GQ Hype

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GQ HYPE is a digital weekly edition of British GQ magazine that launched in December 2018 as an innovative extension of the iconic men's lifestyle publication. Serving as "the story of right now," GQ HYPE publishes multiple new stories daily with its own distinctive covers and featured content. The digital publication delivers a rich blend of fashion, entertainment, culture, and lifestyle content, operating alongside GQ's traditional monthly print and digital magazine. As a free content offering from Condé Nast's prestigious GQ brand, GQ HYPE represents the publication's response to growing digital readership and demand for more frequent content updates in the rapidly evolving media landscape.

History and Development

GQ HYPE was officially launched on December 10, 2018, by British GQ as a strategic response to the increasing popularity of the magazine's digital content. The creation of this digital weekly stemmed directly from observable shifts in reader behavior and consumption patterns. Prior to GQ HYPE's launch, GQ's editorial team had noted that the digital edition of their monthly magazine had become so popular that they had begun publishing the app as soon as it was finished rather than waiting for the print edition to arrive on shelves.

The broader context for GQ HYPE's creation was the magazine's strong digital growth, with the website reportedly growing by an average of 40 percent in the year preceding the launch. This digital success allowed the magazine to expand its free content offerings while maintaining its paid products, resulting in the development of GQ HYPE as a complementary digital publication.

Editorial Content and Focus Areas

GQ HYPE embraces a broad editorial scope encompassing fashion, entertainment, politics, sports, food, travel, grooming, fitness, wellbeing, and cultural commentary. The publication describes itself as "a rolling news feast" covering "all the other topics that occupy every aspect of our lives."

The content structure features various formats, including in-depth celebrity interviews, digital-only fashion stories, films, opinion pieces, long-form articles, product recommendations, grooming advice, travel reportage, and luxury watch galleries. Each Monday, GQ HYPE releases a new "cover" story, typically featuring a prominent cultural figure, alongside multiple additional articles published throughout the week.

Celebrity profiles and interviews form a cornerstone of GQ HYPE's editorial strategy. Recent cover subjects have showcased an impressive roster of talent from film, television, and music, including Charlie Cox, Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison, Adrien Brody, Aaron Pierre, Andrew Garfield, Naomi Ackie, Danny Dyer, Jesse Eisenberg, and Richard Gadd. These profiles often coincide with major career milestones or new projects from these personalities, positioning GQ HYPE as a cultural documentarian of contemporary entertainment.

In addition to individual profiles, GQ HYPE also produces special features such as "GQ's Hype List," which highlights "The Buzziest Things in the Culture Right Now". This curated list approach demonstrates the publication's commitment to identifying and analyzing emerging cultural trends and phenomena.

Publication Format and Structure

GQ HYPE follows a distinct publishing schedule that sets it apart from traditional monthly magazines. New content launches at 7am every Monday morning, with the weekly edition featuring its own cover story. GQ HYPE publishes multiple new stories each day throughout the week, creating what its founders described as "a part work almost, or an Advent calendar all the year round."

As a primarily digital offering, GQ HYPE represents what British GQ called "a digital-first launch that offers an alternative entryway" to the GQ brand. The publication is offered as free content, complementing GQ's paid subscription products and creating a multi-tiered approach to reader engagement.

Each edition features high-quality photography and visual storytelling, with prominent photographers contributing to the cover stories and features. The publication maintains GQ's reputation for visual excellence while adapting to the more immediate and fluid nature of digital publishing.

Audience and Global Context

The GQ brand describes its audience as "culturally curious, globally aware consumers who care deeply about representation and being at the forefront of what's cool while never blending into the crowd." As part of this brand family, GQ HYPE likely shares this target audience while potentially reaching newer, more digitally-native readers through its free, regularly updated format.

GQ HYPE sits within a broader editorial philosophy described as the "New Masculinity" - an expansion of what it means to "be GQ" that "moves past a rigid definition of manhood into something more open and inclusive." This contemporary approach to men's content reflects evolving social norms and expanded definitions of masculinity in modern culture.

Notable Cover Stories and Features

Since its inception, GQ HYPE has produced numerous notable cover stories, primarily featuring prominent figures in entertainment and culture. Recent cover subjects through early 2025 include:

Other notable subjects have included Naomi Ackie, Danny Dyer, Jesse Eisenberg, Haider Ackermann, Eve Hewson, Richard Gadd, Himesh Patel, and the "Heartstopper" stars Joe Locke and Kit Connor.

Beyond individual profiles, GQ HYPE has created special content features like the "GQ's Hype List," which in August 2022 highlighted cultural phenomena including HBO's financial drama "Industry," describing it as "the slick and sexy HBO financial drama that everyone's sleeping on" and "the first great show about a Gen Z workplace."

Contributors and Creative Team

GQ HYPE features work from numerous writers and photographers who contribute to its distinctive visual and editorial style. Writers who have contributed to GQ HYPE include Oliver Franklin-Wallis, Hayley Campbell, Molly Lambert, Douglas Greenwood, Jake Kring-Schreifels, Ben Allen, Iana Murray, Olivia Ovenden, Murray Clark, Elle Hunt, Finlay Renwick, Eileen Cartter, and Xuanlin Tham.

The publication also works with a roster of photographers who create the visual identity of GQ HYPE, including Jeremy Liebman, Arnaud Pyvka, Morgan Maher, Elliot Morgan, Quil Lemons, Fumi Homma, Ronan McKenzie, Tung Walsh, Caroline Tompkins, Sølve Sundsbø, Laura McCluskey, Keir Laird, and Willow Williams.

Sam Schube is mentioned as the GQ Sports director who began working at GQ in 2014.

Digital Presence and Integration

GQ HYPE was conceived as a "digital-first launch" and represents an important component of GQ's overall digital strategy. The publication was created in response to the success of GQ's digital offerings and website growth, which was reportedly increasing by an average of 40 percent annually at the time of GQ HYPE's launch.

As described in its launch announcement, GQ HYPE was designed to provide "even more material, even more content" beyond what was already available through GQ's website and digital magazine. This suggests a strategic layering of digital offerings across different platforms and formats.

Business Context and Relationship to GQ Brand

GQ HYPE operates as a free component within GQ's broader business model, which includes both paid and free content offerings. According to GQ's launch announcement, the success of their paid products "allowed us to start thinking about expanding our free content," leading to the creation of GQ HYPE.

This strategic positioning suggests GQ HYPE may serve as an entry point for new readers to engage with the GQ brand before potentially converting to paid subscribers of the main magazine. As part of the broader GQ brand, GQ HYPE exists within the Condé Nast publishing ecosystem, which acquired GQ in 1979.

References

GQ HYPE represents an innovative digital extension of the established GQ brand, offering regularly updated content that complements the traditional monthly magazine. Launched in 2018 as a response to changing reader behavior and increasing digital engagement, it continues to provide celebrity profiles, cultural commentary, and lifestyle content through its digital-first approach.