Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Esquire

A Cultural Guide to Just Enough of Everything Matt Groening will forever be known as the guy behind The Simpsons, now the longest-running prime-time scripted series in television history. Hey, a guy could do worse. But the 64-year-old former cartoonist has never been one to rest on his Emmys: Groening remains intimately involved with every episode of his best-known show (639 at this writing) and has spent the past several years developing a new animated series called Disenchantment (debuting this month on Netflix), set in the mythical kingdom of Dreamland. Amid a typically busy day shuttling between the L.A. studios where his shows are made, Groening spoke with Esquire about the origins of Disenchantment, his love of Bollywood, and the secret to The Simpsons’ Montgomery Burns–like longevity. Dan Hyman: What…

How much do I love jerk chicken? True story: A few months ago, while my wife was in the hospital enduring hours of labor as she prepared to give birth to our twin boys, my mind kept taking a U-turn back to the little Jamaican restaurant that I had spied around the corner. As we waited and listened to our hospital playlist, I became hungrier and hungrier daydreaming about the flavors of Jamaica. Finally, Lauren uttered the magic words—“go for it”—and I dashed over to Caribbean Thyme for a platter of jerk chicken with plantains and rice and an extra spoonful of oxtail gravy. After all, there were babies on the way. I mention this story because I had the same reaction earlier this year when I was in San…

Rare is the man who has eyed a piece of jewelry and thought, I can pull that off, easy. A lot of guys believe anything beyond a wedding ring belongs only on rock stars. Fitting, then, that John Varvatos, designer to music’s A-list, has just launched his signature jewelry line. And no, you don’t have to sell out the Garden to wear it. Composed of richly textured stones like jasper, turquoise, and lapis and precious metals like bronze, silver, and gold, the collection is far from flashy. Instead, it’s got a rugged, earthy quality most men will be naturally drawn to. When it comes to styling tips, Varvatos says to take a cue from his runways: “Our philosophy in clothes has always been lightly layered. I feel the same way…

••• For all the inspiration we take from red-carpet rigs, the best style is often right in front of us—or at least a quick scroll down the Instagram timeline. This fall, we’re digging the sartorial savvy of Gerardo Cavaliere, lawyer and cofounder of Roman tailors Sartoria Giuliva. (Find his photos on the ’Gram: @sartoriagiuliva.)…

••• No one loves fall more than I do, especially from a style perspective. The end of summer means a welcome return to sweaters, thick wools, and flannels. (It also means I no longer have to look at gobs of sweaty flesh every time I go outside. That’s another story.) But here’s the thing about fall style—you can’t rush the season. You know these guys, the season-rushers: They’re the nerds who did what Mommy told them and wore their heavy fall clothes on the first day of school, even though the temperature still hovered in the 80s. These guys are grown-up now and still making the same mistakes. The trees don’t drop their leaves all in one day. So why do so many men pull on topcoats the minute the…

SUIT JACKET OR FLIGHT JACKET? WHEN TAILORING AND SPORTSWEAR BOTH LOOK THIS GOOD, THERE’S NO NEED TO TAKE SIDES. WHETHER YOU OPT FOR A CLASSIC BLAZER, TOASTY PUFFER, OR OLD-SCHOOL TOPCOAT, THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF WAYS TO SEEK COVER. ANNOUNCE YOURSELF WITH A TWEEDY CHECK, OR GET A FEEL FOR PLUSH MOLESKIN. A LITTLE TEXTURE ALWAYS DOES THE TRICK. ALL-AMERICAN STAPLES LIKE GRAPHIC KNITS AND SHEARLING COATS SHOULD ALWAYS STAY IN HEAVY ROTATION. For store information see page 155. Prop styling by Chelsea Maruskin. Grooming by Lisa-Raquel at See Management for Month R+Co.…

A BRIEF MONTHLY EXPANSION ON A TOPIC EXPLORED IN THE ISSUE Leather is a durable and flexible material made from the only part of an animal that you can’t find at a Golden Corral buffet: the hide. Cowhide is the most common material used, since cows are the animal with the most naturally occurring zippers and buckles. Leather has long been a popular choice for making clothing, accounting for almost 50 percent of all Village People costumes worldwide. Wearing a leather coat supposedly projects the same image of youthful rebellion as an Italian sectional sofa. Although new leather can be stiff, it can be broken in gradually by acting as a cowboy in erectile-dysfunction ads. In addition to clothing, leather is frequently used in making books and journals, like the…

WHO WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL? Everyone’s favorite pseudoscientist, Tom Brady, isn’t retiring without another ring. The TB12 Method sequel won’t sell itself! New England Patriots 6–1 Pittsburgh Steelers 8–1 Philadelphia Eagles 10–1 Los Angeles Rams 12–1 WHO WILL HEADLINE THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW? We can write off “This Is America” playing anywhere near an NFL stadium. Parlay Taylor Swift with an Ed Sheeran cameo. Taylor Swift 2–1 Rihanna 25–1 Drake 50–1 Childish Gambino 100–1 WHO WILL BE JOHNNY MANZIEL’S BRO APPARENT? Baker Mayfield has a YouTube-able arrest video and once grabbed his crotch while screaming “Fuck you!” at an opponent’s sideline. Baker Mayfield 4–1 Josh Rosen 8–1 Josh Allen 30–1 Sam Darnold 45–1 WHO’S MOST LIKELY TO HAVE A #METOO MOMENT? There’s nothing quite like quarterback privilege. Big…

It’s not often that a bar snack delivers shock and nostalgia at the same time, but the pièce de résistance at Ludlow Liquors in Chicago does just that. Courtesy of chef Nick Jirasek (who operates under the moniker Old Habits), it’s a frosty scoop of vanilla ice cream accompanied by a heap of hot french fries and a generous pour of gravy that tastes like your grandma’s pot roast. Sweet, salty, meaty, and weird. Let’s make that a double.…

••• For anyone with more than a passing interest in wrist-watches, the name Vacheron Constantin takes on a reverential tone. The 263-year-old champion of high watchmaking ranks up there with the likes of Patek Philippe and Breguet. Being “up there” means that many of the brand’s new watches are hardly what you’d call entry-level. The star last year—it won the watch world’s equivalent of an Oscar—was the Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication, which mechanically maps out your life in no fewer than 23 separate complications. The price tag? In excess of $1 million. But take heart: Vacheron Constantin is just as mindful of the other end of its market. This month marks the launch of the Fiftysix: an elegant, no-nonsense design that harks back loosely—but not obsessively—to a model…

ANSEL ELGORT 24, Brooklyn Nailing it: I had my nails painted up until today. My dad needed a pedicure, so we went there together and I got them done. There was this woman there, she had seen Baby Driver, and she said, “You might know my husband—his name is Wayne Gretzky. He’s coming to pick me up for lunch.” So I was getting my nails painted, and then Wayne Gretzky came, and I couldn’t shake his hand because my nails were still drying. Shape-shifter: My style changes all the time. The second I start to feel like I have something that’s a go-to, I throw it out the window. Right now I’m really into color. Purchasing power: I was obsessed with deejaying, and I didn’t want to just be a…

PREMIUM MEN’S SHOES AND ACCESSORIES Moral Code is based on the premise that good quality and high style shouldn’t be exclusive. We are able to offer shoes that are hand-crafted from luxurious materials for half the price of similarly made footwear. Use promo code ESQUIRE for 20% off your first purchase at www.moralcode.com NEW EDGE® 2-IN-1 SHAVE CREAM Hydrating formula, with 50% more moisturizers than traditional shave gels, conditions skin throughout your shave. www.edgeshave.com THE ESQUIRE MEN’S JEWELRY COLLECTION The leading authority in men’s fashion, delivers a collection of jewelry encompassing the right blend of classic and contemporary, new and traditional, the expected and the exploratory in a broad range of styles and materials to serve the many aesthetic tastes of today’s modern man. www.Macys.com/EsquireJewelry…

EMILY’S GONE to take a shower. The room’s half-dark and I’m getting dressed, looking for a shirt with no blood on it, not having any luck. The pants are fucked too—cigarette burns in the crotches. All heroin chic, like I were famous already. I go downstairs. Livinia pissed in the living room. There’s a lake of piss. I say, “Livinia, goddamn,” yet low enough that she won’t hear me. She’s a good dog; just we’ve been some fucks about house-training her. I get the paper towels and a bottle of spray. There’s a pack of Pall Malls on the kitchen counter. I shake one loose and light it on the stove. I check the rigs in the cupboard. The rigs in the cupboard are all blood-used and crooked, like instruments…

WE’RE at the first stop on Tom Hardy’s literal tour down memory lane, and he’s already causing trouble. The caretaker of St. Leonard’s Court, an apartment building in the leafy London suburb of East Sheen, comes out to the driveway to say that a tenant has lodged a noise complaint. Hardy leans back in the saddle of the offending source, a Triumph Thruxton fitted with a not-so-subtle 1200cc engine. “Must be hard for someone who’s home at 3:00 p.m. on a Tuesday doing fuck-all, innit?” he says to the caretaker, who’s already in retreat. Then, overriding his knee-jerk snark: “It won’t happen again.” “I’m the youngest person to own a flat on this block,” Hardy, forty, tells me, sounding both proud and bemused. He bought the place fifteen years ago,…

According to the Chinese calendar, 2017 was the Year of the Cock. 2018 is the Year of the Dog. And, in Dog years, this is also the Year of the Cock Pill: Viagra. The revolutionary erectile-dysfunction drug is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its Brobdingnagian launch in a most auspicious way: by finally going generic. The ramifications for generic sildenafil (the scientific name) are huge for your pocketbook and your health. Viagra’s high demand and cost (about seventy dollars a pill) have made it among the most bootlegged meds in the world, and one of the top sellers for Internet pharmacies. A study presented at the World Meeting on Sexual Medicine found that 77 percent of Viagra sold online was fake. Counterfeit Viagra and similar impostors have been linked to…

STORE INFORMATION For the items featured in Esquire, please consult the website or call the phone number provided. The Code, p. 57: Acne Studios sweater, acnestudios.com. Gucci trousers, gucci.com. P. 58: Banana Republic suit, bananarepublic.com. Marni sweater, marni.com. Double Eleven T-shirt, doubleeleven.co. Drake’s jacket, drakes.com. Gucci sweater, gucci.com. Brooks Brothers shirt, brooksbrothers.com. A.P. C. jeans, usonline.apc.fr. P. 60: John Varvatos silver necklace, silver cuff bracelet, jasper necklace, turquoise bracelet, lapis bracelet, brass bracelet, and ring, johnvarvatos.com. RW Guild wood bowl and KH Würtz bowl, rwguild.com. P. 61: Vacheron Constantin watch, vacheron-constantin.com. P. 62: Prada jacket, vest, shirt, and portfolio, prada.com. Polo Ralph Lauren jeans, ralphlauren.com. Armando Cabral loafers, shop.armando-cabral.com. P. 66: Tod’s shoes, tods.com. A.P.C. jeans, usonline.apc.fr. The Elder Statesman socks, elder-statesman.com. Clarks Originals shoes, clarksusa.com. Saint Laurent by Anthony…

The Kingdom of Speech, Tom Wolfe’s final book, was about language. Apes can communicate, Darwin noticed; so can dolphins. Does that make them like us? According to Wolfe, the answer wasn’t just no but, as he might put it, noooooooo!!!!! Humans and apes may both have opposable thumbs, but what makes us unique is our invention of language. Wolfe himself was unique as a writer for how he handled that very thing, giving his prose sound effects, explosive charge, elastic energy, and the illusion of improvisation. No one else sounded quite like him or had the cojones to poke a walking stick into the sacred cultural beehives he did. In The Painted Word, he declared that art had “disappeared up its own fundamental aperture.” When Mailer insulted his choice of…

Those who know me will tell you: I am not a man who breaks his stride when it comes to style. Is that boring? Maybe. I prefer to see it as consistent. Steady on. Pull open my closet and you’ll find a landscape of deep browns, calming greens, charcoal grays, and dark blues. I pretty much locked into my look some years ago, and I will not blow money on trends. I invest in timelessness. Which might explain why I am intrigued by many of the knits designers are turning out this fall: They’re a trend that happens to be timeless. I’m talking about the Fair Isle sweater. Brightly hued and richly patterned in horizontal bands, it’s got a heritage that goes back to the Scottish islands. While no one…

When Prada first sent black nylon down the runway 25 years ago, no one else at that level had ever tried it. Back then, nylon meant utility, not luxury. Then it became Prada’s hallmark. Now the brand is revisiting the material, and it feels timelier than ever—especially when you consider the way we work now. Which is to say not necessarily in a suit, or even in an office, in an age when a CEO can flash a Casio watch and interns save up for designer sneakers. In that mix, Prada pieces like this vest and folio echo the tone of the times—a little sport, a little street—with a much-needed dose of restraint. All that, and nylon’s got the versatility you’d expect from a technical material. You’re going to be…

There aren’t many shoes that work as well on an Oxford professor as they do on the Wu-Tang Clan, but Wallabees do just that. Chalk it up to the suede upper, the crepe sole, the rugged stitching, or the distinctive shape—whatever the reason, these moccasin-chukka crossbreeds have quietly earned their place as the most versatile kicks around. Clarks has been turning out the originals since 1967, but this season the fashion crowd got in on the game, with houses like Saint Laurent and Tod’s making subtle tweaks to a classic. Whether it’s imitation or homage, you can’t have too much of a good thing.…

If you’ve noticed a surge of creepy masks on Instagram lately, Halloween hasn’t come early. You’re looking at the well-groomed man’s secret weapon: the sheet mask. Why are guys so eager to resemble Hannibal Lecter? Because once the mask comes off, its benefits remain, namely a potent cocktail of vitamins and hydrating agents that’ll bring the most ravaged mug back to glowing health. If sheets aren’t your thing, try an oil-sapping clay mask, or a moisturizing cream one; either can deliver visible results in about 15 minutes. Think of them as the fifth gear to your moisturizer’s cruise control. Just what you want after a late night at the office (or the bar). DO YOU BELIEVE IN TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF? WE DON’T ENDORSE ALL OF PATRICK BATEMAN’S PROCLIVITIES, BUT…

Steve McQueen Director, 48 THE EXACTING EYE Style isn’t just about what you’re drawn to—it’s about where you come from. That’s director Steve McQueen’s take. “I’m a working-class Londoner,” he says. “When you think of London, you think of rockers, punks, skinheads. The three-quarter pants, the close-cropped hair. It’s very London, whatever I do.” It’s fitting that McQueen prefers clothing by designer Yohji Yamamoto, whose avant-garde approach taps into that same rebel energy. “There’s an ease with his clothes, and a kind of movement interpreted in the fabric or in the cut. It’s very much matched to me and my body,” says McQueen, who walked the runway for Yamamoto in 2008. The director has unveiled visionary films in theaters and art installations in swanky galleries for more than two decades…

From “There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy Kolored (Thphhh-hhh!) Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.. .,” November 1963 THE FIRST good look I had at customized cars was at an event called a “Teen Fair,” held in Burbank, a suburb of Los Angeles beyond Hollywood. This was a wild place to be taking a look at art objects—eventually, I should say, you have to reach the conclusion that these customized cars are art objects, at least if you use the standards applied in a civilized society. But I will get to that in a moment. Anyway, about noon you drive up to a place that looks like an outdoor amusement park, and there are three serious-looking kids, like the cafeteria committee in high school, taking tickets, but the scene inside is quite mad.…

40 PERCENT Projected share of the world’s population—more than three billion people—living in areas of severe water stress by 2050. 450 PERCENT Increase in number of violent incidents spurred by conflicts over water between 1997 and 2017. (In 2018, water violence has occurred in Ukraine, Syria, Mali, and Iran.) 700 MILLION High-end estimate of number of people displaced due to water shortages by 2030. 55 PERCENT Projected increase in global water demand by 2050. 11 Number of major cities most likely to experience severe water shortages in coming decades: São Paulo, Bangalore, Beijing, Cairo, Jakarta, Moscow, Istanbul, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Miami. 80 PERCENT Share of industrial and municipal wastewater released into global water systems untreated. 842,000 Number of people—including 361,000 children under the age of five—who die each year…

HOW are stars made in Hollywood? Sometimes it starts with Lisa in accounting. Director Jon Chu was on deadline to cast the part of Nick Young, the male lead of his film Crazy Rich Asians (out now), based on the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan. But despite going so far as to invite anyone to submit a video audition on social media, Chu hadn’t found the perfect Nick—the magnetic, Oxford-educated heir of one of Singapore’s wealthiest families. Enter Lisa from accounting. She had met this guy Henry Golding five years ago when he hosted travel shows for the BBC and the Discovery channel, and she was struck by his charisma, his British accent, and … well, look at him. Chu follows him on Instagram. Golding screen-grabs the notification. Asks his…