GQ

Last updated

GQ
GQ Logo.svg
Gq magazine october 2017 gq60.png
October 2017 cover featuring Harrison Ford and highlighting the magazine's 60th year
Editor-in-chief Will Welch
Categories Men's
Frequency10 issues per year
Publisher Condé Nast Inc.
Total circulation934,000 (2019) [1]
First issue1931 (as Apparel Arts)
1957 (as Gentleman's Quarterly)
1967 (as GQ)
Company Advance Publications
CountryUnited States
Based in New York City
LanguageChinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese Spanish
Website
ISSN 0016-6979

GQ (which stands for Gentlemen's Quarterly and is also known Apparel Arts) is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, celebrities' sports, technology, and books are also featured.

Contents

History

The magazine Apparel Arts was launched in 1931 in the United States. [2] It was a men's fashion magazine for the clothing trade, aimed primarily at wholesale buyers and retail sellers. Initially it had a very limited print run and was aimed solely at industry insiders to enable them to give advice to their customers. The popularity of the magazine among retail customers, who often took the magazine from the retailers, spurred the creation of Esquire magazine in 1933. [3] [4]

Apparel Arts continued until 1957 when it was transformed into a quarterly magazine for men, which was published for many years by Esquire Inc. [5] Apparel was dropped from the logo in 1958 with the spring issue after nine issues, and the name Gentlemen's Quarterly was established. [6]

Gentlemen's Quarterly was re-branded as GQ in 1967. [2] The rate of publication was increased from quarterly to monthly in 1970. [2] In 1979 Condé Nast bought the publication, and editor Art Cooper changed the course of the magazine, introducing articles beyond fashion and establishing GQ as a general men's magazine in competition with Esquire. [7]

Subsequently, international editions were launched as regional adaptations of the U.S. editorial formula. Jim Nelson was named editor-in-chief of GQ in February 2003; during his tenure, he worked as both a writer and an editor of several National Magazine Award-nominated pieces,[ citation needed ] and the magazine became more oriented towards younger readers and those who prefer a more casual style.

Nonnie Moore was hired by GQ as fashion editor in 1984, having served in the same position at Mademoiselle and Harper's Bazaar . Jim Moore, the magazine's fashion director at the time of her death in 2009, described the choice as unusual, observing that "She was not from men's wear, so people said she was an odd choice, but she was actually the perfect choice". Jim Moore also noted that she changed the publication's more casual look: "She helped dress up the pages, as well as dress up the men, while making the mix more exciting and varied and approachable for men." [8]

GQ has been closely associated with metrosexuality. The writer Mark Simpson coined the term in an article for British newspaper The Independent about his visit to a GQ exhibition in London: "The promotion of metrosexuality was left to the men's style press, magazines such as The Face, GQ, Esquire, Arena and FHM , the new media which took off in the Eighties and is still growing ... They filled their magazines with images of narcissistic young men sporting fashionable clothes and accessories.

And they induced other young men to study them with a mixture of envy and desire." [9] [10] The magazine has expanded its coverage beyond lifestyle issues. For example, in 2003, journalist Sabrina Erdely wrote an eight-page feature story in GQ on popular con man Steve Comisar. [11] GQ has been called the "holy text of woke capital" by The Spectator . [12]

In 2016, GQ launched the spinoff quarterly GQ Style, headed by then-style editor Will Welch, who was later promoted to creative director of the magazine. [13]

In 2018, writing for GQ, Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for her article about Dylann Roof, who had shot nine African-Americans in a church in Charleston. [14] In September 2018, Will Welch was named the new editor-in-chief of GQ, succeeding Jim Nelson. [15]

In 2020, GQ launched it webstore and first merch drop. The GQ Shop lineup was designed by the editors and art directors behind the GQ website. [16]

Men of the Year

GQ (U.S.) first named their Men of the Year in 1996 and featured the award recipients in a special issue of the magazine. [17] British GQ launched its annual Men of the Year awards in 2009 [18] and GQ India launched its version the following year. [19] Spanish GQ launched its Men of the Year awards in 2011 [20] and GQ Australia launched its version in 2007. [21]

Controversies

Glee controversy

In 2010, GQ magazine had three adult members of the television show Glee (Dianna Agron, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith) partake in a photoshoot. [22] The sexualization of the actresses in the photos caused controversy among parents of teens who watch the show Glee. The Parents Television Council was the first to react to the photo spread when it was leaked prior to GQ's planned publishing date. Their President Tim Winter stated, "By authorizing this kind of near-pornographic display, the creators of the program have established their intentions on the show's directions. And it isn't good for families". [23] The photoshoot was published as planned and Dianna Agron went on to state that the photos did push the envelope, that they did not represent who she is, any more than other magazine photo shoots, but that she was a 24-year-old adult in the photo shoot, and wondered why the concerned parents allowed their eight year old daughters to read any racy issue of the adult magazine GQ. [22]

Russian apartment bombings

GQ's September 2009 U.S. magazine published, in its "backstory" section, an article by Scott Anderson, "None Dare Call It Conspiracy". Before GQ published the article, an internal email from a Condé Nast lawyer referred to it as "Vladimir Putin's Dark Rise to Power". [24] The article reported Anderson's investigation of the 1999 Russian apartment bombings, and included interviews with Mikhail Trepashkin who investigated the bombings while he was a colonel in Russia's Federal Security Service.

The story, including Trepashkin's own findings, contradicted the Russian Government's official explanation of the bombings and criticized Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. [25]

Condé Nast's management tried to keep the story out of Russia. It ordered executives and editors not to distribute that issue in Russia or show it to "Russian government officials, journalists or advertisers". [25] Management decided not to publish the story on GQ's website or in Condé Nast's foreign magazines, not to publicize the story, and asked Anderson not to syndicate the story "to any publications that appear in Russia". [25]

The day after the magazine's publication in the United States, bloggers published the original English text and a translation into Russian on the internet. [26] [27]

Criticism of the Bible and Western literary canon

On April 19, 2018, the editors of GQ published an article titled "21 Books You Don't Have to Read" in which the editors compiled a list of works they think are overrated and should be passed over, including the Bible as well as The Catcher in the Rye , The Alchemist , Blood Meridian , A Farewell to Arms , The Old Man and the Sea , The Lord of the Rings , and Catch-22 . [28] [29] [30] The article generated a backlash among Internet commentators. [29]

Karol G's photo retouching

On April 6, 2023, the Colombian singer Karol G took to social media to share that the photo used was "disrespectful" and a misleading depiction of the way her body and face naturally looks. She wrote: "I don't know how to start this message. Today my GQ magazine cover was made public, a cover with an image that does not represent me. My face doesn't look like that, my body doesn't look like that and I feel very happy and comfortable with how I look naturally" "It's disrespectful to me. It's to the women that every day we wake up looking to feel comfortable with ourselves despite society's stereotypes." [31] [32]

Circulation

The magazine reported an average worldwide paid circulation of 934,000 in the first half of 2019, [1] down 1.1% from 944,549 in 2016 and 2.6% from 958,926 in 2015. [33]

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK), British GQ had an average circulation of 103,087 during the first half of 2019, [34] down 6.3% from 110,063 during the second half of 2018, [35] and down 10.3% from 114,867 during the second half of 2013. [36]

Editors and publishers

U.S. publishers

  • Bernard J. Miller (1957–1975)
  • Sal Schiliro (1975–1980)
  • Steve Florio (1975–1985)
  • Jack Kliger (1985–1988)
  • Michael Clinton (1988–1994)
  • Michael Perlis (1994–1995)
  • Richard Beckman (1995–1999)
  • Tom Florio (1999–2000)
  • Ronald A. Galotti (2000–2003)
  • Peter King Hunsinger (2003–2011)
  • Chris Mitchell (2011–2014)
  • Howard Mittman (2014–2017)

U.S. editors

U.K. editors

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Esquire</i> (magazine) American mens magazine

Esquire is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions.

Vanity Fair is an American monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.

Vogue U.S., also known as American Vogue, or simply Vogue, is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collection of Condé Nast's VOGUE media.

<i>Mens Health</i> Magazine

Men's Health (MH), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands.

Condé Nast is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.

<i>Town & Country</i> (magazine) Monthly American lifestyle magazine

Town & Country, formerly the Home Journal and The National Press, is a monthly American lifestyle magazine. It is the oldest continually published general interest magazine in the United States.

<i>Arena</i> (magazine) British mens magazine

Arena was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had founded The Face in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed The Face, designed Arena's launch appearance.

Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. The New York Times noted that "Gourmet was to food what Vogue is to fashion." Founded by Earle R. MacAusland (1890–1980), Gourmet, first published in January 1941, also covered "good living" on a wider scale, and grew to incorporate culture, travel, and politics into its food coverage. James Oseland, an author and editor in chief of rival food magazine Saveur, called Gourmet "an American cultural icon."

<i>Teen Vogue</i> American fashion and culture magazine

Teen Vogue is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to Vogue, targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like Vogue, it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since 2015, following a steep decline in sales, the magazine cut back on its print distribution in favor of online content, which has grown significantly. The magazine had also expanded its focus from fashion and beauty to include politics and current affairs. In November 2017, it was announced Teen Vogue would cease in print and continue online-only as part of a new round of cost cuts. Other publications would also follow and go digital, such as InStyle. The final print issue featured Hillary Clinton on the cover, and was on newsstands on December 5, 2017.

<i>Mens Vogue</i>

Men's Vogue was a monthly men's magazine that covered fashion, design, art, culture, sports and technology. The premier issue was August 2005. On 30 October 2008 Condé Nast announced that they intended to fold the magazine into Vogue proper as a bi-annual subscriber's supplement. However, the magazine has ceased to be published since its original folding date.

<i>GQ Australia</i> Australian mens lifestyle magazine

GQ Australia is an Australian lifestyle publication and the Australian version of men's magazine GQ.

<i>Lucky</i> (magazine)

Lucky was a fashion and lifestyle magazine founded by Kim France and first published in 2000 under the Condé Nast subsidiary. The magazine folded in June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irina Shayk</span> Russian fashion model (born 1986)

Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova, known professionally as Irina Shayk, is a Russian fashion model. She received international recognition when she appeared as the first Russian model on the cover of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In 2022, the website Models.com placed her on their list of the New Supers.

Stefano Tonchi is an Italian journalist, curator, and consultant.

<i>Vogue Italia</i> Italian edition of Vogue magazine

Vogue Italia is the Italian edition of Vogue magazine owned by Condé Nast International. In publication since 1964, it has been called the top fashion magazine in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Gandy</span> British model born 1980

David James Gandy is an English male fashion model who began his career after winning a televised model-search competition. For several years, Gandy was the lead male model for Dolce & Gabbana, who featured him in their advertising campaigns and fashion shows.

<i>Glamour</i> (magazine) American magazine

Glamour is an online women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It was originally called Glamour of Hollywood. From 1939 to 2019, Glamour was a print magazine. After a low number of subscribers Glamour's last edition was in January 2019.

<i>Café</i> (magazine) Swedish mens magazine

Café is a monthly Swedish men's magazine focused on fashion, style, and culture, including articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books. The magazine is comparable to U.S. publications such as Esquire and GQ. It is published in Stockholm, Sweden.

<i>Tatler</i> British magazine established in 1901

Tatler is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. It focuses on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. Targeted towards the British and global upper class and upper-middle class, as well as those interested in society events, its readership is the wealthiest of all Condé Nast's publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Alvarrez</span> US Model and Internet Celebrity

Jay Alvarrez is an American model, actor, and Internet personality. He has modeled for brands such as Calvin Klein, Armani, and Bonds. He has also appeared on the covers of GQ Style Russia and Esquire Greece, and he has also been featured in Inked magazine. He is a creator of video content mainly in extreme sports and travel.

References

  1. 1 2 Williams, Alex (November 7, 2019). "As Men Are Canceled, So Too Their Magazine Subscriptions". The New York Times . Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Sterlacci, Francesca; Joanne Arbucklee (2009). The A to Z of the Fashion Industry. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 101. ISBN   978-0810870468 . Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Esquire | American magazine". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ "History of Eire Magazine". DKC. May 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Magazine Data, page 140: Gentlemen's Quarterly". Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
  6. ↑ "GQ: American magazine". Encyclopædia Britannica . Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Advertising". The New York Times. February 16, 1979. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ Hevesi, Dennis (February 24, 2009). "Nonnie Moore, Fashion Editor at Magazines, Dies at 87". The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  9. ↑ Simpson, Mark (November 15, 1994). "Here Come the Mirror Men". The Independent. London.
  10. ↑ Safire, William (December 7, 2003). "On Language; Metrosexual". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Erdely, Sabrina R. (August 2003). "The Creep With the Golden Tongue" (PDF). GQ: 126–132, 155–156. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  12. ↑ Sixsmith, Ben (October 19, 2019). "GQ is a holy text of woke capital". The Spectator . Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Inside the GQ Style Launch Party Photo Booth". GQ. May 17, 2016. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  14. ↑ Pulitzer-Preis für Weinstein-Enthüllungen Archived April 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine orf.at, April 16, 2018, retrieved April 17, 2018. (German)
  15. ↑ Petrarca, Emilia (September 13, 2018). "GQ's Editor-in-Chief Exits After 21 Years". The Cut. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  16. ↑ Nast, C. (2020, August 25). GQ's first Merch drop is here. GQ. https://www.gq.com/story/gq-merch-shop-is-here-announcement Archived April 18, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Larson, Lauren; Mooney, Jessie (November 19, 2015). "Watch Tracy Morgan and Donald Trump Welcome You to GQ's Men of the Year Issue". GQ. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  18. ↑ "GQ Men of the Year - Home". Gq (Uk). Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  19. ↑ "How Deepika, Shahid and Akshay will save the world". GQ India. November 5, 2015. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Hombres GQ del año". Revista GQ. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  21. ↑ "GQ Men of the Year Awards". Vogue Australia. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  22. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie. "Racy 'Glee' GQ Shoot Creates Controversy". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ de Moraes, Lisa. "Racy GQ photo spread gives you all the 'Glee' you could expect to see, and so much more". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Scott (September 2009). "None Dare Call It Conspiracy". GQ: 246.
  25. 1 2 3 Folkenflik, David (September 4, 2009). "Why 'GQ' Doesn't Want Russians To Read Its Story". Morning Edition . NPR. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  26. ↑ Snyder, Gabriel. "Эй, вы можете прочитать запрещенную статью GQ про Путина здесь" [Hey, You Can Read the Forbidden GQ Article About Putin Here]. Gawker . Archived from the original on September 7, 2009.
  27. ↑ "None Dare Call It Conspiracy". Ratafia Currant. September 4, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  28. ↑ "21 Books You Don't Have to Read". GQ. April 19, 2018. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  29. 1 2 Bryant, Taylor (April 20, 2018). "White Men Are Mad That This 'GQ' List Dismisses Books By White Men". Nylon . Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  30. ↑ Schwartz, Dana (April 20, 2018). "GQ suggests people not read Catch-22, Catcher in the Rye, more — and it's totally fine". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Karol G critica los retoques que han hecho a su imagen en la portada de la revista 'GQ': "No me representa, mi cara no se ve así"". 20minutos - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). April 7, 2023. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  32. ↑ Garcia, Thania (April 6, 2023). "Karol G Calls Out GQ Mexico for 'Disrespectful' Magazine Cover: 'My Face Does Not Look Like This'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  33. ↑ Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (January 23, 2017). "What to watch: The future of men's magazines is in flux". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  34. ↑ "GQ: January to June 2019 – Circulation (average per issue)". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). August 15, 2019. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  35. ↑ "GQ: July to December 2018 – Circulation (average per issue)". Audit Bureau of Circulations (UK). February 14, 2019. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  36. ↑ Plunkett, John (February 13, 2014). "FHM circulation drops below 100,000". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.