Cruise Control

Fashion People

Adam Baidawi, GQ's Global Editorial Director, discusses his career journey from Melbourne freelancer to succeeding Will Welch, his landmark

Key takeaways

• Adam Baidawi secured a rare Tom Cruise magazine interview—his first in two decades—marking a major cultural moment for GQ.
• He prioritized creative freedom over controversial topics like Scientology, focusing instead on storytelling and brand relevance.

Main topics

• Tom Cruise cover interview
• GQ's editorial direction under Adam Baidawi

Notable quotes

"I feel like it's an incredibly Australian thing to do just to say hi and to get in there."

Conclusion

Adam Baidawi's leadership marks a bold evolution for GQ—balancing lega

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:04) Hello and welcome to Fashion People. I'm Lauren Sherman, writer of Cook's Fashion and Beauty Memo Line Cheat. And today with me on the show is Adam Badawi, Global Editorial Director for GQ. We're talking about his life in magazines, succeeding Will Welch, his big vision, and of course, that Tom Cruise cover. Speaker 2 (0:26) Before we get going, Speaker 3 (0:27) I wanted to remind you that if you like this podcast, you'll definitely love Puck, where I send an email called Line Sheet. If you're a fashion person, you get that reference. It's an original look at what's really going on inside the fashion and beauty industries. Line Sheet is scoopy, analytical, and above all, fun along with me a subscription to puck gains you access to an unmatched roster of experts reporting on powerful people and companies in entertainment media sports politics finance the art world and much more if you're interested listeners of fashion people get a discount just go to puck.news fashion people to join puck or start a free trial Speaker 3 (1:10) Happy Friday, everyone. Hope you had a great week. Mine was good. I've been back in Paris, have been working, doing a lot of meetings, seeing friends, getting ready to go to London on Saturday. Really quickly addressing a couple of things in the news. The Stephen Kolb stuff is really wild. As of Thursday, there were still some members of the CFDA board who thought that Stephen, the CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who was caught on tape getting physical with some PETA protesters at the Ka show on Sunday, should be rehabilitated and be able to keep his job. Pretty much everyone I've spoke to elsewhere thinks it's time for him to resign. You decide, anyway. This has become a huge story. It was on Entertainment Tonight. I don't know who still watches Entertainment Tonight, but a lot of people are talking about this. I guess the images are just so... We'll never forget it. Anyway, in other news, Daria Vitale was named creative director of Emporio Armani and Giorgio Armani accessories. Obviously, we knew this was happening, but it's exciting that they went for it. And I thought the way they managed it was really good. Like, nobody denied anything. When, like, I ran stories, other publications ran stories. It was originally reported by the platform, which is a very... a decent um very good milan-based uh publication run by a long-term financial reporter and stuff really checks out when i do my reporting to back it up so you should you should read if you're going to read one of these like independent publications that's not puck platform is really really good um anyway dario comes from a very like an intellectual fashion school the school of prada Where in Milano, you either work at Prada or you don't. Someone said that to me, which I thought was interesting. The person who said it sometimes listens to this, so I wonder if he'll notice. But anyway, Armani is basically anti-fashion, especially Emporio Armani. And I'm not saying that means it's bad or anti-design. It's just like anti the idea of fashion. It's like the same thing over and over again. And it's stylish, but it's not. fashion in the intellectual sense or in the protestants for sure and he grew up in that world and at versace kind of was able to make his own thing for albeit for one season but anyway emporio armani what he the thing he's going to mostly be doing it was this was a licensing business for a long time and you know it was really well run but it was still a licensing business and The infrastructure at Armani is complicated, but he's dealt with that in the past. Versace has an incredibly complicated infrastructure. Obviously, there are a lot of really great people on the Armani board who have a lot of it, like Marco Bazzari, who have a lot of experience running fashion businesses. And I'm sure they had a role in getting him to come. And now they have to sell stake in the company. And it will be, I would assume, easier when Dario is there. He has so much grit and confidence. And we love the clothes. We love the shoes. Speaker 3 (4:15) It's not going to be easy. That's for sure. But it's going to be very interesting. Speaking of interesting, someone said you always say interesting when you're like trying to move a conversation. It's true. But in this case, both of these things are very interesting. My guest today, Adam, he has one of the hardest jobs in the media business, which is saying a lot since every job is hard. But succeeding the universally beloved Will Welch, who was kind of a shining star at Condé Nast and felt like the only one who was kind of doing things right. uh adam has gotten a lot of crap from me and other people as in his first few months a lot of criticism but he was a real trooper through this conversation and i think you'll enjoy it i said to him you know what i'll just let you hear it Speaker 3 (5:04) Adam Badawi, welcome to Fashion People. Speaker 1 (5:07) Oh my God, Lauren Sherman. I could not be more thrilled to be here with you. The only thing that could beat this would have been doing it in person, but I will take what I can get. Speaker 3 (5:17) Yeah, next time. I've given you a lot of shit already. So I am very, first of all, very impressed that you decided to do this. You know, Will Welch never did it. Anna Wintour's never done it. I have not asked Dan, but I have asked Will and he didn't. So why did you decide to, first of all, what did you have for breakfast this morning? And then I'll start grilling you. Speaker 1 (5:41) I actually just smashed an ice latte and kept it moving. I cycled to work and I kept it moving. I have not eaten yet. Intermittent fasting a little bit. As for the rest of it, yes, I feel like there's been a healthy curiosity from you about me and about GQ, which I love. I think it's been really fun. And I don't know, like we were talking about it last week and I was like, I feel like it's an incredibly Australian thing to do just to say hi and to get in there. And maybe you never know, like maybe this could be the catalyst for a whole new era of relationships between you and Condé. Anything's possible. Speaker 3 (6:18) I don't. I don't think that's true, but I am very impressed by you. And I think, honestly, it will be great for you and advertisers. So in that way, it will be helpful. Shout out to the Speaker 1 (6:31) DMOs listening. We're here for you. Yeah, all of them. You know, Speaker 3 (6:35) one of them messaged me and said, I heard that Adam's coming on the podcast. We love him. Speaker 1 (6:41) Oh, that's so sweet. You know, I was at the US Open men's final on Sunday. So minding my own business, I was a couple of those honey juices deep. And then I saw a client in one of the suites. He's like, Adam. I'm like, hey, what's up? He's like, I heard you're going on Lauren's podcast. I'm like, you know about this? Oh my God. So I feel like people are excited. I feel like no one will see it coming. I feel like this is a pretty blockbuster episode. So you guys are very welcome. Speaker 3 (7:10) Yes, thank you. This is definitely a conversion tool if I ever did have one. You know, it's interesting. I will tell you that the first piece I did on you did not convert. And, but you know, the last one we did performed extremely well. So you are becoming a real line sheet and puck character in the best way. But in all serious, I do, I want to talk about who you are, what your vision for GQ is and all that stuff. But We got to talk about Tom Cruise first. Because two hours ago, you released your new cover starring Tom Cruise, who had not been interviewed for a magazine in 20 years or something. Speaker 1 (7:55) First GQ cover in 20 years. Speaker 3 (7:58) And Speaker 1 (7:58) I feel like it's been a little over a decade since he did something meaty-ish. with a magazine, certainly not a fashion shoot or anything like that. I think he was in character for a W shoot under Stefano, maybe 2011, something like that. It's been a while either way. Speaker 3 (8:17) So walk us through the process as much as you can. Why did you decide on him? How did you convince them to say yes? What were the sort of boundaries? I should also say, I mean, anyone who listens to this podcast who has a parasocial relationship with me or Amanda Dobbins knows that the writer of the profile and Q &A is Zach Barron. who is Amanda Dobbins' husband. And Amanda is one of my best friends. And I'm also friends with Zach. I think he would be okay with me saying that. And our kids are friends and all that stuff. So I am compromised in many ways here. I'm going to try to be as tough on you as possible. But I'm really proud of Zach. It's a huge get too. But how did it happen? Speaker 1 (9:01) Well, you know, I think it's reasonable to say that Tom Cruise is as consequential, as complicated, and as successful an artist as we've seen this century, and for the latter half of the last century. He also represents a whole bunch of tension and complexity. Speaker 1 (9:24) One of the things when I peer out over the magazine landscape that you see is a sidestepping or an avoidance of tension or complexity. Speaker 1 (9:36) Not many magazines are particularly strong at that anymore. I think you said the word compromised. I think with the state of media, you're seeing more and more compromises being made to make momentous cultural moments happen, at least momentous cultural moments that reflect what we used to do back in the day, if you will. But, you know, it would have been really straightforward for me and the team, especially for my first two issues, to go out and book, like, who's the hottest guy? that we can get in the best look from the biggest show shot by one of the photographers du jour. And that would be like the simplest, cleanest way to kick off my era of GQ. But one of my big priorities is actually just being able to start a conversation, spark a dialogue. And I thought if we did something with Tom, it's going to get people talking. This is a very complicated figure, beloved, billion dollar box office star, no doubt, but complicated. And I think... the reason we assigned Zach to this story is because he's comfortably, I would argue, is one of the most talented interviewers on the planet. And you've got a subject who is very used to, well, not being asked questions. And I felt like sitting those two down together, particularly on camera, would yield at least the most complete portrait of Tom Cruise we'd seen in a long time. There were no conditions to the conversation or anything like that, hand on heart. But I'm obviously very cognizant you spoke about parasocial relationships. We all have a parasocial relationship with Tom Cruise, and I'm cognizant that some people have a relationship with him that really relates back to his private life, his dating history, his faith, his being a Scientologist and all that. This is not the kind of story we wanted to tell. This is really a story about like, who is this guy that's continually topping the box office? We haven't heard from him in many years. Why is he choosing to work with an auteur like Inyarudu for the first time in a long time? This is not a blockbuster action film. And I think that particularly in the video format, which I think is a great watch, you get to experience this beautiful game of cat and mouse between Tom and Zach. Zach, I think, does a brilliant job. It's a very compelling watch. And I'm really proud that GQ is the home of... a story that I think people have been hungry for for a long time. And the fact that we're doing it in my second issue as an editor, I think is really cool and really exciting and hopefully a sign of things to come. Speaker 3 (12:03) Yeah, on the Scientology bit, I mean, the first thing I did was look for that word. And I think people are going to ask about that. And you said there were no conditions. I understand the point you're trying to make. And I do think. Zach is one of the few people who write these kinds of things that I read almost everything he writes. And he is able to get to like a real human place with these guys in a way that I don't think many people can. And I think that's also why they're comfortable with him because he's like, he doesn't fawn on them, but he also respects their space or whatever. Why did you all decide not to go there? Because it is the thing. that everybody thinks about constantly, especially in the last 20 years of Tom Cruise's life and career. Speaker 1 (12:53) Yeah, I think, I don't know, this really could have easily been a story that rehashes the greatest hits and the why and say it again and get mad again. I get that. I get that. And I get that that would have been very kind of compelling viewing for a certain kind of person. But to anyone that feels... hears this and feels a bit cynical, I'd really encourage you to watch. Watch Zach ask follow-up questions. Watch Zach attempt to pin him down. Watch Zach ask about what he does in his off time. And I heard things, you know, I was there for the shoot and I was there for the video interview. And I learned a whole lot about Tom Cruise that I didn't know. I didn't know that Tom Cruise went to 15 schools in 16 years. I didn't know these details about his childhood. And ultimately... look, this is a very consequential artist. There has not been an entry in his songbook in many years. And I'm glad that GQ's added to that. I also will say, like, not for nothing, the Mario Sorrenti photo shoot is an absolute showstopper. And I think just GQ operating at its highest caliber, it's been a very long time also since Mario Sorrenti was in the pages of GQ. So it's another really proud moment for me and the team. Yeah, Speaker 3 (14:02) I thought that the photos, I think the front cover, one of the feedback that I've gotten so far on it, I mean, it doesn't feel like GQ. And I don't just mean Will's GQ. I think the Jim Nelson GQ, too. Like having a shortlist guy on the cover, especially a 65 year old, even though he looks like he's about 27 or something. Why did you choose that photo over? Because like for for me, I like the other pictures better, I would say. But I'm not an editor. But why did you think that was the right sort of attitude to have? Speaker 1 (14:39) Pretty remarkable moment. You won't believe this, but that moment was not preconceived. And it happened about 20 minutes into the first shot. And I was like, what the, like, you're just kind of watching like, Jesus. Okay. Speaker 3 (14:53) Does he ever like take his shirt off in movies anymore? I don't know. I don't watch that. I've seen Top Gun Maverick, but that's basically the only Speaker 1 (15:01) one. Speaker 3 (15:01) I think in the last Mission Impossible, Speaker 1 (15:02) the last Mission Impossible, there was like a sub. I don't know. Is that. But. you know, it just kind of happened organically. I'm like, wow, what a, it's not just that we haven't seen this guy in this context