ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, the actor Jeremy Strong, who plays Kendall Roy in Succession and who is known for his esoteric, romantic tastes in clothes, found himself in Brighton, a seaside town on the south coast of England. Brighton happens to be home to the secretive shoemaker and fashion designer Paul Harnden, whose vintage-looking, vaguely Dickensian pieces are made by some of England's oldest mills, in traditional tweeds, or silks or sturdy Ventile. Strong decided to use the occasion to track Harnden down. He tried an LLC address, tried Google Earth. He did everything he could, he told me, "in the hopes of getting a pair of coveted P.H. boots, but to no avail”. Harnden was undiscoverable. "The trail went cold. A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, made with extreme care and artistry," Strong said.
To Strong, this only added to the appeal. "He is reclusive, un-self-seeking, and committed to the work exclusively-those values, to me, seem immanent within the garments," he said of Harnden, who is » known for being intensely specific and controlled. He sells to only a handful of stores, usually no more than one or two in each city. He rarely changes his shapes. He insists that his clothing not be discounted or put on sale, never loaned for photo shoots, never sold online. "He is doing something that is almost the exact opposite of what Walter Benjamin termed 'Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Strong said, citing the theory that replication can undermine an object's "aura". He called what Harnden does "ineffable and real”, noting that in "a world of increasing noise”, he is trying to create his own, clear sound. "Someone who does that, in any field, is as rare as a snow leopard these days and as vital," Strong said.
This story is from the April 2022 edition of GQ India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2022 edition of GQ India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Finally, Women Are Breaking Up One of Luxury's Stuffiest Boys' Clubs
Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner hosts a round table of leaders in the watch world to unpack the ascendant power of the female collector.
Can The Saudis Buy Soccerr?
Saudi Arabia is spending an unfathomable fortune to lure the biggest stars of global football (Ronaldo! Benzema! Neymar!) to its upstart league. So GQ ventured to the kingdom to discover what the gambit represents. Is this the future of the world's most popular sport? The vanguard of sportswashing? Or something way bigger?
CRACKING THE PERO CODE
Delhi-based label Péro is available in over 350 stores across the world. Shweta Shiware meets the reclusive founder and creative mastermind Aneeth Arora, arguably the Indian fashion industry's best storyteller.
Captain Mbappé
We met him as a teenage prodigy. Now, with his PSG teammates Messi and Neymar gone, and a new job as French national team captain, Kylian Mbappé is reckoning with the responsibilities and privileges that come with being the man.
The Full Ricky
Twenty-five years after becoming one of the most staggeringly famous men on the planet, a wiser, more assured Ricky Martin is taking another run at being a star. While also being himself, this time.
THE BOND
What does it mean to be a parent in this day and age? In GQ's annual series dedicated to fatherhood, we take a peek at the intimate relationships that some of the coolest dads share with their kids.
THE RATIONAL ACTOR
With a stream of critical and commercial successes under his belt, Vicky Kaushal is buoyant about what lies ahead in terms of work. Yet it is in his personal life that he has experienced the most transformation.
Standing TALL
Comedian and actor Vir Das speaks to GQ about winning an International Emmy for his Netflix special, codirecting his first movie, and the future of stand-up comedy in India.
Das Holistic
New York's desi rap star Heems's new album re-imagines the diasporic experience not as a site of endless ambivalence, but a place to be whole.
The Return of the Opulent '80s
The all-gold Piaget Polo, Hublot Classic Original, and Rolex GMT were kings during the '80s. Now they're coming back for their crown.