GQ’s Man of the Year

Adam Baidawi
Baidawi, pictured, is the leading candidate for myriad reasons, but mostly because Welch relied on him, and Wintour relied on Welch. Photo: Maya Cellixa/Getty Images for GQ Middle East
Lauren Sherman
January 22, 2026

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During the Milan men’s shows, Adam Baidawi, deputy global editorial director of GQ and head of editorial content of British GQ,became the talk of the Condé Nast proverbial watercooler. (Do they even have offices in Milan anymore?) Perhaps prematurely—perhaps not—the team in Europe was getting vibes from Anna Wintour et al. that Baidawi was in pole position to take the job at the top of GQ’s global masthead, now that favorite son Will Welch has given his notice to go work for Pharrell.

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