GQ for Gap 2018: The Coolest Designers on the Planet
For eleven years, GQ celebrated the best and brightest emerging menswear talents in America. Then, last year, we took the show on the road and went global. For 2018, we’re blowing the roof off of our Coolest Designers on the Planet program: GQ editor-in-chief Jim Nelson and creative director–at-large Jim Moore have called on eight extremely talented and tuned-in designers to reimagine the iconic Gap logo hoodie (for a limited-edition collection available in Gap stores and gap.com this fall). This year’s GQ for Gap class is a cross section of creatives, from well-known faces who craft hit collections for world-famous labels to relative newcomers armed with fresh ideas that have helped them forge their own paths in the ever-expanding menswear game. Meet this year’s crop of talents:
Balmain
Founded: 1946
Designer: Olivier Rousteing
The Aesthetic: Rousteing dresses the gilded social-media set (Kardashians and pop gods like Zayn and Bieber) in clothes just on the right side of baroque.
Dsquared2
Founded: 1996
Designers: Dean Caten and Dan Caten
The Aesthetic: Twin brothers Dean and Dan Caten never met a seemingly impossible idea they couldn’t pull off, from full-on cowboy wear to surf gear meant for anywhere but the sea.
No Vacancy Inn
Founded: 2015
Designers: Tremaine Emory and Acyde
The Aesthetic: Emory and Acyde are globetrotting jacks-of-all-trades, throwing Kanye-approved parties and elevating screen-printed T-shirts into an art form.
Surf Is Dead
Founded: 2016
Designer: Chris Josol
The Aesthetic: Josol’s two-year-old label puts a subversive twist on sunny surf-brand tropes (see: neon graphic hoodies adorned with skeletons and exploding volcanoes).
Stampd
Founded: 2011
Designer: Chris Stamp
The Aesthetic: Stamp brought the moody, monochromatic look out west: Finally, an L.A. uniform to replace sweatpants and Uggs.
Officine Générale
Founded: 2012
Designer: Pierre Mahéo
The Aesthetic: The Paris-based Mahéo excels at that most Parisian of activities: making everyday clothes unreasonably elegant.
Opening Ceremony
Founded: 2002
Designers: Humberto Leon and Carol Lim
The Aesthetic: Like anything cool in 2018, Leon and Lim’s souped-up sportswear comes from all over: N.Y.C. by way of Tokyo, Paris, and L.A.
MSGM
Founded: 2009
Designer: Massimo Giorgetti
The Aesthetic: Giorgetti’s clothes prove that old-world menswear and New Age hype can get along. Pinstriped sweatpants, anyone?
...And here’s what they’re working on:
Like Levi's 501s or Converse Chuck Taylors, Gap's most readily recognized design is an icon of democratic American style. Just think: If Gap had never stitched those three letters on a pullover, would the hoodie as we know it—Supreme-logoed, Gucci-embroidered—exist today? Probably not. It's the Michael Jordan jersey of mall-store menswear: bought by 13-year-olds looking for their first wallet-friendly swerve, worn by Mark Zuckerberg (at least on-screen in The Social Network), and rediscovered by grown men nostalgic for their earliest style status symbol. That's why we're so excited to see how this year's best-in-class crop of Coolest Designers on the Planet will interpret—or straight-up overhaul—the quintessential cozy-guy staple.
