GQ creates a Tony for all seasons
GQ has given Tony Blair a radical makeover, complete with blond hair and bouffant, in its latest issue after he refused to agree to do a fashion shoot.
The eight page spread, entitled "A Prime Minister For All Seasons", features four new looks – Question Time Tony, Weekend Tony, Number 10 Tony and Bon Voyage Tony.
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The Prime Minister can also be seen with a shaved head and a "Hoxton fin" (a haircut with a ‘fin’ at the front).
GQ editor Dylan Jones said: "We asked him a while ago to do the shoot and he was not interested so we decided to go ahead anyway. We morphed his head on to a model but you won’t be able to tell the difference. Even he won’t believe he has not posed for these pictures."
The Question Time shoot shows the Prime Minister ready for the House of Commons, wearing a Richard James pinstripe suit and benchmark shoes. "He looks very gladiatorial," Jones said. "He looks about as smart as it is possible to look – more Tory than a Tory." He added: "He looks more like a Tory than Iain Duncan Smith."
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The Bon Voyage shot shows a very different Blair, with bleached-blond hair, as he is about to set off on holiday to Tuscany, sporting a pistachio green polo shirt with upturned collar, cashmere sweater, chinos, togs and wraparound sunglasses. In the ‘Number 10’ photos he is dressed for the office in a Paul Smith bespoke suit, high-collared shirt, diver’s watch and diamond cufflinks.
‘Weekend Tony’ shows the Prime Minister in ‘worn-in’ Levis, a tweed jacket, flat cap, floppy scarf, shoulder bag and wellies – "a cross between Gloucestershire and Hoxton".
"He would have a lot more success with his Cabinet if he took our styling advice, rather than trying to look like George Bush with his cowboy boots and his thumbs in his pockets," Jones added. "We are thinking of approaching Iain Duncan Smith to see if we can turn him into Tony Blair."
The shoot was orchestrated by GQ style director Nick Sullivan.
By Ruth Addicott
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