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- [00:01]
Arden Fanning Andrews
This episode of the Run through is brought to you by ebay. I'm Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue's beauty editor at large. Everyone's talking about tassels right now, and that's the moment that I end up typing it into ebay. I found the perfect vintage triple chain belt with golden tassels, and it just looks so elegant, timeless. And it's on the way in the mail to me. Thanks to ebay.
- [00:30]
Nicole Phelps
This is the run Through. I'm Nicole Phelps. Today I have GQ's global editorial director, Will Welch with me in the studio. We're heading into The Men's Spring 2026 shows in Milan and Paris, and I asked Will to talk about the trends he's anticipating, the shows he's most excited about, and of course, the big debuts of the season. Here's my conversation with Will Welch. Welcome, Will.
- [00:58]
Will Welch
Thank you, Nicole. Very happy to be here.
- [01:00]
Nicole Phelps
Thank you for being here. We are going to talk about the men's shows this season.
- [01:05]
Will Welch
It is time.
- [01:06]
Nicole Phelps
Yes. Is there anything in particular that you are looking forward to?
- [01:09]
Will Welch
Oh, my gosh. Well, in general, I have been going to the shows for a long time, but I'm always excited to go back, like, always, always, always, without fail. And, yeah, every season always has some unique things going on, but this one feels particularly big. I think Jonathan Anderson, Dior menswear debut is a huge one. And then there's always, like, big shows like, yeah, Jonathan Anderson, Dior, Pharrell, Louis Vuitton, but also just the little appointments and all the smaller stuff that we really love being a part of as well.
- [01:42]
Nicole Phelps
Well, I count on GQ for keeping me up to date about menswear.
- [01:47]
Will Welch
I hope it's not just you.
- [01:49]
Nicole Phelps
We have a joke that Evan Connory owes his career to gq.
- [01:55]
Will Welch
Evan Connor owes his career to being really good at what he does. And we have just helped tell some people about it.
- [02:00]
Nicole Phelps
Yes. Well, you've done a good job. I certainly learned a lot about him via your coverage. So let's start with Jonathan Anderson. It is a huge moment. He was announced first off as the men's designer at Dior and more recently the women's too. So I think he has something like 18 collections a year combined with his own brand. JW Anderson. When you're talking to the team at GQ, what do you expect from him?
- [02:30]
Will Welch
Well, I think it's really interesting because it also shows a strategic departure for lvmh. So I think LVMH has always kept for the two biggest houses, Dior and Louis Vuitton, the men's and women's separate. And so you don't have just like one creative vision driving the whole house forward. And that has also allowed them to do really interesting things with all of the many elements that come just from the house. So if you think about Louis Vuitton, right, there's Nicola and there's Pharrell, but then there's all this other stuff that just comes from Louis Vuitton. And Dior has historically been set up that way as well, post Christian Dior. So now, for the first time since Christian Dior himself, there is one designer over it all. So I think it's interesting to think about that strategic shift for lvmh. And then there's the creative pressure that Jonathan is under to deliver in this new way. But for me, it's exciting. And I also think about this in tandem with Demna at Gucci, where somebody who has really, like, blown us all away with their creativity has to find like, a totally new gear and a totally new expression. And one of the things that I always found so inspiring about J.W. anderson shows, which, lucky for the menswear universe, they happen in Milan during menswear. So intimately familiar with what he does on the Runway at jw and then also at Louis, there's this, like, stark simplicity. Jonathan would often show, like, I don't know, 60, 70, 80 looks, but there would be so few pieces on each look. So rather than these, like, layered up looks with a ton going on, it's like, strip it down, strip it down, strip it down. I think his creative partner in both is Benjamin Bruno. Right. So I just thought the styling, the minimalism and starkness of the styling of J.W. anderson and Louisville shows was incredible. But I wonder, like, do you have to do it totally differently at Dior, or is that the way he says what he has to say? And I think Jonathan's a very conceptual designer, and he was able to get some really, like, specific honed concepts across through the way that he presented on the Runway. So I'm just so excited and fascinated to see how that is or maybe is not going to change when he's working at Dior, which is just a different. A whole different enterprise.
- [05:00]
Nicole Phelps
Such a different. Such a different enterprise. Exactly. He was able to take Loewe from a very unknown brand into Spanish bag maker. Right. And one of the fashion's hottest labels. And Dior obviously has a lot more global cachet, I guess, than Loewe did when. When he started there. And so a new challenge for him. And exc.
- [05:25]
Will Welch
Yeah, and really cool because he is, like, an intellectual designer and a conceptual designer, and he, alongside Pharrell, who is more of this, like, you know, whipping the cultural winds of energy, very much a creative director versus a fashion designer. So I think there's an interesting, like, point counterpoint between the two of them that we'll see in Paris as well.
- [05:47]
Nicole Phelps
Let's talk about Pharrell. I have never been to one of his shows but have watched from a distance, and they are massive productions, often with accompaniment. Even he sang. Did he sing at one of his. At his debut show?
- [06:02]
Will Welch
Yeah. Yeah, there was the choir, and then he and Jay Z did, like, a whole set with Rihanna and LeBron.
- [06:08]
Nicole Phelps
What's the vibe at his shows?
- [06:10]
Will Welch
The vibe is big. It's like fashion under the big top. It's like the big circus of fashion. And, yeah, they are packed with celebrities, packed with some of the biggest athletes in the world. And then, yeah, there's always new, original Pharrell produced music that's debuted, and it's just like, it just show how fashion has become so much more than, like, a presentation of clothes on the Runway. And I have to say, it's been really exciting, and it feels like a continuation of when Virgil became the menswear designer at Louis Vuitton. It just brought this whole other energy and all these new people, like, physically to Paris for Men's Fashion Week. And I remember talking to you and the other Vogue editors at the time. They were like, all the energy is at in June. And menswear and tons of celebrities started coming, all the professional athletes, so NBA players, NFL players, the occasional other sport as well, started showing up at all the shows. And the GQ party that I throw got, like, really crazy and out of control in the best possible way. And, yeah, when Virgil passed away, it was. It felt sort of, like, existential. It's like, is the June Paris shows still going to be the, like, Coachella, Art Basel, like, South by southwest of fashion? And with Pharrell at the helm at Louis Vuitton, the answer has definitely been, like, it's just continued, maybe even gotten bigger.
- [07:40]
Nicole Phelps
We have Robin Gavan coming on the podcast in a couple weeks, and she, of course, has written a book about Virgil, which I'm very excited to discuss with her.
- [07:49]
Will Welch
Yeah, Virgil's estate has some really exciting things happening later in the year that GQ is gonna be a part of. So very excited to share more about that over time.
- [07:58]
Nicole Phelps
All right, well, we will be paying close attention. Let's Talk about Julian. Klaus had his debut for women's wear at Dries Van Noten. He worked alongside Dries before Dries retired. Are you expecting anything in particular from Julian? Did you look at the women's. What did you think of it?
- [08:18]
Will Welch
Yeah, I looked at the women's and liked it. And I'm very excited. I mean, I love going into a show just with as open of a mind as possible. And I think it's always interesting when somebody has sort of come out of the atelier and is now taking over as the designer, because you never know, like, to what extent were they really successful at, like, serving the vision of the existing designer? And then what is their own voice? And how close to the. The name designer to Dries in this case is Julian's vision? Or how different is it? And you're often, like, totally surprised by the way the Venn diagram ends up being mapped. And I don't know, honestly, I started working at GQ under Jim Nelson, my predecessor's editor in chief, and I was serving his vision and then got the chance to express my own vision, which was related, but also different. And it's really fun to see that. And so, yeah, I'm excited to see what Julian is going to present on the men's side. And then there's also the Michael Ryder at Celine, who worked for Phoebe Filo at Celine and then worked at Ralph Lauren here in New York. And we know that Michael was very successful at Phoebe, Celine and Ralph's Ralph. But what will his vision be?
- [09:36]
Nicole Phelps
Right. Right. Yeah. Let's go back to Julian for one second. Sure. Because I think the job that he has to do is really hard. People love Dree so much. People.
- [09:46]
Will Welch
You know, there's a real cult.
- [09:48]
Nicole Phelps
There's a real cult. People wear it on a daily basis and felt a real affinity to him. And it's different than taking a job at one of these other heritage brands, where a Chanel, for example, or a Dior, where the originator, the founder, has been dead for decade. We have a deep personal connection with Dries.
- [10:08]
Will Welch
And so I think Dries is still here.
- [10:09]
Nicole Phelps
Chilling. He has a unique challenge, Julian, but we are definitely rooting for him. And Michael Rider, too. Did you get to know him at Polo Ralph Lauren?
- [10:19]
Will Welch
Only after his appointment at Selene was announced. We met and we've gotten together a few times for coffee and just to talk. And I've really enjoyed the conversations, but I have no idea what that is gonna come out on the Runway.
- [10:32]
Nicole Phelps
Me neither. I'm very eager. But he is not showing during men's, though, so he is just after men's. He's attached his debut to the couture calendar, which I suppose means he'll be showing both men's and women, I think, so, to give us the full picture. So somebody else who is sort of an on again, off again presence at the men's shows is Anthony Vaccarello, because he had, for a while been doing these off the beaten path. Did you get to see any of those menswear shows? Did you see the one that was in Morocco in the desert?
- [11:07]
Will Welch
Sam Hine from GQ was there. I think Miles Pope from GQ was there. I was not there myself, but I followed the desert orb. Desert fire orb, yes.
- [11:18]
Nicole Phelps
And then the one in Malibu, too. Right on the beach.
- [11:21]
Will Welch
Malibu. I was there. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah, it was kind of like a gloaming day over the Pacific Ocean. Yeah, that was good. But I'm always happy. Destination shows can be exciting and fun and obviously, like, allow a designer to express a very different vision. But there's something about the momentum created by Fashion Week. And I think sometimes people assume that, like, oh, if you're just, like, one show slotted into an hour during a day of shows, maybe you get lost. I actually think what happens is Fashion Week creates this incredible momentum and this, like, bigger conversation. And it's actually really hard to successfully pull off a destination show. Like, everything has to go right. Whereas during Fashion Week, you can sort of plug into that momentum and the energy. So I actually think the destination thing got, like, over. It became too popular of a trend and led to some pretty. I was going to say significant failures, but maybe that's. That's too vicious. It just led to some, like, shows that I think left a little to be desired because you create so much pressure when you try to take this whole industry of people off calendar to someplace. And I'm not talking about Anthony in particular on that. I just mean in general, that big trend, and it's cooled off a little bit, and more people are sort of filtering back into the showing during the weeks.
- [12:46]
Nicole Phelps
Yeah, we talk about it at Vogue Runway. Like, the glow or the aura of Fashion Week, people know it's happening. And so Vogue Runway, for one, is a destination. And that, you know, it helps brands be in the consciousness, the public consciousness a little more.
- [13:02]
Will Welch
You can whip the winds and create that from zero, but it is extremely difficult. One of the most successful ones ever, and it was just executed at such a high level, was Alessandro on Hollywood Boulevard.
- [13:15]
Nicole Phelps
Ah, yes.
- [13:16]
Will Welch
When he shut down Hollywood Boulevard. And, like, the choreography for the Gucci show. For Gucci. Yes. The choreography of that was so spectacular. And then there were, of course, this incredible casting of models, but all these, like, notable people and celebrities, like, mixed into the show. And that one really worked. I was like, that's when it's done at the highest level.
- [13:37]
Nicole Phelps
Yeah. Well, speaking about Alessandro, what do you think of his Valentino?
- [13:41]
Will Welch
I think it has been exciting. It definitely took. There was a lot of controversy and talk about how there were similarities between his vision at Gucci and his vision at Valentino. But now that it's like, we're accustomed to the world that he's expressing, I think all the differences between what he was doing at Gucci and what he's now doing at Valentino are, like, coming into relief. And just from a, like, GQ photo shoot perspective, we've been shooting a lot of it, and it has been looking great in the pages.
- [14:12]
Nicole Phelps
It looks great on the red carpet, too. Colman, Domingo.
- [14:15]
Will Welch
Yeah, exactly. A lot of red carpet. So it seems like it's finding its footing.
- [14:21]
Nicole Phelps
Back to St. Laurent. What did you make of Alexander Skarsgrd in those incredible over the knee boots at Cannes? You know, do you see other men wearing those? Could they ever become a trend, the.
- [14:34]
Will Welch
Brad Pitt on our current cover wearing them?
- [14:37]
Nicole Phelps
Well, I want to congratulate you on that cover.
- [14:39]
Will Welch
I'm like, who's Alexander? Scars growing. Let's talk about Brad Pitt wearing them. You know, there's definitely something very editorial about the boots, and I have no doubt that I'll be seeing them in Paris in about two weeks on the street, which will be really fun. But, yeah, it's like, this is what's so great about fashion is you find these. Sometimes there's just, like, this one idea that cuts through and sure, it's like celebrities trying to get you and I talking on the red carpet, or GQ trying to get other people talking with Brad Pitt wearing them.
- [15:14]
Nicole Phelps
Yeah. I want to know, did Brad resist that? George Cortina styled that? Did George give you any juicy stories? I mean, does Brad. Does he take convincing to put on something like that, or is he really. He really goes for it.
- [15:26]
Will Welch
Brad is an incredible collaborator when it comes to the fashion, and we've worked with him a bunch over the years, and a lot of those shoots have been with George Cortina. So gq, George and Brad, like, have a thing going, and he's just really open, but he's also. He won't do anything. And Everything. He's like, not there to be, you know, a pinup doll. And when he doesn't want to do something, he just laughs and says, nah, like, forget it. When he's up for it, he's like, yeah, let's try it.
- [15:54]
Nicole Phelps
Have you seen his new movie yet?
- [15:56]
Will Welch
I'm going to the premiere on Monday.
- [15:57]
Nicole Phelps
Ooh, I can't wait to hear about it.
- [15:59]
Will Welch
Yeah.
- [16:02]
Nicole Phelps
More with Will Welch after the break.
- [16:11]
Arden Fanning Andrews
The other day, I, like, went on a real ebay spree. There's this huge push for, like, 80s opulence and 80s sort of glamour, and we're going to see that returning. And so I was already kind of, kind of tapped into that just from my gorgeous ebay watch list. And I found a really beautiful Chloe blazer from the 80s and a really great Miu Miu kilt, these great Dior boots. And I'm combining them all together. Sometimes trend forecasting doesn't require something that's gonna be, like, produced in the future. Sometimes you can, like, tap into the past and tap into the archive as well. That's what makes ebay a fun place to actually discover things, because you're not going in with something so specific in mind, but you have an ide of what you're interested in or what you're excited about or, you know, just truly trend forecasting. And so one thing that I would say people should be watching out for is, like, very opulent, 80s style.
- [17:16]
Nicole Phelps
So Rick Owens, one of my favorite designers. He's also an upcoming star on the podcast. In a couple of weeks, he has a retrospective at the Pele Galliera, and he. He gave us a little preview and said that the Runway models will spill out onto the street of outside of the Palais de Tokyo and head over to the Palais Galliera. Incredible Talk about Rick's impact on menswear. He's another person who makes crazy boots.
- [17:44]
Will Welch
He does make some crazy boots. Rick is one of one has pulled off the most incredible trick, which he has such a, like, vicious and severe vision as a designer, but he has found a way to translate it a million different ways that ultimately can be understandable. So to me, you know, a crazy pair of Rick Owens boots or one of these coats that is really more of a sculpture than it is a piece of clothing is like. Contains all the essential Rickness, like the Rick Owens vision, but so does a Rick Owens T shirt or a pair of shorts or a pair of sneakers, like his sneaker. Business is just a phenomenon unto itself, and it is so rare for a Designer who has that radical of an aesthetic to find ways to make it accessible to so many people. I mean, it is like, I always think of that, like, Usual suspects line. Like, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was, like, I don't know, Rick Owens making T shirts that, you know, my dad could wear. And it has just allowed the cult of Rick Owens to touch, to reach so far and to touch so many people. I also think he is a designer whose vision is as. It's as radical and as clear for men as it is for women, and it's as experimental for men as it is for women. Often, I think menswear is really based in utility. Like, everything. All of the hallmarks of menswear. And ultimately, I think what works on the Runway and what doesn't comes down to, like, is it somehow rooted in utility when you think about the men's suit or just men's fashion in general? It goes back to, like, the Royal Air Force, the military, to workwear, to. It's just utility, utility, utility. Whereas women's wear has always had this long history. It's about expressiveness and, like, reshaping the body and the art of fashion. Rick is the rare designer who, on the men's side has been able to, like, break that. Like, he is able to do things that aren't ultimately rooted in utility. They're rooted in his own imagination. And that is incredibly hard. Like, phenomenally hard, so.
- [19:57]
Nicole Phelps
And what a showman, too.
- [19:58]
Will Welch
I bow to Rick, right? Yeah.
- [20:00]
Nicole Phelps
He puts on a really great show.
- [20:02]
Will Welch
I can't wait for the episode of the podcast, because he's also just absolutely hilarious to talk to. And also, there is this, like, gulf between what people imagine Rick Owens to be. And he totally is those things of, like, you know, whatever the dark lord of fashion or whatever people call him. But he's also just this, like, Cali boy. And when you interview him that or when you talk to him, that really comes through.
- [20:24]
Nicole Phelps
I'm very excited to see the exhibition. He is only the third designer at that museum in Paris who. A living designer who is getting an exhibition. And the previous ones were Azzide and Laia before he passed away, and Martin Margiela. So he's in very illustrious company.
- [20:40]
Will Welch
What he makes is art, is wearable art, even again, whether it's sculptural or pair of shorts.
- [20:46]
Nicole Phelps
Another American in Paris is Willy Chavarria.
- [20:49]
Will Welch
Yes.
- [20:50]
Nicole Phelps
Have to say we are very sad in New York for him not to be on the schedule here. Anym to be on the men's schedule. In Paris. But think back to last season. What did it feel like to be there and see him? Do you think he can compete with the level of designers in Paris?
- [21:07]
Will Welch
Yeah, I absolutely think he can. And, yeah, you know, it's been interesting. Like, when I started going to the fashion shows, like, as a youngster working at gq, all of the energy and power was in Milan. This was like the menswear era, and the, like, everything was about suits, and all the money and power of men's fashion was rooted in Milan. And over time, that really changed, and the energy moved to Paris. And I think there's been a generation of American designers who felt that they had always aspired to show in Paris, and they needed to show in Paris almost to be taken seriously. And I think, as we've seen with Thom Browne and many others, Emily Boddy, often it's like, you go, you show in Paris, you prove that you can play at that level, and then you can make your own decisions. Like, do you continue to show in Paris? Do you go back to New York? Do you do what Tom and Emily do? Which is a mix and kind of move between the two. So we'll see what it's like for Willie or Mike. Amiri is another one who was like, I want to show that I can compete. And, yeah, I think already Willy is holding his own. And I think there's also a appreciation for American fashion. And it's not like all of the international editors and buyers and press and so on don't care about the Americans showing in Paris. I think American fashion is a strong enough movement right now that Willie can go there and stake his claim. And then I also think showing on the Runway is something that you develop and you get better at. And we've seen that with Willie, his shows in New York, then the show last season in Paris. So watching somebody's vision expand and their them sort of like figuring out it's such a complicated feat to pull off in terms of production and casting. There's so many components to it. And so watching a designer like him develop that expression, which is a whole other thing than just creating the collection. Right? Like, creating a collection is one thing. Figuring out how to show that collection is another. But, yeah, I absolutely think he can hold his own. And I bet we haven't seen the last of him in New York either, which would be great.
- [23:20]
Nicole Phelps
I hope so. Well, you mentioned Milan. So what are some of your favorites in Milan? I think that Giorgio Armani is on the eve of his 50th anniversary. In business, which is hard to believe.
- [23:32]
Will Welch
Yeah, you know, a little bit like going to a Ralph Lauren show. Like, every show with Mr. Armani is incredibly precious. You know, I think Ralph and Mr. Armani, they basically created menswear as we know it, men's fashion as we know it. So to have had all these years of getting to go see armani shows where Mr. Armani comes out and bows at the end, it just like every time I think I've filmed his bow at, like, you know, 42 shows now that I've been to. Every time I'm like, I have to capture it. Cause I can't believe I get to be here. And it still has that feeling. And he usually shows both Emporio and Giorgio Armani, Dolce and Gabbana showing Prada always, always a huge dynamic moment. Always, like, celebrity. Packed so much energy in Milan around what Ref and Mrs. Prada are doing. A recent addition that has been really exciting for us at GQ is Simon Holloway at Dunhill, who is just showing this incredibly refined vision of English tailoring. And so that is a show that myself and my colleagues have come to really look forward to on the calendar Milan. And then there's all the things that we do in between the shows. So I always go see Massimo Alba, who is. I just love.
- [24:55]
Nicole Phelps
It's like the colors, right?
- [24:57]
Will Welch
The colors, the fabrics, clothes for wearing, as I sometimes say. And he is also just like an incredible sort of soulful philosopher designer. And I just really value my personal time with him. Catching up. And then another GQ favorite, Umit Binon. Umit. It's like he has not been the most consistent when it comes to showing collections or having presentations or appointments. But he is always making clothes, and we are often shooting them on people. And he's also just so stylish himself.
- [25:29]
Nicole Phelps
Yes. The attitude of those clothes is so good, right?
- [25:32]
Will Welch
Yeah. And the attitude of the man himself. So very excited that Umit is doing appointments in Milan and. And, you know, also just being in Milan and seeing all my friends there and eating and drinking and. Well, I don't drink alcohol, but, you know, drinking diet Coke and eating pasta and pizza.
- [25:50]
Nicole Phelps
Yes, yes. You're making me hungry. Everybody else, my stomach is growling. We'll be back with Will Welch in a moment.
- [26:11]
Arden Fanning Andrews
I like ebay for one of a kind items. Things that feel limited edition or collections that can't be found in stores. And with the ebay authenticity guarantee, I know that when it arrives, it's real. It is a piece that is coming from the designer's collection, the designer's archive. One of the biggest conversation points for some of the parties that I'll go to during Fashion Week are the pieces that I'm getting off of ebay. Everyone's a little bit intrigued and excited whenever they hear that you were able to find something on this digital treasure hunt.
- [26:45]
Nicole Phelps
So I want to talk about trends. We, as womenswear focused as we are at Vogue Runway, we do talk about men's trends. And lately, one thing we've noticed is men's shorts getting even shorter. But, you know, we don't necessarily have to talk about that. Is there anything that you. You guys are observing at GQ that feels like it's sort transcending our little world of fashion and it's, you know, dispersing into the wider world of dudes?
- [27:15]
Will Welch
Yeah. I think one that I'm just, like, personally excited about and that we have been trying to lead is just, like, men getting dressed again. You know, I think the pandemic feels a little bit distant at this point. Thank God. But, yeah, post pandemic, it was, like, sort of hard, I think, in general, globally, for men to get excited to get dressed again. And there was this, like, ease and casualness, and I think people got tired of that. And so there's this idea of, like, really getting dressed. I started wearing a tie again early on, and people were like, you're out of your mind. And now those same people are, like, wearing ties again, just as an example. Example.
- [27:59]
Nicole Phelps
They've become really big in women's wear, too.
- [28:01]
Will Welch
Yeah, I know. All the. All the tailoring and ties. Yeah, I think that's been really cool to see. But, yeah, just in general, like, wanting to get dressed in a sense of occasion and a sense of formality feels exciting. I mean, I think we talked about Anthony Vaccarello and Saint Laurent and what he's been doing both for men and women with this, like, really elegant men's tailoring. Men's tailoring for women has been incredible and inspiring.
- [28:28]
Nicole Phelps
This is a good segue. We should talk about Superfine, the exhibition at the Costume Institute. Yes. What was your reaction? I mean, I was blown away by the exhibition.
- [28:39]
Will Welch
Yeah, it was fashion, but it was also history and American history, and I think it was just also cool. I thought there was an incredible range of black designers and black tailors that were shown, including some, like, young upstarts and some of the OGs, like Dapper Dan and some of the dearly departed, like Virgil. But the way that it was divided and you were sort of, like, carried through the narrative. Cause that can be very hard, and you don't want to just submit to the cudgel of chronology. And so I thought the way that the show is divided up, if you're into menswear and listening to this and you haven't seen it, it's also just for us at gq, a very inspiring moment for the exhibition to have a menswear theme.
- [29:27]
Nicole Phelps
Right. It was the. In, like, 20 years. Right. Cause there's only one other show at the Costume Institute, the Men in Skirts show.
- [29:34]
Will Welch
Exactly. So, yeah, it was just incredibly exciting and it felt. Felt like a great moment for gq. We felt like we were invited to the party in a different way this season.
- [29:46]
Nicole Phelps
Tell us a little bit about your look and your collaborator.
- [29:50]
Will Welch
Sure, yeah. When the theme was announced, I was just thinking about black dandyism and black dandies and the history. And obviously, when you're thinking about, like, how you are going to dress yourself, it has to have. You gotta figure out, like, what is my personal way into this. And I'm lucky to have a longstanding collaborative relationship with Andre 3000, who I just think is, like, the embodiment of dandyism over the last three decades. The key to dandyism isn't like. Well, what Andre once called, like, pink polka dots and plaids, that is a part of it. But it's really about just this, like, personal fearlessness. And he is just such a fearless artist. I mean, can you imagine being considered one of the greatest rappers of all time and being like, here's my flute album, and just like, ready for whatever arrows get. Get thrown your way as a result? Like, he does what, like, whatever is going to come out of him is what is going to come out of him. And he follows that. And that, to me is just, like, so personally inspiring. And I also grew up in Atlant, Georgia, listening to Outkast. So he's a hero of mine. And so anyway, I called him and I said he had this line. He was actually a best new menswear designer in GQ in, I think it was 2008, when we had this best new Menswear Designers program at the time for his line, Benjamin Bixby. And I don't know how many people do and don't know about Benjamin Bixby.
- [31:23]
Nicole Phelps
I don't know much about it.
- [31:23]
Will Welch
Yeah, he did two seasons. It was, like, exclusive with Barney's. It was like this, like, bringing in some of the, like, signifiers of English dandyism, but making this very American and It was like, it was dressed up, there were ties and cardigans and beautiful high waisted trousers and so on. But it. He was like funding it himself and it kind of like it went away and he focused on other things. So I said, I called him and I said, you know, could we bring back Benjamin Bixby for one night? Like, will you, will you dress me in some sort of revival of Benjamin Bixby for the Met Gala? And he said, I'm actually in Amsterdam right now working on Benji Bixby, which he's still figuring out exactly what shape it's gonna take and when it will debut. But he's working on a new expression of Benjamin Bixby called Benji Bixby. And he was literally working on it when I called him. So he just sort of said, kismet, what if we do that? And yeah, it's just like, wow. Such a. I don't know. To say dream come true implies that it was like a dream I had already had, but it was like a dream I didn't even know to dream that came true. And yeah, we just had so much fun. And like, very early on he was like, I'm gonna wear a piano. And I was like, what does that mean? And then he kind of walked me through it and we ended up being just involved in like a secondary production way at kind of like helping him.
- [32:49]
Nicole Phelps
Yeah. For those make the piano happen who didn't see it in person, and there's a lot of listeners who didn't see it in person. How heavy was this piano that he wore on his own?
- [32:57]
Will Welch
The piano was incredibly heavy. And there was this question about whether or not it was too heavy for him to make it to the top of the stairs. But for logistical reasons, he had to make it to the top of the stairs. And like two nights before I was like, you can't. There's no taking it off halfway up. It's either don't wear it or make it to the top of the stairs. And he just looked at me and said, I think adrenaline's gonna carry me through. And it did. As you saw, he was chilling, like walking back and forth, taking his time, photographers going crazy. So yeah, what a night. And what a. I mean, that's just the most Andre 3000 thing in the world. Like, he has the creative spirit of a child. You know, he's like, what if I wore a piano? And then you're like, hahaha. And he's like, no, really, what if I wore a piano? And then he makes it happen. So forever my personal icon and goat.
- [33:53]
Nicole Phelps
Yeah, I want to talk about that a little bit. You, as the leader of gq, get to meet a lot of your icons. What would your, you know, young self growing up in Georgia could. Did that young person ever imagine meeting Andre 3000?
- [34:09]
Will Welch
So I went and waited in line the night that Equimani came out. I was actually telling Andre about this the other night, the night that equim and I came out. The year was 1998. So I was 17 years old, and they were doing a signing at tower records, which started at midnight. And I waited in line for an hour, and I got up to the table. It was finally my turn to him and big boy, who were sitting at the table together. And of course, what do you do for the hour that you're waiting? You're thinking about, like, what am I gonna say to my two heroes? So I was, like, trying to find something to say. I didn't have anything very cool to say. And then I got up and it was my turn to have my. My CD signed by the two of them. And they were just, like, deep in conversation. And they signed it without looking at me and just handed it to me, and I just took it and looked at both of them and, like, shrugged and walked off. So I did kind of meet them. But no, the idea that I would be, like, collaborating with Andre, I don't even know. I think it would be totally overwhelming. But I think it's really important for any of us to somehow, like, stay in touch with, like, our inner, you know, the little child inside us all. Yeah. What's your equivalent?
- [35:21]
Nicole Phelps
My equivalent is John Taylor of Duran Duran, who I was in love with as a middle schooler and went on to not just hear playing Duran Duran at many different fashion show parties, but also meet and get a photograph with. You know, I could barely believe it.
- [35:39]
Will Welch
Yeah, I think sometimes it's like, what can you say to someone? Like, they've heard it all before. Like, you were so important to me. They're like, cool. Yeah, I know.
- [35:49]
Nicole Phelps
So you do throw a lot of parties at gq, and a lot of celebrities do show up. What is your secret to getting them to keep come back? Why do they have such a good time at GQ parties?
- [36:01]
Will Welch
Okay. It's very, like, refined secret that I am willing to unveil exclusively here on the run through the party. Has to actually be fully. That's all that matters.
- [36:15]
Nicole Phelps
That's the trick.
- [36:16]
Will Welch
The music needs to be good. I don't know. I think you just open up A space and let it happen. You can't try to control everything. You can't try to make it this happen. And then I want that to happen. And then this is gonna blow everybody's mind. And then the other thing I think we've done at GQ that makes the parties good is we've just built a community of people who feel like they are a part of gq. So that is our many, many, many. As you know, making a magazine is the most collaborative medium. It's like rivals film in terms of just, like, how many different people you need involved. There's the staff, but there's the producers and stylists and photographers and the talent that we shoot. And I always just try to give those people when they work with us an experience of, like, you're part of what we do now. And then those people come to the parties and they know each other and they're there to have a good time. And from there, it's just like, yeah, drinks and music and.
- [37:14]
Nicole Phelps
Well, I have to say, I'm jealous I'm not going to be at men's. I love watching from a distance because it's a beautiful time of year to be in Milan and Paris.
- [37:21]
Will Welch
I know June in Paris, France, you can't beat it.
- [37:24]
Nicole Phelps
And you guys all look like you're having a good time. Is there anything that you're predicting?
- [37:31]
Will Welch
What I'm really hoping for is I think, you know, there's a bit of a slump going on in fashion. And I think the thing that the only thing that can break through a slump lump is a jolt of creativity from somebody, somebody with a vision, somebody who's going to throw down a gauntlet that changes the way that we think about things and the way that we see things, that rearranges the eye. And I can't engineer that as an editor, a CEO can't engineer that. There's nobody on the corporate side of the fashion houses that can move the numbers around to make that happen. We need one of these incredible designers to just, like, throw down in a way that creates change. And it always happens. It doesn't mean it's going to happen this season during men's in Milan or Paris. It could be in September or it could be next year or who knows? But I think fashion has a very good track record when things get a little bit, like, muddy as they are right now, somebody, like, kind of breaking through. So we will be eagerly awake for the vibe shift. Yeah, we need the vibe shift.
- [38:45]
Nicole Phelps
Thank you, Will, for coming on the R run.
- [38:46]
Will Welch
Through such a. It's fun every time. Nicole, thanks for having me. See you in the halls.
- [38:56]
Nicole Phelps
That's it for the Run Through. See you Thursday. The Run through is produced by Chelsea Daniel, Alex DePalma and Joanna Solot. It's engineered by Jake Loomis and James Yost. It is mixed by Mike Kutchman. Stephanie Kariuki is our executive producer and Chris Bannon is Conde Nast's head of Global audio.
- [39:34]
Arden Fanning Andrews
The other day I like, went on a real ebay spree. There's this huge push for like 80s opulence and 80s sort of glamour and we're going to see that returning. And so I was already kind of tapped into that just from my gorgeous ebay watch list. And I found a really beautiful Chloe blazer from the 80s and a really great Miu Miu kilt, these great Dior boots. And I'm combining them all together. Sometimes trend forecasting doesn't require something that's going to be like, produced in the future. Sometimes you can like, tap into the past and tap into the archive as well. That's what makes ebay a fun place to actually discover things because. Because you're not going in with something so specific in mind, but you have an idea of what you're interested in or what you're excited about or, you know, just truly trend forecasting. And so one thing that I would say people should be watching out for is like very opulent 80s style from PRX.