CHANGE IS GOOD!

I’m 100% a city mouse. My favourite moments during international travels are those when I can walk around in a new metro, taking in the sights, scents, pace and overall energy of a city as its people move. My version of camping involves driving past the campsite in search of the nearest multiple-star resort. I spend my perfect summer holiday near a quiet swimming pool. But as soon as our leisure travel industry reopened a few weeks ago, I made it a mission to find the most remote, removed escape I could find. Like you, I’ve been staring at screens for some 18 hours a day since March – and I needed a chance to exhale, to get out of my head, and to be off the grid for a moment. It was just the change of scenery I needed to relax and reset. If you’re keen for such a breakaway, our senior fashion editor Mira Leibowitz shares the story of one great spot on pg 22.

We rarely face the same challenges at the same time, yet for all of us, 2020 is that moment. No matter what we’ve experienced so far, we’ve all undergone massive life changes. I don’t need to tell you how jarring even the smallest of these changes can be to our very sense of being, even physically. Taking that moment to exhale – and to share what I’ve been going through with friends, family and colleagues – has been both therapeutic and revealing, a thorough mental spring clean.

As a brand, we’ve done some of that spring cleaning together, and this month, GQ – a brotherhood of 21 global markets – shares its vision for the future through our new manifesto, “Change is Good” (more overleaf). From here on out, you’ll see us become even more daring across all platforms. Right alongside you, we’ll re-examine and redesign our world, and continue to grow a community of informed, open-minded people who lead communities, fight for the vulnerable, and impact the world around them every day – like our cover star,