Ryan Gosling, Kanye, Pharrell top GQ’s first-ever list of ‘most stylish men alive’
At left, the July 2015 cover of GQ magazine featuring Ryan Gosling, named one of the 20 most stylish men alive. At right, Kanye West, left, and Pharrell Williams, who also made the list, on the red carpet at the June 1 CDFA Fashion Awards in New York City.
Let Vanity Fair have its international best-dressed list and People magazine its pick for sexiest man alive, men’s style glossy GQ is issuing a list of its own for the first time: the most stylish men alive.
The 20 names on the list, which appears in the magazine’s July issue, include a lot of people you’d probably expect — Ryan Gosling, Pharrell Williams, Jared Leto, Kanye West and Bradley Cooper among them — and a handful that might not immediately spring to mind, such as Jeff Goldblum, Jaden Smith, John Mayer and Italian soccer star Mario Balotelli.
In announcing their own version of the best-dressed list, the folks at GQ explained that they arrived at their short list by “analyz[ing] the nominees not based on what they wore to events and red carpets, but based on something much real-er: their street style. … [L]ook[ing] for guys who carry themselves with confidence and originality and whose moves we most want to steal.”
In addition to the guys mentioned above, the list of gentlemen who should consider snapping a padlock on their moves to avoid theft includes Brad Pitt, Jay Z, LeBron James, A$AP Rocky, Harry Styles, Daniel Craig, Cristiano Ronaldo, Russell Westbrook, David Beckham, Mark Ronson and Eddie Redmayne.
An interesting group to say the least — and one with some serious international flair (I admit I had to look up who Balotelli is — for a moment I thought they’d added the pony-tailed, Croc-wearing chef to the list), but I couldn’t help but notice that one of the perennially best-dressed men in Hollywood — George Clooney — was nowhere to be found. Then again, I can’t remember the last time we saw a photo of Clooney in which he wasn’t in full red-carpet mode.
And while you’re at it, GQ, how about doing a little slob-shaming public service by compiling a companion list of the least stylish men alive? We’ve already got two names to suggest: Adam Sandler and Kevin James, who turned out to a June 14 Cancun, Mexico, photo call — alongside Selena Gomez in a stunner of a red dress, no less — in full untucked T-shirt and lounge pants mode.
It might be GQ’s first pass at tallying the most stylish men alive but it’s no stranger to making lists. For the last nine years the magazine has compiled an annual best new menswear designers in America list (two of the 2015 brands, NSF and Stampd were just profiled in Sunday’s L.A. Times Image section) and traditionally throws bicoastal bashes to celebrate its men of the year honorees.
GQ’s 2015 most-stylish list hits newsstands in Los Angeles and New York City on Tuesday and elsewhere across the country on June 30. More detailed information on how GQ compiled the list as well as interviews with honorees James and Mayer (and a fascinating photo gallery focusing solely on Leto’s hair) can be found at gq.com.
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