MY TWO CENTS ON THE ELIUD KIPCHOGE GQ ARTICLE
A lot has happened in the global sphere and it’s crazy how things have changed since the year began. Yesterday, the GQ team published an online article titled, “How Eliud Kipchoge Broke Running’s Mythic Barrier” by Knox Robinson and there is a lot of buzz around Kenyan marathon winner and athlete Eliud Kipchoge on the coveted menswear magazine. GQ is considered a style bible that would never go out of style and they have a wide audience because of the diversity and the depth of their articles and content.
Many Kenyans today and yesterday were sharing images from the Eliud Kipchoge feature on the coveted magazine and it has garnered mixed reactions from Kenyans. The fact that Eluid Kipchoge is in GQ proves to some that he has “ made it” , however the athlete who is a global favourite has continued to shine bright in the eyes of many and this is a testament to his many accolades and successes in his career. Let us not forget that he is the world record holder in the marathon with a time of 2:01:39, set on 16 September 2018, at the 2018 Berlin Marathon.
I feel that the article is a great initiative by the GQ team, and they were able to share and put out a lot of great information about Eliud Kipchoge as an athlete. That is what most people of African decent (and any other minority) want to see; the representation of their people in mainstream or any media in a positive light. To see that one of their own has “ made it”
One of the major issues or concerns that I have seen is that most people feel that the clothes used in the styling were not as flattering as we have seen on other athletes seen on the magazine. Yes , they are great brands like Dior Men, Issey Miyake and Ralph Lauren among others but they looked very bland. They almost look thrifted and that’s where we think about the stylist, Mobolaji Dawodu and the stying team.
Mobolaji Dawodu has impeccable style and is an exceptional stylist, having worked with other African and international celebrities on different sets and concepts. He has worked with Burna Boy, Maluma and Tyler the Creator among others. His portfolio is very extensive and impressive, I would say that he let us down with Eliud Kipchoge. I think the final edit of the images too, did not give that crisp fresh vibe that we are used to from GQ and that added to more of the disappointment in the final production.
Having said that, I do appreciate the thoroughness in the article and the information provided, however the execution in my opinion was not one of the best. They could have done better.
In light of my two cents, I also feel that the GQ magazine should have hired local talent to work with them, to help share the narrative of Eliud Kipchoge. Kenya has a diverse creative culture and creatives, stylists like Bryan Emry, Sunny Dolat photographers like Sarah Waiswa (Lafrohemien) , Osborne Macharia among other talented individuals would have helped package the narrative in a more ‘authentically Kenyan spirit’.
Someone once told me that “ style is subjective, some people will like it, some will not”
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that the GQ team should have taken a different approach?
