Today’s hype-fueled fashion landscape yields a mountain of fresh menswear every month. Which is why every issue of GQ now includes The Drops, a guide to the best of the best new gear as it hits stores. This month, we’re helping you get your beach kit sorted with all the swankiest swimwear, shades, and summer sweaters on the market.
RED-HOT HAUL-ALL
Just like the roomy, go-everywhere canvas tote you lug to the beach every summer—only leveled up in searing crimson Bottega Veneta intrecciato leather ($8,000).
READY FOR THE PAPS
There are knit polos, and then there are movie star knit polos. This drapey, sensual Givenchy Plage shirt is unequivocally the latter ($1,950).
MARINE LAYER
Best known for its delicate cashmere sweaters, The Elder Statesman has launched a new subcollection, Interdimensional Surf, focusing on wares—like this post-sesh-ready cardigan—that can take a serious beating ($1,450).
SHADES THAT SHINE BACK
There’s nothing wrong with seeing the world through rose-colored glasses—especially when they’re as swanky as these rimless, gold-arm Fred joints ($1,050).
TIME-TESTED TRUNKS
Orlebar Brown’s signature swim shorts—with their tailored cut and natty side tabs—have set the gold standard for almost two decades. As long as it keeps putting ’em out in fetching fabrics like this puckered pink candy stripe, it’s in no danger of losing the crown ($345).
HALF-PIPE HOODIE
ERL’s Venice Beach roots shine through loud and clear on this big, boxy sweatshirt: one half sun-drenched yellow, one half skate-or-die checkerboard, the whole thing crafted from plush terrycloth ($560).
GRIDIRON GRAILS
For its first-ever Nike collaboration, Bode dug the Astrograbber out of the Swoosh’s archives and maxed out the vintage vibes, like this spin with creamy knit uppers and a quartet of kitschy charms (Bode Rec. and Nike, $160).
HEAVY METAL
These grommet-riddled Burberry trousers are so good, they’re worth overcoming a debilitating case of trypophobia to wear ($3,550).
WINE AND SHINE
Quite literally the Champagne of sunscreens, this Vacation must-have is made using Chardonnay grapeseed oil to nourish, protect, and glisten up your skin all in a single swoop ($22).
LEAN BACK IN A THROWBACK
That classic aluminum folding chair your grandma used to sun herself in, recently revitalized by MoMA Design Store in a slew of fresh new hues ($85).
NOTHIN’ BUT NET
This open-weave Hermès leather carryall lets your stuff—and the exquisite craftsmanship—do the talking ($8,550).
HANG TEN
If you’re in search of the shorts of the summer, look no further: Miu Miu’s retro two-toned boardies are it ($1,750).
GOLDEN HOUR
There’s nothing on earth quite as dazzling as a blazing vermilion sunset—except maybe this Rolex Day-Date 36 in 18-karat yellow gold with a carnelian dial and a diamond-encrusted bezel and hour markers.
GET BUCKETS
The crochet-hat wave is still rolling strong, because Fendi says so ($770).
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S SEAM
Yes, you still need a sweater on standby in the depths of summer—ideally one as airy and striking as this chunky, loose-knit Canali jacket ($8,450).
KEY LIME VIBE
If anyone knows a thing or two about pulling together a scintillating heat wave fit, it’s Gigi Hadid—and the model turned designer poured all that expertise directly into this citrusy knit tank from her Guest In Residence label ($145).
CRACK ONE OPEN
The compact, handsome Fieldbar cooler holds just enough drinks for you and a pal—and keeps them ice cold for a staggering 50 hours ($219).
SCI-FI SUNNIES
Dior’s latest frames don’t merely look like something out of The Fifth Element—they’re genuinely futuristic, with an intricate open-work architecture crafted by cutting-edge 3D printers ($650).
SAVE YOUR NECK
A silk scarf, like this painterly Giorgio Armani number, will supercharge a classic summer-shorts-and-tee combo ($395).
FIRST-CLASS BUTTON-UP
If you’ve got this swanky Loro Piana camp shirt on, that’s a pretty surefire sign you’re in for one hell of a vacation ($1,550).
TOTALLY TUBULAR
You, a frosty brew, this Business & Pleasure Co. pool float, and the copy of GQ you’re currently reading. Need we say more ($99)?
THIGHS GONE WILD
Fair warning: The second you stroll up poolside in CDLP’s barely there leopard-print trunks, all eyes will be firmly on you ($220).
SUMMERY SCENT
Louis Vuitton’s latest fragrance, Lovers, marks men’s creative director Pharrell Williams’s first-ever foray into the scent game. It’s a bright and spirited mix of galbanum, cedarwood, sandalwood, and amber that’s designed to elicit the feeling of sunshine grazing your skin ($320).
GRANITA FOR YOUR FEET
The Italian hiking gods at Diemme are known for their Dolomite-besting boots; these breezy, sorbet-toned slip-ons prove they know how to kick back by the Adriatic too ($360).
GET SOME COLOR
A freaky beach fit deserves a freaky beach towel—and this swirling, hypnotic OAS spread hits all the right notes ($80).
PSYCHEDELIC PANTS
Pucci’s flowy, silky bottoms—complete with a herd of unicorns galloping amid the twisty print—are an LSD trip you can wear ($1,255).
Yang-Yi Goh is GQ's Style Editor.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of GQ with the title “27 Ways to Boss Up at the Beach All Summer”
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Photographs by Bowen Fernie
Styled by Haley Gilbreath
Manicure by Nori at See Management
Prop styling by Fitz Fitzgerald at Mark Edward Inc.
