Officially, our search for GQ’s Best Dressed Men of the Year begins in July – but we really are on the lookout year round.
The Hunt
Sometimes we spot fantastic style during fashion week or at an event. Sometimes it’s just during the morning coffee run. Often we’ll spend a few hours scouring Instagram to see what you’ve tagged us in. (Keep that up, by the way – it makes it that much easier to stalk find you.)
When the official search for GQ’s Best Dressed Men of the Year does commence, we assemble a panel of judges from every industry, who submit their nominations. This year’s panel of 30 really did give us eyes everywhere, and proffered close to 600 names for consideration.
If you think you embody everything that is Best Dressed, make sure to enter 2017’s Best Dressed Reader Search– and share your entry on social media with the hashtag #IAMBD17 – we’ll be watching.
The criteria: What Best Dressed means
For me, what makes a man Best Dressed material isn’t just the fact that he dresses with impeccable style, but also that he lives with style. Together with Jameson Select Reserve, we aim to showcase a level of fearlessness and consistency, and a powerful self-awareness that our winners use to leave an impact everywhere they go.
Living with style means every move you make is consistent, and considered. Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no margin of error. Back in 2005, I tried to bring back the 80s ‘trend’ of wearing two shirts at time. It failed miserably. It as also incredibly impractical and very hot. Don’t try to look for photos; I bribed the NSA way back.
But for me, great style accurately represents who we are. Anyone who’s regarded as a style icon absolutely nails what’s perhaps the biggest element of being stylish: authenticity. They understand completely who they are (and who they aren’t) and stick to that. And as they subtly evolve, so too does their style.
The Vision
What really excites me about celebrating stylish men in South Africa is that it provides yet another opportunity to show off our fantastic creativity to the rest of the world. Our designers, stylists, and photographers are becoming increasingly more celebrated worldwide (and more imitated than ever before), as they weave together a new African narrative – one thread at a time.
Click through: http://gq.co.za/2017/09/editors-take-best-dressed/