EDITOR’S LETTER

Welcome to our men’s special issue. Once upon a time, that would mean pages of fusty watch features, car write-ups, steely posing in boardroom suits and a tech story* thrown in for good measure. Sorry to disappoint any horology fans or petrolheads, but we do have suits, really great suits: just look at rapper Kojey Radical resplendent in that Gucci number on the cover.

A one-time poet, mixed-media artist, mentor, designer and video director, Renaissance man Radical is here to promote his incredible debut album, Reason to Smile. He’s also here as a shining example of what, to me, masculinity looks like today. That amazing pearl necklace in the opening shot of his story? He arrived at the photo studio wearing it. That might not sound that significant but think about it: a rap artist forgoing bling for a pearl choker? That’s the kind of man we want to celebrate. Sarfraz Manzoor meets the 29-year-old and gets inspired.

Elsewhere, Joe Bromley visits a magnificent new V&A exhibition charting the evolution of the male wardrobe from 17th-century dandies to 1990s hip-hop stars and the fluid boys of 2022 (cue that Harry Styles lace frock from the cover of US Vogue). It showcases a multiverse of masculinity knocking the stuffing out of the archaic idea that menswear is a world of stuffy tailoring. Ultimately, it’s about the freedom to be yourself; and, right now, every idea of freedom is worth protecting and fighting for.

In case you need another example of a thoroughly modern male style icon, marvel at Marc Jacobs in this week’s My London. Jacobs is the living embodiment of flamboyant dressing: his Instagram is a never-ending runway of headscarves, platforms and nail polish.

I don’t know about you but all of this is making my wardrobe feel desperately boring.

*By the way, we do have a brilliant tech story lifting the lid on the hacktivist group Anonymous and their information war against Putin. It’s essential reading.