To make fashion you have to be creative, multifaceted, passionate, dynamic. To be fashionable, however, you also need to know how to bet on yourself. Tom Ford is fashion and makes fashion , because it sums up all these characteristics.
It is not just an important name in the American fashion industry, but a promise launched towards the future in many different fields. In fact, Tom Ford is not only a successful American designer, but over time he has also become a director and screenwriter. An innate creativity that leads him to reinvent himself, always remaining on the crest of the wave.
In this new post dedicated to stylists who have made the history of fashion , this Texan designer also deserves a special place, and therefore we will see together professional steps and personal gems on this magnificent artist.
Tom Ford, the beginnings
Born in Texas, Austin, in 1961, Thomas Carlyle Ford is very far from any environment and culture linked to fashion, both American and international. He was 11 when his parents moved to Santa Fe, on the border with Mexico, and here the young Tom graduated. Soon after, however, he flies East . In fact, only in New York will he be able to pursue the dream of a lifetime. Designing fashion. Making fashion.
He graduates from the New York University School of Design , then goes to Paris to prove himself in the true temple of fashion.
He also works as a fashion journalist, press officer for the Chloe brand, and finally a designer and director of design. He is part of the creative staff of designer Cathy Hardwick.
During this period he also frequented some pop art characters such as Andy Warhol and the Studio 54 disco, which became a source of inspiration for him.
In 1988 Tom Ford met Marc Jacobs and from him he learned the art of design direction for a large fashion house, Perry Ellis.
In 1990 he entered Gucci in a dramatic situation , with the company on the verge of bankruptcy. With him in charge, the brand immediately recovered positions on the world market. Five years later, the Gucci-Ford duo is indestructible, a “war machine” that recaptures the world of fashion. In fact, 1995 is the year that definitively relaunches Gucci and launches Ford into the elite of world fashion. The success is due to the stylistic guidelines and the targeted advertising campaigns in collaboration with the French stylist Carine Roitfeld and the photographer Mario Testino . In addition, Ford immediately understands the importance of advertising in the fashion world and begins collaborations with great photographers, such asRichard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts.
In 2000 Ford also managed the design for Yves Saint Laurent and in 2004 he decided to try the adventure alone, leaving Gucci too.
The last show with the Italian brand dates back to March 2004.
The whimsical Tom Ford brand
Between 2004 and 2007 Tom Ford launched his own fashion house together with Domenico De Sole , also previously in Gucci . He does it quietly, continuing to work for others (Estee Lauder), but developing crazy and innovative ideas in the meantime. For example, sunglasses covered in goatskin! Soon many become aware of this new original and creative stylist.
Tom Ford registers
Tom Ford’s creativity is especially noticeable in the world of cinema, for which the Texan designer often designs interesting clothes, among which we mention those of James Bond starting from 2008.
But cinema enters the heart of the American designer himself who, after having been the protagonist of some documentaries, decides to try directing.
He produces and directs some films of his own hand, thus associating an innovative marketing to his brand also in the entertainment world.
The success here too becomes immediate: in fact, it produces, among others, two successful films which are Single Man in 2009 and Nocturnal Animals in 2016 , both nominated for the Oscars.
Tom Ford’s style and his private life
Married for some time with the English journalist Richard Buckley (also living in Italy the period of convalescence of his partner following a cancer), Ford has returned to live in Santa Fe, where he has organized his own house-museum-atelier.
His style is based on luxury that amazes . It produces luxury garments for men and women, but also accessories, footwear and perfumes. What matters is that glamor must never be missing.
From goat leather eyewear to the sporty-high-class mix , from vintage associated with modern ideas and shapes to super elegant, Tom Ford leaves indelible traces that amaze those who wear his products.
Conclusions
Surely he is a stylist who learns from his surroundings and cinema is just one of his many passions which then re-emerge in his work and are transformed into incredible collections, all to be experienced.
