Will Welch to Step Down as GQ Editor to Join Pharrell in Paris

Will Welch is stepping down as editor of GQ, he told staff members on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, and will leave Condé Nast to take a new role with Pharrell, the musician and men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, in Paris.

Mr. Welch was named editor of American GQ in 2018 and became its global editorial director in 2020. He joined GQ 12 years earlier as an associate editor at age 26 and also oversaw Pitchfork, the online music publication owned by Condé Nast.

During his tenure Mr. Welch pushed GQ away from what he called “manly-man tropes,” publishing a 2019 “New Masculinity” issue that featured Pharrell on the cover and, in a 2025 editor’s letter, urged men toward “the most elevated version of ourselves.” He drew A-list celebrities to GQ’s “Men of the Year” events but faced criticism as well, including over GQ’s 2023 deletion of a scathing article about David Zaslav.

A successor has not been named, and Condé Nast did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His departure is the latest in a series of high-profile exits at Condé Nast; last year the top editors of American Vogue and Vanity Fair vacated their roles and several employees were laid off or fired after Teen Vogue was folded into Vogue’s website.

Key Topics

Business, Will Welch, Pharrell, Gq, Louis Vuitton, Pitchfork