AND still chaos in the fashion world, which is preparing to say goodbye to Tom Ford. The Texan designer from Austin, who marked the boldest rhythms and trends of the 90s, leaves the homonymous brand with a nostalgic but still captivating video. A succession of looks, models and dresses that retrace its history and that of the brand, from the year it was founded, 2005, to today. A sudden break, that the most far-sighted fashion insiders had, however, foreseen. Rumors that she could leave the post as creative director already circulated later the sale of the brand to Estè Lauder last November.
Tom Ford’s exit
As he always did in his career, Tom Ford said goodbye to fashion in a big way. After thirteen years at the helm of his eponymous brand, he takes his leave with one last women’s collection presented through videos published on the web and then went viral on social networks. The one who knew how to make the sexy and provocative fashionrestoring a brand doomed to bankruptcy like Gucci and making it what it is today, confirmed the definitive break with the brand a few months after the sale to the Estée Lauder group for 2.8 billion dollars.
Tom Ford at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. EPA/RINGO CHIU
Tom Ford Archive: The Ultimate Collection
Footsteps punctuated by the noise of the studs of his iconic lace-up shoes mark the end of an era, as well as the video with which Tom Ford has decided to celebrate and say goodbye to his brand once and for all. Shot by photographer Steven Kleinunder the watchful eye of the most alluring stylist of all Carine Roitfeld, there collection Archive Autumn-Winter 2023/2024 it is a succession of references to the clothes that have made the history of this maison and its creative.
From the velvet tuxedo with unbuttoned shirt by Gwyneth Paltrow from minidresses sprinkled with sequins, to evening dresses with a relaxed silhouette and cheeky elegance. Locked up inside glass casesas in a museum, to wear these latest looks are present the designer’s muses Texan. From Amber Valletta to Karlie Kloss passing through Caroline Trentini, Karen Elson And Joan Smalls.
Yves Saint Laurent Fall Winter 2004 2025. (Photo by Pool BASSIGNAC/BENAINOUS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
What will happen now?
The future of the brand, which joins the long list of brands looking for creative directors together with the recent Moschino and Simone Rocha, will only be revealed by time. What is certain is that Tom Ford, creative at 360 degrees, will not remain idle. While rumors indicate Peter Hawkings as heir to the throne, given his current position as design director of the men’s line. Fans closest to the brand’s now ex-stylist are hoping a return to the cinemawhere already in 2009 with A Single Man (and then in 2016 with Nocturnal animals) had demonstrated his skills with a product with a refined aesthetic and full of sensuality, just like his fashion.
In any case, whatever the future of the brand and the artist who made it, Tom Ford was, is and always will be a game changer of the fashion system.
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