GQ China, October 2009

The great thing about a post-college existence is that your friends eventually disperse to the far corners of the earth. Case in point: my dear friend, Jenny who transplanted herself to China. This past fall, I was vaguely aware that GQ had decided to set up shop in China, but it took a while for my interest in the subject to grow. Upon seeing Daniel Liu's editorial in the November issue of GQ China, I asked Jenny to source a copy of the publication for me. Fearing that the circulation schedule for magazines was similar to how it's done here in the States, I was doubtful there might even be a November issue left on the stands, but I asked nonetheless, hopeful for everything, pragmatically expecting nothing. My girl did even better: over the weekend, as I tore open her package to me, I learned she had sourced a copy of the premier issue (October 2009)! Now I can say I own a copy from when it all began :)

In keeping with my experience of thumbing through foreign magazines when abroad, this publication isn't some two-bit slipshod assembly on thin paper meant to be tossed out when the next one arrives. The cover is remarkably thick and durable, and the individual pages have a heft to them. A great addition to my library.

As I've often seen with foreign offshoots of established American magazines, there's a whole backlog of previous editorial work that is fair game to print for a whole new audience -- a previous Details piece on red leather shoes, bags, and accessories makes it into the fold with this issue. And as suggested by the cover, the editorial work is more focussed on profiling specific individuals who have made a mark in the Oriental cultural landscape, and so the issue isn't very Asian model involved. But it makes for a great platform from which to create a voice that conveys a standard for class and style.

Check out scans from this issue on tFS.