Many people think the British capitals heyday was in the past.

But
not only is it more exciting now than its ever been, its the most
exciting city in the world, writes Dylan Jones.

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By Dylan Jones

9 May 2016

The publishing world has become overrun by books celebrating

particular points in time. A few years ago, Bill Bryson wrote an
entire book about 1927; just last month, David Hepworth wrote a
wonderful case for 1971 as the apotheosis of post-war pop music.
Soon there will be a big fat hard-cover devoted to every year of
the 20th Century.
One year that is continually celebrated, particularly in Londons
history, is 1966: first in 2003 by Shaun Levy in Ready, Steady, Go!
The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London, then in
2015 by pop archivist Jon Savage in the more prosaically titled
1966. This most recent book claims, yet again, that 1966 was
when the city was at its creative peak.

Passersby on Kings Road in 1966 (Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy)

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And if its not 1966 that was said to be the year in which London
was at its cultural, most fashionable height, then its the London of
punk rock, 1977. Or perhaps it was in the mid 90s, when Britpop
and the YBAs seemed to rule the city.

The Swinging 60s were only swinging if you were one of

500 lucky people

But the proposition is wrong. London is more exciting now than its
ever been.
The mid 60s may have been a period in which the city became a
mecca for American tourists and an international symbol of
cultural upheaval. It may have been the time of the Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, the Kings Road, Carnaby Street, dolly birds and
swishy nightclubs like the Ad Lib. But the Swinging 60s were only
swinging if you were one of the lucky 500 who frequented the right
kind of discotheques.
In fact, all of these periods pale when compared to London as it is
today. Not only is London the greatest, most dynamic city in the
world, its never been better than it is now.

People gather at a wine bar in Shoreditch, east London (Credit: Kevin George/Alamy)

Comparison may be the thief of joy, and it might be invidious to

square London off against other fashionable cities such as New
York, Milan or Paris which is heavier, a tonne of feathers of a

tonne of gold? but right now, there is no other city in the world
like it.

Not only is London the greatest, most dynamic city in the

world, its never been better than it is now
The gentrification of the city has meant that its now more difficult
to get onto the property ladder than at any time in its past. But the
benefits of Londons financial transformation also mean that it is
now not just the economic centre of Europe, it is also an
architectural and artistic wonder.

Willem De Kooning's Untitled XXI is displayed during Frieze in 2015 (Credit: Tristan
Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby's)

There is more building work in London than in any other city in the
world, barring those in China. This makes it a proper showcase for
the citys creativity: the new confluence of money and art means
that the city now hosts the most important art galleries in the world
as well as the most important art fair, Frieze.

There is more building work in London than in any other

city in the world, barring those in China

And while 30 years ago it was difficult to find a good steak in the
city, and nigh impossible to eat well on a Sunday evening, London
now has by far the greatest number of top-class restaurants of any
city in the world. While London might still fall short of Paris and
NYC in the Michelin-star category, that way of judging restaurants
is fundamentally old-fashioned, and if you want to look for
ingenuity and panache, you come to London.

Dining at Londons Connaught Hotel (Credit: Tim E White/Alamy)

Local government has also helped nurture the vital relationships

between art and commerce, encouraging the growth of places like
the hip east London district of Shoreditch and the start-up belt
Tech City. The growth of such places doesnt happen by accident;
it is due to infrastructure, education and planning.

Women stroll in Shoreditch past the citys shared bicycles, a scheme that launched in
2010 (Credit: Nicola Ferrari/Alamy)

This was made easier after 2000, the year a dedicated, singular
leadership for London wa`xs instituted before, it was just the 33
boroughs, each with a different mayor. London would never have
won the 2012 Olympics without a mayor of London. How would
you have got 33 local boroughs to agree on a bid to the
International Olympic Committee?

The Vaisakhi (Sikh New Year) celebrations, organised by the Mayor of London, take place
at City Hall in April 2015 (Credit: Stephen Chung/Alamy)

The world of fashion is another example of Londons boom. In

days gone by, it was often assumed that Paris or possibly Milan
were the centres of the fashion industry in Europe, while New York
was venerated on the other side of the Atlantic.
But no, now London is the most fashionable city in the world (just
ask anyone on the front row, even those in Manhattan) and since
the British Fashion Council has been punching way above its
weight, we now have the most vibrant fashion weeks in the world
for menswear as well as womenswear. (Full disclosure: I am the
chairman of London Collections Men.) There is such diversity in
London from street style to tailoring, couture to big brands that
no other city comes close.

Guests arrive at the Hunter ready-to-wear fashion show during London Fashion Week
2015 (Credit: Wayne Tippetts/Alamy)

This has been shown by the reversal of a well-worn narrative

concerning any young hotshot fashion designer: after they had
made their name in London, it was once said, they would be
snapped up by one of the large international fashion
conglomerates and whizzed off to Milan or Paris where their
British creativity would be harnessed, exploited and then sold
back to us.

These days, young designers stay in London and

encourage the fash-pack to come here rather than
anywhere else

Not anymore. These days, young designers stay in London, find

backing in London, and encourage the fash-pack to come here
rather than anywhere else. After all, if you decide to show your
clothes in Milan, then you will be showing your clothes in the
ugliest northern European city that isnt in Germany. If you decide
to show your clothes in Paris, youll be showing your clothes in the

most bourgeois city in Europe. And if you decide to show your

clothes in New York, then youll be showing them in the most
neurotic city in the world.
No, London is where its at.

People relax on a summer day in Hyde Park (Credit: Robert Stainforth/Alamy)

There is also our multiculturalism: 37% of Londoners were born

outside the UK, just a tick up from New York Citys (36%) and 10
percentage points higher than a decade earlier. Our society is
fluid, a melting pot of this and that and his and hers. London is a
great example of successful immigration, and increasingly one
feels as though the city couldnt do without it. If you walk around
where I live, in the W2 district near Hyde Park, you can walk along
the street and not hear English being spoken all morning. And
when you do eventually hear it, it feels as though youve travelled
back in time.

Children pose during Londons Rathayatra, the biggest festival of the International Society
for Krishna Consciousness, at Trafalgar Square (Credit: Keith Erskine/Alamy )

Naturally, London is no Xanadu. Its problems are not dissimilar to

the problems inherent in any ever-expanding modern metropolis.
Parts of the city have certainly become even more divided than
they were in the 80, when monolithic steel and glass towers in
gated communities sprang up in the middle of dockland slums.
This disharmony obviously creates discontent, while silos of hate
appear in the most unlikely places.
But still they come and still we grow. Which makes me think that
maybe we should turn London into a city state or a citadel. Not
to keep people out, and not to keep them in, but to celebrate the
fact that London deserves to be recognised as the most important
city on Earth.
Dylan Jones is the editor-in-chief of GQ, the chairman of London
Collections Men and the author of London Rulespublished by
Biteback.

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