The who’s who of Australia descended on Australia’s iconic Bondi Beach on December 6 as GQ Australia celebrated its 15th GQ Men of the Year Awards, held in collaboration with BOSS.
Fifteen prestigious awards were presented during a black-tie affair at the iconic Bondi Pavilion with Troye Sivan taking out the top honour of the night.
For Jake Millar, editor-in-chief of GQ Australia, 15 years called for something special — a nod to the country we call home.
“I think we were reflecting on what could set this year apart,” Millar told Mediaweek in an interview before the event. “Because many are held all around the world by various GQs, we felt like we wanted this one to feel particularly Australian. That’s why this year, we’re bringing it to Bondi for the first time and taking it out of what is more of a traditional event space and into a real location.”
GQ Australia editor-in-chief Jake Millar. Supplied
In addition to this, it was also a way for the brand to “celebrate Australia and Australian talent and put that on the world stage.”
“We’re lucky in that there have been so many Australians this year who’ve had a massive year,” he said, before speaking about winner Troye Sivan. “He is quite incredible in that he’s been chipping away at a career for the last 10 years or so, but this year, it feels like he’s coming into his own in not just music, but he’s working across fashion, interiors — he just launched his own lifestyle brand — and he’s acted on screen.
“He’s released an album that’s now got two Grammy nominations as well. So it feels like he’s here in so many different ways.”
The GQ Men of the Year winners have made a “cultural impact”
Other winners included the recipient of the GQ Australian Icon award Adam Briggs, GQ Team of the Year The Matildas, GQ Actor of the Year Zoe Terakes, Social Force Robert Irwin, Sportsman of the Year Nathan Cleary and Breakthrough Musician of the Year Eddie Benjamin.
Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. Supplied
“It’s great to have people who have made a cultural impact beyond just sort of the sector that they are excelling in,” Millar said before adding: “We’re on the cusp of seeing some of them really explode and that’s what we like about this award ceremony.
“I think that it just has that full breadth of talent across the board from merging names to established names, but also in music, film, TV and sport. It’s a real melting pot of Australian talent.”
GQ is taking a “less gendered approach”
Historically, the GQ Awards have celebrated the achievements of men; however, in 2023, Millar and his team took “a less gendered” approach.
“I think traditionally, GQ is seen as a men’s brand,” he said. “But our audience goes beyond gender alone. I know that we get a lot of feedback, particularly on sort of long-form features, from female readers. This year’s GQ mostly was making it feel less gendered than it has been in the past.”
He continued: “It’s a platform where we’re able to give awards to people who are perhaps not represented more widely. It’s really nice to see that it creates a sense of inclusion and attracts people who might perhaps not have seen them before, they might not have been on their radar, and they end up connecting.”
As mentioned previously, non-binary actor Terakes (Nine Perfect Strangers) and the iconic sports team The Matildas were honoured as well as US actor Riley Keogh and Gina Gammell who took home Women of Film.
(l-r) Gina Gammell, Riley Keogh and Zoe Terakes, Supplied.
“I think that it’s not so much a push to include other people as it is sort of just taking away those things that felt like that sort of categories around gender, making everything feel a bit more inclusive. It allows us to celebrate people who’ve done incredible things.”
“That’s the ethos that flows not only throughout the event but also the brand in general.”
The GQ Men of the Year 2023 special collector’s issue is on sale Friday, December 8 starring GQ Australia’s 2023 Man of the Year Troye Sivan on the cover, and featuring exclusive interviews with the award winners. The magazine will be distributed nationally through The Australian.