GQ Style Fall 2016

Whenever people ask me where I think fashion is headed, I quote one of my favorite sardonic cultural critics, Father John Misty. Late last year, indie’s funniest rocker told New York magazine that he hates “basic-ass dude” clothes. “Everyone kind of looks like a graphic designer,” he said. “It’s predicated on not fucking up, as opposed to the emphasis really being on expression.” (To see how Mr. Misty himself dresses, go to page 156.) I read that quote just before we announced this new magazine, and the implicit sartorial challenge in it—do you want to express yourself or focus on not fucking up?—has never left my head. Two other things that haven’t left my head are the classic shot of Richard Gere blazing a cigarette on the cover of GQ…

1. More Rings Than Jordan Throughout the issue you’re holding, you’ll notice a certain tasteful opulence. We say: No better place to start than with some regal knuckle hardware. Don’t worry about matching metals. Don’t worry about what looks best with your watch. In fact, don’t worry at all—just buy the rings that catch your eye, and wear however many feels right. 2. Jackets Serpico Would Wear Sure, black leather jackets are eternal—but the ’70s revival is in full swing, and the color of the moment is brown. It projects retro elegance without losing an ounce of toughness, conjuring up badass dudes from Indiana Jones to the baddest ass of all: John Shaft. 3. Everyday Velvet We’re not talking about a red velvet dinner jacket you wear only on special…

Raf Simons designed his first menswear collection in 1995. In the 21 years since, the Neerpelt, Belgium, native has remained at the center of fashion’s sphere of influence. He’s rebooted major luxury houses as the creative head of Jil Sander and Christian Dior. His frequent collaborations are always blockbusters, whether with mass-market heavyweights like Adidas and Fred Perry or museum-grade artists like Sterling Ruby and, via his estate, Robert Mapplethorpe. Even his personal wardrobe has become a beacon of influence: Have you noticed everyone wearing Stan Smiths the last couple of years? Simons made them his signature shoe before he started remixing them in pastel colors with Adidas. And, to this day, his archive stays relevant: It’s become a badge of honor for megastars like Rihanna and Travis Scott to…

Five years ago, when the online #menswear movement hit a critical mass, Boglioli was known mostly to industry insiders, magazine editors, and sharpas-hell Milanese men who all coveted the label’s innovative “soft” jackets: unstructured, unlined, and garment-washed to look and feel like you’ve been living in them for years. Basically, Boglioli was the exact opposite of the starched, stiff aesthetic you see on trading floors and in law offices, and the small buys at specialty retailers in the States sold through faster than gelato melts in August. Then, last year, Boglioli CEO Giovanni Mannucci tapped younggun designer Davide Marello— who clocked nine years as head of tailored clothing at Gucci—to be its first-ever creative director. An inaugural runway show was staged, and Boglioli came out looking like an all-new brand.…

It’s kinda weird for a fashion designer to claim she’s not trying to make a statement. But British designer Margaret Howell, who’s been turning out menswear for her eponymous line since 1970—and has quietly amassed more than 100 stores in Japan and 10 in Europe along the way—insists she’s not trying to do anything “other than what I feel.” And what Howell feels better than anyone else is a strange and radical balance between traditional and contemporary. While there are zillions of inessential brands churning out classic clothes with some clever modern twists, her designs are wonders of forward-looking tastefulness and hipness that only reveal themselves, on closer inspection, to have old souls. “It is quite difficult to describe how it works,” she says, regarding the inspiration behind her fall…

People give me curious looks when I tell them that some of the best Italian food I have ever had was in a restaurant in Japan called Elio Locanda Italiana—or that my favorite crepes come from a small shop called Au Temps Jadis Creperie in Shibuya. While Japan is often (rightly) celebrated for its original and historically significant innovations, I’m actually more impressed by the way the Japanese take great things from other cultures— whether it’s an oxford shirt, a pair of jeans, or a plate of fusilli—and perfect them. At the end of a recent trip to Japan, I stood among the single malts in a duty-free shop in Tokyo’s Narita airport, on a mission to bring home some of the excellent whisky I’d just had at a bar…