Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and directed the films A Single Man (2009) and Nocturnal Animals (2016). From 2019 to 2022 he was chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
This article is about the fashion designer. For other uses, see Thomas Ford (disambiguation).
Tom Ford
- Fashion designer
- filmmaker
1
Born in Texas, Ford grew up in Houston and San Marcos. He later enrolled at Bard College at Simon's Rock before leaving prior to graduation. He later graduated from The New School with a degree in architecture.
Early life[edit]
Thomas Carlyle Ford was born on August 27, 1961, in Austin, Texas, the son of realtors Shirley Burton (née Shirley Ann Thrasher) and Thomas David Ford (1932–2020).[1][2][3][4][5] He spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin. He rearranged furniture in the house at 6, and gave his mother advice on her hair and shoes. His family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11.[6] In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michael's High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1979.[7]
At age 16, he enrolled at Bard College at Simon's Rock, but quickly dropped out.[8] He moved to New York City to study art history at New York University.[9][10] There he met Ian Falconer, who took him to Studio 54 for the first time.[11] Ford dropped out after a year, focusing on acting in television commercials.[3][9][12]
Ford began studying interior architecture at The New School's art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design, in New York City.[13] He continued to frequent Studio 54, where he realized he was gay.[14][15] The club's disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs.[16][17] Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris, where he worked as an intern in Chloé's press office, inspiring his interest in fashion.[18][19] He spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but graduated with a degree in architecture.[19][20]
Fashion career[edit]
Early career[edit]
When interviewing for jobs after graduation, Ford said that he had attended The New School's Parsons division, but concealed that he graduated in architecture,[21] and that his work at Chloé was a low-level public relations position. Despite his lack of experience in fashion, Ford called American designer Cathy Hardwick every day for a month in hopes of securing a job at her sportswear company. Hardwick eventually agreed to interview him. She later recalled the incident: "I had every intention of giving him no hope. I asked him who his favorite European designers were. He said, 'Armani and Chanel.' Months later I asked him why he said that, and he said, 'Because you were wearing something Armani.' Is it any wonder he got the job?" Ford worked as a design assistant for Hardwick for two years.[21]
In 1988, Ford moved to Perry Ellis,[21] where he knew both Robert McDonald, the company's president, and Marc Jacobs, its designer, socially. He worked at the company for two years, but grew tired of working in American fashion. In a later interview with The New York Times, he commented, "If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It's looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style."[22][23]
At the time, Italian fashion house Gucci was struggling financially and was seeking to strengthen its women's ready-to-wear presence as a part of a brand overhaul. The company's creative director, Dawn Mello said, "no one would dream of wearing Gucci". In 1990, Mello hired Ford as the brand's chief women's ready-to-wear designer and Ford moved to Milan.[21] "I was talking to a lot of people, and most didn't want the job," Mello said. "For an American designer to move to Italy to join a company that was far from being a brand would have been pretty risky." Ford and his longtime partner, fashion journalist Richard Buckley, relocated to Milan that September.[21]
Ford's role at Gucci rapidly expanded; he was designing menswear within six months, and shoes soon after that. When Richard Lambertson left as design director in 1992, Ford took over his position,[21] heading the brand's ready-to-wear, fragrances, image, advertising, and store design. In 1993, when he was in charge of designing eleven product lines, Ford worked eighteen-hour days. During these years, there were creative tensions between Ford and Maurizio Gucci, the company's chairman and 50% owner. According to Mello, "Maurizio always wanted everything to be round and brown, and Tom wanted to make it square and black." Though Maurizio Gucci wanted to fire Ford, Domenico De Sole insisted that he remain.[21] Nonetheless, Ford's work during the early 1990s was primarily behind the scenes; his contributions to Gucci were overshadowed by those of Mello, who was the company's public face.
Public image and legacy[edit]
Ford has been included in several best-dressed lists, such as International Best Dressed List,[93] The Guardian's "The 50 best-dressed over-50s",[94] and British GQ's "50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015".[95] He was featured on the cover of the 2011 spring/summer issue of Another Man, giving his opinion on what makes the modern day gentleman.[96] He has been called a "fashion icon"[97][98] and a "style icon",[99][100] and he was included in "All-TIME 100 Fashion Icons" list.[101] He won many awards including several VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards and Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards.[102] In 2014, the CFDA awarded him the Geoffery Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.[103]
While Ford was in a monogamous relationship for many years, he "continue[d] to promote himself with a youthful and sexually charged image".[102] He is known for sexy clothes, making provocative statements, and creating racy advertisements.[104] Ford's designs convey a "sophisticated sex appeal"[105] and he has been credited for "bringing sexy back".[106][107][108][109] His advertisement campaigns have drawn controversy for use of nudity and "provocative sexual imagery".[61][110] Ford is also known to pose with celebrities and models in his ad campaigns.[106] He has been called the "King of Sex" and "the straightest gay man in the world".[104]
Ford saved Gucci from near bankruptcy and transformed it into a fashion powerhouse.[33][111] His decade as the creative director was hailed as a "golden era" for Gucci.[112] He turned the brand around, replacing the "grunge look" with "sexy, yet sophisticated, clothes".[111][113] He is known for his bold designs.[114] The New York Magazine wrote "Every season, Ford created an 'It' piece, a must-have, a season-defining trend, photographed to death, knocked off ad nauseam."[115] Ford says it is important for designers to be contemporary and current with the changing standard of beauty.[116][117]
In 2004, Ford published an eponymous monograph, detailing his early career and his design work for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent from 1990 to 2004. In 2021, seventeen years later, Ford published a follow-up volume entitled Tom Ford 002, which described his career from 2005 including the creation of his own fashion label and the production of his two films. Both books are published by Rizzoli International Publications and co-authored by fashion journalist Bridget Foley, with forewords by Anna Wintour.
In popular culture[edit]
In September 2013, hip-hop artist Jay-Z released the song "Tom Ford" as a single from his album Magna Carta Holy Grail. Ford responded favorably to the song saying, "Who would not be flattered to have an entire Jay-Z track named after them? I mean, [...] it's pretty rare that something like that happens. It's a kind of validation of one's work, as it means that one has really penetrated and made an impact on popular culture."[118] The song was nominated for 56th Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 2014.[119]
Tom Ford was referenced by Swedish rapper Bladee on his 2018 mixtape Icedancer.
In the 2021 film House of Gucci directed by Ridley Scott, Ford was portrayed by actor Reeve Carney.
Ford has been recognized by important design and cultural councils worldwide, including the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and Time.