Tom Ford: happy birthday, golden man
The American designer often described as the king of fashion turns 61. He has carried forward a disturbing charm with a charismatic and well-written creativity.
Tom Ford happy BIRTHDAY The American designer often described as the king of fashion turns 61. He has carried forward a disturbing charm with a charismatic and well-written creativity.
Ford was born in Austin, Texas on August 27 1961. Gucci almost in ruins close to bankruptcy in the start of 1990, under the supervision of Dawn Mello . The Golden Man in 1994 brought back Gucci to the top by breaking rules and following his intuitions of him. This you could say was the stepping stone to his glorious future di lui in the coming years in Fashion.
But let’s take a step back and understand the man, and from where he began.
Born in Austin and later moving to New Mexico with his family, Tom had a penchant for creativity and fashion from a very young age. He left to pursue his education in NYU, but later dropped out to experience the wold in front of the camera. He soon realized his passions of him laid else where. He went on to study Architecture in Parson’s School and only taking elective courses in Fashion, from where he graduated in 1986.
He started his first Jon as an intern at Chloé , under the guidance of Cathy Hardwick (1986). He later went on to be the design director at Perry Ellis (1988), where he met Marc Jacobs.
REBIRTH OF GUCCI
Over the years had deteriorated and wasn’t able to rise beyond their glory days from the seventies. In the small time frame where Gucci was at the point of bankruptcy, Tom Ford took this opportunity to break all rules beyond his contract and went on design an entire collection and stepped on the runway representing it under Gucci. He retrieved the brand’s archival images, vintage clothing and even the vintage markets. He rebranded Gucci with a bold new sexy outlook, with his debut autumn / winter 1995-1996 collection.
The designer offered a series of seventies style dresses inspired by Studio-54 , a well know New York nightclub known for its Olympus of disco music, hedonism and ostentatious eroticism. This is where he also met Andy Warhol.
Ford proposed a sensual look where he modeled jackets, satin shirts left unbuttoned and low waisted velvet pants. Patent leather shoes with horse-bit and silver stirrup, went on to become the trend of the season. The aggressive yet luxurious fashion proposed by Ford receives overwhelming approval from the market and Ford went on to become the Golden Man of Fashion.
Tom Ford and YSL
Under his guidance, Gucci grew to the point where they could take over Yves Saint Laurent in 1999. He continued to oversee both the brands, creating 16 collections each year shuffling between Milan and Paris.
He was successful in bring the life in YSL too with his designs and creativity. He moved from the bold sexiness of Gucci, to more romantic yet sensual pieces. 
One of the more famous collaborations would be the YSL M7 advertising campaign featuring Samuel de Cubber with a rather risqué exposed cover.
All this remained till 2004, where Ford took a final bow and handed over the reigns to Stefano Pilati .
The Filmmaker.
In the peak of his career in fashion, shocking the entire industry Ford returned to the world of cinematography but this time behind the camera. He made his movie debut with The Single Man , which he explains is very personal to him and depicts a lot about himself. He was even later nominated for the Golden Globes , for Best Director and Screenwriter in 2016 for his movie Nocturnal Animals .
Tom Ford International
Domenico de Sole former CEO of Gucci and long standing champion for Ford, suggested that the time has come to “go on your own”. With his help he founded Tom Ford International . A women’s and men’s clothing brand, with a so a strong cosmetics line thanks to the contribution of Estée Lauder.
The Private life of Tom Ford.
Although he lived in between the glamor and had one of the best luxurious lifestyles, his bed had just as much thorns as roses. The American designer suffered from severe form of depression which still drags behind him today.
It was at the mere age of eight that he thought of suicide for the first time.
He said, “The battle against depression has characterized my whole life, and I live in constant fear that something could change and go wrong. Death is always in my thoughts, there is no time or day that I don’t think about it and all this is really exhausting and can end up bringing you to unhappiness, but I believe that each of us is born in a certain way. “
To comfort him on those days of uncertainty, he had the support of his husband Richard Buckley (1948 – 2001) and his son Alexander John Buckley Ford.
Quotes Tom Ford
- “I was already asked a few years ago to dress Melania Trump and I refused It’s not my ideal. I don’t think I would have dressed Hillary either if she had won the election. My clothes are too expensive and don’t suit a president’s wife. “
- “I love to build, I love to create. In my heart these arts are all on the same level.
When I left Gucci, I realized that I no longer had a voice to express, to react to what I saw in society.
For me, expressing myself is essential. “ - “I’m not ready for fur-free, but I’ve started using less. I’ve used a lot of fake fur but fake fur is terrible for the environment. People believe fake fur is an available commodity. They buy it, wear it for a few seasons, and throw it away. But it is not biodegradable. It is a product of petroleum, very toxic. “
- Historically, Gucci is Sophia Loren. Yves Saint Laurent is Catherine Deneuve. They are both sexy, but Gucci is a little more obvious than Saint Laurent.
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