH EPROC ESS B E H I N D TH E ST YLISH RO LE MO DE L’S N EW FR AG R ANC E .

GQ: Describe David Beckham ‘Respect’ in a few words? DB: Modern, fresh and masculine. GQ: So what did you try to convey with this new launch? DB: When I started the process, I knew I wanted it to be unique from any fragrance I have created in the past. I’m always keen to make each one distinct fromthe last. GQ: Could you tell us more about the concept of ‘Respect’? DB. It’s a really interesting concept as it means something different to each person. Though it is a universal principle, everyone has their own interpretation of respect. GQ: What’s the best piece of grooming advice you’ve beengiven? DB: I’m not sure there is one piece of style advice I can single out. Personally, I like to mix up my style and grooming habits so my advice would be to go with your mood and whatever you feel comfortable with. David Beckham ‘Respect’ EDT, $49(90ml)

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THE (NEW)

FRAGRANCE S PEC IAL

WILD ONE

JAMES FRANCO IS THE NEW FACE OF ‘COACH MAN’ FRAGRANCE.

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t’s been a few years between men’s sprays for Coach. Four, in fact. And while it’s fair to suggest that in that time they’ve failed to enlist a decent copywriter (check some of the PR speak below), itdoes out that the alluring American label’s taken n care with what and where they want the new men’ss scent to play. Also, who best embodies what the ingeniously titled ‘Coach Man’ is about. Enter actor, and this issue’s cover star, James Franco. Amultihyphenate known for artsy passions (acting, writing, directing, painting) and quirks (cue a CV that involves a catatonic level of on-screen spliffs, some decent indie turns and a stint on General Hospital alongside hismother), what Franco ultimately delivers the NYC brand is a sense of cool – a point rammed home by the James Dean-esque ad campaign shot by Steven Meisel, starring Franco, vintage motor (a Plymouth Valiant) andleather jacket. Coach creative director, Stuart Vevers, first met Francoto discuss his involvement with the fragrance onthe darkened set of the actor’s upcoming HBO dramaTheDeuce. “The set was like the backroom of a nightclub,” saysVevers. “It was perfect.” Franco agrees. “Yeah, the show is all about the porn industry and the sleazy New York of the ’70s, and I’m

WORDS: TIFFANY BAKKER.

I

COACH CREATIVE DIRECTOR, STUART VEVERS, DISCUSSES THE LABEL’S LATEST SCENT, ‘COACH MAN’, ALONGSIDE POSTERBOY ANDGQ COVER STARJA M E S F R A N C O.

STYLE

sitting there with my full-on porn ’stache – it just felt likethe perfect meeting place to discuss fragrance.” Today, the pair’s reunited in the less dubious environs of the label’s starkly minimalist New York headquarters, where celebrations for its first men’s scent since 2013 takeplace over a breakfast of citrus bergamot donuts andgeranium and white asparagus flan. Yep, flan. As the TVC plays on loop, the accompanying campaign guff heralds an approach wanting to capture an‘American dreamer, a maverick spirit, an adventurous risk taker with a rebel heart and a romantic streak. [It]evokes a feeling – it has a New York attitude, anAmerican authenticity’. Eager to include some alliteration, we’realso told the scent’s ‘curious, confident, creative,cool’. “I loved the idea of working with an American brand and I was familiar with what Stuart had been doing since he got to Coach – it really fit my sensibility,” states Franco. “All of my style icons are American – from the 1950s and 1970s – and Coach was drawing on that real kind of classic American influence. We seemed to share alot of the same tastes. It was the perfect fit, really.” Built on notes of veviter, suede and ambergris – working to top notes of green nashi (pear), bergamot andkumquat – the fragrance is both crisp and (their words) ‘energetic’, entwined with a warmth that spills from its woody base. Interestingly, Franco’s fragrance story (yes, that’s athing) to this point has involved some petty theft, lifting bottles of Guy Laroche’s ‘Drakkar Noir’ as a teen. “We were idiots,” the actor admits, adding it was all aploy to impress girls. “We would drown ourselves in it. We thought girls would be so into it.” Vevers manages to steer things away from illegality and back to fragrance, stating the clear vision he wanted to take with the ‘For Men’ scent and Coach’s partnership with Franco. “I really focused onhow I see the Coach guy and what it is that inspires me about him, which is a maverick with a nostalgic heart… The man who wears this fragrance sums upNew York – there’s attitude, but there’s alsoa bit of charm thrown in.” Sounds good. n ‘Coach Man’, (60ml) $85; coach.com

JAMES FRANCO TALKS FRAGRANCE WITH COACH CREATIVEDIRECTOR STUART VEVERS (CENTRE).

“IT JUST FELT LIKE THE PERFECT MEETING PLACE TO DISCUSS THE FRAGRANCE.” S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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CANDLES

WAX SCENTS W H I L E W E ’ L L N E V E R C O N D O N E U S I N G T H E W O R D S ‘ L I T’ O R ‘ M A N D L E ’, T H E R E ’S N O D E N Y I N G T H E B O O M I N G W E A LT H O F M AS C U L I N E CA N D L E S O N O F F E R .

02 C I R E TR U DO N ‘ LE S B E LLE S M ATI E R E S – R EG G I O’, $1 3 5 (270 g)

0 4 K I LIA N ‘ HA BA N A LE AV E S’, $2 8 1 (2 3 0 g)

0 6 B E LL A F R E U D ‘ LI O N ’, $8 1 (1 8 0 g)

0 8 BYR E DO ‘ B I B LI OTH ÈQ U E ’, $8 4 (2 4 0 g)

Mimosa, grapefruit and refreshing mandarin. libertineparfumerie. com.au

Sublime Monte Cristo tobacco leaves and nothing else. libertineparfumerie.com.au

The unusual mix of pepper, star anise and nutmeg make this one intriguing. mecca.com.au

Think the old woods of a historical library in a dusty European capital. mecca.com.au

TO P TO B OT TO M , F R O M LE F T: 0 1 A R Q U I STE ‘AR T D ECO’ VE LV E T, $1 2 9 (2 51 g)

03 L’AR TI SA N PAR F U M E U R ‘ I NTÉ R I E U R F I G U I E R ’, $9 9 (2 5 0 g)

0 5 D I P T YQ U E ‘M E NTH E VE R TE ’, $74 (1 9 0 g)

07 LE L A B O ‘ PA LO SA NTO’, $1 1 0(2 4 5 g)

0 9 FO R NAS E T TI ‘G O LD E N B U R LE SQ U E ’, $2 6 2 (3 0 0 g)

Blond tobacco, vanilla absolute, amber and oak. libertineparfumerie.com.au

A single note of fig exquisitelyrendered. libertineparfumerie.com.au

The freshest of fresh green mint to hasten the arrival of spring. mecca.com.au

Pine, mint and lemon also known as the holy tree. mecca.com.au

Just the right balance of balsam, incense, birch and thyme. mecca.com.au

STYLE

REAL MEN

SPA

I N T H E B OX I N G S E N S E , Y E S, B U T U S G E N T S S H O U L D A L S O LO O K AND FEEL RELAXED AND WELL G R O O M E D AT A L L T I M E S . H E R E , S O M E T R I E D - A N D -T E S T E D S PA T R E ATM E N T S W E R E C O M M E N D.

1 Ginger Bliss TRY IT AT: QT HOTEL SYDNEY; QTHOTELSANDRESORTS.COM; $245 (90 MINS)

We’ve long been spaQ fans and this new treatment comprises a ginger and salt exfoliation, followed by awarming organic ginger oil massage. You are then cocooned in fabric so that the therapeutic properties of the ginger are absorbed.

2 Skin Needling TRY IT AT: MANKIND SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE; MANKIND.COM.AU; $1000 FOR FOUR 60-MINUTE SESSIONS

Think the results of a laser treatment, without the extensive recovery time. The MDerma system uses sterile, individually sealed needle cartridges that create micro channels in the skin to better deliver nutrients and stimulate collagen production.

3 Deep Recovery 5 Follicuzyme Massage TRY IT AT: FIND AN ENDOTA SPA VIA ENDOTASPA.COM.AU; APPROX. $125 (60 MINS)

You don’t get to be one of the nation’s most successful spa chains without knowing your chakras, and Endota’s latest massage offering uses jade stones to knead away knots while a custom blend of essential oils melts tension.

4 Belkyra Double Chin Treatment

TRY IT AT: FIND A CLINIC VIA NOMOREDOUBLECHIN.COM.AU; APPROX. $2500 FOR TWO SESSIONS

A non-surgical injectable alternative to going under the knife for those with too many chins. It breaks down the fat cells after which point they can no longer build fat. Hence a smoother jawline.

TRY IT AT: HÜD SKIN + BODY, MELBOURNE; HUD.COM.AU; $240 (90 MINS)

If ingrown hairs and shaving rash are a constant punish, this treatment dissolves follicles and dead cell material and counters redness and inflammation. For those with particularly sensitive skin, itmay take a day or two tosettle.

6 Firming Body Wrap

TRY IT AT: MUDD THE SPA, CANBERRA; MUDD.COM.AU; $190 (90 MINS)

Give those crunches extra effect and add tone to those zones that are a tad slack with this Performance Fermete treatment. It’s a body wrap and exfoliation designed to strengthen collagen fibres.

7 Kitya Karnu Scrub

TRY IT AT: THE PRINCE HOTEL MELBOURNE; AURORASPA.COM.AU; $225 (60 MINUTES)

PHOTOGRAPHY: EDWARD URRATIA; ALAMY.

Far and away the most indulgent offering in the Aurora Spa’s bespoke men’s range. For starters, you get aprivate steam room where afull body (well almost) application of mineral salt takes place, followed by awalnut and wattleseed exfoliant, hair treatment and hydrating facial cleanse thenmasque.

8 Emergin-c Radian-C Facial

TRY IT AT: HARBOUR DAY SPA, RABY BAY, QUEENSLAND; HARBOURDAYSPA. COM.AU; $190 (75 MINS)

If you hadn’t guessed from theradical typography, this NY-based brand is all about the skin-clearing, moistureboosting, radiance-enhancing power of vitamin C in a facial that goes beyond justafeelgood exercise. S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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EXPERIENCE AMAZING

To launch the Lexus LC 500, we asked the world’s #1 best-selling author to review it.

THE

LC

500

As experienced by JAMES PATTERSON

At first glance, it strikes me that the Lexus LC 500 is clearly a beast, waiting to be unleashed upon the road. One thing that sets the LC 500 apart from any other car I’ve driven is its almost surreal connection to the driver. I don’t sit in an LC 500; I get immersed in it. I’m impressed beyond words, by how this exquisite machine has been engineered for – somehow bespoke – tailored to – the driver. I feel as close to this engine as a jockey to a thoroughbred. Just, much more comfortably so. Deep, lush leather seats, contoured shifter, an elliptical steering wheel – this keeps getting better… One of the most surprising and memorable aspects of the LC 500 driving experience is the sound – the beautiful noise, the car’s roar. One touch of the engine start button and a symphony begins – its engine note sounds part Beethoven, part Hendrix. This is not digitally filtered amplification. It’s organic. I’ve heard overenthusiastic enthusiasts talk about being behind the wheel of a high-performance car as being in the cockpit of a fighter jet, but so far as I know – there isn’t an aircraft on Earth that is this wild, this elegant, this much pure, unadulterated fun to drive. If there was an ejector seat on the LC 500 – I would never use it. I flash out onto the road and conduct the direct-drive V8 orchestra into its next 10 movements – I mean gears. You heard it right, the LC 500 has 10 gears. The action is conducive to musical rhythm. Each transition is smooth, resonant and perfectly natural. I’m still new to this sports car, but it doesn’t require the usual learning curve. Second is as easy to attain as third as is fourth as is… Hey, I’d better watch my speed ’til I’m on the open highway. The widescreen visibility and my sense of the car’s snug position on the road continues this unique experience of driving an LC 500. As I make my way down the state road,

I execute some deft – if I do say so – passing maneuvers; but I have zero worries about the LC 500’s ability to shoot a gap. I take a sharp right turn, then a left, and another right, and the LC 500 hugs the road like a lover. That’s not exaggeration, it’s an understatement. On the interstate access road, I bank sharply left, avoiding a delivery truck that somehow forgot to signal that it wanted to turn in front of me. I marvel at how effortlessly the LC 500 sidesteps potential danger, or even inconvenience. Also, how so many drivers I pass turn their heads and gawk. Seriously, nearly everyone stares at this dream masquerading as a car. It’s an adrenaline rush watching the rest of life trying to keep up in the rearview mirror. On the ramp to Interstate 95, I punch the accelerator and seamlessly transition into seventh. Minutes later, as I slide right for the airport exit, I note the driver I just passed, apparently mesmerized by my afterburnerinspired infinity tail-lights. Suddenly, I realize – I am so not looking forward to this plane ride. A seductive notion occurs. I was going to write on the plane, but I’m ahead on all my work. Including, now, this review. What’s it to Miami? Seven hours in a conventional automobile? But the LC 500 is no conventional automobile. I might even take the scenic route. Maybe I can find some tunnels to further amplify the engine’s growl. What an astonishing ride, what a sports car, how intoxicating life becomes when you’re behind the wheel of an LC 500. I think I just experienced amazing.

Overse Ove rse s as mod model el sho shown wn

FO R N E W S , R E V I E W S A N D V I D EO S O F T H E B E ST N E W CA R S , H E A D TO G Q . C O M . AU

CARS

THE NEW DAYS OF DISCO

WHILE LAND ROVER’S DISCOVERY REMAINS AN IMPRESSIVE OFF ROADER, IT’S THE CITY THAT REMAINS THE CALL OF THE WILD FOR THIS LUXE ALL ROUNDER. W O R D S R IC HAR D C LU N E

W

e’re plundering the latest Land Rover Discovery through alarge puddle of water that’s been poured in the outback – 20 clicks from Uluru – for our benefit. “Keep it steady and don’t go too quick,” we’re told. And so we head in too fast and swash silty brown slush up over the bonnet – to the amusement of those gathered who don’t work for Land Rover. It shouldn’t matter – the new engine, we’re told, can “breathe” underwater and the wading depth of the new Disco is an impressive 900mm (up 200mm on the previous model). Next comes a moguls course, acluster of hardened obstacles that mean increasing the car’s height by the press of a solitary button to let the

vehicle know it’s about to drive across some extreme speed bumps. Given the engineering clout and trickedup tech of what lies beneath, it’s all rather easy – nudging up and over the hardened red dirt boulders, front wheels independently airborne before driving out onto the flat. It was during our second assault of this staged NT circuit that we started to ponder just how many of these new, luxury British SUVs would actually make it outdoors. It was clearly also the concern of one of this trip’s seasoned motoring hacks – apredominately heavy-set collection of men whose lives seem to revolve around accruing air miles and free motoring jackets – who asked as much, wanting apercentage breakdown from those at Jaguar Land Rover. None was forthcoming, though the marque’s brass didn’t shy away from discussing where this, Land Rover’s fifth andlatest iteration of the much-loved Discovery, would end up – on tarmac, doingschool and weekend sports runs. For all its ease at devouring sandy bush tracks, the Disco remains a status symbol for city types – a car that

speaks of certain wealth and boasts about the idea of adventure, even though its most punishing outing will likely involve ferrying a half-dozen seven-year-olds high on sugar following a party. And this is a shame – given the capabilities of what the car can really do when it comes to finding a path where there isn’t one. The first thing to really strike is the new model’s updated shape. Gone is the brutal squareness of before in favour of a more rounded, fuller structure. That’s not to say she’s fat – the lines that pull from the bonnet are still sleek, though the rear is a little ‘Kardashian-esque’, especially noticeable in side profile. The junk in the trunk’s necessary to accommodate a third row of seating for the seven-seaters, an option we’re assured will accommodate three adults. Despite such growth, the car actually carries less weight – the new, largely aluminum body meaning it hits the scales awhopping 480kg lighter than before. There’s a trio of diesel engines to choose from, each with an eight-speed transmission and available across four different finishes: S,SE, HSE and HSE Luxury. While $65,960 will get you the five-seat four-cylinder, 2.0-litre S Td4, it’s the rangetopping HSE Td6, with 3.0-litre V6, that feels right – a $103,760 spend that delivers 190kW and 600Nm with a 0-100km/h timeof 8.1 seconds. Some claim that the opulence of the new Disco sets Land Rover on a collision course with its luxury Range Rover siblings, though this suggests the bush basher’s gone a bit soft – which it hasn’t, even if it’s talked about as ‘the ultimate family SUV’. It’s about riding high, cocooned in leathery-luxury – even off road the ride is quiet and smooth – with an ability to wedge alot of stuff in. There are 21varying seat positions across the three rows – the last two can be driven completely flat via the press of a button, or via an app. As for connectivity, the car boasts nine USB points and six 12v charging points. It’s all very impressive, so too the Advanced Tow Assist, which will please any man who sweats a little when it comes to reversing whatever’s attached out back. Since it first arrived in this country in 1991, more than 65,000 Australian motorists have claimed ownership of a Discovery. And now with the refined tweaks, increased luxe and connectivity, that number’s sure to quickly increase – even if there’s little offroad driving being done. n Available now; landrover.com.au S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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CARS

W E H E A D FO R B M W ’ S LO S ANGELES D E S I G N W O R KS S T U D I O – TO S E E T H E I N F LU E N C E OF AIRLINE CA B I N S O N THE DRIVING O FTO M O R R O W, AND LEARN T H AT F U L LY AU TO N O M O U S VEHICLES ARE O N LY F I V E Y E A R S AWAY.

I

t may make HSV-jacketed old men weep, but it’s true – the future of driving is clearly not going to involve much driving at all. But when the inevitable autonomy arrives and the steering wheel goes the way of the cassette player, what will cars look and feel like? Happily, the answer from car companies, who’ve already been working feverishly on this eventuality for years, is that it will be a lot like flying business class, or, if you can afford a really high-end vehicle, even first. This shift towards cosseting and entertaining all of the car’s occupants equally, rather than focusing on the driver, will turn the design world not just upside down, but inside out, according to Laura Robin, director of the BMW Designworks LA Studio.

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“The interior design of the vehicle is going to have astronger influence on the proportions than before, design from the inside out, if you like,” she says. GQ recently strapped on some designer specs and natty braces for a visit to BMW Designworks, a high-tech, highly slick campus of trendy imagineers dedicated to working on non-car-related projects since 1972, and which now employs 135 people from 14different countries. Laurenz Schaffer showed us the new first class cabins his team had created for Singapore Airlines, partly because it’s apaying job for his company, butalso because BMW knows that the crossover between flying and car travel is very much the way of the near future. “I think we’ll have fully automated cars on the road by

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

2025, with the steering wheel gone, and it will be very much like a flying experience, which is why it helps to work with planes now,” explained Schaffer. “We’re already working on customer scenarios; what will people do in those two hours aday they used to spend driving? What will they consume, who willprovide the content and howwill we be able to profit share with people who provide it?” Designworks has recently taken its collaborative learnings back into the car world, with the unveiling of its BMW ‘i Inside Future’ sculpture at this year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas. Viewed from above, you can see the airline influence, with the cockpit becoming more like a living room with separate zones for passengers to do as

they please. The open, airy cabin is packed with futuristic technology, including the Star Wars-sounding ‘HoloActive Touch’ interface, yet it’s notoverwhelming. “The concept was designed to answer such questions as ‘when cars drive themselves where does that leave the driver?’ and ‘how will the interior geometry change when the focus is no longer the steering wheel?’” explains Robin. “We also wanted to challenge some of the takes we have seen on future mobility that paint arather cold, sterile environment and look towards humanising thedesign. “In aviation we’re seeing furniture-like geometry, somewhat borrowed from aircraft lounges, with natural materials projecting more of a‘living environment’ coming

WORDS: STEPHEN CORBY.

FUTURE DESIGNS

CARS

VARIOUS VIEWS OFBMW’S CONCEPT ‘i INSIDE FUTURE’.

BMW knows that the crossover between flying and car travel isvery muchthe way of the near future.

into our work in aircraft business and first class cabins. It’s moving away from the notion of‘designing a seat’ to ‘designing anenvironment’. “Moreover, as we navigate through a proliferation of screens in our daily interactions, with inherent distractions, we wanted to create an environment where technology was on-demand and invisible when not needed. Using a ‘HoloActive Touch’ interface forthe main controller eliminates obstruction and overall clutter and interacts with

a panoramic front screen that adopts the sculptural surfacing oftheinterior.” Aside from its many obvious and annoying failings, the commercial airline business does have expertise in influencing your perception of space, mainly through the use of light, colour and materials. In the case of first class cabins, Designworks’ goal is to make the environment feel “special and intimate,” which it does by using different colours, fibres and finishes on the interior space, as opposed to the surfaces that face out towards the aisle. Designworks also works with consumer-electronics clients on ‘Smart City’ projects and is involved with ethnographic research on people’s expectations for the future of connectivity, personalisation and“seamlessness”. While BMW’s ‘Future’ sculpture moves away from the clinical concept cars we’re used toseeing, is it still a case of function over form, and practicality over beauty? “As designers we play with those sliders a bit,” admits Robin. “No matter what, we strive to balance meaningful functionality [it has to fit a need and deliver on that need exquisitely] and the proper aesthetic expression. “Must design always be ‘beautiful’? Maybe not. But it must make us feel. Feel delighted, or provoked. Feel confident, or challenged. “The beauty we strive for isa holistic beauty – the visual aesthetic leads us into an experience, but the beauty isrounded out by awellconceived, essential and considered user experience.” Robin says all of the world’s automotive companies are looking at the implications of an autonomous future for their brands and design work. Mercedes-Benz, for example, is working with Boeing on cabin architecture and new seats that are capable of monitoring and

even improving your health while in a car. At the more mass-market end of motoring, Carlos Ghosn, the enigmatic and opinionated CEO of the giant Renault-Nissan Alliance is predicting a rapid rate of change. “By 2022, most of the cars on the street will have some kind of autonomy as well as some kind of connectivity, and the premium market is going to be totally autonomous and totally connected,” he says, and by connectivity he means fully content streaming, FaceTimingand wifi-enabled. “You’re going to have massive growth in the next four or five years because it’s such a huge advantage for the driver. This will change the way people see cars, because your vehicle will become a mobile space where you can work, you can rest, you can relax, you can video conference. Compare that to today where it’s a transport device – you sit there with your eyes on the road and you can’t do anything else but listen to music.” Ghosn says that if you look at how much time people currently spend, on average, in their cars – which is an hour a day in the US and Australia, and up to two hours in parts of Europe and China – you really are looking at changing the way you live by clawing back that time. “What’s driving autonomy is that the customer will want it. It’s a productivity gain, it’s adding quality of life and giving time to the consumer, because you can suddenly use those two hours to finish your reports, teach your kids, read a book,” he says. “Obviously, this is of huge interest to the car makers because it means the car becomes an even more indispensable part of people’s lives. It’s integral now, but it’s only a device for getting your body from one place to another. Once we have autonomy and connectivity, it becomes amobile space to live in.” n bmw.com.au

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MOUNTAIN HIGH A H E A D O F O C TO B E R ’ S B AT H U R S T 1 0 0 0, W E TO O K O N T H E FA M E D M O U N T PA N O R A M A T R AC K I N A G Q - A P P R OV E D V8 – A $ 6 0 0,0 0 0 F E R R A R I 4 8 8 GT B .

F

ear is a bitch of a mistress. More often than not, she sits in the passenger seatevery time you head out on to aracetrack, but when that track is the towering terror of Bathurst’s Mount Panorama, and the car is a Ferrari with almost 500kW, she seems to sit on your chest, while playfully kicking you in the bollocks. Seated in the unfamiliar but lovely surroundings of Ferrari’s 488 GTB, on the more familiar starting grid, it’s hard not to keep playing all the spectacular accidents you’ve seen on TV here over the years in

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your mind – and to ponder whether it might be saferto spend the laps you’re about to attempt behind asafety car. Instead, we’ll be following a couple of overexcited owners – people whose ability to drop $600,000-plus on a car makes them instantly annoying – and one male model-cum-‘racing driver’ whose helmet struggles to fit over his dangerously sharp cheek bones. People are talking over the radios about whether we’ll hit 300km/h (the car is capable of 330km/h, and can reach 200 from zero in just 8.3 seconds, soanything seems possible), but I can’t join in because every drop of saliva in my body seems tohave pooled in my shoes. Normally, racetracks are fantastic fun because they give you the space and the sight lines to attackevery corner. You have the full width oftheroad atyour disposal and can see that if youstuff up, or get too heroic on the brakes, there’splenty of run-off and gravel traps tosaveyour blushes.

The whole top half of Mount Panorama isa soaring, shit-scary test of what acar can do, and how far the human within is willing to push it.

WORDS: STEPHEN CORBY.

CARS

CARS The Mountain is different, which we quickly discover after breasting the huge hump on Mountain Straight at 230km/h – at which point allthe air in my body was also trying to hide in myshoes – and jag into a sharp, uphill canyon. It’s here that the very hard and hurty-looking walls close in on you for the first time and you have to drive straight at them, then wrench the wheel tothe left, aiming for an apex you can’t see, but must be there because you’ve seen it on television. This is what the term ‘blind corner’ means, and it’s not fun. Imagine doing a trust exercise in which you have to run flat out at a wall, and you’ve been promised that someone will pull it out of the way just before you make contact. It’s a bit like that, except that what stands to be damaged if things gowrong is not just your body, but a hugely expensive Ferrari that doesn’t belong to you. The whole top half of Mount Panorama is asoaring, shit-scary test of what a car can do, and how far the human within is willing to push it. To get the high-speed approach into Sulman Park just right, V8 supercar drivers try to kiss the wall with their door handles on corner entry – I’ve stood at that bend and watched them shear off wing mirrors. It looks terrifying enough from the hill, but it’s a lot worse from the driver’s seat. On the plus side, the walls do magnify the outrageous bellowing caterwaul of the Ferrari’s twin-turbocharged V8 engine, right behind your ears. And when you do get a corner right, finding that invisible apex and slamming the throttle towards the next one, the thrill is overwhelming, as fear allows you to whoop loudly for a brief second. The rush down the mountain, through the vertiginous switchbacks of The Esses to Forrest’s Elbow (named after some poor motorcyclist who fell off there years ago, and left his elbow behind, inpieces) is hard on your brakes, and your heart, butfrom there you are into the legendary Conrod Straight, and your shot at 300. Sadly, what doesn’t come across on TV is just how steeply said straight rises in the middle, meaning your car gets light at around 270km/h, causing your right foot to panic and stab the brake pedal. You’re out of the walls now, thankfully, and the last couple of bends, through The Chase and on to the Pit Straight with its typical racetrack joy – highspeed, high g-force and high on adrenaline. Or they would have been if it weren’t for the male model, who it turns out isn’t as at home in a race suit as he looks. The chiselled chap in question managed to cross up his 488 coming out of the last bend and bouncing back into our path, potentially taking out at least three Ferraris in what would have been amulti-million-dollar mess. Mount Panorama is an unforgettable place to drive fast, but all those crashes you’ve seen on TVare entirely understandable, because when itbites, itbites hard. n

Know Mount Panorama

THE FERRARI 488 GTB Supercars were already fairly alarming machines before the 488 arrived, but it has taken outrageous performance toits limits. The F1-trained engineers atFerrari have somehow extracted 492kW and 760Nm from a V8 engine of just 3.9 litres, which is like training afour-year-old to hit as hard as Mike Tyson. The not inconsequentially beautiful looking 488 can explode from zero to 100km/h in three seconds flat, but it’s the zero to 200 time of 8.3 seconds that really

rearranges time and space, and makes it borderline unsafe to drive on public roads. Fortunately, a host ofclever electronic gizmos keep the rubber planted to the road and driving it is actually almost easy, as long as you haven’t blacked out from the g-forces it creates around corners. Predictably, it’s not cheap, at astarting price of $469,888. Throw in a few necessary options, like $21,739 paint and $10,500 wheels, and the car we drove quickly hit a grand total of $625,278. Whoa. ferarri.com

Mount Panorama has been a loud and colourful part of Australia’s sporting tapestry for decades, with its first stagingin 1963. But the track’s first event was the Australian Grand Prix, in the far braver days of 1938. Modern F1 cars would never be allowed to race around such a steep and technically unsafe track, with its 6.2km length surrounded by trees, walls and, infamously, had the odd adventurous kangaroo cross it. Perhaps the most insane people ever toride their luck on its steep slopes (there’s a 174m vertical rise from the Pit Straight to Brock’s Skyline at the top) were the motorcycle racers who competed here in the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix which then just became known as the Easter races, before some unfortunate rioting and mindless violence shut the whole thing down. While it has proved a theatre of dreams for many larger-than-life characters over the years, from Dick Johnson to Jim Richards, the undisputed King of the Mountain was Peter Brock. Brocky, or Peter Perfect as the fans called him, won the Great Race an incredible nine times. In his day, he was unbeatable around The Mountain, and in1979 his winning margin was an almost unfeasible six laps. In the same year, Bathurst also changed the way everyone in the world watches motorsport. It was the place where Channel 7 unveiled the world’s first in-car cameras, RaceCam, putting viewers in thedriver’s seat in a feat of technological brilliance we now all take for granted.

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Our spirit flies further Introducing Qantas Dreamliner

Subject to government and regulatory approval. ABN 16 009 661 901

F I N A N C E , I N N O VAT I O N , B U S I N E S S S AV V Y A N D T H E K E YS T O S E C U R I N G P R O F E S S I O N A L S U C C E S S

INC. yourr nextt Careerr Movee

THE GQ GUIDE TO

JOBS ARE NO LONGER FOR LIFE – B U T E X A C T LY H O W L O N G I S T O O L O N G I N A C O M PA N Y B E F O R E C H A N G I N G L A N E S ? A N D W H AT M O T I VAT I O N D O YO U N E E D T O Q U I T A N D M OV E O N T O K E E P T H I N G S F R E S H ? W E ' R E H E R E T O H E L P.

W O R D S DAVI D HALLI DAY

INC.

T

o develop a career portfolio, changing jobs used to be considered the exception. Now, it’s become the rule, one where staying in a single gig for too long is more hindrance than help. If you’ve hit a dead-end in terms of progress and you’re surrounded by colleagues who you hate, or who seem tohave signed on for life, it’s time to pull theripcord and land elsewhere. After all, youcan now do so with impunity, according toTracy Cashman, senior vice president atWinterWyman international recruitment firm. “Job hopping is less frowned upon thanitused to be,” states Cashman, “thoughcompanies may still be suspicious ofpeople who have too many stints of one year orless”. Like so much in life (except for sex), it’s about moderation – as hiring types and managers, when confronted with a CV cluttered with different company names, think along these lines: a) Do they get bored easily? b) Are they the first to be benched in a layoff because they’re not an ‘A team’ player? c) Do they have acontractor’s mentality? On the flip side, don’t plant your roots too deep. Ten years in a role used to show career loyalty and dedication. While that’s still true, Cashman says “more companies are reluctant to hire people who’ve been at one place their whole work history”. You want a résumé to show smatterings ofa little life and movement. If you’ve hunched over the one desk for more than five years, apotential new employer might raise

“If you’ve hunched over the one desk for more than five years, a potential new employer might raise aneyebrow...”

an eyebrow, knowing how people can becomeset intheir ways. According to Cashman, companies may feel that those people aren’t motivated in their career progression or, worse, are so ingrained in a particular way ofthinking andapproach to work that theycan’t adapt toanew environment. If you’re fortunate enough to move often(but not too often), you can point toexperience in a number of different industries, and exposure to a variety of challenges, which can lead a prospective employer to feel you’re flexible and aquicklearner. Often, those who move frequently are recruited by people they’ve previously worked for, or with, and who’ve moved on themselves. This can be another gold star ona track record, a firm sign that people want towork with you again.

A TWO-MINUTE GUIDE TO JOB HOPPING CHRONICLE KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Was the Jenkins account in your last job or the one before? With extra companies come extra layers of confusion. Create arecord of your accomplishments. Just.Keep. The. Details. Clear.

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LIST BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Each time you leave a job, list information about your most recent position on your CV. That way you won’t need to think about it 2-3 years from now when ready to make the jump again.

DON’T BURN YOURBRIDGES

Your ex-boss may be a dick, but don’t say that when you slam the door on your wayout. You’ll need one or two decent references from each of the last three orfour places you’ve worked.

INC.

QUIZ TIME

EMBRACE A SECOND CAREER

SIMON BENNETT, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT FROM GLIDE OUTPLACEMENT AND CAREER COACHING, SAYS THE LENGTH OF TIME YOU STAY IN A JOB DEPENDS ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS. TAKE THE GQINC QUIZ AND SEE WHETHER IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON OR STAY PUT.

Q1

Q4

A. 20s. B. 30s. C. 40s and beyond.

A. A given after 10 months. B. As an unavoidable fact of life after a time. C. As an affront to both God and man.

Q2

Q5

A. Years? Try months. B. More than a few years – have made some inroads, but you’re getting restless and keeping an ear out. C. Literally centuries in dog years.

A. Meh. The stocked bar fridge is nice, but don’t all jobs have that? B. Happy enough on finding a groove – can stick things out until it’s the right time to move. C. Co-workers have become family members.

Q3

Q6

YOUR AGE?

HOW IS CHANGE PERCEIVED IN YOUR INDUSTRY?

NUMBER OF YEARS WORKED IN CURRENT ROLE?

HOW HAPPY ARE YOU IN YOUR ROLE?

TOTAL NUMBER OF YEARS YOU’VE BEEN WORKING (ALL JOBS)?

A. Does shelf-stacking count? B. The ten-year high school reunion was ten years ago. C. You recall free tertiary education.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO ACHIEVE IN YOUR CAREER - WORK/LIFE BALANCE FOR EXAMPLE, OR RAPID PROMOTION?

A. Promotions pay more, right? B. Both. C. Promotion, if there were any more rungs left on the ladder.

ADDITIONAL WORDS: RICHARD CLUNE.

RESULTS

MOSTLY As

MOSTLY Bs

MOSTLY Cs

You’ve barely clocked a year in a role and you want out. Fine, since you’re so early in your career, job-hopping may not matter. Just watch you don’t gain a rep for flitting about. Best thing may be to download a meditation app and stay put. Our advice? Gain some more experience and you’ll be better off whenyou start looking.

Put your shoes on because you’re ripe for walking into anew challenge. Sure, you may have hit a wall after 3-5 years punching into the same clock, but with that has come a perfect blend of youth andgood history in the industry, as well as a swag ofexperience in the one place. Wherever you land, they’re lucky tohave you.

You’re an expert in what youdo. You have a long career history, and no one grasps industry nuance or organisational esprit like youdo. Far be it from us tosay what you should do, but you’re closer to the end ofyour career than the beginning, so you may want to investigate the company position on gold watches.

For former professional surfer Luke Stedman, retirement landed decades earlier than it does for most, forcing arethink, at just 30, as towhat his second act would be. Here, the 41-year-old opens up about his experiences and learnings as founder of menswear label InstedWe Smile. “We launched in 2013 with T-shirts and Icame in so naive – I had no idea, no real textile knowledge, I didn’t know about print application processes or fits and fabrications – I was completely blind but Ithought, fuck it, let’s justjump in. Looking back, Ishould have only started things after much more market research, Ishould have mapped things out and had a stronger game plan and a real blueprint about what it was we were trying to achieve. “I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t had mentors. Kym [Ellery, designer and former girlfriend] really showed me the way – she’s incredible, awesome at strategy and financial planning aswell as being an incredible designer. You need to ask and be open to learning from others. “Social media’s been imperative, I don’t understand how anyone can exist without it. For abrand like us with no ad budget, it’s a must. We also try and align with the right people – Chris [Hemsworth] has been ahuge supporter and he’s epic because he loves to surf. We’re growing nicely and now have accounts across the US, HK, China and Oz. “The key’s to have goals, be led by passion and to fuck fear.“ Head to gq.com.au for more from Stedman; instedwesmile.com

S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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INC.

“IT’S VERY EASY TO BE DIFFERENT, BUT VERY DIFFICULT TO BE BETTER.” JONY IVE, APPLE’S CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER (AND LIVING DESIGN LEGEND).

THE BOOK

Psychopaths, we recently read, drink G&T and black coffee. It’s to do with ayearning for bitterness, according to some uni boffins. Well, in that case – there’s a wealth of them working around us on a daily basis, which is whythis new tome from David Gillespie comes in handy – outing ways to identify those who too easily infiltrate organisations and affect aworkplace, and offering waysto deal with toxic types who are often attached to positions of power. TAMING TOXIC PEOPLE, $32.99; MACMILLAN AUSTRALIA

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THE APP

Requesting external meetings and opportunities to Skype can be a hassle given the back-and-forth emails oftenneeded to agree upon aconvenient time for all parties. That’s why we’re fans of Calendly – simply email a link and have scheduling instantly align with what you’ve already got in play (beyond that unforeseen late lunch). PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION APPROX. $10 A MONTH; CALENDLY.COM

THE PEN

Because, quite literally, areal man seals any deal with his favourite pen andsignature. Thanks tothe shorts-obsessed American designer Thom Browne, your chosen weapon to sign on the dotted line will whip up asmuch attention and envy as in that business card scene in American Psycho. And the mechanical pencil in theset can be for deals still being negotiated. THOM BROWNE ‘GOLD-TONE PEN AND PENCIL SET’, APPROX. $490; MRPORTER.COM

THE PODCAST

Social media is a must – agrouping of platforms that can deliver on cut-through and aid business success unlike any other. It’s for these reasons, and more, that the Social Pros podcast is a necessity – providing insights on how to make the best use of what’s available, including insightful interviews andconversations with market leaders. FREE; iOS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

The Inc list

diesel.com

THE REVIVAL OF AN ICON EDOX DELFIN – 1961 Birth of the world famous Edox Delfin timepiece. Patented crown system. Double case back. Shock resistant. 200 m Super Water Resistant.

VIC 8th Avenue Watch Co., Emporium Melbourne, 03 9639 6175 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Westfield Doncaster, 03 9840 6304 | 8th Avenue Watch Co., Chadstone Shopping Centre, 03 9569 7652 | Temelli Jewellery, Melbourne, 03 9639 5556 | Temelli Jewellery, Highpoint Shopping Centre, 03 9317 3230 Temelli Jewellery, Westfield Knox Shopping Centre, 03 9800 0799 | Temelli Jewellery, Eastland Shopping Centre, 03 9879 8459 NSW Atlas Jewellers, Parramatta, 02 9687 9474 | Hennings Jewellers, Campbelltown, 02 4626 3529 | Melewah Jewellery, Haymarket, 02 9211 5896 QLD 8th Avenue Watch Co., Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, 07 5575 4883 WA All About Time, Balcatta, 08 9349 0600 VANUATU Elysium, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 678 28028

YO U R E S S E N T I A L G U I D E T O T H E B E S T W R I S T W E A R

WATCH E D I T E D BY M I KE C H R I STE N SE N

BEST OF BASELWORLD 2017

A L L T H E N E W S F R O M T H E B I G G E S T WATC H FA I R O N T H E P L A N E T.

WATCH

E

EDITOR’S LETTER

very year, the finest watchmakers in the industry gather together to each boast about their most precious new offerings at the Swiss timepiece Mecca, more commonly known as Baselworld. From TAG Heuer to Richard Mille, anyone’s who’s been will know it’s like no other sensory overload you’ll ever witness. Over the course of four action-packed days, we made it to nearly 40 appointments, putting our left hand forward and proving to be a great mannequin for the countless masterpieces on show, knowing that each piece had been made with the kind of pride, expense and craftsmanship that genuinely defies belief sometimes. Of the many highlights, ranking high was our indepth conversation about a watch’s “cheerful moments” with Laurent Dordet, the ever-inspiring chief executive of La Montre Hermès. The fashion big boys were well represented, with Gucci making a strong impression this year with its Alec Soth-created meme series. And as always, it was a pleasure to catch up with the latest face of Bulgari’s watches, model Jon Kortajarena (trust us, you know him), not to mention being hosted for the evening by Hublot, Ricardo Guadalupe and none other than Depeche Mode. But most notable for its continued growth and presence, were smartwatches, with TAG Heuer creating the biggest noise around the Baselworld corridors. There’s no doubt the likes of TAG’s ‘Connected’ series will bring new watch lovers to the table, which is both exciting and necessary for the watch world. Now, until next year.

1

STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘AU TAV IA’, $6 6 0 0, BY TAG H E U E R

Huge - the return of this icon simply can’t be downplayed.

WRIST PORN

MIKE CHRISTENSEN M ANAG I N G E D ITO R PR E V I O U S PAG E , O N TH E COVE R Stainless steel ‘BR-X2 Tourbillon Micro-Rotor’, POA, byBell & Ross atLionBrands.

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YE LLOW G O LD ‘M AR I N E G R AN D E DATE ’, $27, 4 0 0, BY B R EG U E T

Who doesn’t love a screw-locked crown? Exactly.

Some of the best watches we tried on from Baselworld.

3

STAI N LE SS STE E L ‘S U PE R H E R ITAG E I I C H RO N OG R AP H E ’, $78 70, BY B R E ITLI N G

A very happy 60th tothis now modernday explorer.

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

4

STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘ HYPE R C H R O M E C H R O N O G R A PH ’, $2075, BY R A DO

5

The saying goes, people get green with envy, and it’s not hard to see why.

YE LLOW G O LD ‘OYSTE R P E R PE T UA L YAC HT- M ASTE R I I ’, $5 5, 2 5 0, BY R O LE X

18kt gold will make it easier to find the inner sailor in you.

6

STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘ LE LO C LE P OW E R M ATI C 8 0’, $975, BY TI S SOT

Delivers elegance and a friendly price tag.

WATCH

TOP PICKS

Smart obsessed

STAINLESS STEEL ‘STEEL’ WATCH BY NOKIA AT HARVEY NORMAN Smart feature Elegant, clean and with no buttons, it simply tracks all your activity with the Nokia Health Mate app. $229.95

WATCH NEWS In 1992, a diver from the Compagnie Maritime d’Expertises, the NASA of underwater engineering, descended to a depth of 701m; a record that stands today. It’s considered the maximum depth ahuman body can descend before imploding. It would, therefore, take a plucky aquanaut totakeGrand Seiko’s first professional diver’s watch much beyond the 600m it is certified to withstand, for, while the timepiece might survive, the diver’s organs are less likely to handle the pressure. It may be a brand debut, but the hobnail dial on the ‘Hi-Beat 36000 Professional 600m Diver’, along with itshighly-legible contrasting bezel and circular hour markers, hark back to thegolden era of dive-watch design. (Take that asthe’50s and early’60s.) Another sub-aquatic Baselworld first came from Bell & Ross, which used the show to announce its first square-cased diving model.The ‘BR 03-92 Diver’ is water resistant to 300 metres, driven by a self-winding mechanical movement and is equipped with a 60-minute calibrated unidirectional rotating bezel. It also has a luminescent dot at 12 o’clock for setting time references.

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COULDN’T MAKE IT TOS W I T Z E R L A N D? W E H AV E YO U C OV E R E D.

When it was announced in March that Breitling was teaming up with unlikely bedfellow Tudor, the rumour mill went into overdrive. Was the well-backed Rolex sister brand about to make an audacious bid for the aviation specialist? As it turned out, no. The following month, Breitling was acquired by private equity giant CVC Capital Partners. Nonetheless, the tie-in gave Breitling access to Tudor’s three-hand ‘MT5612’ movement, which it houses inside the ‘Superocean Héritage II’. As with its forebear, the ‘Superocean Héritage II’ is available in either 42mmor 46mm, or there’s the all-new ‘Superocean 44 Special’ which can dive to adepth of 1000m. Elsewhere, in what must be a first for watchmaking, Gucci has released a line of diver’s watches with animals embroidered on their dial. Art for art’s sake, the pieces will, nonetheless, descend to 200m and feature a uni-directional bezel, a prerequisite of all dive watches. Choose between a45mm or 40mm case, or a unisex model at 38mm, each containing a ‘Swiss-made’ quartz movement. G R AN D - S E I KO.CO M; B E LLR OSS .CO M; B R E ITLI N G .CO M; G U CC I .CO M

STAINLESS STELL ‘TAMBOUR HORIZON BLACK’ BY LOUIS VUITTON Smart feature Its LV city guides, changing faces and ability to get you to the airport on time. $4200

C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P LE F T: STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘S U PE R O C E A N 4 4 S PEC IA L’, $5 3 0 0, BY B R E ITLI N G; TITA N I U M ‘ H I B E AT 3 6 0 0 0 PR O F E S S I O N AL 6 0 0 M D IV E R ’, $1 4 ,6 0 0, BY G R A N D S E I KO; STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘ D IV E ’ WATC H, $1 75 0, BY G U CC I; SATI N - P O LI S H E D STE E L ‘ B R 03 - 9 2 D IV E R ’, $5 4 0 0, BYB E LL & R OS S .

STAINLESS STEEL‘CONNECTED DISPLAY’ SMARTWATCH BYEMPORIO ARMANI Smart feature To have international singing sensation Shawn Mendes to front the campaign. Also, the various watch faces and colour combinations to suit your personal style. $649

WORDS: RICHARD BROWN.

Deep-sea diving

A huge chance to get millennials interested in the industry, or a major threat to everything that makes watches great? Either way, 2017 is the year smartwatches became alegitimate force on everyone’s mind and many’s wrist. Here, the latest pieces to invest in.

WATCH

SPORT STARS OF THE YEAR

I

n 1988, Chopard became the official timekeeper to the Mille Miglia, the Italian classic car rally held between Brescia and Rome. The race celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, a milestone Chopard honours with the 90-piece ‘Mille Miglia Classic XL 90th Anniversary’. Equipped with an in-house, COSC-certified chronograph movement, the 18-carat rose gold collector’s model is the most prestigious Mille Miglia Chopard has ever produced. Out at sea, Omega pulled off one of the marketing coups of the year in June, when Emirates Team New Zealand beat Oracle Team USA, 7-1, to win the 35th America’s Cup. Omega equipped the crew with a specially made ‘Speedmaster X-33 Regatta ETNZ’. Capable of timing the five-minute countdowns before each race, the quartz timepiece also features a calendar indication, two alarms and illustrates the time in three time zones. For the public, Omega released the mechanical

‘Seamaster Planet Ocean ETNZ Deep Black’. It comes with a ceramic bezel, a red and blue timing scale, and a black rubber strap. Of all the iconoclastic watchmakers on the market today, none is more closely associated with sport than Richard Mille. Until the brand proved otherwise, the thought of a mechanical timepiece surviving the 150+ km/h serve of atennis player seemed somewhat preposterous. Then, in 2010, Richard Mille created a watch for Rafael Nadal who strapped it to his wrist and won himself some Grand Slams. Seven years later, the partnership yields another timepiece that defies common sense. The ‘RM 27-03’ is capable of withstanding 10,000 Gs of shock thanks to a ‘unibody’ baseplate. Instead of having a case middle, the watch’s bezel and caseback are assembled directly onto a baseplate – a type of racing-car construction that ensures maximum rigidity and greater resistance to impacts. chopard.com; omegawatches. com; richardmille.com

BASELWORLD BY NUMBERS

1917

YEAR OF THE FIRST BASELWORLD

8 DAYS LONG

1300 EXH I B ITORS

13.3

PE R C E NT DEC R EASE I N B R AN DS SH OW I N G

60 AN N IVE RSARY O F TH E LO N G I N ES FL AGSH I P H E R ITAG E WATC H

2.23mm

F R O M LE F T: CERAMIC ‘S E A M ASTE R P L A N E T O C E AN E TN Z D E E P B L AC K’, $1 5,075, BY O M EG A; R OS E G O LD‘M I LLE M I G LIA C L AS S I C XL 9 0 TH A N N IV E R SA RY’, $5 6, 41 0, BY C H O PA R D; CA R B O N ‘ R M 27- 03 ’ WATC H, P OA , BY R I C HA R D M I LLE .

TH IC KN ESS OF TH E BVLGAR I ‘OCTO FI N I SS I MO AUTOMATIQ U E’

300

NEW SMARTWATCHES LAUNCHED BY FOSSIL GROUP IN 2017

60CHF

FO R A O N E- DAY TIC KET

39 APPOINTMENTS ATTENDED BY GQ

6.4 AVE R AG E KI LOM ETR ES WALKE D BY GQ EAC H DAY

FUN FACTS

6 WEEKS TO SET UP

120,000+ G U ESTS AT TE N DE D

32

50 YEAR

G UAR ANTE E O N TH E PAN E R AI L AB - I D LUM I N OR 1 9 50 CAR BOTEC H 3 DAYS4 9 M M

3557

NUMBER OF PIECES EACH OF THE OMEGA TRILOGY

SAPPHIRES IN THE EVEROSE ROLEX YACHT-MASTER II 40

41 – TUDOR’S NEW BLACK BAY

S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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To the moon and back

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erpetual calendar watches predict the future. Programmed for years to come, they display the day, date and month accurately for a century, taking into account leap years, without the need for manual correction. Having developed the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, Patek Philippe has spent the ensuing decades making the complication its own. Indeed, many of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction are Patek Philippe perpetual calendars. This year’s ‘Ref. 5320G’ is a direct descendant of the originals – from the ‘19’975’ in 1925 to the ‘Ref. 1518’ and ‘Ref. 1526’ of the early ’40s – with day and month apertures at 12 o’clock and a moonphase and date dial at six o’clock. The modern 40mm white gold iteration has been updated with a leap year indication between four and five o’clock, and a day-night indicator between

seven and eight o’clock. A cream lacquer dialcompletes the vintage aesthetic. In 2014, Rolex reintroduced its ‘Cellini’ collection. This year the brand bolsters the family with a perpetual calendar, a first since the ’50s. Astronomically accurate for 122 years, the ‘Cellini Moonphase’ features ablue enamelled disk at six o’clock, on which the brand has applied a full moon made of meteorite, which rotates in time with the lunar cycle. A centre hand with a crescent moon at its tip points towards a date ring around the watch’s dial. Other standout moonphases this year include Breguet’s supremely elegant ‘Classique 7787’, now available in 18-carat white gold, and Glashütte Original’s ‘Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar’, sporting the brand’s characteristic oversized date window at four o’clock. patek.com; rolex.com; breguet.com; glashuette-original.com

FLIGHT MODE

PILOT

Anyone with ambitions to be a pilot, Ball’s new ‘Engineer III Bronze Star’ will garner kudos in the cockpit. Everyone else happy just to feign pilot status through what’s strapped to their wrist, this piece is for you too. Limited to 3000 pieces, the 43mm bronze case eludes manliness, houses its own automatic caliber ‘RR1102’ while the numeral hour markers and seconds hand illuminate without contact from any light. Plus, its SpringLOCK and Amortiser anti-shock systems help provide accurate timekeeping for anyone actually realising said pilot dreams. $3595; ballwatch.com

C LO C K W I S E F R O MTO P: R E D G O LD ‘S E N ATO R E XC E LLE N C E P E R PE T UA L CA LE N DA R ’, $4 9, 3 0 0, BYG L AS H Ü T TE O R I G I N A L; E V E R OS E G O LD ‘C E LLI N I M O O N PH AS E ’, $3 3,9 0 0, BY R O LE X; G O LD ‘C L AS S I Q U E 7 78 7 ’, $3 8, 20 0, BY B R EG U E T; W H ITE G O LD ‘ R E F. 5 3 20 G’, $1 07, 6 0 0, BYPATE K PH I LI PPE AT K E N N E DY B O UTI Q U E .

MB&F’S MAD MAD WORLD

MB&F’s creations seldom sit within one product category. While most of the brand’s crackpot contractions do indeed tell the time, they do so in such inventive and intricate ways that to categorise them merely as timepieces would be to do a disservice to company founder, Maximilian Büsser (formerly of Jaeger-LeCoultre and Harry Winston). Büsser doesn’t create watches; he conceives machines. Having teamed up with high-end clock maker L’Epée 1839 five times previously, this year the partnership yields ‘Destination Moon’: a 41cm-tall, torpedo-shaped table clock. Power for ‘Destination Moon’ is provided by an oversized winding crown at the rocket’s base. Avertically stacked movement, regulated by a lateral balance wheel and escapement, displays hours and minutes on two revolving stainless steel discs near the rocket’s nose. ‘Destination Moon’ is available with silver, black, blue or green landing pods, all of which come with Neil, the rocket’s solid-silver-and-stainless-steel resident astronaut. ‘Destination Moon’, approx. $25,800; mbandf.com

WATCH SHAPES

C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P: STA I N LE SS STE E L ‘CA PE CO D’, $41 3 0, BY H E R M È S; LI M ITE D E D ITI O N R OS E G O LD ‘G O LD E N B R I DG E ’, $1 0 4,0 0 0, BY CO R U M; STA I N LE S S STE E L ‘S1/0 1 ’, $1 8 70, BYS E V E N F R I DAY.

SQUARE ROOTS

Square watches don’t sell. So the saying goes. Unless, of course, you hit upon a quadrilateral design that does resonate with watch fans, in which case, history tells us, you’ve almost certainly created a brand-defining timepiece. Cartier’s ‘Tank’ dates all the way back to 1917. TAG Heuer’s ‘Monaco’ arrived in 1969, while Bell & Ross’s more recent ‘BR 01’ debuted in 2005. Each has become a halo product for its brand. Another famous squarecase is theHermès‘Cape Cod’. Landing in 1991, it takes design cues from the chain of a ship’s anchor. For 2017, Hermès introduced four iterations of the ‘Cape CodTGM’, which, at 33mm by 33mm, is the largest ‘Cape Cod’ model. Of the newbies, three pieces are quartz, the fourth is powered by the self-winding calibre ‘H1912’, created in partnership with movement maker Vaucher, which counts Parmigiani Fleurier and Richard Mille among its other clients. The ‘Cape Cod TGM Manufacture’ ischaracterised by a hobnailed inner square on itsdial, a feature absent from the quartz models. Baguette-shaped, Corum’s ‘Golden Bridge’ is where the brand declares it’s technical prowess – literally, given that the collection is skeletonised. Spearheaded by ex-managing director of Chopard Italy, Davide Traxler, between 2015 and May 2017, Corum is a brand whose stock has been on the rise. At Baselworld 2017, the brand presented the ‘Golden Bridge Rectangle’, in which a linear gear train links a spring barrel at six o’clock and an escapement at 12 o’clock. The case and plates comprise 18kt rose gold, making for asophisticated, statement-making dress watch. And SEVENFRIDAY is another brand tapping into the cult status of the square piece. The hybrid ‘S1/01’ pairs a Japanese mechanical movement from Miyota with a NFC chip that connects to the SEVENFRIDAY Android App. A fittingly fun piece from a brand for whom every day is a Friday. hermes.com; corum.ch; sevenfriday.com S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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VINTAGE APPEAL

FAC E D W I T H T U R B U L E N T T I M E S, WATC H M A K E R S A R E R E V I S I T I N G T H E I R B AC K CATA LO G U E S A N D R E- I S S U I N G S T E A DY C L AS S I C S .

OLD SCHOOL

C LOC K W I S E F R O M TO P Stainless steel ‘Heritage 1945’, $2350, by Longines; stainless steel ‘Speedmaster’, $9725, stainless steel ‘Seamaster 300’, $9425, stainless steel ‘Railmaster’, $9125, allby Omega; sapphire ‘Tribute To Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC’, $17,650,by Blancpain.

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or the first time in almost two-and-a-half years, the Swiss watch industry posted positive month-on-month results in both March and May of this year. Headwinds may be abating, but a tough economic climate means that this year the watch world has beencharacterised by a raft of reissues from the golden era of watch design. Leading the way was Omega, whichupdated a trio of its most recognisable timepieces, releasing them as the‘1957 Trilogy Collection’. Sixty years ago, Omega debuted three industry-changing tool watches. This year, the ‘Speedmaster’ returns in a 38.6mm case, while the ‘Railmaster’ and ‘Seamaster 300’ have been updated with Omega’s ‘Master Chronometer’ movement, a calibre capable of withstanding 15,000 gauss of magnetism. Only 3557 of each will be made available.

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The original Blancpain ‘Fifty Fathoms’ arrived four years before the Omega ‘Seamaster’, becoming the world’s first bona fide, series-produced dive watch. In 1957, the‘Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC 1’ incorporated a circular water-tightness indicator at six o’clock that would turn from white to red should water penetrate the case. The indicator returns in 2017, along with abezel covered inscratch-resistant sapphire. Other notable retro revivals include Zenith’s ‘Chronomaster Heritage 146’, a chronograph from the ’60s that’s now equipped with Zenith’s legendary ‘El Primero’ movement; Grand Seiko’s ultra-accurate micro-electro-mechanical ‘SBGM221’; and Longines’ ‘Heritage 1945’, an elegant, time-only automatic with a steel case and brushed copper dial. omegawatches.com; blancpain.com; zenithwatches.com; grand-seiko.com; longines.com

B OT TO M LE F T TO R I G HT Stainless steel ‘Chronomaster Heritage 146’, $9900, by Zenith; stainless steel ‘SBGM221’, $6800, byGrand Seiko.

WATCH C LOC K W I S E F R O M TO P LE F T Jasmine Sanders and Caroline Vreeland; Bulgari’s Jean-Christopher Babin and Jon Kortajarena; Jean-Claude Biver; Depeche Mode at the Hublotdinner.

BASEL’S PARTY PEOPLE Baselworld 2017 took place against abackdrop of almost two-and-a-half years of slumping Swiss watch exports. Not that you would have guessed from the pomp and ceremony that unfurled with the world’s largest watch fair. Bulgari hosted a celebpacked launch party on the first day while Hublot invited 800 guests to a gala dinner that saw Depeche Mode perform a private concert in celebration of Ferrari’s 70th birthday. And last but not least, Breitling whisked buyers, press and friends to an airport hangar for a Spanish fiesta, preceded by an aerobatic display in which a helicopter gave chase to a fleet of Lamborghinis. Though, such is its reputation, absolutely nophotography was allowed. An industry in crisis? You’d never have guessed – the place was as bonkers as ever.

MARQUES OF DISTINCTION

T H O R O U G H B R E D WATC H E S T H AT W O N ’ T B R E A K T H E B A N K . FIBERGLASS ‘SEASTRONG HOROLOGICAL’ SMARTWATCH BY ALPINA This piece makes a strong case for being the bestlooking connected watch yet, despite, or perhaps in spite of the fact, it’s not immediately recognisable as a smartwatch. With a 60-minute unidirectional bezel, super legibledial, and luminous hands, indexes and markers, it’s, first and foremost, aproper diver’s watch. Yet while the sixties-inspired piece comfortably descends to 100 metres, it’s also capable of receivingcall and email notifications, tracking your activity throughout the day, monitoring sleep patterns and automatically updating the time and date. A smartwatch whose face, at least, is proven to stand the test of time. $995; alpinawatches.com

ROSE GOLD-PLATED STAINLESS STEEL ‘FLYBACKCHRONOGRAPH MANUFACTURE’ BY FRÉDÉRIQUE CONSTANT Named to evoke the old guard of Swiss watchmaking, Frédérique Constant was in fact only formed in 1988. Three decades later, the brandremains true to the spirit in which it was established, manufacturing mechanically sound timepieces at value -for-money prices, like the ‘Flyback Chronograph Manufacture’. You can restart itwithout stopping and resetting, which is usefulfortiming laps. And though it’s one of the most difficult complications for a brand to develop inhouse, after six years of R&D, Frédérique Constant has donejust that. POA; frederiqueconstant.com

STAINLESS STEEL ‘MASTERPIECE CHRONOGRAPH SKELETON’ BYMAURICELACROIX Opt for a mechanical timepiece over a watch powered by abattery and it stands to reason that you might like to view the cogs and gears for which you’ve just paid a premium. Thus theraison d’êtrefor skeleton watches. The trouble is, openwork timepieces are far less elegant when all they do is magnify the unsightly hairs on the wrist beneath. With the45mm, manually-wound, supercontemporary ‘Masterpiece Chronograph Skeleton’, Maurice Lacroix addresses this issue by partially tinting the watch’s sapphire crystal-case back. For 2017, Maurice Lacroix has sandblasted the piece with a black-PVD coating. Stealthy. POA; mauricelacroix.com S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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ART BASEL A R T, D E S I G N A N D W E L L- C R A F T E D T I M E P I E C E S H AV E A LOT I N C O M M O N FO R T H E FA M E D WATC H M A K E R .

ome things are under your eyes every day,” says Olivier Audemars. “But it can takean artist with a fresh perspective to help you see what was in front of you all along.” The small Swiss village of Le Brassus inthe Vallée de Joux has been home to Audemars Piguet – one of the most celebrated and revered mechanical watchmakers – since 1875. The brand’s relationship with time and nature is deeply rooted within this mountainside idyll. Since 2012, this bondhas been the focus of a series of art commissions – AP invites visual artists, architects and filmmakers to visit its home to explore the patterns found within its landscape. Only a few hours’ drive away, at the annual Art Basel exhibition (of which AP is apartner), Olivier Audemars is enthusiastically introducing his latest

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collaborations. As the great-grandson of thecompany’s co-founder, and a longstanding board member, Audemars is profoundly attached to Le Brassus, and hasbeen instrumental in the brand’s swing towards the arts. Along with its sister events in Miami and Hong Kong, Art Basel is the largest and most important contemporary art fair of its kind and this year AP is presenting a new Collector’s Lounge created by Chilean artist and designer Sebastian Errazuriz. Having created a space reflecting the forests native to the Vallée de Joux, thecentrepiece for Errazuriz’s booth is anintricately sculpted tree, made from wood, but carved by robotic arms. Entitled ‘Second Nature’, the piece is designed to evolve and grow with the seasons. For Art Basel in Basel, the tree’s bare branches have buds, whilst in Miami in December, flowers will be added. “Trees in the ancient primary forest

around Le Brassus were used by the famous violin maker Stradivarius for his instruments,” explains Errazuriz. “After careful cultivation and preservation for generations, one in 10,000 trees were considered to hold the right qualities to be turned into one of his masterpieces.”

WORDS: TIMOTHY-ANSCOMBE-BELL.

Audemars Piguet does

WATCH C LOC K W I S E , F R O M FA RLE F T: Sebastian

The aim is to express that the tree must be transformed by man to reach its long-term potential. “There is also the resounding notion of responsibility and stewardship that we have to our environment,” he adds. Another collaborator is Chinese artist Cheng Ran, whose video installation, entitled ‘Circadian Rhythm’, depicts the powerful and ever-changing natural patterns found in the Swiss mountains, mixed over a pulsating soundscape. Changing tempo in response toimagery shot at different times of day, the work replicates the beats of nature overlaid with those of a mechanical watch, with the two eventually meeting in unison. Looking ahead to Art Basel Miami Beach in December, the brand will showcase a new large-scale work by Lars Jan, an American artist and activist based inLos Angeles. His installation will be centred on man’s relationship with timeand nature, while promising to be highly experiential, integrating emerging technologies. A little closer to home, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has been commissioned to expand the watchmaker’s original 1875 headquarters in Le Brassus, by adding a spiralling museum that coils majestically up from the landscape. Dubbed Maison des Fondateurs (Home of the Founders), the building comprises a spiral-shaped pavilion that is partially sunk into the fields behind the existing workshops, revealing a series of glazed galleries and event spaces. The result of an architectural competition to create not just a sensitive addition to AP’s historic facilities, but also to the local landscape, construction is currently

Errazuriz’s ‘Second Nature’; Errazuriz overseeing the carving ofthe wood; the intricate work that goes into anAudemars Piguet piece; Audemars Piguet, perpetual calendar wristwatch with leap-yeardisplay - aworld’s first, made in 1955; a still from Cheng Ran’s ‘Circadian Rhythm’.

underway, with an opening expected in 2019. It’s clear the soul of the company sits firmly in the Vallée de Joux. But for Audemars Piguet, it seems the involvement with art stems from a practical desire to discover something new about their hometown, and about themselves. For Olivier Audemars, the way that people from different cultures and backgrounds perceive Le Brassus can be seen through thebrand’s choice of collaborators. Indeed, it’s a novel way for an independent company located in a remote Swiss valley tomaintain such a deep understanding of theparts of the world in which it is involved. “It’s a great inspiration to work with international artists who understand our core values and are able to creatively translate them through their own point of view,” says Audemars. “We aren’t here to collectart– we’re here to learn and be transformed by it.” n audemarspiguet.com; artbasel.com

“WE AREN’T HERE TOCOLLECTART– WE’RE HERE TO LEARN AND BE TRANSFORMED BY IT.” S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Artist Vincent Fantauzzo and Rolex-Tudor General Manager, Australia Patrick Boutellier; guests enjoying dinner atFranklin; selection of2017 pieces; MONA curator Jarrod Rawlins withPatrick Boutellier; GQ’s Richard Clune with Sam van der Griend.

TUDOR V DARK MOFO

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f late, new collection showcases have too often meant evening affairs that involve boarding boats. Somany boats. But in living up to its new tagline #borntodare, Rolex’s little brother, Tudor, recently upped the ante witha celebration of its 2017 pieces featuring anight of fun and artsy curiosity in close collaboration with famed Tasmanian festival Dark Mofo – put on by the genius types responsible for MONA. Forget hours of watch talk and instead envisage a lavish private dinner at the sleek Hobart restaurant Franklin – under the wonderful stewardship of David Moyle – and an opportunity to get up close with the new pieces. Nothing here was forced – though we did continue to appreciate the incredible value Tudor delivers, a brand that truly punches well above its pricing.

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While new Tudor ambassador David Beckham wasn’t present, local brand champions, such as acclaimed artist and former GQ Men of the Year winner VincentFantauzzo, helped heighten the evening. Fantauzzo was joined by MONA curator Jarrod Rawlins, who then led those gathered on an unforgettable night, showcasing the festival’s ‘Welcome Stranger’ event, astaggered, progressive evening that broughttogether a wealth of varied and uniqueexperiences. Of those, we learnt a lot about Royal Tennis, nattered about trees to the man behind MONA, David Walsh, experienced the work of Melbourne artist Spike Fuck before nodding approval to the glam punk ofsparkly, rock goddesses Bitch Diesel (seriously, check these ladies out). It was all rather unwatch like – driving home that Tudor’s certainly willing to dare. And that’s a damn good thing.

OUR PICK

Of the 2017 pieces, thelatest addition tothe ‘Black Bay’ family, the neatly titled ‘Heritage Black Bay Chrono’ is afirm standout. Clean, uncompromised and surprising in that the 41mm chronograph melds a sense of the historic with a little something very much of the now; a piece thatcan easily do triple duty and is sure to become a firm favourite for any collector. Features a‘Manufacture Calibre MT5813’, column wheel and vertical clutch. $6070; tudorwatch.com

Made by hand for those who value perfection. Observe the glide motion second hand of a Spring Drive watch. It is unique, a precise expression of how time naturally flows. Our master watchmakers create these mainspring-powered timepieces by hand. They are accurate to within one second per day. Across the immaculately polished surfaces of the dial courses an intricate play of light and shadow that speaks of the subtle aesthetics of Japanese craftsmanship. Dedication to perfection pursued for more than half a century. grand-seiko.com 9R65 Spring Drive Accurate to + / - 1 second per day.

WATCH

FROM THE OLD

TO THE NEW

FA M O U S FO R I T S VA R I O U S AS S O C I AT I O N S W I T H R AC I N G CA R S, TAG H E U E R I S H E L P I N G D R I V E T H E WATC H I N D U S T RY I N TO T H E F U T U R E .

or many a mechanical watch buff, the name Heuer conjures up a bygone era rich in adventure. The brand’s iconic racing watches were designed with the fastest, smartest and bravest racing drivers in mind, and were duly worn by many of the great grand prix champions of the ’60s and ’70s. Over the years, the watchmaker has undergone a series of transformations; bringing on the TAG name in 1985, and moving under the LVMH umbrella in 1999. But the motor-racing spirit has remained at the throbbing heart of the company throughout. Today, with Jean-Claude Biver in the driving seat, TAG is at the forefront of horological innovation, producing compelling sports watches with modular caseconstructions, connected functionalities and enough vintage panache and slick good

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looks to satisfy traditionalists, while capturing the attention of a new generation of fans.

Get connected

We all get the wanderlust from time to time, and whether you’re feeding the itch with atrip to some exotic corner of the globe, or paddling out to a newly discovered point break, the ‘Connected Modular 45’ may quickly become your best friend. Developed in collaboration with Intel, the watch is water resistant to 50m, has afunctioning GPS, an NFC payment sensor and is built to take a beating. It’s the brand’s first ‘Swiss-made’ smartwatch – elegant and connected at the same time. TAG uses amodular concept to eliminate the issue of obsolescence that plagues connected watches (this means it’s also fully customisable).

On the charm offensive

It’s fair to say we’re a nation with sport on

the brain. This may be why the traditional racing chrono has always found a captive audience among Aussies. And as far as iconic chronographs go, the ‘Autavia’ is in a league of its own. Made famous by the potently charming, impeccably stylish jet-set-era gents of motor racing, the ‘Autavia Ref. 2446 Mark 3’ captures the style of the ’60s. Chosen for revival following an online poll (dubbed the Autavia Cup), where members of the public voted for their favorite of 16 historic options, TAG’s 2017 launch with its ‘Mark 3’ dial and 42mm case is set to become the star of the show onceagain.

Maketh a man

Sometimes subtlety is overrated. Sometimes big and brash wins. Packing a punch like Tom Brady’s right arm – and coincidentally being the star quarterback’s favourite timepiece – the ‘Carrera Heuer-01’ oozes testosterone-

WORDS: TIMOTHY ANSCOMBE-BELL.

F

‘AUTAVIA REF. 2446 MARK 3’

THE BREAKDOWN ‘CONNECTED MODULAR 45 KINGSMAN SPECIAL EDITION’

Who it suits

The modern man ofmystery. Best talking point Specially selected by Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn, who sought awatch that could withstand tough environments. Secret weapon At 10:10, the dial vibrates for 10 seconds and the film’s K-shaped logo appears. Price approx. $5000 ‘AUTAVIA REF. 2446 MARK 3’

Who it suits

The consummate gent. Best talking point With its reverse-panda ‘Mark Three’ dial, it’s a faithful remake of the original 1966 ‘Autavia’, as made famous by Formula One legend, Jochen Rindt. Secret weapon The vintage Heuer and Autavia logos at 12 o’clock. Just awesome. Price $6600

‘MONACO 1133B’

fueled charm and is a watch to suit anyone with a healthy dose of petrol in their veins. With its skeletonised manufacture movement, stripped-back dial and 12-part 43mm modular case, the ‘Heuer-01’ is ahuge departure from the Carrera’s origins as a traditional racing watch. But under the sapphire crystal, the piece beats to the same drum as its predecessors. A polished ceramic tachymeter bezel, red accents and chronograph hands and a winding rotor shaped like a steering wheel are just some of the references which draw on TAG’s motorsport DNA. Touchdown.

SOMETIMES SUBTLETY ISOVERRATED. SOMETIMES BIG AND BRASH WINS... THE ‘CARRERA HEUER-01’ OOZES TESTOSTERONEFUELED CHARM.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

The race is on

In the ’70s film Le Mans, Steve McQueen wore an Heuer crest on his racing suit and a square-dial ‘Heuer Monaco’ on his wrist, catapulting the watch into superstardom. The blue-faced watch and the blue-eyed actor have been linked ever since. King-of-cool credentials aside, vintage Heuer is such a hot category right now that Phillips international auction house are hosting a thematic sale entirely dedicated to the brand’s classic pieces in November. The ‘Monaco 1133B’ with its square case was a benchmark design at the time, but as one of the first ever wristwatchs with a selfwinding chronograph, it’s also mechanically important. If you come across one of these ingood condition, bite the Bullitt. You wouldn’t go far wrong. Not least if you settle for the updated ‘Monaco Calibre 12 Automatic Chronograph’. n

‘CARRERA HEUER-01 ’

‘CARRERA HEUER-01 43MM’ Who it suits The anti-wallflower. Best talking point The polished ceramic tachymeter bezel and modern 12-part modular case offers a stark (but undeniably cool) reinterpretation of Heuer’s original racing chronograph. Secret weapon The skeletonised ‘Heuer 01’ caliber, visible through the dial. Price $6850 ‘MONACO 1133B’ Who it suits The retro radical. Best talking point It’s one of the most recognisable watches of the 20th century. Secret weapon Its heritage; it was one of the first ever wristwatchs with a self-winding chronograph. Price From $10,000

‘CONNECTED MODULAR 45 KINGSMAN SPECIAL EDITION’

WATCH

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hough the Ashes build-up may not be going to plan, globally, cricket is in great shape. Luxury watch brand Hublot certainly agrees, extending its partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) as official timekeeper to include the Champions Trophy as well asthe Women’s World Cup. We caught up with Hublot ambassador and cricket legend, Michael Clarke, to talk about why the partnership spells good news for both. GQ: Why is Hublot such agood fit for you? Michael Clarke: There’s alot of similarities with everything I try to do withmy cricket - it’s nodifferent now to my business. You want to be asgood as you possibly can. You get out of bed every day to try to become better. The same applies with Hublot - they want tobe the first to achieve things. They are unique already. In their style and the quality of their watch or their brand. And I think they are very different to everything else you see in the market and, like me, they like the challenges ofchasing success. GQ: And what does that mean for cricket? MC: It shows cricket’s in awonderful place. We’re talking about a brand that is associated with some of the best sporting teams and associations in the world. You think about Ferrari. You think about FIFA World Cup. You know

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they’ve got Pele? Usain Bolt? These guys are the best in the business. I think it’s extremely exciting that Hublot see cricket in that same light. It’s also a compliment to where the game’s at now. Hublot would not be associating themselves with a sport that they felt wasn't continuing to grow. Iremember the 2015 WorldCup looking up at thescoreboard and seeing that big Hublot sign and thatclock and I just think it’s a real compliment to thegame of cricket. GQ: Tell us about your relationship with watches. MC: I wear my ‘Big Bang Unico Black Magic’ the most. Guys only really have watches and cars as show pieces, and that’s why somany men love their watches – it’s our show piece, it’s our style. And what I like especially about Hublot is the variety. GQ: It’s great that Hublot’s partnership has extended to the women’s game too.

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MC: Yeah, I think it’s ano-brainer and I think Hublot see it like that as well. Credit to them, I think it’s exactly where sport in general needs to be. I can't wait till it gets to a stage where we don’t separate women’s cricket, men’s cricket. We say cricket andwe mean both. That's exactly what Hublot are doing here. They’re saying it’s no different to us. We’re sponsoring the ICC cricket full stop and I think that’s exactly where we want our game to be. GQ: Lastly, a word on what’sbeen happening with Cricket Australia thisyear? MC: Yeah, look it’s notgood for the game. Isaidopenly that I’dlike tosee these conversations happen in private. There needs to be compromise from both parties but until they can get there Idon’t want to see cricket lose out... Idon’t want to see theAustralian players notfocus on their preparation and training. Hopefully, everything sorts itselfout. H U B LOT.CO M

C LO C K W I S E F R O M AB OV E Titanium ‘Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph’, $19,400, by Hublot; Hublot CEO, Ricardo Guadalupe; Hublot ambassador Michael Clarke.

“THIS ICONIC SPORT WILLROUND OFF OUR MARKETING PRESENCE. WORKING WITH AMBASSADORS LIKE MICHAEL CLARKE, I AM DELIGHTED HUBLOT IS THE ICCOFFICIALTIMEKEEPER.” R ICAR DO G UADALU PE, C EOH U B LOT

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES.

HUBLOT LOVES CRICKET

A DV E R T I S E M E N T

Art and TV come together. Samsung’s The Frame brings elegance and entertainment to your home in 4K UHD.

CUSTOMISABLE FRAME Magnetically attachable television frames in three colour options (walnut, beige wood or white – purchased separately) enable The Frame to match your decor.

The Frame by Samsung – the ultimate piece of customisable art The Frame can display either your own choice of photos or artworks, or a piece from the Samsung Collection — a thoughtfully curated collection of 100 works of art, representing 37 artists, including Australian Sarrita King, Koo Bohnchang of South Korea and Japan’s Yoshi Sodeoka, across genres from photography to illustration to digital art. You can also visit the online Art Store to either purchase individual works, or pay a monthly subscription to access the entire ever-changing collection of more than 300 images.

TV IMAGES SUPPLIED BY ©UNIVERSAL SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PROGRAMS AVAILABLE ON DVD AND DIGITAL

The Frame is a television to mirror a modern piece of art in every detail.

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The Frame adjusts its brightness and colour based on ambient light levels.

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A DV E R T I S E M E N T

TV in a new frame of mind CLEAN LINES, SEAMLESS DESIGN The Frame blends harmoniously into your home, transforming into exquisite framed fine art or photography when its primary television function is dormant. Featuring classic, clean lines, a choice of frames (in walnut, beige wood or white) and discreet connection cables and speakers, The Frame’s versatile “Art Mode” is elegantly realised for inconspicuous style. SUPER-SMART FEATURES Motion sensors enable The Frame to detect when the room is unoccupied and switch itself off to save power, while light sensors discern the room’s ambient light in order to automatically adjust the onscreen colour and brightness for optimal visibility. The Smart Hub enables television connectivity from your phone, your set-top box or games console for easy access to apps and services.

To find out what’s happening at your local Harvey Norman®, contact your store directly. Harvey Norman® stores are operated by independent franchisees. Not available at all stores. Ends 26/10/17.

Cotton shirt, $119, byBenSherman; wool/ cashmere pants, $650, by Brooks Brothers; stainless steel ‘Octo Roma’ watch, $8250, byBulgari.

P H OTO G R A P H Y SASKIA W I LSON

A MATTER OF TIME

Cotton/cashmere shirt, approx. $520, by Emma Willis; gold ‘Octo Roma’ watch, $26,100, by Bulgari.

WATCH

S T Y L I N G OLIVIA HAR DI NG

Cotton shirt, $99, by Jack London; stainless steel ‘Octo Roma’ watch, $9050, by Bulgari.

P R E S E N T I N G O U R FAVO U R I T E P I E C E S F R O M BV LG A R I ’ S B AS E LW O R L D 2 0 1 7 C O L L E C T I O N .

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Cotton shirt, approx. $400, by Emma Willis; stainless steel ‘Octo Roma’ watch, $8250, by Bulgari.

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Cotton shirt, $99, by Jack London; wool pants, POA, by Dunhill at Harrolds; stainless steel/gold ‘Octo Roma’ watch, $9900, by Bulgari.

Cotton/linen shirt, $228, by Paul Smith; wool pants, $1835, by Ermenegildo Zegna; titanium ‘OctoFinissimo’, $19,250, byBulgari. Talent: Luca at KultAustralia Grooming: Joel Phillips at Viviens Creative using O&M hair and MAC cosmetics

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VISIONARY T STATUS G Q T E A M S U P W I T H SY D N E YB AS E D N G O I - M A N I F E S T TO U N E A R T H T H E R O OT S O F C R E AT I V I T Y T H AT D R I V E T H I S T R I O O F I N D U S T RY L E A D E R S .

O N TH E W R I ST: F R O M LE F T Hugo wears ‘Freelancer Chronograph Automatic’,$4999; Jimmy wears ‘Freelancer Calibre RW1212’ with black dial, $2950; Roger wears ‘Freelancer Calibre RW1212’ with silver dial, $2850; Mauricewears ‘Freelancer Chronograph Automatic’ with red and black strap, $3895, all by Raymond Weil.

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here’s something in every one of us that strives to be a visionary, ‘a person with original ideas about what the future will or could be like’. In whatever field it is we work, most possess the belief that the capacity is there, somewhere – waiting to be fulfilled. Joanna Pretyman is one of those people. She’s the founder of I-Manifest, a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation that uses creativity to empower youth to find their passion and live their purpose. And with the help of GQ, I-Manifest has profiled some of Sydney’s most successful modern-day talents, from the Flight Facilities guys who are heading towards the peak of their careers, to the more established and seasoned wise men in tailor Roger Shamoun and restaurateur Maurice Terzini. The aim – to help inspire the young, the visionaries of tomorrow, with Pretyman adding, “I selected these men as our visionaries because to me they embody the energy of what I-Manifest is teaching our youth. That is, to live your passion, your truth. To be brave and take risks. To keep going even in the face of adversity. To value family, whatever that looks like for you. To draw on your heritage and write your own script to this life. And to believe in yourself no matter what. We were honoured to bring this campaign to life for Raymond Weil as a brand who also upholds these values of family, heritage, craftsmanship with integrity.” i-manifest.org; raymond-weil.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: ALINA G’OZINA . STYLING: MICHAEL AZZOLLINI. HAIR: A ARRON BAKER AT TONI & GUY AUSTRALIA . 1ST ASSISTANT: RYAN STAMATIADES. DIGITAL OPERATOR: RYAN JAMES KENNY.

F LI G HT FAC I LITI E S’ H U G O G R U Z M AN A N D J I M MY LYE LL , E LEC TR O N I C PR O D U C E R S

1 A lively duo with an innate ability to embrace life through live music and experiences, Hugo and Jimmy are one of Australia’s greatest global exports in the music world. Hits like ‘Crave You’ have brought them success. Their secret? To pursue their passion while still maintaining their own individuality. The best thing about your profession and lifestyle? The best things can also be considered the worst. We get to go to some amazing destinations on the other side of the world and play to a whole bunch of excited strangers, who have somehow discovered our music. What is the most important characteristic to fuelling creativity? Staying busy. It’s as simple as that. No matter where you go, it’s easy to be exposed to music, so sometimes these chance encounters with anew song, or a reminder of an old one, can be an inspiration to create something new. Why is having fun and enjoying yourself often seen as frivolous? Because people rarely make a living from having fun. So the assumption is that you’re wasting your time. John Lennon tackled that issue best: “Time you enjoyed wasting, isn’t wasted time”. You have to avoid being too held down by guilt, as we’ve found sometimes forcing the creativity can stunt it. Describe a visionary. They’re the trailblazers, the ones not content in following the crowd, and more willing to express themselves either in their actions, or speaking our about how they believe things should be. Who is a living visionary? Daft Punk. Every album they’ve released has predated the change in sound by four years or more. You could go as far back as their debut album Homework and see that some of the music then is just as relevant now as it was then.

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A self-taught tailor, Shamoun has apenchant for risk-taking and big dreams. He’s made a business from pulling apart the tailoring rulebook and recreating his own styles.

How much can family heritage andlegacy help in becoming avisionary? Heritage and legacy lay the foundation. It doesn’t necessarily correlate to a vision. Believing in yourself and rolling up your sleeves are the greatest assets – anyone can attain them. How important is taking risks? Crossing the road during peak hour traffic and crossing that same road during the quietest time of the day, are totally different risks. Even though you’re still crossing the road, it’s the process and thought that changes the dynamic. Being prepared, developing experience, sharpening your skillset, thinking things through are all rational processes that work to minimise risk, but your gut is the ultimate test. Never question your gut. What inspires creativity in someone, or is it innate? I believe it all starts in the home. Parents are the largest contributor to the murder of a child’s creative inhibitions. The word ‘no’ is thrown around without much thought ofitsconsequence. Ibelieve everyone iscreative, it’s onlythefear thatsuppresses aperson fromexpressing it. There’sa fine line between confidence anddelusion. What does awell-tailored suit say about a man? In today’s day and age, it says a lot. In atime where everything’s sofast and distraction is so prevalent, making the time to learnabout the craft and invest themoney, speaks volumes. Describe a visionary. A visionary sees the future nomatter how the present may seem. A visionary creates from inspiration, from feeling from the gut. A visionary stands alone, with an army as his shadow... fearless. Who is a living visionary? Fernando Botero. Ifirst saw his work when I was 14 and he changed my perspective on everything. Icontribute a lot ofmy creativity andout-of-theboxthinking to him.

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3 A simple but refined tastemaker and a man who sees things holistically, Terzini is a loving father and owner of some of Sydney’s most iconic dining spots. He’s also a creator ofaspirational clothing, his fashion label 10 Pieces showing as it did atPitti Uomo this year. If you had one bit of advice to impart on the next generation of designers, what would it be? Well, since I never really studied design, and it’s really just been bydefault and determination toachieve something outside of myfield of expertise, the advice Iwouldgive is if truly believe you canachieve, design, create don’t ever give up. What is your most important trait? Hard work, but probably more important than that these days is the ability to select the right team around me that can inspire me and remind me you never stop learning. How can you inspire through clothes and material values? I find beautifully designed clothes inspiring... they are you, you are them – you wear them, they become part of your personality... it’s the people that are inspiring. Describe a visionary. Someone that creates beauty thataffects others, or work that makes people sit up and take notice; someone with a voice, it canbe in any field from politics toart; someone that lives their lifetothefullest; someone who leavesalegacy. n For exclusive videos of each visionary, go to gq.com.au

FIND THE FREELANCER IN YOU With a slant to the arts and music, Raymond Weil is aSwiss luxury watch brand that embraces creativity more literally that most in its industry. And the ‘Freelancer Calibre RW1212’ is no exception – coming as it does in several versions. Our favourite, this black dial teamed with a 42.5mm steel case and bracelet. CEO, Elie Bernheim, says of the piece containing its first in-house movement: “It’s a tribute to the present and a symbol ofthe future. Its name picks up the digits of our address in Switzerland, 1212, standing for theGeneva suburb Grand-Lancy. It symbolises the path we’ve travelled to date and the free-spirited approach we bring to watchmaking.” Fitfor a visionary, one might say. $2950; RAYMOND-WEIL.COM

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Franco W O R D S JAKE M I LL AR P H OTO G R A P H Y MAT TH EW B ROO KES S T Y L I N G O LIVIA HAR DI NG

AFTER TWO DECADES AS AN ACTOR, AUTHOR, ARTIST, ACADEMIC, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER AND POET, THE 39-YEAR-OLD IS FINALLY READY TO WORK ON HIS BIGGEST PROJECT TO DATE. HIMSELF.

Green cashmere jumper, $1499, by Ralph Lauren Purple Label.

IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHICH JAMES FRANCO TO EXPECT, BUT IT’S FAIR TO SAY THIS IS NOT THE ONE WE HAD IN MIND. It’s just gone 4pm in Los Angeles and the 39-year-old is doing what he does these days, which is getting a smoothie. Something with cacao. Earlier today he was playing tennis and before that, he hit the gym. We’re here to talk work, but when we speak to him, Franco hasn’t acted in more than six months. “To somebody like Daniel Day-Lewis, that sounds like nothing,” he laughs. “But for me, that’s an eternity.” Weird. But weird is what Franco does. It’s his stock-in-trade. For the best part of two decades, he has built an image as one of Hollywood’s most baffling, complex figures. Few actors have redefined success, rebuffed stereotypes and frankly, made us wonder just what the fuck they’re up to, quite like Franco. He’s a chameleon. An artist in a movie star’s body. An intellectual or faux intellectual or maybe a genius. A guy who juggles teaching at two different universities with studying a PhD of his own. The straight guy who responded to gay rumours by trying to appear as gay as humanly possible. A walking, talking performance artwork. The heart-throb who would be worth his Hollywood pay cheque if all he did was turn up on set and deliver that trademark smile. Small wonder he was chosen as the face ofnew ‘Coach Man’ fragrance. But more than anything else, the thing most people know about Franco is that he’s tirelessly, relentlessly productive. Awhirlwind of creative energy, whose output is so extensive, it makes you feel exhausted just trying to keep track of it all – much less actually attempting any of it. Franco has some 17 projects scheduled for this year alone. These include a film adaptation of a novel that he also wrote himself, Actors Anonymous, which follows the highs and lows 1 84

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of young actors in Hollywood, and HBO TV series The Deuce, about the ’70s porn industry in New York, in which he plays two characters – a pair of twins. He also directs two of the eight episodes. “I felt like now was my chance to do all these weird projects I had been thinking about, so I might as well strike while the iron’s hot,” he says. “I was shooting The Deuce in New York. The sun’s shining, I’d just got off work and I was walking across town to go teach. And I remember thinking ‘Wow, my life is great. And it’s great because I’m working so much and I’m doing everything that I want to do’.” On our shoot, Franco is everything you’d want from a Hollywood star. Funny, engaging, charming. He’s also seriously ripped; his body showing barely even a hint of any fat. But in truth, this is our second attempt at this interview. The first one did not go according to plan – Franco and the interviewer did not exactly hit it off. “I was not trying to be difficult at all,” he explains. “There was just some weird energy going on. I really wanted to have a great interview and I was just trying to be really honest.” Shit happens. But it will later become clear why this is so important. Franco does not want this to be a typical interview. He’s not interested in talking about how he prepared for an upcoming role or what his co-stars were like to work with. He has a confession to make. Because in November last year, everything we thought we knew about James Franco changed. The guy we were so used to seeing with a million projects on the go, began to realise he couldn’t do it anymore. He’d had enough. “I really had a moment of crisis,” he says. “I hit a wall.” And this new Franco, that’s who we’re here to meet.

Light blue denim/shearling jacket, $3785, by Gucci; black cotton T-shirt, $360,by Giorgio Armani; bluedenim jeans, approx. $620, by Fabric-Brand & Co.

Cashmere/suede/ shearling jacket, approx. $9390, and cotton/ cashmere shirt, approx. $1620, both by Tom Ford at Harrolds; denim jeans, approx. $620, by Fabric-Brand & Co.

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ranco grew up in Palo Alto, a wellto-do city in San Francisco’s Bay Area. His mother, Betsy, is a novelist and sometimes actor, and his father, Douglas, ran a tech company that secured shipping containers, until he passed away in 2011. Franco has two younger brothers – 32-year-old Dave, who you probably know and 36-yearold Tom, who you probably don’t. Franco was a smart kid, good at maths, but he was awkward and unsure in his skin. “I got in a lot of trouble when I was a teenager, “ he says. “I didn’t know how to interact with people. I felt different. But partying was the answer. It made me feel OK, like Icould be among other people.” He had a few run-ins with the law early on. Minor things – underage drinking and graffiti, stealing from department stores – but enough to realise he had to straighten himself out. “I couldn’t hang out with my friends anymore because I’d always get in trouble with them,” he says. “So there I was – alone again, an outsider, not able to fit in the world. That’s when I started acting.” Franco had found his home. He started taking classes at the renowned Playhouse West acting school and supported himself with a late-night shift at McDonald’s, where he practised accents on customers. Helanded a PizzaHut commercial and a handful of small TV roles. Then in 1999 he got his first big break when Judd Apatow cast him in cult TV series Freaks and Geeks alongside Seth Rogen andJasonSegel. From there, he scored a role as James Dean in a TV biopic, and as Peter Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn, in Spider-Man. He played Robert De Niro’s junkie son in City by the Sea, and then came Spider-Man 2. Suddenly, his career was taking off. The offers kept pouring in: as Sean Penn’s boyfriend in Oscar-winner Milk and Allen Ginsberg in Howl; he was cast as Julia Roberts’ love interest in literary blockbuster Eat Pray Love and then delivered perhaps his most acclaimed performance to date, as hapless adventurer Aron Ralston in 127 Hours, for which he received an Oscar nomination. Hedidn’t win, but he didn’t care. He had to keep moving. Franco took on more work. He was holding art exhibitions of video work and teaching acting classes at UCLA and NYU. He enrolled in a PhD course to study English at Yale University. He wrote a book of short stories, a collection of poetry and that novel, Actors Anonymous. He was directing projects and producing others. He appeared as artist-cum-serial killer, Franco, in soap opera General Hospital, whose 20 episodes he filmed in just three days. He starred in The Interview, the film about the assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, which led to a minor international crisis and the notorious Sony email hack. He hosted the Oscars. He appeared as unhinged porn producer Joe in King Cobra, his latest gay role on screen. More movies. More side-projects, always more and more. And that’s how we ended up here, in 2017, with 17 projects in the can and a few more on the way. It is everything you might imagine a movie star’s career could be. Enough fame to have a name for yourself, but the freedom to pick and choose the jobs you want. Hollywood

has always been a tricky game, but Franco’s career seemed to prove that if you play your cards right you really can do it all and have it all. But Franco recently discovered another truth to Hollywood. Something they don’t tell you when you’re enjoying the parties and fancy hotel rooms. The carameltopped almond lattes, delivered just so. The private planes and premieres and all the other trimmings that come with being a movie star. Franco found that it might offer you a life of unimaginable fame and fortune, but Hollywood is not your friend. And it will eat you alive.

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ast year was a big year. Not just for Franco, but for many people. Onthe morning of November 8, the American public went to the polls, most expecting to end the night with Hillary Clinton delivering a victory speech. The story is old news now, but things did not go according to plan. You can’t help but feel that watching Trump win – especially after a campaign in which he’d railed against people like Franco, branding Hollywood atown of ‘elites’ and ‘snowflakes’ – must have hit hard. “I feel like it’s not a total coincidence that I hit my own personal wall at the time that I did – last November,” saysFranco. “I think a lot of people have been questioning their lives lately in the States and what they’re doing, howthey’re living.” And there’s no denying the way Franco was living was crazy, whichever way you look at it. The stories of his multitasking are the stuff of legend. Co-stars remarking how he would sit down to work on side-projects between takes. There’s a lot of downtime on set, so he’d pass the time reading Ulysses or working on a novel. That’s what Franco told interviewers, anyway. That’s what he told himself. “He’s making use of every single moment,” Why Him? director John Hamburg told Rolling Stone last year. “The other day he was in hair and make-up, typing on a laptop. Isaid, ‘What are you doing, writing a novel?’ He said, ‘Yep’. And he actually was!” Of course he was. He’s James Franco. But he began to realise that the more he worked, the more he felt there was something missing. That, while acting had made him feel safe all those years ago as a shy teen, the feelings of isolation had never really gone away. He’d just learnt to hide them. “It was a gradual thing,” he says, looking back. “I hadn’t been in a relationship in a long time and was, like, realising how much I was running from feelings and people. And how much of my identity was wrapped up in work. “I knew who I was on a movie set. But take me away from that and it’s like, oh shit, I have to interact with people outside of the dynamics of a movie set? That’s really scary. “But as soon as I took a step back and stopped working, it was like, holy shit. All the feelings flooded in and it was like this is what I was running from. This is what I was using work to hide from. This is why I had to occupy myself every minute of the day, 24 hours a day. Because I was running, running from emotions and being vulnerable and being around people. Being myself.” S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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Black cotton T-shirt, $360,by Giorgio Armani; blue denim jeans, approx. $620, byFabric-Brand & Co.

Franco says it freely now: he was a workaholic. But part of the reason he didn’t realise it sooner is that no one ever really thought it was a problem. All of the projects and side projects were just Franco being Franco. That’s just what he did – until he reached a point where he couldn’t keep it up any longer. “The thing about work addiction is our culture supports it,” he says. “We reward hard work and success. But it can really mask addictive, escapist behaviour. “I’ve never done heroin in my life, but I imagine if you get off heroin, people talk about facing reality, all these feelings coming back. Whether you know it or not, you want to bury them with the drug. And when you’re turning to things outside yourself to fill yourself, there’s never going to be enough. “I’m still just dealing with all of it, but with addiction, a lot of it comes down to ego. And in Hollywood that might even be more dangerous because the mirror that reflects your ego back is like 100 miles wide in Hollywood.” There’s also the fact that being busy was not just what Franco did – it was who he was. More than just a guy who did amillion different things, that was his persona. People expected him to live up to it. Itwas all part of the Franco mythology he’d gradually built up over the last 20 years. “Every interview I gave, people would tell me, ‘You’re known for doing all these things, are you a workaholic?’ And what I would hear was, ‘That means you work really hard. You work harder than anybody’. “But in fact, being a workaholic means you’re addicted to something. And what’s underneath addiction? It’s about hiding from fear, from pain, it’s doing something to make yourself feel better. That’s exactly what I was doing and Ihad to really adjust my relationship to work. It’s really hard. I’m sure, like anything you’re addicted to, letting that go is difficult because it’s a coping mechanism to make you feel good.” But there was another side to Franco’s persona. There was also the kooky guy who’d post weird Instagram selfies, or pen op-eds in the New York Times defending Shia LaBeouf’s creative prowess. There was James Franco, the actor, but there was also James Franco, the walking performance art project. And what about the gay rumours? The is-he, isn’the guessing game that Franco fuelled with his movie choices, an interview in which he said he was “gay up until the point of intercourse” and a book of poetry called Straight James / Gay James, released last year. “There was also a part of me that embraced that public persona who was just whacky and hard to pin down,” he admits. “So I had something to do with it. But that persona also rose around me – it wasn’t as if I could just do that all by myself. “What I told myself at the time was that this public persona is an entity that is me and that is not me. And Iwanted to have fun with it. But now that I’ve taken a step back, I’m only engaging with projects that I really care about. I’m not on social media, I’m not doing things just to try them. You won’t find me hosting the Oscars on a whim.” You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Franco turns 40 next year. It’s a moment that made him realise that two decades in the movie industry is a long time; he’d be lucky to have two more. “I’m at that point where I realise how valuable time is,” he says. “I think that I’ll be happier if I spend it doing things that I really love instead of spreading myself so thinly, doing 190

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a lot of things that I kind of care about, but not with my whole heart. “What I’m really conscious of is that I realise what a great life I have, so I’m truly trying to be grateful. Forty is a big milestone, but I feel like I went through my own version of amidlife crisis – so I don’t think I’ll hit another one at 40.” Franco’s last serious relationship was with Ahna O’Reilley, best know for her role in The Help. They split in 2011, after five years together. “She broke up with me,” he told Rolling Stone last year. “There were lots of reasons. But one was that I was so busy.” That was six years ago. Is he looking to settle down? “I’ll say this,” he says, choosing his words carefully for the first time. “I was a person that was incapable of settling down with anyone because I was so self-consumed before. Iwas incapable of sharing my heart with anyone. I was so scared to be vulnerable that I made myself busy every minute of the day, so I had an excuse. But I didn’t realise until it started to hurt enough.”

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here’s a podcast Franco has been listening to recently. It’s about stars from the golden age of Hollywood, the good old days. But it made Franco see that many of their stories have a common thread beyond the fame and money and glamour. “All my heroes, from Elizabeth Taylor to Montgomery Clift to Humphrey Bogart – there is just so much wreckage in their lives,” says Franco. “They were looking for romance to save them or for work to save them, and as their careers faded – as everyone’s inevitably does – they just became wrecks. Alcoholics, drug addicts. Story after story. “It made me realise I need to find some other way to feel OK with myself outside of my work. I still love my work, but it can’t be this thing I turn to for happiness. When I made my happiness contingent on how I was doing professionally, inevitably there are ebbs and flows in every career and when things weren’t going well, I felt like shit. “Then I have to act out in other ways to make myself feel better. And when you’re turning to things outside yourself to fill yourself, there’s never going to be enough – you’ve got to do more and more things to escape.” Franco has teamed up with brother Dave to form their own production company, Ramona Films. Their first feature, The Disaster Artist, is about the making of The Room, widely recognised as the best worst movie of all time. It’s due out later this year. They are also developing a film called Zola, the true story of a stripper who was lured into a sex-trafficking ring and ends up live-tweeting from captivity. Granted, this might sound like a project tailor-made for the whacky Franco of old, but he’s quick to point out he’s changed his perspective. “I have a whole new approach. I have slowed down,” he says. “I thought that I was making my work better by overworking, but after a while you realise there’s no more oil in the car. You’re running on fumes, and you will burn out if you keep going at this pace. In 2013, Franco agreed to appear in Comedy Central’s Roast of James Franco, as the likes of Seth Rogen... Continued p256

Cashmere jumper, $1499, by Ralph Lauren Purple Label.

“LIKE ANYTHING YOU’RE ADDICTED TO, LETTING THAT GO IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE IT’S A COPING MECHANISM TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD.”

Black cotton T-shirt, $360, byGiorgio Armani; ‘Coach Man’ fragrance ($85; 60ml) worn throughout. coachfor menthefragrance.com Grooming Diana Schmidtke atSomething Artists The GQ Australia team flew toLA with Qantas; qantas.com

THIS IS NOT W O R D S JAKE M I LL AR

FAKE NEWS WHY WE BELIEVE THINGS THAT AREN’T TRUE

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COMET PING PONG IS ASMALL, FAMILYFRIENDLY PIZZERIA IN WASHINGTON DC. LOCALS KNOW IT SIMPLY AS COMET, THOUGH ITS FULL NAME REFERS TO THE FACT IT OFFERS BOTH CLASSIC, THIN-CRUST PIZZAS AND A BACKROOM CONTAINING COMMUNAL PING-PONG TABLES. Founded in 2006 by chef James Alefantis, it quickly became something of a local institution, appearing in the pages of the Washington Post, New York magazine and US GQ. It was also featured in a 2013 episode of popular Food Network show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives whose peroxide-tipped host, Guy Fieri, singled out its calzones for special praise. If ever there was a time when the self-described “hipster-heavy pizza parlour” had an opportunity to gain international attention, it would be natural to assume it had come and gone with Fieri’s visit. But that would be wrong. Because on December 4, last year, 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch entered the pizzeria with three guns, including an AR-15 assault rifle – a semi-automatic version of the weapon used by the US military – and opened fire. “Ijust wanted to do some good,” Welch told the New York Times following his arrest, “and went about it the wrong way”. That a pizzeria would become the target of a shooting is unlikely

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enough – though perhaps less so in the US, where there were at least 150 mass shootings in the first half of this year. But the reasoning behind Welch’s attack – that he was trying to stop “something nefarious” happening inside the restaurant – makes it all the more extraordinary. Stanger still, Welch was hardly alone in his belief. On October 30, 2016, a Twitter account belonging to someone calling themselves David Goldberg, mentioned “rumours stirring in the NYPD” about apaedophile ring in Washington DC. The tip-off, Goldberg suggested, had been uncovered during a search of disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner’s computer and allegedly revealed that not only were high-ranking Democrats involved, but that Hillary Clinton was at the centreof it. Users on Twitter and Reddit soon turned their attention to the Wikileaks dump of some 20,000 pages of emails, taken from the personal Gmail account of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta. They began combing them for clues of the alleged crimes, arriving at the conclusion Podesta and his brother were responsible for abducting missing British toddler Madeleine McCann. They also theorised that some of the emails had been written in code, and that certain foodrelated terms were in fact veiled references to an underground child-sex operation. ‘Cheese pizza’, a user on internet forum 4Chan suggested, was actually code for ‘child pornography’, since the words shared the same initials. Soon, amateur detectives were scouring the DC area for a corresponding venue where Democrat leaders were supposedly detaining and sexually abusing young children, even sacrificing some in the name of Satan.

Focus was then put on an FBI document, also published by Wikileaks, which listed clandestine symbols that paedophiles often use to identify their sexual preferences. The term ‘child lover’, for instance, was represented by a butterfly whose wings approximated love hearts. The would-be sleuths compared this with logos of local businesses, noticing that it bore a semblance to one on the menu for a local pizzeria – a pair of criss-crossed Ping Pong bats on the website for Comet Ping Pong. The so-called ‘Pizzagate’ rumour began to gather pace. It was referenced in a tweet by Michael Flynn Jnr, the son of the Trump administration’s shortlived national security advisor and himself part of Trump’s transition team. It was also promoted on sites including InfoWars – best known for claiming the September 11 attacks were an “inside job” and that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School gun massacre, in which 20 young children and six adults were murdered, was “completely fake”. Last November, Australian NBA player Andrew Bogut tweeted to his 300,000-plus followers that “if only 1 per cent of this #pizzagate scandal is true, all people involved deserve life in prison (or worse)”. The following month, a poll of over 1200 voters found 14 per cent of Trump supporters believed Clinton was connected to a child sex ring run from the pizzeria, while a further 32 per cent said they were “not sure”. One person who was in no doubt was Welch, who is now serving a four-year prison sentence. It wasn’t until March this year that InfoWars founder Alex Jones finally admitted he had been wrong about the whole thing. “Neither Mr Alefantis, nor his restaurant Comet Ping Pong, were involved in any human trafficking,” he announced in astatement on March 24. “I want

our viewers and listeners to know that we regret any negative impact our commentaries may have had.” It’s one of just two retractions listed on the InfoWars website. The other relates to an accusation that yoghurt brand, Chobani, was employing “migrant rapists” who deliberately spread tuberculosis throughout the company’s manufacturing base of Twin Falls, Idaho. This turned out to be incorrect. Conspiracy theories have been around for decades. From the assassination of President John F Kennedy, to those who doubt the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing ever took place, there have long been people who question the accepted version of events. Today, these range from relatively fringe ideas like ‘Pizzagate’ or rumours about Hillary Clinton’s health during last year’s presidential campaign, to those who query the veracity of climate change science, or the effectiveness of medical vaccines. Donald Trump, for instance, has said vaccines cause autism and once tweeted that “Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax”. Within three days of ‘David Goldberg’ tweeting about the ‘Pizzagate’ scandal, it had caught the attention of a website called Your News Wire, which regularly publishes conspiracy theories relating to climate change, aliens and the murder of Princess Diana at the hands of the Britishgovernment. Other fringe outlets then began to embellish the story, adding details that police had raided and seized Hillary Clinton’s property. A right-wing website called True Pundit reported that police had discovered evidence in the Clinton camp of everything from money laundering to sex crimes. This story was then tweeted by the David Goldberg account as confirmation of the original

tweet. And while all of these reports were based off information in a single tweet, casual observers may have assumed it had an air ofcredibility. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky is an Australian psychologist now based at the UK’s University of Bristol. He’s spent years researching misinformation and conspiracy theories, and says there’s little doubt the internet has helped them spread quickly. “Things can go viral in no time at all,” he says. “One tragic example was the Sandy Hook massacre in the US – within a day or two, these conspiracy theories popped up, suggesting it was staged and all these children are still alive. Without the internet, Icould not think of a way in which that kind of bizarre conspiracy theory could have spread veryfar.” In June, Florida woman Lucy Richards was charged with sending threats to Leonard Pozner, the father of a six-yearold boy killed in the Sandy Hook attack. Richards, who believed the event was a hoax designed to build support for gun regulations, admitted sending Pozner a series of death threats over email and voicemail. “This is reality,” the judge said during sentencing. “There are no alternative facts.” Richards was sentenced to five months in jail. Certain people, especially those disillusioned with their own lives, are often more prone to accepting conspiracy theories than others. For them, conspiracy theories can provide a sense of security; areason why their lives have not turned out how they would have liked. “It’s more comforting to believe people are conspiring against you than it is to just be randomly left out of life. People don’t like randomness,” says Prof Lewandowsky, adding that those who believe one conspiracy theory tend to have a “broad propensity” to accept an

FROM TOP: PRESIDENT OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN, FOLLOWING THE SANDY HOOK MASSACRE; THE ENTRANCE TO COMETPING PONG; INFOWARS HOST, ALEX JONES.

alternative explanation of the world, which makes them more likely to embrace others. “What the internet does is provide pretty much anyone with the illusion that there is a lot of support for their own opinion,” he says. “And one of the things that is concerning about that is we know a person’s opinion becomes more strongly established and harder to change, the more that person thinks their opinion is widely shared.” Some claim that social media has exacerbated this issue, since

some outlets’ algorithms tailor content to a user’s previous browsing habits. This can create so-called ‘filter bubbles’, where the users develop a kind of tunnel vision for content that reinforces their worldview, attheexpense of anything that doesnot. “On the one hand, this is extremely helpful,” says Prof Lewandowsky of algorithms that modify everything from your social media feed to online shopping habits. “But on the other hand, they emphasise this idea that each one of us is living in

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FROM TOP: DONALD TRUMP AND WIFE, MELANIA ON HISINAUGURATION DAY; FACEBOOK’S MARK ZUCKERBERG; A CAMEL CIGARETTE ADVERTISEMENT FROM1950.

this little bubble that’s isolated from other people. And if you take that to its extreme, what youget is this intense polarisation that we’re observing now. It’s not at all without negativeconsequences.” Facebook deploys an algorithm to curate the content users see in their News Feed, based on as many as 100,000 factors. These include whether companies have paid for certain content to be promoted, or how a user interacts with similar posts – whether you ‘liked’ or commented on similar topics.

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The internet not only makes it easier to find those who share your beliefs, it also allows you toignore those who don’t. A study released by the US Pew Research Center last October showed that while half of Facebook and Twitter users had been surprised by one of their connections’ political views, 83 per cent ignored these posts, while 39 per cent had changed their settings to hide these differing political views. Facebook has repeatedly denied claims that the company’s algorithms create ‘filter bubbles’ that restrict exposure to a diversity of opinions. “We’re working to help people build an informed community that exposes people to new ideas and builds common understanding ina world where every person has avoice,” a Facebook representative told us. “Core to this vision is the importance of ensuring people have access to accurate information so they can make decisions about the world around them. False news and hoaxes are harmful to our community and make the world less informed. Everyone has a responsibility to curb the spread of false news from tech and media companies to newsrooms and classrooms.” It would be easy to assume that identifying misinformation would help change people’s minds, or, atleast, cast doubt on reports that have been shown to be false. Except that, often, it doesn’t. In fact, pointing out falsehoods can actually have the opposite effect; it can make people hold onto their mistaken beliefs even more fervently. In 1989, Donald Trump was a real estate developer in New York, when he took out full-page advertisements in all four of the city’s major newspapers. The subject of the ads was not a new apartment complex or golf course,

rather, it regarded a crime that had gripped the city for weeks. That April, a young woman had been attacked and raped while jogging in Central Park and five juveniles, all aged 14-16, were convicted of the crime. Trump’s ads called for New York to reinstate the death penalty. But in 2001, the so-called Central Park Five were exonerated after new DNA evidence came to light. In 2014 they eventually received a $53m settlement. In response, Trump wrote an editorial for the New York Daily News in which he claimed they were still guilty and pointed out they “do not exactly have the pasts of angels”. It’s a view Trump has repeated as recently as last year, while running for President. “They admitted they were guilty,” he told CNN in astatement. “The fact the case was settled with so much evidence against them isoutrageous.” Research indicates this propensity to reject conflicting evidence is not unique to the leader of the free world. “If you tell people something – even if it is later on corrected – they tend to stick to the original information,” explains Prof Lewandowsky. “For the most part, people don’t update their memory. That is something we’ve found over and over again.” In 1988 two researchers from the Scottish University of Dundee published a study in which participants were shown a series of news reports about a fictitious fire. One of these stated that flammable paint and gas canisters had been stored in the room where the blaze started. The researchers then issued acorrection: there were no paint or gas cylinders in the room. But when participants were later asked questions about the cause of the fire, many still raised the possibility that the paint or gas canisters were to blame. In fact, they were just as likely to refer to them as potential causes

of the fire, as those who hadn’t been issued the correction at all. Statistically speaking, the correction made no difference. Notably, even after Welch had been arrested for his Comet Ping Pong attack, he refused to accept that the story of the paedophile ring was entirely false. “The intel on this wasn’t 100 per cent,” he eventually conceded to the New York Times. “I regret how Ihandled the situation.” But in some cases, attempting to correct information is not simply ineffective – it can have an adverse impact. Some of Prof Lewandowsky’s earliest research began around the time of the 2003 Iraq War and initial claims by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein was harbouring weapons of mass destruction. His studies revealed that on certain issues – particularly topics that had become politicised – attempts to correct misinformation could lead to a ‘backfire effect’, where a correction makes someone believe in misinformation more, not less. “People who came to the lab believing that there were weapons of mass destruction, actually believed it even more strongly afterwards,” he says of his attempts to set the recordstraight. People’s political outlook plays such a role in how they perceive certain issues that Prof Lewandowsky says it’s possible to predict a person’s views on climate change based not on their ideas around the environment, but on the free market. Put simply, the less someone believes in government intervention and regulation, the more likely they are to reject scientific evidence about climate change, since it doesn’t fit with their broader worldview. They are predisposed to believing it’s a hoax. Present data shows that around 97 per cent of publishing climate

scientists agree that humans are responsible for global warming. Yet according to a report from the Yale Program for Climate Change, released in July, more than 90 per cent of Americans are unaware there is a scientific consensus on climate change. At least part of the reason for this is the way the media frames the issue as a debate – as though the scientific community is evenly divided on the issue. “The media often thinks their job is to be balanced,” says Prof Lewandowsky. “Sometimes that is totally appropriate – when it comes to both sides of a political issue – but when it comes to things that are evidence based and that are scientific, balance is more of a bias because it can create the appearance of debate where thereis none.” And when it comes to science, doubt can be dangerous. “Even when people know that there is a scientific consensus, if you can present them with acontrary view, it will lower their confidence in the science,” he says. “The moment you have the appearance of the scientific debate in public, people lose their commitment to the science. If you’re not a scientist and you don’t read the literature, it’s very easy to get a sense of a debate where there isnone.” Certain groups are well aware of this. During the ’50s and ’60s, tobacco companies undertook a deliberate campaign of misinformation aimed at casting doubt on the link between smoking and lung cancer. Though a scientific consensus was found between smoking and lung cancer in the early ’50s, tobacco company Philip Morris issued public statements throughout the ’60s declaring there was “no definitive proof that smoking causes lung cancer,” that “knowledge is insufficient” or that the smoking-cancer link is an “open question”.

ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT MISINFORMATION CAN LEAD TOA‘BACKFIRE EFFECT’, WHERE PEOPLE BELIEVE IT MORE NOT LESS. MORE, LESS In 1999, the US Department of Justice brought a landmark legal case against the company, alleging fraud and unlawful conduct. It resulted, seven years later, in asuccessful 1683-page judgement that detailed “a massive 50-year scheme to defraud the public” by casting doubt on the scientific consensus of the link between smoking and cancer. One piece of evidence often used to cast doubt on the scientific consensus on climate change is the Oregon Petition. Launched by US biochemist and politician Arthur B Robinson – who believes climate change is a hoax – it began circulating in 1998. The petition claims to bear the signatures of 31,000 scientists who reject the idea that humans are responsible for global warming. However, the petition is not limited to climate scientists and is instead open to anyone with a Bachelor of Science degree or higher. It has also been criticised as poorly vetted, since one of the signatories was Charles Darwin, who had been dead for over 100 years at the time of the petition’s publication. A member of ’90s girl group the Spice Girls also features twice on the list – once as amicrobiologist. On June 23, the New York Times published a list of false public statements made by President Trump in the days since his January 20 inauguration. Alongside each of them were

clarifications, fact-checking Trump’s declarations: “‘I wasn’t a fan of Iraq. I didn’t want to go into Iraq.’ (He was for aninvasion before he was against it),” and soon. The article shows Trump did not go a day without making a public false statement until March 1 – 41 days into hispresidency. “On the one hand, it’s terrific – Donald Trump’s twitter feed isasource of inspiration for me as a researcher,” says Prof Lewandowsky. “But, of course, it’s tragic because what we have now is a public discourse that is not constrained by anything. Donald Trump accuses others of spreading fake news, when inactual fact, it’sDonald Trump who is not telling the truth a lot ofthe time.” Fact-checking website Politifact has assessed that just 17 per cent of what Trump says is ‘true’ or ‘mostly true’ – compared with 49 per cent for Barack Obama. Still, Trump’s previously accused American news channels CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, as well as the New York Times and the Washington Post, of being what hecalls ‘fake news’. One person tasked with addressing misinformation is reporter Linda Qiu. Having previously worked at Politifact, she is now a dedicated fact-checker for the New York Times and is one of those leading the fight against fakenews. Continued on p256.

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As the new AW17 collection arrives in stores, we go behind the scenes to find out

WORDS JAKE M I LL AR P H OTO G R A P H Y C H R I S VI DAL TE NOMA A STYLING TR EVOR STON ES

Knit jumper, $810, andknitbeanie, $650, both by Fendi.

what makes Fendi one of this season’s coolest brands.

TH I S PAG E

Wool top, $1000, and wool pants, $780, both by Fendi. R I G HT

Wool top, $1010, and denim jeans, $750, bothby Fendi. 202 G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

P

eople often have a certain idea of those who work inthe fashion industry. Designers, especially. They can seem coldand unapproachable, insecure and short-tempered, and they tend to dress as though life were one long funeral procession. Of all the fashion insiders who should fit this mould, Silvia Venturini Fendi is perhaps the most likely. She has known Karl Lagerfeld since she was a child and her very name is a byword for high fashion. Which is why it’s surprising to find that Fendi is the least fashion-y fashion person we’ve ever encountered. She’s not even dressed in black. We meet at Sydney’s Park Hyatt, whose combination of privacy and harbourside views has made it a favourite of visiting celebs. We join Fendi in a secluded meeting room, where she is seated with her assistant. But as fancy as the hotel is – and it’s fancy – Fendi is determined to leave it. This is her first visit to Australia and Fendi is hoping to expand on the series of landmarks that comes with trips like this. Namely: airport, hotel, Fendi boutique, hotel, airport. It’s also a warm, sunny afternoon and Fendi has been joined by her adult son, Giulio – founder of custom surfboard company, Pool House Project. “He’s obsessed with surfing,” says Fendi. “So I was at the beach all morning.” Weather aside, our interview takes place during an interesting climate. Not just for Fendi or for fashion, but for the world. Fendi’s AW17 menswear collection made its way down the runway on January16; four days before Donald Trump stood before the “largest audience ever to witness aninauguration, period” and became the 45thPOTUS. Itwould be easy to imagine a sombre collection that reflected an uncertain future. But Fendi didn’t take the bait. “I have nochoice but to be optimistic,” she said before the show. “I have children and grandchildren.” Instead, Fendi delivered sporty silhouettes, bright Pop Art-y colours and upbeat slogans. There was a zipper with atag that read “BLISS”; ajumper printed with “LOVE”; ajacket emblazoned with “HOPE”; and, of course, the magic word that made it all possible: “FENDI”. Critics wereclearly feeling the good vibes, too. Vogue called the collection “one of the deftest, most sympathetic and positivecollections of this season”. “It’s a moment where we all need good energy,” says Fendi. “It was an important year, full of question marks. Iwanted to approach the logo in a different way – as a word that has meaning. So Ithought ofothers that are important to me, that have a good vibe and send apositive message. “Today, we are so used to playing with words because we write morethan we talk,” she adds. “We’ve seen this in many collections – aT-shirt becomes a manifesto – and Ilike to talk about important

subjects, but in a light way. Atthe end of the day, we are not sociologists; we are not here to change the world.”

F

endi was founded in Rome in 1925, by Adele and Edoardo Fendi. They had five daughters – Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda – who would all come to work forthe label. In1965, they were joined by Karl Lagerfeld, the label’s current creative director. Three decades later, Anna’s daughter, Silvia Venturini, took the reins of the women’s accessories line and the men’s collections. In 2001, Fendi became part of the LVMH family, whose stable of fashion brands includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy and Loewe. The brand continues to grow and in the most recent annual report, LVMH singled it out as a high achiever. In 2015, the company’s annual revenue surpassed €1bn – that’s around $1.5bn a year. Italian Pietro Beccari has been Fendi’s CEO since 2012, joining after a six-year stint at Louis Vuitton. Wemeet him just before the opening of Fendi’s new Westfield store in Sydney’s CBD. “Australia is developing strongly,” he tells GQ. “This is a great market to be in, it’s an enthusiastic one. From being at Louis Vuitton, I knew the potential of the country and the appreciation it has for beautiful products.” The store stocks men’s and women’s collections, as well as bags, accessories and footwear – a decision Beccari says is no accident. “It’s important that our stores get bigger and bigger to be able to host different categories, like ready-to-wear,” he says. “We like to present the entire lifestyle and Fendi is mature enough to do that now.” Menswear currently sits at around 20 per cent of the brand’s total turnover – a number Beccari wants to see hit 30 per cent in the next three years. Proof of Australasia’s importance, the brand recently announced a menswear collaboration with K-Pop star Taeyang, a member of hugely popular South Korean boy band Big Bang. Doesn’tring a bell? The group has sold 140 million albums, worldwide, and Taeyang has 7.5 million followers on Instagram. Thecapsule collection of jackets, T-shirts, accessories and sneakers will be available in October. One of Beccari’s pet projects has been to phase out the more affordable, somewhat cliché, ‘ ’ monogram print bags, and refocus on the brand’s luxury roots. “Maybe one day you will see it back,” he says. “In the runway show you’d have seen the logo coming back, in asophisticated way.” Indeed, the women’s AW17 show featured areimagined version of the brand’s iconic monogram-print bag, rendered not in canvas but withintricate embroidery. Silvia Venturini Fendiis carrying one today. “For some, a logo is just alogo. But for me, it’s like acontract you make – it’s a quality mark. And I’m proud of this,” she says, displaying the bag at her side, “it’s a way of making [the logo] anti-commercial S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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TH I S PAG E

Wool jumper, $1010, andknit pants, $990, bothby Fendi. R I G HT

Shearling coat, $9990, knit jumper, $810, and wool pants, $960, all by Fendi. Grooming Roberto Pagnini at AirportAgency Talent Roberts Semjonovs at BROModels Casting Director Svea Greichgauer at AM Casting Paris

because it’sa bag that costs a fortune, but when you touch it, it’s sonice!” Fendi’s not kidding. The bag retails for a touch more than $9000, but this self-awareness isrefreshing for a luxury designer. And more than simply acknowledging her clothes aren’t cheap, Fendi is determined to give customers value for money. Most of the items in her AW17 menswear collection were reversible. “I like everything to have a function,” she explains. “So there are many detachable parts and you can modify it according to the moment. The inside is sometimes more important than the outside. When I do a bag, Ispend days thinking about the things you can put inside, to see if it fits all the necessary things in it. Withgarments, it’s the same. Ipay attention tohidden pockets and durability – those kinds of things.” In addition to designing menswear, Fendi also oversees women’s accessories and some of her best-known creations – the ‘Baguette’ and ‘Peekaboo’, to name two – have achieved undeniable ‘it-bag’ status. It is in this role that she also works alongside Lagerfeld. “I was five years old when I first met him,” she says. “Ofcourse, there’s a professional aspect, but there’s also afriendship there. What Iam today is thanks to him. Wespend a lot of time together because we work on the collection, but we have different lives – totally different.” Lagerfeld has spoken of being drawn to little else but fashion and sketching. And while it might be natural to assume Fendi shares this single-mindedness, she admits tohaving considered a life outside of fashion. Regularly. “Ithink about it every day,” she says. “When Itravel, I look at houses and imagine what would have happened if I’d been born in this house, on the other side ofthe world. Who would Ibe? What would I do? Because Iwas born into this, so I think: ‘DidIchoose this or did it choose me?’” It might be a bit of both. But if Fendi did have her time over, she’s thought about what career path she might have chosen. Some alternative occupations she has considered include: a doctor, a chef, a psychiatrist, afarmer and an author. “Last night I thought I would like 20 4 G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

to write a book,” she recalls. “I had jetlag so I was awake at 4am and astory came to mind. I would like to try one day.” And why not? These days, designers have become celebrities in their own right. Besides designing collections for Chanel, Fendi and his own label, Lagerfeld is also an accomplished photographer and author. Even his pet cat, Choupette, has abook, a plush toy range and make-up capsule collection by cosmetics giant ShuUemura. Not even joking. Suffice to say this is not what Fendi wishes for herself. It’s probably no surprise that this, doing interviews, is Fendi’s least favourite part of her job. She wishes she could have followed the lead of Belgian designer Martin Margiela, a designer so obsessed with anonymity that – despite operating at the peak ofthe fashion world for years – there are scarcely any known photographs of the man. “If Icould, I would like to behave likehim, just to be backstage, behind the scenes,” she says. “Ithink he was so clever.” Yet here we are. As reluctant interview subjects go, Fendi is remarkably friendly, if reserved – at least until talk turns to banal questions journalists ask her. Turns out there are quite a few. “‘Where do you find inspiration?’” poses Fendi, her face alook ofmock-horror. “Igocrazy when I hear this question. If there were aplace where I go for inspiration, do youthink I would tell you?” Fair point. But Fendi’s not finished. “‘Who is the Fendi man?’” shecontinues. “I don’t know. Everyone and nobody.” We begin to scan our questions for any serial offenders. “‘What’s luxury to you?’” shesighs. “My god. What’s luxury? Nothing!” A piece from Fendi’s autumn/winter collection will come in handy in situations such as this. It can be sent out to aspiring fashion journalists prior to an interview. Or maybe it could be handed to certain world leaders before they decide to log on to Twitter, first thing in the morning. It is an unassuming grey headband that offers advice we could all use every now and again – and now more than ever. Itsays simply: “THINK”. n

ANTHON

RAISED IN BRISBANE WITH LITTLE OTHER THAN AN ABILITY TO DRAW, THE LAST DECADE HAS SEEN THE 37-YEAR-OLD SCRATCH OUT ACCLAIM AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING STREET ARTISTS – HIS WORKS NOW HANG ON THE WALLS OF HUGH JACKMAN, PINK AND GEOFFREY RUSH, AMONG OTHERS. AHEAD OF A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW SYDNEY SHOW AND A MIFFHEADLINING DOCUMENTARY DETAILING THE MEANDERINGS OFHIS LIFE, WE FIGURED IT TIME FOR A SIT-DOWN. W O R D S R IC HAR D C LU N E

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JUNE 30, 2017. THE FOLLOWING IS FROM ACONVERSATION WITH ANTHONY LISTER OVER A FEW BEERS IN HIS STUDIO AND HOME IN SYDNEY’S DARLINGHURST. HE’D JUST RETURNED FROM SHOWING IN LISBON WITH TIME SPENT PAINTING THE STREETS OF BARCELONA. HIS YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, POPPY, PLAYS ABOUT IN THE OPEN, WHITE-WASHED SPACE. LISTER IS GENTLE IN MANNER AND SPEECH. HE IS ENGAGED AND ARTICULATE. THESE ARE HIS WORDS.

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“It still doesn’t calculate for me, all of this. I’ve come in on this strange wild card from Brisbane, my parents are working class and had nothing to do with art. My grandma was a painter but never sold onein her life – I picked up the trade from her, Iguess. She did landscapes, mainly, but I’ve got this one of hers that she did of Will Smith – she cut him out of the newspaper at 84 and painted him. I was I like, ‘do you know who that is – that’s the Fresh Prince’. And she looked at me and was like, ‘that’s a very attractive young man’ and she gave it to me for my birthday – it’s one ofmy favourites. I never knew what painting entailed – I just knew that I liked it and I pursued it. I was always fed scrap paper and would just draw and play with jigsaws or build Gameboy consoles out of wood and imagine the actual games – that’s how hard up we were. And I was bored, and a way to relieve my boredom was to create. At 10 I was crushing boxes at the local chemist and I did all the shit jobs, I went through the butchers and packing shelves and delivering B E LOW: TH I S P I EC E R E F E R E N C E S THAT TR AG I C DAY LU N A PA R K B U R N E D TO TH E G R O U N D A N D I S A PA R T O F A N O N G O I N G S E R I E S O F WO R K W H I C H I S BAS E D O N ‘TH E H O R N E D M AN O F LU N A PA R K’.

pizzas – all the shit stuff with no customer service. I just knew I didn’t want to do that forever and blindly pursued what my heart wasset on.”

“Lister is the street artist but there are many other aliases I operate under because I have multiple creative personality disorder – it’s ablessing and a curse, but doing this thing for solong, I see opportunities that I personally can’t take that one of my aliases can… it enables me tocommunicate in many different dialects to different styles of painters – from full-blown graffiti artists to fine art and Kandinsky and Ican talk de Kooning for days. But it’s not my whole life, it’s my way to exist on every platform, on the movements that have gone on or are current – it’s how I’ve immersed myself in, well, Ihate to call it an industry because it cheapens it, I’d call it a lifestyle.”

“I don’t associate myself that much with my work and I don’t associate my work with being anything outside of ordinary or special – it’s not like I’m fixing kids’ eyes in a third world country, that’s worth clapping for. I’ve been shocked for many years getting the attention I get in other countries doing what I do, because so much of it is positive and really affirmative – especially having been raised in Brisbane and being this freak anomaly and the community not comprehending what I was doing. In some cities I’m meeting celebrities and going to fancy parties and then in a different city I’m chased by the police and put in jail for doing the same thing. It’s abstract, I guess you have to be like a tree – this flexible entity that’s ready for anything.”

“I heard someone say recently that people don’t change, they just get better at being themselves, so maybe I’m just getting better at doing that and what I’m doing technically, conceptually and philosophically – I’m interested in questions and I’m interested in other people and their answers to things. I’ve always tried to maintain that I’m only asgood as my last production and only as good asmy last decision. It gives me hope to do better and I’m never interested in making shows that aren’t as good as my last – I put a lot of

pressure on myself to do that but I don’t find it a struggle as much as I find it exciting and a challenge and I enjoy that.”

“The Sydney show is more text based and I want to have a wolf raping a girl, I want these guys carrying a dolphin up to a club but he’s got no ID, Iwant a tired stripper, there’s going to be a guy and girlfriend trying to put a condom on and it’s flaccid ’cause that’s a slippery, difficult job and there’s a guy in a wheelchair who’s going to have all these women trying to have sex with his chair covered in all these dildos. I want it to be Australian and I want neon text and I want there to be plants and an Adidas-tracksuit mum with a pram – things I see out during the day. I want it to be beautiful but also somewhat disturbing – maybe that’s in the technique I’m painting in or the subject matter that I choose. I don’t want to be provocative – these are the paintings I want to hang on my walls, that’s when I’m satisfied. I’m attracted to the works of Adam Cullen and the Chapman bothers and Goya to an extent – I’m not so much into the grotesque as I am into the bizarre or the absurd or the sexually taboo – they are interesting fields and I like the idea of being naughty and myself having to explain that and then that taking me into aconversation that wouldn’t normally happen. And that then has people talking about things and thinking about things they don’t really do.”

“I was into speed and coke and I was just fucking going crazy, it was nasty. But it’s all good now. I’ve recorded heaps of my life – when the camera’s there I’d shoot and always have been a documenter, I guess. And in this film my wife leaves me and I go through this hellish divorce, I go to rehab in Bali and get done for drugs and graffiti – the last 10-15 years have been crazy. The film’s honest and I don’t try and hide anything – and I can’t wait to see people’s reactions to it.”

“I’m interested in spreading my seed and pollinating the world though all these different disciplines with my stylistic approach. Creativity is in every shape and form a way of venting energy. It’s magical and I can’t ever think of my practice as a means to survive. If an object is eventually sold or put in auction – I can’t think like that as these paintings are not an object, they’re a story. I love them.” n Lister’s new show runs September 13-29 at Nanda\Hobbs Contemporary, Sydney; Meet The Listers is expected in cinemas early 2018; anthonylister.com S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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S PE LLI N G TH E WO R D B E AUT Y I N CO R R EC TLY I N TH E BAC KG R O U N D WAS AT F I R ST U N I NTE NTI O N A L A N D TH E N B ECA M E TH E C R UX O F W HAT TH E WO R K WAS A B O UT.

ANXI E T Y PL AG U E S SO M ANY PEO PLE FO R SO M A NY MYSTE R I O U S A N D D I F F E R E NT R E ASO N S .

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BY B O R R OW I N G TH E B U LL’S H E AD F R O M P I CASSO’S ‘G U E R N I CA’ AN D J UX TA P OS I N G IT W ITH A F LO R A L PAT TE R N I N TH E BAC KG R O U N D O F, I A M D R AW I N G AT TE NTI O N TO H OW G R E AT WO R KS O F AR T A R E B E I N G U S E D BY B I G CO M PAN I E S TH E S E DAYS A N D PR I NTE D I N E V E RY TH I N G F R O M TE A TOW E LS TO WA LLPAPE R .

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TH I S PAG E

Willow wears wool jacket, $3800, cotton shirt, $940, wool pants, POA, silk tie, $260, and leather boots, $1950, all by Dior Homme. R I G HT (F R O M LE F T)

Maxime wears wool jacket, POA, wool/polyester sleeveless jumper, $820, cotton shirt, $890, POA, silk tie, $260, wool pants, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme. Willow wears corduroy jacket, POA, wool/ polyester sleeveless jumper, $820, cotton shirt, POA, silk tie, $260, corduroy pants, POA, leather gloves, $1600, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme. Aliou wears wool jacket, $2600, cotton shirt, POA, silk tie, $260, wool pants, POA, metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme.

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STREET LEVEL KNOWN FOR IMPECCAB LE TAILOR ING, DIOR HOMME TAKES SU ITING TO AN EW LEVEL OFCOOL WITH RAVE-INSPIRED PR INTS AN D STREET WEAR ACCENTS.

TH I S PAG E

Maxime wears black wool jacket, POA, black/red wool sleeveless jumper, $820, red cotton shirt, $890, black silk tie, $260, black wool pants, POA, black leather belt, $1150, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme; bracelet Maxime’s own. R I G HT

Aliou wears nylon bomber jacket, POA, and wool roll neck jumper, $1100, both by Dior Homme.

LE F T

Willow wears spraypainted fur jacket, $6800, nylon roll neck jumper, $450, wool pants POA, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme. TH I S PAG E

Maxime wears nylon bomber jacket, $3900, nylon roll neck jumper, $450, wool pants, POA, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme; bracelet and earring, Maxime’s own.

LE F T (F R O M LE F T)

Aliou wears black cotton sleeveless hoodie, $1100, and black cashmere roll neck jumper, POA, bothbyDior Homme. Willow wearsblack corduroy jacket, POA, orange/black wool-blend sleeveless jumper, $820, white/brown cotton shirt, POA, and black silk tie, $260, allby Dior Homme. TH I S PAG E

Maxime wears wool jacket, POA, nylon roll neck jumper, $450, wool pants, POA, leather boots, $1950, leather belt, $1050, and metal pants chain, $2750, all by Dior Homme. Grooming: Giulio Panciera at B Agency Casting Director: Svea Greichgauer Talent: Willow Barrett atRebel Management, Aliou Drame at 16MEN, Maxime Frenel at Success Models

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LE F T

Christopher Einla at 16MEN wears denim shirt, $700, cotton turtleneck, $450, denim jeans, $700, and leather boots, POA, allby CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC. TH I S PAG E

Julian Schneyder at KultAustralia wears denim jacket, approx. $860, byOff-White c/o Virgil Abloh; denim jeans, approx. $270, by APC; leather belt, approx. $115,byPolo Ralph Lauren.

TH I S PAG E

Erik van Gils at Marilyn Agency wears wool jacket,$2450, and cotton shirt, $575, both by Ermenegildo Zegna. R I G HT

Victor Perr at 16MEN wears denim shirt, approx. $200, and denim jeans, approx. $245, both by PoloRalph Lauren; sterlingsilver Venetian Link ID bracelet, $475, byTiffany & Co.

LE F T

Louis Baines at Kate Moss Agency wears black denim/red leather jacket, $6330, and blue wash denimjeans, $1010, bothbyGucci. TH I S PAG E

Nathan Morgan at New Madison wears denim shirt, POA, by Tom Ford atHarrolds; cotton jeans, $940, by Dior Homme; calf-skin leather boots, $1820, by Brioni.

LE F T

Kit Butler at Kult Australia wears denim shirt, approx. $920, by Berluti; denim jeans, $445, byDries Van Noten. TH I S PAG E

Dominik Sadoch at Success Models wears denim jacket, $299, byRMWilliams. Grooming: Giulio Panciera at B Agency Casting Director: Svea Greichgauer at AM Casting Paris Digital Art: Alistair Buchanan at Capturelab

BACK TO

‫بغداد‬ M U N J E D A L M U D E R I S E S CA P E D A D I C TATO R ’ S C LU TC H E S, S U RV I V E D H E L L I N A N AU S T R A L I A N D E T E N T I O N C E N T R E A N D B U I LT A C H A R M E D, SUCCESSFUL HARBOURSIDE LIFE I N SY D N E Y. T H E N , I R AQ CA L L E D. W E T R AV E L W I T H T H E R E N O W N E D S U R G E O N – TO D O C U M E N T H I S R E T U R N TOB AG H DA D, T H E C I T Y H E WAS FO R C E D TO F L E E .

W O R D S A N D P H OTO G R A P H Y ADAM BAI DAW I

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nder the cloak of a balmy night, the armoured black SUV hits 140km/h. It’s bolting down Route Irish, once known as the deadliest road in the world. Thestoic driver floors it – failing to ever fully stop atthevarious security checkpoints.On the roof of the car, in plain sight, two flame-shaped rotating cylinders block cell phone signals, foiling the remote detonation ofany explosives. In the front passenger seat, a dapper delegate of the Iraqi Prime Minister juggles two phones, texting, calling, Viber-ing and WhatsApp-ing at a frantic pace. Doctor Munjed Al Muderis, the pioneering Iraqi-Australian orthopaedic surgeon, sits in the rear. Tonight he’s taking in Baghdad, his hometown, for the first time inalmost two decades. “As the plane started descending, all I could think was, ‘What haveIdone?’” confided Al Muderis to GQ, moments after landing. Ithad taken a personal invitation from Iraqi Prime Minister, Haideral-Abadi to convince him to return. And now, he was questioning hisRSVP. Travelling at speed down Route Irish means feeling every bump – every patched-over scar from an improvised explosive device (IED) or mortar. We’re racing from Baghdad International Airport, bound for the relative safety of the Green Zone –Baghdad’s administrative city-within-a-city. A few weeks earlier, this careful, choreographed routine was used to carry Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Spend long enough with Al Muderis and you’re bound to encounter his theory on the Wheel of Fortune – a personal metaphor for the cyclical rhythm of life’s ups and downs. As he descended a private staircase off a plane and into an armoured Mercedes, it was clear that his fortune has undeniably swung back to the top. Al-Abadi has invited Al Muderis to visit from his harbourside home in Sydney – a city in which he’s pioneered the revolutionary osseointegration surgery, a procedure that eschews a centuries-old socket system, fusing bone to titanium, allowing patients to use limbs once thought lost. Al-Abadi, overseeing arelentless battle with IS, has an army rank full of soldiers whose limbs have been removed by IEDs. Long-estranged from his home country, Al Muderis could be the key to getting these soldiers back into the field. If you’d asked the 45-year-old surgeon just a year ago, he’d have told you that his place in Iraq is something he left for dead, decades earlier. Australia, happily, is home now. Baghdad, the place of what was a charmed childhood, had become the stage of nightmares. The last time he’d been here, his fortunes were dimmed –almost permanently.In fact, afew weeks before heading back, he’d joked that the Iraqi invitation was perhaps a rouse – that he’d be tricked into returning, then killed. But that risk has been taken – AlMuderisreturned to reconcile his life, past and present. A thousand times over, this could have been the story of a man dehumanised to the point of radicalisation, or the story of another unassimilated refugee living in helplessness. Instead, Al Muderis’ story is a reminder, that a man can always start – and restart –again.

Al Muderis easily admits that he was born with a silver spoon in hismouth. In reality, it may have been gilded. His is a family tree stuffed with cultural and political influence –one that can allegedly betraced back to the Prophet Muhammad, and one that, to this day, commands deference. He grew up with a nanny and a housekeeper. A chauffeur drove himto his school. Such was the standing of Al Muderis’ education thatSaddam Hussein’s own sons, Uday and Qusay, attended his high school –the latter at the same time as Al Muderis. He recalls their obnoxious and violent behaviour, and how they’d often arrive for school in a new Mercedes, or on quad bikes. While harbouring a keen interest in robotic limbs – driven by watching The Terminator at 12 – the heavy burden of family legacy saw Al Muderis go on to do a degree in medicine. His time at university was continually interrupted as the First Gulf War broke outin 1990. US forces were pounding the Hussein regime, which would eventually be forced to retreat from Kuwait. Like most Iraqis, Al Muderis didn’t consider the war reason enough for life to grind to a halt. He finished his degree and with the allure of the Terminator carrying through to adulthood – he decided, early on, to specialise in orthopaedics. It was in 1999, as a first-year medical resident, that the trajectory ofhis life forever shifted. Under the glowing fluorescent lights of Saddam Hussein Medical Centre in Baghdad, Military Police marched a queue of army deserters into a dingy operating theatre where Al Muderis and his peers were prepping for the day. Their orders were concise – by decree ‘115/1994’ of the constitution, the doctors were to amputate the ears of each deserter. The lead surgeon, citing the Hippocratic Oath, refused. He was taken to the hospital’s parking lot, briefly interrogated and shot dead in full view ofhis colleagues. “If anyone shares his view, step forward,” stated a brutish officer. “Otherwise, carry on.” Al Muderis, in shock, could calculate only one path to escape – hiding in the women’s changing room. Hequietly slunk out of the operating theatre and locked himself into a cubicle. Hunched over porcelain, listening toeach passing voice and footstep with dread, Al Muderis’ treacherous journey had begun. Hours later, several people entered the changing room. Al Muderis’ chest tightened. But the steps belonged tonurses. The bloody deed had been completed – work finished for the day. Ashorrifying as it was, sitting on that toilet was one of the last moments of reprieve Al Muderis would have for morethan a year. The budding surgeon’s family smuggled him out of the country and into Jordan. AlMuderis crossed the border in a car, with around US$20,000 strapped to his gut – aparting gift from his devastated mother. Eventually, he fled toIndonesia, where he handed over his passport and paid a people smuggler for a spot on a small fishing boat bound for Australia. The then-27-year-old survived a harrowing 36-hour journey, doinghis best to care for pregnant and elderly passengers, all sardined in amass of humanity that was soon stained by urine and vomit.

THEIR ORDERS WERE CONCISE... THE DOCTORS WERE TO AMPUTATE THE EARS OF EACH DESERTER.

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Theship’s captain had deserted them, only a few hours into the journey – and it was a marvel they didn’t meet the same mortal fate that so many refugee-filled boats bound for Australia would. Eventually docking on Christmas Island, Al Muderis was vacuumed into Australia’s refugee system. Curtin Detention Centre, in Western Australia’s remote, arid Kimberley region, would be his home for the indefinite future. There, his name was replaced by a number – 982. Itwould be nearly a year until he was again humanised. Al Muderis recalls a visit from a supposedly high-ranking official ofAustralia’s Department of Immigration that occurred shortly after his arrival at Curtin. “You are not welcome here. The Australian people do not want youhere. You will be detained here indefinitely,” barked the woman. “However, if you choose to go back to your homeland, we can help facilitate your return.” He tells stories of squalid conditions, emotional and racial abuse, and unspeakable cruelty towards children. At one point, collaborating with an intrepid male nurse, Al Muderis used a disposable camera to snap the horrid reality of the detention centre. The nurse mailed the photos to all major Australian newspapers, magazines and television stations. No one ran the story. At one point during detention, Al Muderis came face-to-face with Australia’s then-Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock – a man he’s labelled “as cold as an Antarctic winter”. On raising the issue of child abuse, asking why the centre’s children couldn’t be released into the community to foster families, he recalls Ruddock’s response: “You broke the law to come here. If we release the children, it’ll be rewarding them for breaking the law.” (Years later, Ruddock would describe the Curtin Detention Centre as Australia’s “most primitive”.)

Al Muderis’ 10 months in Curtin was punctuated by nights in solitary confinement and a short stint in the maximum security section of Broome Jail for the supposed incitement of unrest within the Centre. Tellingly, Al Muderis found the latter a welcome respite from Curtin – for one, he was referred to by name. “I’ll tell you what, the prison system in Australia is brilliant,” hesays. “I strongly recommend that.” He was eventually cleared of all charges. In August of 2000, with the Sydney Olympics less than a month away, Al Muderis was dumped, unceremoniously, at a dusty busstop near Curtin. His asylum had been granted – he was free. With little over three grand left over from his mother’s parting gift, he could suddenly go wherever he wanted. Yet he didn’t go terribly far, hopping on a bus to Broome and then meandering along WA’s mesmerising, coral-dotted northern coastline. He thought itwas beautiful. The first time GQ met Al Muderis, he was stealing the show at aprivate event in Melbourne. To be clear – Australians fawn over athletes more than any other country. Yet, on a panel comprised of world champion surfer Mick Fanning and beloved Melbourne Victory soccer captain Carl Valeri, it was Al Muderis who won the room’s hearts. The crowd lurched from amusement (on learning of his daily two-litre Coke habit) to solemnity (on recounting his journey to Australia) to admiration (on outlining the costs of his ambitious career). His humble, self-effacing persona feels tailor-made for Australia – a country whose intolerance of ego is legendary. On arrival today in Baghdad, Al Muderis’ silver tongue has deserted him. Not trusting his Arabic, he leans back on English. “I was working with the Poms...” he says jokingly to a room full of hospital administrators. S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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“Poms?” responds a hospital director. “You know, Poms, they’re the British. Americans are Yanks. Wehave words for all of these in Australia. Lebanese are ‘Lebbos’. Greeks are ‘Wogs’. Iraqis are ‘Sand Niggers’.” The point fails to hit in this room, as it would in Australia, where those with dual cultural identities often use such would-be disparaging nomenclatures as a sort of coat of armour. Al Muderis learnt this early on. Mocked and belittled by his newfound orthopaedic peers, often called a terrorist or told to go back to Curtin, he realised that, in Australia, owning alabel goes a long way. We’re inside the Green Zone, perched near the Republican Palace and an array of foreign embassies. Ibn Sina, the hospital we’re visiting is one of – if not the – best government hospital in the country, a place that gained certain recognition through the HBO documentary, Baghdad ER. Here, the vinyl floors are peeling, walls are cracked, and acockroach can be seen beneath the desk in Al Muderis’ makeshift consulting room. “This is much better than I thought it would be,” he offers. Some 200 soldiers and officers have been summoned, to be triaged by Al Muderis over two days. Each has lost a limb, most from direct battle with IS forces. For the Iraqi government, the hope is that Al Muderis can return ina few months and get these men back on their feet. Ideally, back into battle. This visit marks the first step in the process – triaging, determining patient suitability and assessing what he’ll need goingforward. The first challenge of the exercise quickly rears its head – that is, most of these men smoke. A lot. Like, three packs a day. Al Muderis ishorrified. None of them could be operated on without a high risk ofinfection – too many Malboros prompting poorer blood circulation, and from that comes a lessened ability to recover fromaprocedure. Al Muderis’ osseointegration procedure – fusing a prothesis directly into bone, advancing the old technique of fitting it over astump – is marked by its departure from convention. He stumbled across it during a period of research in 2008. With itsgenesis in tooth implants, the technique has gone on to forever ameliorate medical treatment. Today, only a handful of global surgeons conduct such procedures, in part because of the risk of infection. Al Muderis refuses to operate on any patient who’s smoked a cigarette within 90 days of surgery. “Inshallah,” says a paramilitary officer, missing a leg, on being told to cease smoking immediately. “God has nothing to do with it!” responds Al Muderis in Arabic. “Listen,” he adds, softening his tone, ‘God will help the man who helps himself’.” After being with Al Muderis for a few days it becomes clear that he’spart of a long line of secular Iraqis for whom religion is a glib punching bag. Each morning in his Sydney surgery, he begins proceedings by proclaiming, in Arabic, laeanakum Allah (God curse you all). It’s his way of removing fate, and God, from medicine, whichhe believes comes down entirely to skill. Outside the makeshift office, the inpatient room begins to overflow

with injured men and women – all missing limbs. They wear long faces and often, make-do prosthetics. The masses, to Al Muderis’ dejection, spill outside into an improvised smoking area. He tends to each patient methodically – usually working in a joke. “Smoker?” he opens to a police offer whose leg has been amputated above the knee. “No, I don’t like it,” shrugs the officer. “Are you sure you’re Iraqi? Do you even like tea?” Another paramilitary officer responds to the query with another tokenistic, “Inshallah”. “God? God did this to you?” says Al Muderis, only half joking. “No, it was Satan.” “It was a religious fanatic...” says Al Muderis, as the room full ofresidents and government officials begins toquiet. “...I better shut up before you guys take me and hang me too.” The office bursts with laughter. One man, still in evident trauma, recounts the story of running towards anIS car bombing to steal away a young child from harm. Asthe pair sprinted from the scene, a second explosion detonated. The child, clasped in the officer’s arms, acted as a shield from the mass of penetrative shrapnel. The child’s body was whisked away in the force of the violence. Only a small head remained, cradled in the officer’s hands. The soldier lost an arm. He demonstrates the way he was holding the child, hugging his one-and-a-half arms to his chest. The irony that, whether earnestly or facetiously, large swathes ofthe West would reflexively assess these patients as ‘terrorists’ is notlost on the foreigners in the room. The Institute of Economics &Peace found that, in 2016, Iraqis continued to suffer the world’s greatest impact from terrorism – an impact score of 9.96 out of 10. (Australia and the US ranked number 59 and36 in the world, respectively – with impact scores of 2.74 and 4.88.) The data makes clearer what’s an initially murky picture – thatthe people of Iraq, indeed the country itself, are the world’s greatest victims of terror. The day yawns into a steady rhythm of hobbling, downcast patientsfeeding in from three different waiting rooms. Each is x-rayed by staff, then carefully fed into a database by Al Muderis’ assistants. Thex-rays will act as an ever-growing chronicle of livesaltered and horrors seen. Over and over, the room hosts storiesof war, of snipers,of suicide bombers, of innumerable IEDsand RPGs. As the day wears on, Al Muderis slowly regresses into the Iraqi mannerisms – and perhaps the identity –he was certain were buried. He oscillates between Arabic and English, trading thoughts in rapid-fire Arabic, occasionally punctuating with a blunt, “Really?! That’s stupid.” Watch him during his 15-hour day at the hospital, and he’ll never sit. He never so much as leans against a desk. “I’m not tired,” he offers. “I just feel sorry for these people. There’s so many of them.” “It’s a shame there’s only one Munjed,” says a doctor, after the 22nd patient is seen. The steady work is only interrupted by an appointment. If it were anywhere but the Republican Palace, you get the feeling Al Muderis would skip it. Continued on p257.

“GOD? GOD DID THIS TO YOU?” SAYS AL MUDERIS ONLY HALF JOKING. “NO, IT WAS SATAN.”

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ou are not here.” It’s an inauspicious start toour Milanese date with Gucci’s new maestro, Alessandro Michele. “Sir, I can state again thatyou are not here.” And so he does – the burly, black-clad bouncer who’s angular physicality suggests Eastern European over Italian, firmly reiterating the error made, that this is not our point of entry. Not today. It seems the heavy tint and lithe, low-slung lines of the Audi that’s ferried us to Gucci’s so-called Hub, on the industrial outskirts of the city, is to blame – passing an initial checkpoint, the first means of division that we were waved through, arriving at the velvet rope apparently not meant for us. Further along we shuffle, to attach to othermembers of the general public and amoving queue that arrives at a lengthy courtyard informing but aminor piece of Gucci’s recently opened HQ– a dramatic 35,000m2 plot of functional, squared buildings of glass and brick and open spaceon a site that once housed Caproni Aeronautics. Our stuttering debut is made all the more amusing on eagerly waving back to a familiar Australian face across the growing crowd, achild-like display of excited expressiveness and flapping... only to realise his gesturing is

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actually for the attractive blonde stood directly behind. We smile back. No cigarettes allowed. Not here, beyond the rope, within the sanctum. Filthy habit, anyway. And so, instead, we take in Alexa Chung – looking surprised, as she does, notastriped Michael Kors top in sight. The overachieving Brit ‘It’ stares down themultiple phone cameras of kids who’ll have likely spoken about themselves, without hesitation or remorse, in the third person atsome point during the previous 24 hours. Today, they’ll immediately post their captures to the millions of followers (#farshon) they apparently have. Hari Nef joins ‘It’ as A$AP Rocky uses the glare coming from his wonderful smile, stacked as it is with truly luminous teeth, to part the crowd – and contend with hasty captures from the kids with the phones, each craving the further promotion of a supposedly attractive existence. Elsewhere, actress Selma Hayek’s cleavage wrestles against the confines of a tight, lowly cut pink dress as Bobby Gillespie, great man and recent feature of Gucci and GQ’s video series ‘The Performers’, squints into the soft February sun. Against a red brick wall, Tom Hiddleston, stands tall and alone – a smirk smudged across his private schoolboy face; asmirk thatsuggests he’s aware that he’s talland

alone. A smirk that also had him chosen by Michele to be the face of Gucci’s cruise 2017 tailoring campaign. The Night Manager lead who blew every chance of ever being Bond by temporarily falling victim to Taylor Swift (#tshirt), wears well the three-piece striped navy suit he’s opted for (or, had laid out for him on the firm bed of alarge, darkened suite within a centrally-located designer hotel). The Englishman’s a stark, sophisticated contrast to whatever it is Jared Leto’s come as– bearded and buried under a tigeremblazoned hoodie that stretches from beneath a gothic print denim jacket, coupled with gym shorts over knitted tights, anklehigh kicks and headband. It could be that he’s taken cues from aBostonian roofer working through the coldcreases that fold into the latter part of spring. Could be. Leto’s a firm friend of Michele – their bromance blossoming since late 2015 after the actor and musician (#quirk) was personally asked by the then newly installed creative director to use his ageless face to flog fragrance for the house. They quickly hit red carpets à deux and then Leto took the Roman designer to the Academy Awards in 2016, both sporting Gucci loafers and an excitement reminiscent of two 17-year-olds heading for a high school formal.

“I HAVE WITNESSED FIRSTHAND THE AMOUNT OF THOUGHT, CAREAND PASSION HE PUTS INTO EVERYTHING... IT’S INSPIRING.” Leto’s bold and unique – that much can’t be challenged. He’s engaged and intelligent (if that Thirty Seconds To Mars doco is used as a test) and while a curious fit for Gucci, he further cements where Michele wants to play. “Yves, Karl, Gianni, Giorgio, Christian, Coco. It’s rare that a new name can be added to such an illustrious list,” Leto wrote for Time of his friend, who secured a spot on the magazine’s 2017 global list of ‘The 100 Most Influential People’. “But Lallo, as he is known to his closest friends, has more than earned his place. I have witnessed firsthand the amount of thought, care and passion he puts into everything he creates. It’s inspiring to behold. People don’t just like Gucci. They desire it...” The actor’s not quite so verbose today – onopting for a quick step from tinted car to frow, a simple “I’m excited to see the show” his response to being hastily asked about the afternoon Italian adventure. Leto’s right, of course, about the desire, about what Michele’s been able to achieve since being thrown the keys to the castle inJanuary 2015. Because people are again hungry for their Gucci fix. In fact, for many among the new legion of fans, or even the returned devotees – it’s more than a desire, it’s again aneed. On landing in Milan a day earlier, Gucci shopping bags dominated those being paraded on and around Via Monte Napoleone by grungy, angular fashion kids. It was a simple, observational understanding of the incredible injection of allure Michele’s bought to the storied house since replacing Frida Giannini. It was about the element ofcool that’s been again captured by the facing ‘double G’. Still, expectation is a devious mistress – asenchanting and desirable as she can be deceptive and destructive. And as much as desire and devotion walks among those gathered at Gucci Hub ahead of today’s AW proceedings, questions are entwined within the anticipation – a thought about whether the man who had, since 2002, worked in the background could again create a collection that not only inspires, but which drives a narrative for others to tailgate on the seasonal roads ahead? We head inside the cavernous, blackened space to a front row that delivers as only the front row does. Shuffle shuffle. ‘Sorry I think that’s me? No, oh, OK.’ Shuffle shuffle.

‘Great to see you.’ Mwah. ‘I can’t believe she’s wearing slides.’ It also provides a strong position to witness other celebrity arrivals – the ethereal Florence Welsh floating as she does in floor-length print, Anna Wintour wearing atwo-piece that’s not black, the man who picked up Kate Moss by commenting that she smelt like wee, Jefferson Hack, and Bobby Gillespie, again, still squinting despite the darkness. It would appear he’s just squinty. We stare at the heavy curtain that shields the catwalk and what’s to come – excited, really, to collect firsthand such an experience and engage with a performance that, according to show notes, is built on foundations of an ‘Alchemist’s Garden’, which is an ‘anti-modern laboratory’. The notes also present the Egyptian symbol Ouroboros – that of a snake eating its own tail. It’s perhaps suggestive of the cyclical nature of fashion; that all is old is again new. Though is such a symbol not also about the process of self-renewal, of bettering where things have come from and walking towards an improved future? We’re about to find out. Lights up and models stomp along a raised, enclosed plexiglas catwalk – think a human take on the pending Hyperloop. Those walking are far removed from classical etchings of beauty, and instead are angular and mulleted, as unique and striking as the pieces in which they pose, a cast of characters as much as walkers. It’s quickly obvious that Michele has pickedup and gently progressed on where things had been left – whimsy and vintage attached to what’s presented, bold pops of colour, lavish touches of embroidery, text-driven logo T-shirts (‘Common Sense IsNot That Common’), as scrawled by the street artist Coco Capitán. It’s wild and elaborate and fun – flowing ’70s suiting in tan meets ’80s punk in ripped denim and a continued affinity for AC/DC T-shirts as high fashion. The accessories, meanwhile, are a heady slate of designs that run from rock ’n’ roll bull rings to Royal Tenenbaums-esque headbands to a incredible wealth of bags – a line that will alone power the buying passion of fanboys for another season. The 119 looks, each styled by Michele, is a co-ed combination (territory in which he’s familiar) allowing insight to the man’s full heart – the two sides beating as one – as well

O F TH E 1 1 9 LO O KS O N S H OW, M I C H E LE ’S LOV E O F ACC E SSO R I E S F E ATU R E D H E AV I LY I N A NEC LEC TI C M IX O F PAT TE R N A N D PR I NT.

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TH E STAR S W E R E O UT I N F U LL FO R C E TO W ITN E S S M I C H E LE ’S L ATE ST WO R K , E AC H W ITH TH E I R D I STI N C T TA K E O N TH E G U CC I LO O K . F R O M LE F T, F LO R E N C E W E LC H; A$AP R O C K Y; HA R I N E F F; JAR E D LE TO; A LE X A C H U N G; TO M H I D D LE STO N .

as building on his clear desire for inclusivity and blurred gender lines. The man of the moment appears, dressed in a yellow T-shirt, baseball cap, his hair cropped shorter than before at shoulder length. He employs a staggered jog about the various points of the catwalk to bow and take in the standing applause of all present. That sense of anticipation has morphed into appreciation and rousing acceptance. While a humble and quiet man, Michele is very much the wunderkind of reinvention who’s pushed the fabled house of Gucci into acontemporary relevance that arguably rests parallel to Tom Ford’s ‘sexy’ renaissance period of the mid-’90s. Today, he’s again surpassed expectation and driven beyond surprise and answered allquestions. For he is fashion’s current king, and his crown’s been more than retained.

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am not feeling like a special person... it’snot about me.” While Michele is the chief architect of change, his is not a story of ownership or atale of one man’s singular vision pushing conformity. He allows for the individual to add the personal to his designs – to further interpret and privately engage. As the loftier ends of fashion look to graft maintained aspiration into a greater sense of accessibility – stepping down as dictators in

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regards to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ – Michele’s approach is very much nuzzled into the now. It’s about freedom within luxury. It’s about the luxury of freedom. “I think that fashion, for a long time, has been in a prison,” Michele’s previously said. “I think that without freedom, with rules, it’simpossible to create a new story... people want you to suggest the idea that you can really put together and create a personal point of view. You have to belong to a brand that has a story, because obviously a brand needs an aesthetic. But you need also to suggest the idea of freedom. Because when you go in the street, people are free to do what they want. There are no rules.” Ultimately – it’s about artistry stitched tosingularity, a chance to pen a personal sartorial narrative and break from what’s previously been decreed. It’s why, at the AW17 show’s official afterparty, the fresco-ceilings of what is an historic Milanese high school look down overa crowd that’s interpreted modern Gucciin many different forms. Hiddleston’s at the bar – a bomber jacket and dad jeans replacing his earlier suit, so toolatest Michele muse, the artist Petra Collins. A$AP Rocky, meanwhile, is now accessorising with a Polaroid camera (#smile) and new girlfriend, Kendall Jenner. Elsewhere stand ’80s UK punk types with stalagmite-spiked hair, goths and drag queens who’ve dressed as if destined for an after-after steam punk party. In the corner,

sits abolo-tied cowboy (#spaghettiwestern) while young kids wander in wire, Unabomber specs atop Gucci logo T-shirts. There’s also a dude who looks like Rai Thistlethwayte – but then there’s always a dude who looks like Rai Thistlethwayte. Michele has wandered several of the adjoined rooms of the party – taking in the crowd and the many strong words of ‘bravo’, ‘well done’ and ‘wonderful’ that are delivered by those who stand and await his move past. He smiles – a lot. And he’s every right to. For tonight, for all that he’s managed to achieve in just 25 months at the helm. By 2014, Gucci had become staid. It was predictable, unexciting. There was growing concern about what the fabled Italian label was to become – about what its future would look like were it to simply plod along the pocked path it had been walking. Sales were on a dramatic decline. Change was needed and three years ago, scouts tapped all-comers about the top design job – securing a shortlist of potential candidates, a grouping of well-known types who’d delivered elsewhere and would, at the least, bring some fanfare to the Florentine house founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. Michele’s name wasn’t on any of those lists. He was a ‘backroom boy’ – having quietly ascended, over 12 years at Gucci, to that of head of accessories design (cue that eye for some of the pieces now most coveted). Still, his passion and talents hadn’t gone unnoticed and so he came to the attention of

“I CHOSE ALESSANDRO WHEN I COULD HAVE CHOSEN THE MOST TALKEDABOUT DESIGNERS IN THE WORLD.” then newly appointed CEO Marco Bizzarri. A meeting was scheduled. Bizzarri’s since admitted their get together was more a run through of some of those he’d been eyeing off – though he was quickly entranced by Michele, his desires and historical quirks and honest, passionate understanding of all that’s Gucci. “It was unplanned,” Bizzarri’s said of that meeting with Michele. “Someone said to call him. They said, ‘he’s a good guy’.” The pair talked for hours – Bizzarri also engaged by Michele’s interest in antiques, history and what he saw in the Milanese designer’s apartment. “He was wearing the loafer with the fur, he looked like the first model exit in that [first] Gucci show. Then I saw the apartment, the attention to detail, the choice of furniture, the passion for this aesthetic – it was there already, I was seeing what he had in mind.” Michele was named as Giannini’s immediate replacement in January of 2015. “I chose Alessandro when I could have chosen the most talked-about designers in the world,” Bizzarri’s said. “And they were happy to come to Gucci because Gucci is Gucci... I look back and think I was totally crazy [with Alessandro’s appointment]. I put in total danger, at total risk, my career.” Risk. Without it great artistry surely cannot flourish. And so it’s been with Bizzarri and Michele. The latter had but five days to send down his first menswear collection in the new job – it was fresh, divisive, ultimately celebrated. It quickly outed what Michele was about and showed what he could do. And it returned exciting commentary

toGucci. Gender lines were fluid, embellishment was back, so too florals – Michele quickly feted under a swollen set ofplaudits. “Gucci has revolutionised its identity,” sprouted Australian Justin O’Shea at the time, then a buyer for e-tailer MyTheresa before his own rise to luxury designer. “It sounds easy saying it, but to actually achieve this is one of the most remarkable fashion moments in history. And the best part about it is that it was done with beauty and innocent, unbridled conviction. It has excited the old Gucci customer and captivated new customers, who loved the ‘idea’ of what the brand represents but never clicked with the previous aesthetic.” For the man who first became interested infashion as a teen – and then studied costume design in Rome, the revolutionary tag is farfetched. “I don’t feel like that,” he’s claimed. “I just feel like myself. If the revolution is the beauty, I’m a revolutionary.” Still, if the revolution’s monetary – then Michele’s influence is Napoleonic. Since he and Bizzarri took hold, Gucci’s come to own the majority of the Kering group under which it sits. That is, 65 per centof the group’s luxury-division profits now come via the Italian label, Gucci’s last quarter profits up anincredible 21 per cent. Not bad for a recently rudderless outfit. Part of such profit drive is Michele’s embrace of the future – a want to appreciate

logos as well as digitisation in the enhancement of the march of the cool. While that doesn’t extend to an immediate purchase model that’s now attached to other runways – as in Burberry, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren andothers’ ‘see now, buy now’ model – it’s meant encouraging the kids with some hyped-up explosions of colour andthe collision of fun and aspiration. It’s also meant a heady level of desirable (read: re-postable) memes for the Gucci watch line. It’s about an understanding of popular culture. It’s about being contemporary while championing what’s gone before. It’s surely about highlighting what is a bright future. Though, as another text-driven piece from the new AW17 current collection espouses: “What are we going to do with all this future?” Well, according to Michele, the coming days are not about him. “People don’t want to be soldier-like, everybody wearing the same. There is something of the tribe in fashion, but in the end customers get a bit annoyed if you push aparticular bag. I’m a designer but also a customer. I’m not inside a glass case. I go outside, I shop. So I’m trying to make beautiful things for people I love.” Thanks Alessandro – we love you back. n

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Wool coat, $3200, byEmporio Armani; Jacquard lurex top, $1290, by Bottega Veneta; wool pants, $960, byHaider Ackermann; leather shoes, $1720, byHermès.

CITY SLICK B R IGHTEN U P CLASSIC SHAPES BY PAIR ING N EUTRALS WITH BOLD POPS OF COLOU R. P H OTO G R A P H Y PE R RY OG DE N

S T Y L I N G TR EVOR STON ES

Cotton/viscose top, POA, by Tommy Hilfiger; cotton pants, $805, and leather belt, $1015, bothby Hermès.

Cashmere/silk top, $1875, by Ermenegildo Zegna; velvet pants, $560, byPaul Smith.

Wool coat, $7550, cottonshirt, $1260, wool pants, $1260, all by LouisVuitton; leather loafers, $1300, by Prada.

Wool coat, POA, and wool jacket, $4090 (worn underneath), both bySalvatore Ferragamo; cotton pants, $960, byValentino; leather shoes, $1720, by Hermès.

Wool jumper, $850, and cotton pants, $960,bothby Valentino; leather belt, $560, byEmporio Armani.

Wool suit, POA, and wool jacket (worn underneath), POA,both by Hugo Boss; linen shirt, $410, by EmmaWillis; leather shoes, $1720, by Hermès.

Wool coat, $4610, by Gucci; linen shirt, $410, by Emma Willis; wool pants, $790, by Dries Van Noten; leather boots, approx. $2630, by Berluti .

Corduroy jacket, $3580, mohair turtleneck, $1110, and corduroy pants, $1180, allby Prada.

Cashmere coat, approx. $6760, velvet jacket, POA, cotton T-shirt, POA, wool pants, approx. $920, and leather boots, approx. $2630, all by Berluti. Grooming Khela at Call My Agent Talent Christopher Einla at 16MEN Casting Director SveaGreichgauer at AMCasting Paris

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E D I T E D BY M I KE C H R I STE N SE N

THE GQ GUIDE TO

nailing a Dad Bod* FO R G E T W H AT YO U K N O W A B O U T T H I S P H YS I Q U E – W E D R AW I N S P I R AT I O N F R O M S P O R T’ S TO P DA D S TO S H O W YO U T H E B E S T WAYS TO E M B R AC E YO U R N E W FAT H E R H O O D F I G U R E .

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1. MICHAEL CLARKE Future Australian captain inthe making? Clarkey shows us that there’s no such thing as starting his daughter too young.

10 OF THE BEST SPORTING FATHERS

n theory, dad bods date back to biblical times when “Jeshurun grew fat” in Deuteronomy 32:15. But despite the male species being on show in public places ever since, the term was only coined in2015, by Mackenzie Pearson, an American 19-year-old student who thought a “dad bod makes [guys] seem more human, natural and attractive”. Now a phenomenon that applies to all men, not just fathers, striving for ‘dad bod’ status is a refreshing change, and inan age where body shaming is rightly slammed, it’s great to see the acceptance of all shapes and sizes. Swimwear label Budgy Smuggler runs a competition to find ‘the Most Ordinary Rig’ and spokesperson Jarrod Allen believes Aussies, especially, love adad bod. “People’s attitudes are changing anda lot of it has to do with the larrikin in us, embracing the ordinary in everyone and getting on with it,” he says. “We concentrate on guys you can grab abeer with over the bloke that spends hours in the gym, looking in the mirror.” New dads out there can take solace in the fact that, according to a study done by Northwestern Medicine, you will put on a few kilos. And though you may feel pressure to stay in shape, research by British psychologists in 2011 suggests women are attracted to such body types when they anticipate being married to ahigh-income man. (Good to know.) Today, with ‘dad bod’ evolving to mean any type of physique – be it a more rounded Leonardo DiCaprio or a ripped Chris Hemsworth – we’ve compiled our own dad bod workout tips, to embrace and achieve the ultimate ‘dad bod’, whatever that should mean.

T H E SAY I N G G O E S, I T’ S E V E RY DA D ’ S D R E A M TO H AV E A M I N I V E R S I O N O F H I M S E L F TO I N T R O D U C E TO S P O R T. T H E S E M E N S H O W YO U H O W FAT H E R H O O D I S K E E P I N G T H E M AT T H E TO P O F T H E I R G A M E .

2. OWEN WRIGHT The Aussie surfer’s son is yet to miss a stop on the tour, and already has a feelfor the water. If it’s possible, the Wright family might have another pro surfer on their hands. 3. ANDY MURRAY Sixmonths after becoming a dad, he won his third grand slam. The Scot is showing us all how to balance work life with parenthood, kind of? 2

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DAD BOD WORKOUT TIPS 1 . M IX U P TH E FOC U S

Dad or not, everyone istime poor these days, so to keep motivated about exercise, change your focus and have new challenges throughout the year. Spend a month training for a 10km run, try mountain biking or sign up for a volleyball course – instead of sticking to one all year.

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2 . S E E A S PEC IALI ST

Personal trainers costthe earth so seek aone-off specialist inadiscipline you are keen to take up, like swimming. Grasp the fundamentals then getthem to map out aroutine for a month orso. You’ll soon realise pushing yourself is better than some super-fit PT doing so.

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3 . B E S E LF I S H

A new parent’s achilles heel is often his or her inability to prioritise ‘me time’ into the equation. A 20-minute run or workout is a great antidote to the daily grind – and is crucial for everyone involved. Encourage your partner to do sotoo, without it sounding likea nag.

4 . DO N ’T STARV E

When it comes to pizza, beer and chocolate, ‘in moderation’ isn’t ever the magic phrase we want to hear. It’s a good guideline but if you can maintain a healthy, balanced diet and always keep yourself hydrated, then treating yourself won’t come with that feeling of guilt we often get.

5 . CA R E LE S S

Budgy Smuggler has the right attitude with its #OrdinaryRigAU search: “We sold out ofXL and XXL so knew the message had been received. It’s great to see blokes embracing their bodies and not feeling the pressure from social media tobust out crunches every morning.”

6 . E N CO M PASS F ITN E SS I NTO FATH E R H O O D

6-12 months: kettle bell lunges and squats with your toddler have the desired effect. 18-24 months: running with a pushchair in tow is great for endurance. 4+ years: surfing, footy, swimming, rugby, right up until they become much better than you.

*OK, WE ACCEPT CONOR MCGREGOR ET AL DON’T HAVE YOUR AVERAGE DAD BODS.

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4. CONOR MCGREGOR The UFC fighter seems to like lifting his son in place of a dumbbell. Note to Conor, he’ll only get heavier. How long do you think he can keep this up, hey Floyd?

FITN ESS GOALS W ITH N R L LEG E N D

SAM BURGESS

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5. JONATHAN THURSTON The NRL legend with hisNo.1 fans, showing howmuch post-match priorities have changed. 6. MICHAEL PHELPS Training for the Olympics is gruelling, especially when it comes to running with weights on your back. But it’s less so when it’s your beloved baby. 7. CRISTIANO RONALDO Like father, like son. Now with newborn twins too, we’ll see if the Portuguese soccer star can still keep up his six-pack. We’re sure he can. 8. ROGER FEDERER With four children, it’s anyone’s guess how many times Federer has, and will, be playing catch these days.This is a slightly moreextreme version.

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9. CHRIS PRATT Not a sports star, though he’d let us believe he was once a fine American Football player. That said, is fishing really responsible for his body transformation? 10. MARK ZUCKERBERG Another non-sportsman creeping into contention, but this is how our children will be playing sport in the future (In virtual reality).

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Do your teammates give you stick about getting adad bod now? Yes, a few of the younger players like to comment ‘dad bod’ when jumping in the showers. However we all know that it’sjust a myth. Is there a stigma attached to dad bods that isunfair? Yes as I mentioned, I think it’s a tag line and there’s not much truth to it. Anyone given you parental advice? A million friends, dads, team mates and random strangers have given me parental advice. However, I believe you find your own way. How has your daily routine changed now that you’re afather? At the moment not a lot. It means I get in the bath at the same time every night with my daughter and maybe I don’t needmy alarm clock anymore but we have an amazing little baby girl who loves being outdoors.

The hardest thing about becoming adad? I guess the early months are extremely hard with less sleep and the fact you have a little baby totally dependant on you now. Otherwise it has been the most enjoyable ride of my life. What has had to budge in order toproperly play out your role as afather? I guess you could say my golf game has taken a bit of aback seat. What tips do you have for regular dads who don’t have fitness and exercise ingrained into their day job? I think it’s important, as new parents, that you find time to do things for yourselves. If you’re lucky enough to have family close by, take the help and keep up your training. Or, you and your partner create the opportunities for each other to do ‘normal’ every dayactivities.

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FIT SKILLS

HOW HARD IS IT TO BE A SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER?

S H O R T A N S W E R – V E RY. W H E N E N G L I S H P R E M I E R L E AG U E G I A N T S A R S E N A L FC W E R E I N SY D N E Y, G Q W E N T P I TC H S I D E B E H I N D T H E L E N S .

GQ: What skills are necessary to be a good sports photographer? Delly Carr: A true sports professional understands light, timing, exposure, composition and forethought. An athlete forecasts their moments in which they will anticipate, react to, and live when the set day of competition arrives. The same moments

that a sports photographer must try to anticipate, react to, and live when they are presented to us. A photograph ‘fixes the moment’ of an event. In that moment, the photograph preserves what the eye might otherwise not capture. GQ: The secret to a good photo? What are you looking to capture?

Photos, like this one, that stick in our minds, are theresult of countless hours research and meticulous preparation.

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DC: My world is about moments – quick and fleeting moments that are otherwise missed –but brought into existence by the physical photograph. GQ: How do you best follow the game? DC: It is a ballet between my lens and those bright baby-blue eyes of mine. Ilook at the action bold and tight. I invariably shoot with my ‘Nikkor 80-400mm’, ‘Nikkor 300mm F2.8’, or ‘Nikkor 600mm F4’ lens. Ifeel like I am in another suburb when I put on awider lens. So, then I havemy left eye kept open and watching what’s happening outside the border of what my right eye views in the viewfinder at that moment. GQ: What are the biggest mistakes of a sports photographer? DC: Sports photographers do not make mistakes. They make judgment calls, which at times may not payoff in full. But other times you hit

the gold seam and strike it rich. Sports photography isabout experience, vision and good proper mental preparation. The quality ofimagery can be judged and valued when these factors of the equation arecalculated. The final value of the image increases numerically asthese factors increase withage and maturity. GQ: And the greatest misconceptions? DC: That once we get access on the field, and have the right equipment, then it’s easy. That’s bull. It requires a lot in a world ofsport that is defined and restricted by sponsors, sporting bodies, organisers, security, TV, intellectual property of athletes and sporting organisations. Try being creative in an environment constrained by touch lines, walls, stadiums, signage and concrete. It is a highly skilled profession, more than you can imagine.

THE HE PRE-GAME GAME CHECKLIST

• Make sure your batteries are charged and you have ample memory cards. • Research the players soyou know who to photograph. And be in the best position for the game, to capture the best angles and the best action. • For an evening match, where flood lights mean thelight remains constant, set the camera to the following settings: ISO 5000 APERTURE F4 SHUTTER SPEED 1/1000 NIKON ‘D7500’, FROM $1999; NIKON ‘AF-S NIKKOR 70-200MM F/2.8E FL ED VR’ TELEPHOTO LENS, FROM $3399

PHOTOGRAPHY: DELLY CARR, RICHARD BULLEY, AND EDWARD URRATIA .

W

hen it comes to sport, nothing compares to watching it live. The action, the drama, the passion, it’s unrivalled. Enjoyed from further away than you’d ordinarily do soon TV, it doesn’t matter because you can relive the winning strike or controversial sending off online or in the paper the next day. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to bethe person behind the lens? After an end-to-end 90 minutes of fast-flowing football, watching some of the best players in the world, we can safely say we’d never appreciated how hard capturing the perfect photo in sport is. Post game, and 5324-odd shots later (three of which were deemed print worthy), we spoke to legendary sports photographer Delly Carr about his beloved profession, and how we can improve our skillset.

FIT

The fit list

THE EVENT

Australia hosts its third ever UCI MTB World Championships (mountain bike racing for anyone not good with sporting acronyms), with both cross-country and downhill disciplines taking place at Smithfield Forest, just north of Cairns. The crazier, more daring version of cycling, it’s adarn sight more exhilarating than a lot oflive sport and the rules are fairly self explanatory. We’re already hooked. SEPT 5-10; FACEBOOK. COM/REDBULLBIKE

THE TREND

After a recent resurgencein the US, theVersaClimber is making its presence felt across many Australian gyms. What to know – it’sclaimed to jack heart rates and burn more fatthan hitting the treadmill, it’s actually been around since the early ’80s, and it’s a firm favourite of Hugh Jackman and LeBron James. Get climbing. FROM APPROX. $4690; VERSACLIMBER.COM

THE RACKET

Spring has sprung, and coupled with the US Open, tennis’ last Grand Slam of the year, now’s the time toget yourself out on court to wind up that secret weapon of yours intime for the summer season. Seeing as shiny new things help in the motivation stakes, the latest Babolat ‘Boost Aero’ racket will improve your game (maybe) and make you look the part, too. $169.99; REBELSPORT.COM.AU

THE BAG

Anyone who still uses their school sports bag to lug gym kit around, sorry, but it’s no longer cute, or, acceptable. Especially when fine specimens like this Lacoste ‘Concept’ backpack are kicking around and raring to go. Available in black, green, navy or grey, and with aseparate front pouch for all your valuables, we all need at least one croc inour locker, so let thisbeyours. $179; LACOSTE.COM.AU

THE TECH

Nokia. Making scales? Yep, and wi-fi scales too, going against all old-school notions of Nokia phones being good for nothing but texts, callsand Snake. Alas, this is2017 where weigh-ins appear on your Nokia smartphone in the Health Mate™ app. Then there’s the Patented Position Control™ technology that delivers accurate body composition readings . $179.95; HARVEY NORMAN.COM.AU

S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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JAMES FRANCO, CONT. FROMP190

Sarah Silverman and Jonah Hill took turns tearing strips off him. Hill came on stage and brought up the fact that a lot of movie stars have a ‘one for them, one for me’ approach – wear a commercial job so they can work on one they care about. “But not my guy James. He has his own philosophy,” Hill told the audience. “One for them, five fornobody.” It’s a good line. And Franco agrees that Hill had a point. “I was adapting William Faulkner novels and really dark Cormac McCarthy necrophilia novels,” he says. “I would do a studio movie and then sometimes I would even pay for movies I wanted to do. “There’s this idea that producers are not about the art, they’re just about the bottom line. There’s some truth to that,” he adds. “But if you have a project that nobody will finance, especially someone like me who’s been in the business for 20 years – that might be saying something.” Dave is seven years younger, but James credits him as a positive influence. “He’s a lot wiser and more discerning, more practically minded,” he says. “He’s the perfect antidote for my artistic recklessness. One of the things he’s taught me is to work on projects that are right for us and are meaningful. By doing that, we will do our best work.” Work has always been Franco’s drug. He hasn’t touched pot since high school. But it’s easy to imagine that without enough projects to keep him distracted, that shy teenager might come back. The one who parties, gets into trouble. After all, they say you never kill an addiction – you just replace it with something else. “There you go, dude, that’s exactly what people do,” he says. 256

FAKE NEWS, CONT. FROMP199

“It is so hard to wake up to[addiction]. It’s so hard to see it. Ithought I was living the life Ialways wanted to live. When I finally did wake up, I was completely isolated, emotionally, from everyone around me. “Whatever your religion or non-religion is, I truly believe we’re all looking for the same thing. We all just want to be happy or feel like we’ve contributed. And I’ve found that is synonymous with being present. That’s what I didn’t have before – when I was doing five billion projects at once, I was everywhere but present. “The curse of that is that Iactually couldn’t enjoy my success. I was nominated for an Oscar, I was working with all my heroes. All the dreams I’d had as ayoung man had come true. And I still couldn’t enjoy it. It was never going to be enough.” For the first time in as long as he can remember, Franco is finding time for himself. “It’s really weird but this year had been the self-care year,” he says. “I was playing tennis today and if you looked at my life six months ago, you would never have seen me doing anything like that. What I love about things like playing tennis or learning to surf is I don’t need to be aprofessional at them. I can just do it because I enjoy it. Wow. What a concept! “I’m sure everybody has shit like this to learn,” he adds. “And it seems to me like I’m learning lessons a lot of people learned when they were 18. But whatever. Better late than never.” We might never really know who the real James Franco is. And it might not even matter. But like all of us, he’s just trying to find his way in life, feel comfortable being alone with himself. He’s not there yet, but he’s working on it. “I’m feeling a lot better, dude,” he says, almost to himself. “I can honestly say I’m really happy.” And, for now at least, maybe that’s enough. n The Deuce airs on Showcase and Foxtel Now from September 11

G Q .COM . AU S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17

“The most important element is transparency,” explains Qiu ofher fact-checking methods. “Showing your process by usingpublicly available data andon-the-record quotes helps readers understand the logic. Ialso always attempt to reach outto the original speaker to ask them for evidence backing up the claim. The burden of proof isonthe speaker, and if they can’t provide agood source, that’s ared flag.” Following her electoral loss, Hillary Clinton singled out Facebook, in particular, claiming ‘fake news’ stories on the socialnetwork had affected the information voters relied on. After the election, Mark Zuckerberg said it was “crazy” toconclude that ‘fake news’ on the platform had influenced theoutcome. Nevertheless, Facebook responded to accusations that it facilitates the spread of misinformation. “We’re building, testing, and iterating new products to limit the spread of false news and help people find a more diverse range of topics, news stories and viewpoints on Facebook,” says aFacebook representative. “Our most recent measures include updating News Feed to reduce stories from sources thatpost ‘click bait’ headlines. We’ve also recently announced an additional update to the News Feed aimed at reducing the number of links to lowquality content such as sensationalism and misinformation.” Earlier this year, Facebook also helped establish the News Integrity Initiative, “a global consortium focused on helping people make informed judgments about the news they read and share online.” A

Facebook representative tells GQ it has alsofunded news literacy research inAustralia. When it comes to refuting misinformation, Qiu says her fact-checking articles tend to follow a pattern that makes it easy for readers to digest. “I first state the claim with abrief description of accuracy – ‘this person falsely said this’ or ‘the claim was this, but this needs more context’ – usually bolded or as a subhead,” she says. “In the body of the fact check, I try to provide context for when and towhom the statement was made or at least link to a transcript or video. Then I devote a few paragraphs explaining why it’s false or misleading.” Qiu points out this can also often include using information that is technically accurate, butmisleading – outliers on adata set, for instance. Those who disagree with climate change often use this technique to cherry-pick data that fits their view that the planet is not gettingwarmer. Since it’s so difficult to change people’s belief in misinformation once they have been exposed toit, Prof Lewandowsky is part of agroup of researchers attempting to discover a fake news ‘vaccine’ that can inoculate people against misinformation before they receive it. “The basic idea is that you tell people ahead of time that they might be misled or exposed to false information,” he says. “We’ve found that it nullifies misleading information or, at least, reduces it dramatically.” One of his studies focused on the tobacco industry’s previous attempts to cloud scientific consensus on smoking and cancer. “We gave [participants] astory about how this happened in the ’50s and the techniques by which people were misled,” hesays. “Then we presented them with similarly misleading information about climate change and we found that it no longer worked – that misleading information was basically

BACK TO BAGHDAD, CONT. FROMP232

neutralised by telling people about the techniques that are employed by politicians or whoever it is.” While inoculating people against misinformation can be useful, Prof Lewandowsky says at least some responsibility lies with the reader. Being aware of dubious or misleading information is the first step. “Generally, people who are sceptical and who look critically at the evidence can do very well in discerning what information is true and what isn’t,” he says. “Scepticism is a good thing. But it’s important to point out that scepticism doesn’t mean that you just disbelieve everything – it means looking at the evidence and that you believe things supported by evidence.” Some have called this the post-truth era, a world in which discussions of issues are defined not by facts, but by feelings. British Conservative politician and Brexit campaigner, Michael Gove, said last year that people “have had enough of experts”. This new ecosystem, former President Barack Obama told the New Yorker, “means everything is true and nothing is true”. But evidence does matter. Expertise matters. Facts matter. Ultimately, the responsibility for being well informed rests not with companies but individuals, to question information and seek out sources that confront, rather than confirm, our existing points of view. If there is some comfort to be taken from the research of people like Professor Lewandowsky, perhaps it’s that the most important lesson in the fight against fake news is also the simplest – don’t believe everything you read. n

A short ride later, we’re thrust inside a gaudy, endless array ofrooms –each impeccably furnished with marble and chandeliers. Al Muderis signals that he’s been inside the palace once before, a sort of child prop for a ceremony held for Saddam Hussein. In a large room off amain corridor, the IraqiAustralian finally meets the man who’s invited him back. Stoic and gentle, Haider al-Abadi probes with questions on osseointegration. He queries the safety of the procedure, andmarvels about the remarkable way in which bonefuses to titanium. “Have you seen The Terminator?” asks Al Muderis. Al-Abadi looks lost. “What about RoboCop, have you seen RoboCop?” “Yes, yes I have.” “It’s just like that.” The Prime Minister’s primary focus seems firmly set on the personal wellbeing of the injured. “It’s very important for them to feel like they’re back to normal again.” The embattled Prime Minister’s eyes go warm and bright when Al Muderis pulls out a laptop and shows him a short clip of a once wheelchairbound patient walking again. “He’s an Iraqi, he trained inBaghdad, and he’s willing to help his fellow Iraqis,” the Prime Minister later tells GQ. “Every Iraqi is proud of him. He shows that Iraqis are very resilient.” Stepping back down the palace footsteps, Al Muderis closes his eyes and, for a moment, takes in the heat. The surrounding gardens are pristine and manicured, the rendered walls awarm, saturated beige. An armoured SUV pulls up and themoment is gone.

On his final night in Baghdad, Al Muderis is granted a rare treat – a glimpse of Baghdad, thereal Baghdad, past the Green Zone. Owing to the fact that hewas an invited guest of the Prime Minister, his handlers have erred on the side of extreme caution at all times. As such, this excursion in an armoured SUV is accessorised by a military motorcade – the head of which is a Land Cruiser packed with Ministry of Defence officers, each brandishing an M16 rifle. Following a brief presentation to a group of orthopaedists, AlMuderis sits in a sprawling restaurant set on the banks of the Tigris River. The eateries and bars that line the waterway are where Baghdad comes to socialise – dinners stretching into the early hours of the morning as locals take in the cooler temperatures, a welcome respite from the sun’s harsh heat. As a child, Al Muderis used to swim in the Tigris, taking courage from his older, brasher cousin. His childhood home sits just up the river. From there, he’d take strolls along the water with his mother and father. Appetites eventually sated, thecavalcade folds back into the Green Zone at a glacial pace – security, naturally, is far slower on the way back. Before leaving Iraq, Al Muderis delivers the opening speech at TEDxBaghdad. To theorganisers’ surprise, he insists on presenting in English, telling the story of his journey from Baghdad to Australia, and back. “Things have changed in this country. I’m very pleased to see that this place is way better than when I left it.” He ends the speech with, “God bless you all,” and it doesn’t feel the slightest bit disingenuous. If you looked closely during the live performance of the national anthem that opened the event, you could see tears crawling down the doctor’s face. At the conclusion of his talk, Al Muderis is mobbed by

admiration and mobile phones. A disorderly queue forms, and 20 minutes of fan photos quickly pass. “This is crazy,” he says, between selfies. Al Muderis’ grin only ends on being firmly told by a prime ministerial delegate that he’s aflight to catch. At Baghdad International, with the group out of earshot, the delegate gently mentions that, a night earlier, at the precise moment we re-entered the Green Zone, a car bomb detonated a few suburbs over. “It used to be one or two attacks a day,” he says. “It’s much better now, maybe only once every week or two. It’s safe.” As Al Muderis prepares to depart, one final hurdle presents itself – baggage allowance. Thevast stack of patient x-rays weighs in at some 20kg – barely fitting into his luggage. They are the images he’ll need to further assess the next steps for eachpatient. The same delegate snaps his fingers, disappears momentarily, and presents an appropriately rugged solution. The images, carefully collected, are now double bagged in industrialstrength garbage bags. Everything in place, Al Muderis is fed from the private lounge, back into the armoured Mercedes, bound for his flight. “I’m still in shock,” he says as the car crosses the runway. Sure, in this moment, he still feels decisively more Australian than Iraqi. But the cultural ledger has tipped a fraction –like a compass eventually creeping back to True North. Some roots, maybe, are too deepto pull. On the tarmac, he clutches thegarbage bag full of x-rays close to his chest. They’ll act asa map –a raison d’être –back toBaghdad, in a few months time.Al Muderis then boards to business class, and the Australian departs, an Iraqi again. n

S E P TE M B E R/OCTO B E R 20 17 G Q .COM . AU

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lifestylecollection ETIQUETTE & CO.

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HUBLOT hublot.com HUGO BOSS hugoboss.com H & M hm.com/au JACK LONDON shop.jacklondon.com.au LACOSTE lacoste.com.au LEVI’S levis.com.au LEYVA henrybucks.com.au LONGINES longines.com LOUIS VUITTON 1300 883 880 MAURICE LACROIX mauricelacroix.com MOLTON BROWN moltonbrown.com.au OFF-WHITE off---white.com OMEGA omegawatches.com PATEK PHILIPPE 03 9686 7900 PAUL SMITH 02 9331 8222 PENHALIGON’S libertineparfumerie.com.au PETER JACKSON peterjacksons.com POLO RALPH LAUREN 02 9410 2038 PRADA 02 9223 1688 PS BY PAUL SMITH paulsmith.com RADO rado.com RAY-BAN 1300 655 612 RAYMOND WEIL 02 9363 1088

RM WILLIAMS rmwilliams.com.au ROBERTO CAVALLI 1800 812 663 ROLEX 02 9236 0411 SABA saba.com.au SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO YSL.com SALVATORE FERRAGAMO 1300 095 224 SEIKO seiko.com.au SENER BESIM onepointsevenfour.com SUPERDRY superdry.com.au TAG HEUER tagheuer.com TED BAKER tedbaker.com TIFFANY & CO tiffany.com TISSOT tissotwatches.com TOD’S 02 8203 0901 TOM FORD 02 9232 8399 TOM FORD FRAGRANCE 1800 061 326 TOMMY HILFIGER 1300 348 885 TUDOR tudorwatch.com UNIQLO uniqlo.com/au VALENTINO 03 9568 7559 VERSACE shop.davidjones.com.au VICTORINOX 03 9572 9820 V76 BY VAUGHN 1300 725 122 WOOTTEN 03 9510 6503 ZARA zara.com ZEGNA 02 9376 7600

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GQ PROMOTION

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THE MODERN MAN’S DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL SHOPPING AND SOPHISTICATED STYLE. B ROGU E ON E

ADVE NTU R E TI M E

Reader, meet ‘Jorge’. Jorge, meet reader. He’s a bit of a traditionalist, old Jorge, though he doesn’t always stand on ceremony. Sporting saddle stitching, wingtips and toe roses, this brogue is cool enough to kick around with the most fashion forward in just about any occasion. Could be the start of a beautiful friendship. lluisshoesco.com.au

Breitling has crossed oceans of time, in a metaphysical sense, to bring you a stunning reinterpretation of its ‘Superocean Héritage’ line. Inspired by seafaring adventurers of yore and the modern-day explorer in us all, the new face of the ‘Superocean Héritage II 42’ (pictured) is as pure and dynamic as ever, and boldly fronts a high-precision, reliably robust, self-winding movement endowed with a 70-hour power reserve. breitling.com

LESS IS MOR E In an ever-increasing world of nifty and smart appliances, sometimes smaller is better, or at least more convenient. Lightweight and compact but packing a hefty caffeinated kick, the ‘Essenza Mini’ is Nespresso’s smallest-ever coffee machine. Offering two programmable cup sizes, it makes coffee the way you like it. nespresso.com.au

EX TE N D YOU RSE LF That stretchy Fantastic Four bloke could do with a few pairs of Calvin Klein’s ‘Customised Stretch’ boxers… and so could you. Made from 90 per cent cotton and instilled with four-way stretch and recovery properties, they’re light, soft and super comfortable. Find them at Calvin Klein retail stores and davidjones.com.au

DAVI D B ECKHAM If you’ve ever wondered what David Beckham smells like (and really, who hasn’t?), ponder no more. He smells of ‘Respect’. More specifically, grapefruit, watermelon and pink pepper combined earthily with cardamom, lavandin, basil, patchouli, vetiver and moss. It’s layered and surprisingly complex. chemistwarehouse.com.au

AI R TIM E Engineered for precision control, superb handling, ultra-fast speed and supreme style, the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer is the Ferrari of styling tools. Its powerful digital V9 motor is in the handle, not the head, for great balance, while its heat control measures air temperature 20 times per second to avoid heat damage and protect your hair’s natural shine. Now available in nickel/purple and found at David Jones and Myer. dyson.com.au/supersonic

STAR TECH The innovative HP Spectre takes laptop technology to a whole new and luxurious level. With impressive performance and slick functionality, housed in an impossibly slim 10.4mm design, power never looked so thin. hp.com.au/spectre

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