Profile: John Ray
Behind the scenes in Milan with the (then) new Gucci menswear designer at his first show since taking over for Tom Ford.
Style: The Making of the Perfect Suit
Following the suit from its start on a Tasmanian sheep farm to the cloth factory in the north of Italy to the hand-tailored final product.
Ben Stiller Pulls a Facial
Cover profile: Ben Stiller
We hit some golf balls, eat pancakes somewhere in Queens, hang around the Royal Tennenbaums set. I watch him direct his father saying “Tushee squeeze!” a hundred or so takes.
Cover Profile: Heidi Klum
In which Heidi and I eat stone crabs in Miami, look at exotic underpants with her name on them, discuss yodeling, her grandmother’s dumplings. Also I try unsuccessfully to convince her to shoplift from a Manhattan deli.
GQ
Oddities: The story of Borscht.
This is an old, weird one. A soup’s autobiography. From a special “humor” issue. Always a bad idea.
GQ
In which I write droolingly about women in sweaters and the first signs of Fall. Which all is was somehow OK because the woman pictured in the white sweater is was my wife.
Hobbies: The alt country bad boy tends to his bonsai trees.
We talked about the Beatles (pro) and the death penalty (con) but this story is about his miniature tree habit.
Handmade Clothing
GQ
In which I have a bespoke hat made for my head and, tragically, model it.
GQ
Hanging with the Jim Morrison faithful in Paris’ Pere Lachaise cemetery and listening to his friend Ray Manzarek talk about “Dionysus, god of green and resurrecting powers of the earth” in his Four Seasons hotel suite.
Woman on the Verge
Cover profile: Penelope Cruz
In which Penelope & I find ourselves locked in the LA Zoo after hours.
We smoke cigarettes (I pretend to smoke), discuss some Indian philosopher (I pretend to understand), speed around in a rented convertible and drink freshly squeezed orange juice at the Sunset Marquis.
The Angry Arab
GQ
Film: Sayed Bedraya
Profile of an Egyptian actor in Hollywood who is constantly cast as an Arab terrorist.
GQ
The magazine sends three writers (Alan Richman, Adam Rapoport & me) in search of our own perfect meal. I fly to Barcelona to eat in an all-dessert restaurant.
GQ
Sports/essay: Nick Bollettieri’s famous tennis academy
My forehand is dismantled to make it new. Nick and I eat dinner at an Outback Steakhouse.
Four days of fear, nausea, racket myopia & sleepless nights.
The Road to Boobville
Feature: An investigation/celebration of dumb-guy culture.
In which I go to California to learn to shoot a rifle (at left), interview Hef at the Mansion and attempt to learn the trick of peeing on the ceiling from the Man Show guys in the bathroom at Dan Tana’s steakhouse.
adam sachs
GQ