Men's Fashion

Fresh from his extraordinary performances and starring roles at the Olympic Games and Paralympics, Oscar Pistorius has been photographed exclusively for GQ Style magazine.

As GQ’s reigning Best Dressed Man of the Year, Pistorius is known to break barriers in both sport and fashion – as well as set new frontiers for those living with disabilities.

He’s a national treasure, says journalist Jason Alexander Basson, who interviewed Pistorius for the magazine, and a symbol of the struggle for freedom, not only from the challenges associated with being a bilateral amputee, but also from popular misconceptions that depict disability as an ugly or “alien” condition.

In Pistorius’s opinion, we need to create societies in which the facts are dealt with rather than being treated as elephants in the room.

“We don’t need to hide or sugar-coat disability, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he tells GQ Style. “Those living with a disability don’t want to be pitied or treated any differently. The only way to overcome our ingrained cultural stigmas is to communicate about them.”

The magazine quotes Pistorius’s views on fashion as being a powerful psychological mechanism with the potential to rebrand disability in the media.

“Fashion evokes emotion. It also serves as a visual insight into another person. You can tell what mood they’re in – not only by what they’re wearing, but by the way in which they wear it.”

Visit www.gq.co.za for more.