Tom Ford
Tom Ford is a brand founded in 2005 by the homonymous Texan fashion designer, after his partnerships with Gucci an Yves Saint Laurent.
Index
- The education between New York and Paris
- The big leap: Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and the international campaigns
- Tom Ford International
- Awards
- The cinema: a future in film
- Tom Ford seeking for perfection
- The sale and the farewell to fashion
The education between New York and Paris
Thomas Carlyle Ford, alias Tom Ford, was born in Austin, Texas, on 27th August 1961. Her parents are estate agents. He grew up between Houston and Santa Fe. When he was 17 he moved to New York, where he frequents the Studio 54 and meets Andy Warhol. The excesses he practiced as socialite distracted him from study and made him move to Los Angeles, in 1980. He decided to start a career as an actor, trying to rank in advertising spots. Two years later he went back to New York to study Architecture at Parsons School of Design.
An internship in Paris, at Chloé press office, made him change his studies and start his experience in the fashion world. So he started a partnership with Cathy Hardwick. Then, in 1988, he became Director of Design for Perry Ellis, under the supervision of Marc Jacobs, another future big of the fashion.
The big leap: Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and the international campaigns
In 1990 Tom Ford moved to Milan and joined Gucci, which was in a big economic crisis, as responsible for clothing and prêt-à-porter womenswear: the success came immediately. The historical griffe, which was penalised by its old appeal, was completely renovated and conquered the public from its first runway. In 1992 he became Director of Design and in 1994, when Gucci was acquired by Bahrain Investcorp, he became Creative Director for all the product lines. The fashion designer lived and worked between London, Paris, Florence and Milano, being at the head of designer from all over the world.
Then, in addition to these roles. he became Chief Designer for Yves Saint Laurent and YSL Beauté too. Together with the CEO Domenico De Sole, Tom Ford renovate and revamped the appeal of Gucci, driving the maison in the Gotha of fashion, with his sensual and luxurious style, made of pop-colored furs, total white cut-out dresses, precious embroideries, python boots, clamped décolleté and a revamping of the historical Jackie O Bag.
The new identity of the griffe was transmitted also by the international advertising campaigns studied by the Texan fashion designer and shot by very famous photographers, such as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Mario Testino and Herb Ritts. In ten years the turnover of the Florentine maison went from 230 million dollars to 3 billion dollars. In 2004, when the French PPR (nowadays Kering) acquired Gucci, the duo Ford-De Sole left the company and founded the brand Tom Ford.
Tom Ford International
After his début in the eyewear, in partnership with Marcolin Group, the fashion designer signed an agreement with Estēe Lauder for his first fragrance Tom Ford Black Orchi. In February 2006, during a press release, Ford announced his partnership with Zegna Group, which would produce his menswear lines in little handmade factories in Padua, Biella and Novara.
In April 2007, the opening of his first flagship storein New York was the occasion to launch his first menswear collection, inspired by Classicism, with polished cuts and materials. The tradition of the Italian high tailoring and the genius of Tom Ford created the image of a man whose philosophy is balanced between the classical precision and a continuous re-invention, which the rules of style are redefined in.
Then he presented his first feminine line, really waited: in 2010 it was presented to selected buyers and fashion editors. The woman of Tom Ford is charming and sexy. The collections of the fashion designer are a celebration of individual style “real women”: Ford creates collections which can overcome time, thanks to their stylistic coherence and consistency.
His looks are inspired by beautiful women, such as Lauren Hutton, Julianne Moore and Bianca Jagger, although his main muse is the New York of the 1970s. Terry Richardson is the best embodiment of the Ford’s appeal: he is his trustworthy photographer and he partners with him in many projects and advertising campaigns, which often risk the censorship because of sexualized poses.
Instead his menswear fashion is, as he is, classical and super-luxurious; he doesn’t need to overdo in order to show confidence. Tom Ford manages to create a masculine image, inspired by himself, which every man would recognize him in. At the end of fashion shows he walks on Gucci catwalks wearing a classical tuxedo and with a whisky glass in the hand: he is the James Bond of fashion, the golden man whom everybody would like to be.
Awards
Tom Ford resembles one of the Renaissance geniuses which added titles on titles, as Leonardo da Vinci. The American fashion designer, indeed, is director, screenwriter, movie producer, actor and, as it is needed, photographer and model (of himself) too. He is a brand more than a man, who decided to expand his horizons, also conquering the cinema. He reached a worldwide celebrity during the 1990s, by revamping Gucci and YSL, then he created his empire. He is a sex symbol for women and men, a gay icon and a self-made man.
The Texan fashion designer acquired fame again during the New York Fashion Week A/W 2018/2019, by a womenswear and menswear fashion. During his career, he received many awards: in 1997 he was included among the 50 most beautiful people in the world by the magazine People; in 2000 he won the Vogue Award as Best International Designer; he also won five awards by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (1996, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008). His movie A single man won a nomination and a Queer Lion Award – as best movie on LGBT themes – at the Venice Film Festival.
The cinema: a future in film
Tom Ford came into contact with cinema as an actor: in the movie Zoolander, by Ben Stiller, he interpreted himself. In 2008, in partnership with the production house Fade to Black, he shot his first film, A single man, inspired by a novel by Christopher Isherwood and interpreted by Colin Firth. The movie was very appreciated at the 66th Venice Film Festival, winning the Queer Lion Award and the Coppa Volpi to the best main actor.
In 2016 he presented, in Venice, his first full-length film, Nocturnal animals, interpreted by Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams and Micheal Shannon, which he won the Gran Premio della Giuria by, receiving his first candidacies to Golden Globes as best screenwriter and best director. This second film too is inspired by a book, Tony and Susan by Austin Wright.
Tom Ford seeking for perfection
During many press releases, Tom Ford never hid his maniacal attention to details: he thinks he is a perfectionist and he has an obsessive personality, but he succeeds in it. Among the oddities about him you can find his addiction to botox, which he swears he stopped after his son was born. Furthermore, a good dress, in his opinion, is a sign of politeness: his task is to help women and men to become better versions of themselves.
He worked well with many colleagues, from Karl Lagerfeld to Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer dead in 2010. When he was informed of the death of McQueen, Tom Forde declared: “Some fashion designers are artists. Alexander McQueen was an artist. His creations used to leave you breathless, they were spectacular and had an history to tell. On the contrary – as I always said – I do a commercial design”.
The sale and the farewell to fashion
In November 2022 Tom Forde signed an agreement with Estēe Lauder, which partnered long time with the fashion house and acquired the brand, paying 2,8 billion dollars. The agreements stated the permanence of Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole until the end of 2023 and the assignment of the production to the Zegna Group, which already produced the menswear collection.
Then, in April 2023, a post on the social medias of the fashion house announced the Archive collection, the last one designed by the fashion designer, who decided to include in it his preferred looks among the ones created in the 13 previous years.
Some days after the announcement of the last collection, the Estēe Lauder Group communicated that Guillaume Jesel and Peter Hawkings would replace Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford. They worked for a long time in the fashion house: the first, indeed, has leaded the Tom Ford Beauty for 10 years, while the second has flanked Tom Ford since he was in Gucci. Eventually, Tom Ford, whose interest in fashion seemed to be disappeared, announced he saw his future in the cinema, thanks to his film studio Fade to Black.
A new path for the company
Since 18th September 2023 the new Tom Ford Fashion CEO is Lelio Gavazza, who can boast a huge experience at Bulgari. Gavazza, whose position has been created from the beginning, directly reports to Gildo Zegna, who owns licenses to produce menswear and womenswear items, in addition to underwear and accessories.
TOM FORD’s revenue is $654.0 million, in 2022.
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