Tom Ford, el hombre ms all de la

leyenda

Tom Ford naci en Austin (Texas) el 27 de

agosto de 1961. Estudi para ser
arquitecto y decorador de interiores, su

temprana vocacin fue ser actor, prob suerte

como director de cine -slo un largometraje
hasta el momento, A Single Man-, pero
alcanz la fama mundial como diseador
de moda.
Al frente de Gucci y de Yves Saint
Laurent, Tom Ford revolucion el modo de
entender la moda. La sexualidad ms
elegantemente explcita fue aadida a un
nuevo concepto de mercado y su ecuacin se
tradujo en un xito -de venta, y de pblicoplanetario.
En Gucci consigui que la marca -tocada y
deficitaria- de pasara del 0 al 100 como si se
tratara del mejor de los Ferraris. Domenico
De Sole -su socio, y la otra mitad del tndem
de xito en la divisin de negocioscomentaba que cuando Tom lleg a Gucci
todo era marrn, redondo y blando; cuando l
sali todo era negro, cuadrado y duro. Por
no mentar las ganacias, que pasaron de una
empresa valorada en 230 millones de dlares

a la escandalosa cifra de 3 billones

(anglosajones).
En YSL traz un plan de marketing que
funcionaba -el banco de pruebas haba sido
Gucci- y lo adapt a la maison parisiense ms
sofisticada. Bajo su influjo, Saint Laurent
destilaba una refinada sexualidad que report
cuantiosos dividendos.
En la actualidad, Ford ha vuelto sobre el
camino del diseo con su propia firma.
Tom Ford -la marca- empez siendo un oasis
de belleza suprema, con un amplio catlogo
de perfumes y maquillaje. La firma creci en
oferta, hasta convertirse en el paladn del
gentleman contemporneo. Diseos de
impecable factura con acabados y
materiales exquisitos. Ford no tard en
darle la rplica a las colecciones para mujer.
Diseos que beben de una esttica en clara
influencia sobre la dcada de los setenta pero
que bajo su batuta rezuman una sexualidad
magntica.

La piel bronceada en el punto adecuado -de

aspecto saludable, evitando la tanorexia-, la
camisa blanca e impecable desabrochada
-estudiadamente- tres botones, y una
chaqueta negra que parece esculpida sobre
sus hombros y su torso. Unas seas de
identidad y de estilo que lo identifican con
slo hacer acto de presencia. l, con su
posado, su temple y sus maneras pausadas,
es el mejor embajador de lo que Tom Ford
encarna.
Historia
1960 - 1979
En palabras del propio Ford, su infancia la
recuerda como un momento feliz. La infancia
de un nio mimado con una visin -quizs
demasiado- clara y estricta sobre lo que
quera y lo que no quera vestir. Movido por un
afn de novedad, cambi su Texas natal por la
bulliciosa NYC a los diecisiete aos. Ford
ingres en la prestigiosa escuela Parsons
decidido a estudiar arquitectura y diseo de
interiores pero su verdadera vocacin era la

actuacin. Metido en la piel de actor y en la

de modelo -para algunos spots publicitarios-,
Tom declin el arte dramtico y el modelaje.
Un carcter perfeccionista in extremis y
demasiado controlador, y una temprana
alopecia dieron al traste con su sueo secreto
de infancia. Las clases de arquitectura
siguieron hasta terminar gradundose. Con
las ideas claras y las aparentes similitudes
entre el diseo de moda y la artiquectura
-cuerpo o edificio, seda o cemento, no
importa el fin; es el mismo medio para Tom- la
moda se presentaba como un destino lgico
en el horizonte. Y se acerc a las oficinas de
Cathy Hardwick en la 7th Avenue. Con un
portfolio debajo del brazo, Tom consigui su
primer trabajo en un atelier de moda.
1980
Tom Ford se mud a Pars, y empez a
trabajar para las oficinas de Chlo. En calidad
de aprendiz, el joven Ford ordenaba armarios,
colocaba las perchas, haca pedidos, etc. Pero
un contrato mejor en Perry Ellis lo puso de

vuelta en Norteamrica. Hastiado con los

derroteros que tomaba su labor, volvi a
Europa, un lugar imprescindible para trabajar
en una firma de moda comentaba Tom a The
New York Times.
1990 - 2004
Rozando la treintena, Tom Ford ocup el silln
de la casa Gucci. En una mtica casa italiana
consagrada a los accesorios y los artculos de
piel, todo estaba por hacer. Tanto es as que
hasta 1994 -momento de la primera
coleccin- su trabajo consisti en poner firme
una trastienda vetusta y apolillada. El primer
cometido de Ford en Gucci fue romper todas
las normas que se haban establecido. Nada
de hablar con la prensa, nada de salir a
saludar al terminar el desfile, etc. Axiomas
que, por supuesto, Tom destruy al instante.
Para su tercera coleccin -esa que supone el
empujn definitivo- en 1996, Ford dej
entrever los pilares sobre los que se iba a
asentar su trayectoria: esculturales vestidos
blancos que potenciaban la silueta femenina y

jugaban a la provocacin con troquelados

sinuosos en forma de G. El estribo, el web
-la tribanda roja y verde-, el Flora, etc. Las
insignias de la firma se convertan en
accesorios imprescindibles dentro del
ecosistema fashion; si bien todos haban sido
bendecidos con el guio Ford. Rescat el aire
hippie, y baj el talle del pantaln de la
cintura a la cadera, al tiempo que ensanchaba
la pata. El escote, en las camisas de seda, se
volvi increblemente atractivo y profundo. En
la retina, todava presente, Madonna en los
MTV de 1995 con total look Gucci. Las
chaquetas cortas, entalladas y rematadas con
solapas desbordantes se mezclaban con las
faldas lpiz y los stilettos ms sexys. La
maquinaria de negocio estaba engrasada, y el
lifestyle de la firma desplegaba imaginera en
todos los campos. Los clientes Gucci eran una
explosiva mujer que se mova por el mundo
en avin, poderosa y segura de su alcance. El
modelo varn. era l. Y ambos, entregados
a un hedonismo irredento y sin pice de
culpabilidad. Para entonces, el xito estaba

ms que asegurado y ms que garantizado.

Tiempo para dar el salto a Pars. Yves Saint
Laurent fue la segunda firma que Tom Ford
-siempre con Domenico De Sole, esa cabeza
dotada para el negocio- regent. Adquirida
por el do -despus sera absorbida por PPR,
el conglomerado de empresas de lujo de
Franois-Henri Pinault- Tom tom las riendas
del diseo. Si en un principio pareca reinar la
cordialidad entre el crateur Yves y Tom Ford,
las desavenencias entre ambos se hicieron
bien pblicas va misivas del frances al
americano. Pero el sueo de Tom era
imparable, y su receta -sexual- del xito
tambin encontr buena acogida en el
corazn de la capital del Sena. Volmenes,
volantes y potentes escotes que dialogaban
con el icono de la casa que ms veces revisit
Tom Ford, el esmoquin. En 2004 lleg el fin.
De la era Tom Ford en Gucci y de la era Tom
Ford en Yves Saint Laurent. El diseador se
despidi de ambas firmas con un sentido
tributo al legato. En Saint Laurent revisit los
archivos de la coleccin inspirada en China

que present Yves en 1997, el ao del

lanzamiento de Opium, todo un bestseller en
materia de fragancias. En Gucci mir hacia los
propios y cerr el desfile con la misma modelo
-Georgina Grenvile-, con el mismo tema -Love
Theme, de Love Unlimited- y con cuatro
vestidos blancos -inspirados en sus
propuestas de 1996, la coleccin que le
consagr-. Y tras el xito, el vaco. Tom Ford
desinfl el ritmo de su vorgine laboral y por
el camino se encontr con una depresin y
algunos vodka tonics -su cctel favorito- de
ms. Todo haba quedado bien atado -desde la
sucesin hasta las cuentas- en las firmas que
dejaba y era momento de explorar nuevos
caminos.
2005
Tom Ford present una exquisita lnea de
belleza para el gigante de la cosmtica Este
Lauder. Y edit un completo libro sobre su
trabajo para Gucci e Yves Saint Laurent.
2006

Se lanz al mercado Black Orchid, su primer

perfume. Ya con la publicidad, Ford destilaba
las claves estticas de su futura firma
2007
Y puso la pica en Flandes. En la neoyorquina
Madison Avenue se alz la primera boutique
del diseador, con la coleccin ntegra de
prt-a-porter para el hombre. Haba nacido
una firma con vocacin de legendaria en el
guardarropa masculino.
2009
Vino por fin el rodaje. A menudo, en su poca
de esplendor creativo, Tom Ford fantaseaba
con la idea de ponerse tras la cmara y
emprender el rodaje de un film. Comprados
los derechos de la novela homnima,
trabajado y consultado el guin con grandes
del sector y producida por Fade to Black
-propiedad de Tom Ford- vea la luz en 2009
su primer proyecto cinematogrfico: A Single
Man. Con Colin Firth y Julianne Moore en el

reparto, la actuacin del ingls le vali una

nominacin a los Oscar de la Academia.
2010
La incursin de Tom Ford en el sptimo arte
qued aparcada; y lleg septiembre: el mes
de enero en el calendario de la moda. El
diseador reuni en su flagship store de
Madison Avenue al ramillete ms selecto e
influyentede la prensa especializada. Y ante
ellos, bajo un hermtico secretismo, mostr
su primera coleccin de prt-a-porter
femenino. Varias balas en la recmara que
empez a disparar con la primera salida a
pasarela. En el concepto, nada de filtrar
imgenes a la prensa; en un mundo
estresantemente sobrexpuesto, Tom pretende
retomar las riendas del control y de la
diversin. Y los diseos, sobre sorprendentes
perchas: actrices, cantantes, modelos
consagradas y modelos actuales; modelos
todas de mujer, las verdaderas musas que
inspiran al diseador. Desde entonces, las
colecciones de Tom Ford se visitan en su web

www.tomford.com, al margen de las pasarelas

y los desfiles.
2013
Tom Ford viste a Justin Timberlake en su gira
mundial. El diseador idea 8 looks para el
cantante y un total de 600 piezas para todo
su equipo de msicos, bailarines y coristas.
2014
En los CFDA Fashion Awards 2014 le otorgan
el premio Geoffrey Beene Lifetime
Achievement a toda su carrera.

Quin es este diseador texano que inspira a Falcao a

Vestirse como toda una estrella? Historia de un genio
muchas veces incomprendido.

Por: Kika Rocha, experta en moda y belleza.

Falcao es para el ftbol lo que Tom Ford es para el mundo
de la moda. Por eso no es de sorprenderse que nuestro
deportista insigne, con estilo y autntico sentido de la
elegancia, designe a este diseador como su favorito a la
hora de vestir.
Ambos son perfeccionistas, dedicados, obsesivos con los
detalles, vanidosos en el buen sentido de la palabra, pues
saben el valor que implica lucir impecables. Ambos han
aprendido, por estar constantemente expuestos al
escrutinio pblico, que una imagen vale ms que mil
palabras. Quin es este guapo tejano, con pinta de actor
y magnetismo infalible, que conquista con sus propuestas
y su encantadora imagen a hombres y mujeres por igual?
El tpico vaquero
Hace dos aos tuve la fortuna de asistir a un
conversatorio en el Upper East Side, en Manhattan, para
ver a Fern Mallis poderosa mujer de la industria y
responsable durante muchos aos de la organizacin de
la semana de la moda neoyorquina en Bryant Park
entrevistar al fabuloso Tom Ford. Ha sido la nica vez que
he tenido la oportunidad de verlo en persona (aunque de

lejos), y de percibir no solo su estampa impecable, sino

su energa y su inteligencia, aquellas que lo han
convertido en el diseador ms influyente del momento.
La charla se anunciaba con el ttulo de El hombre, el
mito y la leyenda, y las boletas se haban agotado desde
haca cuatro meses. Fue una entrevista sincera y sin
pretensiones en la que Tom Ford habl con total
honestidad sobre su vida, su carrera y sus aspiraciones. A
medida que repasaba los momentos importantes de su
existencia, hubo ciertas frases que calaron en la
audiencia, comentarios sabios que explican su filosofa de
vida y la clave de su xito.
Tom Ford puede considerarse un autntico cowboy
americano, aunque a juzgar por su extrema elegancia sea
difcil imaginrselo en jeans, botas vaqueras y sombrero,
en lugar de un traje cortado a la perfeccin. Naci en
Austin, Texas, el 27 de agosto de 1961. Sus padres, Tom
Ford y Shirley Bunton, trabajaron toda su vida como
vendedores de finca raz. De nio, pas inolvidables das
en el rancho de sus abuelos en Brownwood, Texas. Desde
pequeo mostr su pasin por el arte y la pintura. Tuve
en mis padres aliados que me apoyaron en todo aquello
que me apasionaba. Nunca me faltaron instructores de
arte o pintura, record con sincera emocin.
Dos de sus modelos de juventud fueron su madre y su
abuela, ambas con estilo clsico y elegante, aunque su
abuela era ms extravagante en cuanto a sus joyas y sus
peinados y hasta en los coches que conduca. Las
imgenes de belleza y estilo que te cautivan de nio se

quedan para siempre en la mente, explicaba el

diseador. Por eso no es de extraar que estas dos
fuentes de inspiracin quedaran plasmadas en la nueva
imagen que, bajo su mando, revivi a la casa Gucci en la
dcada de los aos noventa.

AFP
Ante todo insinuar.

La sensualidad es un ingrediente infaltable en sus

diseos. Este vestido de escote profundo pero de falda a
mitad de rodilla evidencia el equilibrio entre discrecin e
insinuacin.
El estudiante modelo
Pero no nos adelantemos. En Santa Fe, Nue-vo Mxico,
Tom Ford curs su bachillerato y se gradu a los 17 aos.
De all viaj a la Gran Manzana, donde se inscribi en la
Universidad de Nueva York. En 1979, la discoteca Studio
54 pasaba por su poca dorada y Ford se convirti en
asiduo cliente. Sus estudios sufrieron las consecuencias.
Luego de un ao de rumba y vida dispersa, decidi
radicarse en Los Angeles y buscar una carrera como actor
de comerciales.
Pasaron algunos aos antes de que regresara a Nueva
York a la Academia Parsons para estudiar arquitectura, y
luego se trasladar a la sede de Pars, donde finalmente
se decidi por el diseo de modas. Ford descubri ese
llamado de la moda durante un viaje a Mosc. Se
levant una noche y dijo: Adoro la moda y aunque no s
disear, s dibujar. Entonces me dediqu a crear un
cuadernillo de bocetos explic. La arquitectura era
demasiado seria y mis proyectos siempre terminaban
convertidos en vestidos. La moda era el balance perfecto
entre el arte y el comercio... y as comenc.
En 1985, luego de graduarse de Parsons, intent buscar
trabajo con la diseadora de ropa deportiva Cathy
Hardwick. La llam con insistencia durante un mes entero

hasta que un da ella por fin pas al telfono: En cunto

tiempo puede estar aqu?, le pregunt. Ford le contest:
En dos minutos. La estoy llamando desde la portera.
All empez oficialmente su carrera.
Los hombres de Tom Ford. A la hora de lucirse fuera de
las cmaras, tres de los hombres ms sexis de Hollywood
son sus ms rentables maniques en las principales
alfombras rojas.

AFP
1. Justin Timberlake. Para la ms reciente entrega de los
Grammy, eligi un esmoquin de la lnea clsica de Ford,
quien adems dise todo el vestuario para su gira
mundial 20-20 experience.

AFP
2. Daniel Craig El intrprete de James Bond es uno de sus
ms fieles clientes. Todo el vestuario que us en Skyfall
fue diseado por Tom Ford.

AFP
3. Bradley Coooper. Para la temporada de premios de
este ao, el actor visti de Tom Ford. No gan el scar,
pero s un puesto en la lista de bien vestidos.
El diseador estrella
Luego de dos aos en este trabajo, se cambi a Perry
Ellis, donde coincidencialmente Marc Jacobs le hizo la

entrevista. Estuvo all hasta 1990, cuando se instal en

Miln para asumir su cargo como diseador de la lnea
femenina de Gucci. En ese momento la legendaria casa
pasaba por un momento duro: tambaleaba la
administracin y las ventas no eran las esperadas, pues
la imagen de la marca luca anticuada. En menos de
cuatro aos, Ford inyect su pasin y energa y
reemplaz el minimalismo acostumbrado por un nuevo
modernismo con inspiracin retro y mucha sensualidad.
Tambin expandi la compaa a las lneas deportivas
para hombres y mujeres y lanz una nueva lnea de
hogar.
Fue agresivo en sus campaas, algunas inolvidables,
como aquella en la que apareca una modelo con el vello
de su bikini afeitado en forma de G. Fui yo mismo quien
afeit a la chi- ca, incluso utilic lpiz de cejas para que el
trazo me quedara perfecto anot con picarda. Fue la
campaa correcta en el momento correcto.
Para 1994 y bajo su direccin, Gucci tambin adquiri la
icnica marca francesa Yves Saint Laurent. En menos de
dos aos, las ventas de ambas compaas pasaron de
230 millones de dlares a 3000 millones de dlares. A
pesar de su xito rotundo, admite con nostalgia que su
relacin con el genio Yves Saint Laurent no fue la mejor.
Prueba de ello son las cartas que conserva escritas de
puo y letra del modisto: Una de las cartas en particular
me deca: Haz logrado acabar con una sola coleccin lo
que me he tardado 40 aos en construir.

En el 2004, cuando la multinacional francesa Pinault

Printemps Redoute compr Gucci, Ford renunci. Haban
cambiado las dinmicas de juego, su libertad creativa se
haba visto limitada. Aunque fue una decisin dolorosa,
supo que deba retirarse. Durante mis aos en Gucci
hice mucho dinero, tuve todas las posesiones materiales
que pude desear: mltiples casas, obras de arte, objetos
y, al final, me di cuenta de que nada de eso me satisfaca
realmente coment. Estaba tambin agotado de
disear diecisis colecciones al ao, sin parar. Despus
de una breve pausa, agreg: Debes estar feliz en tu
esencia, eso no tiene precio.
No alcanz a pasar un ao de calma y retiro dedicado al
golf, cuando decidi crear su propia marca, que incluye
ropa masculina, ropa femenina, una lnea de anteojos,
fragancias y maquillaje, y que caus inmediata sensacin
en el mercado. En 2006, Ford apareci en la portada de la
revista Vanity Fair, vestido con uno de sus impecables
diseos masculinos y acompaado por las actrices Keira
Knightley y Scarlett Johansson, quienes posaron desnudas
a su lado. Las ventas de sus artculos se dispararon y el
xito desde entonces ha sido su fiel compaero.
Nuestro Falcao adora sus lociones y las usa
constantemente. Otra de sus debilidades son las gafas de
sol y el corte impecable de sus pantalones y chaquetas.
Un ojo experto reconoce de inmediato la calidad de quien
la ofrece.
Ford record en la charla cmo se decidi a crear no solo
ropa femenina sino masculina. Fue un proceso orgnico.

Cuando estaba en Gucci, nunca sala de compras, pues

encontraba all todo lo que quera. Al retirarme y empezar
a buscar cosas en el mercado, me di cuenta de que no
existan prendas bsicas y necesarias de corte impecable,
como a m me pareca explic sin pretensiones. Me
obsesiona la calidad y el terminado de las prendas
anot. No entiendo cmo a ciertos hombres no les
importa siquiera si los ojales de su chaqueta no son
funcionales, o si el material no es el adecuado.
Cuando Fern Mallis le pregunt sobre la clave de su xito,
Ford le respondi sin pensarlo dos veces: Soy un
diseador comercial, tengo un sentido agudo de lo que
funciona en el mercado, ms all de la publicidad y la
fama dijo. A la hora de la verdad, todo se centra en el
momento en que el cliente se prueba la ropa y queda
satisfecho con el resultado. Si los pantalones no quedan
bien, a pesar de millones invertidos en promocionarlos,
no hay nada que hacer. Sin calidad no hay futuro.
Ford ha ganado numerosos reconocimientos de moda,
que incluyen cuatro VH1/ Vogue Fashion Awards y cinco
premios del Consejo de Diseadores Americanos CFDA.
En el 2001 fue nombrado por la revista GQ como mejor
diseador masculino. Cuando me propongo algo y lo
visualizo, pongo todo mi empeo para lograrlo y, tarde o
temprano, lo consigo.

AFP
Colores atrevidos. Tom Ford entiende que la mejor
manera de hacer sentir a una mujer irresistible es
vistindola con colores fuertes.

AFP
Imponencia masculina. Sus diseos se caracterizan por
reforzar la masculinidad de manera elegante y sexi. Las
pieles y el cuero predominan.
El hombre en su intimidad
La estabilidad emocional en la vida de Tom Ford ha sido
una de las claves de su exitosa carrera. Hace ms de 25

aos conoci a su compaero, Richard Buckley, durante

una cena, y al final coincidieron en el elevador. Tom cont
que Richard lo alcanz cuando entraba al ascensor y que
durante el descenso se puso a hacer moneras. Cuando
lleg al lobby, Tom ya tena la certeza de que este era el
hombre de su vida. Desde entonces no se han separado y
Buckley es actualmente una pieza fundamental en el
desarrollo de su gran emporio de moda.
Lo ms importante en la vida es la conexin con otras
personas anot con emocin. Vivimos en una cultura de
consumo y, aunque el lujo y las aspiraciones son parte de
ella, no podemos perder la perspectiva. Aunque nos
guste la cachemira, el cocodrilo y la seda, no todo se
compensa con ello. Sin conexin no hay emociones. No
hay vida.
Al preguntarle sobre sus planes futuros, y para cerrar
esta charla memorable, Ford respondi: Seguir
trabajando hasta el da que muera. No lo hago por el
dinero, lo hago por amor. Mi trabajo es un acto de amor

A
FP
Defensor de lo clsico Nada mejor que un hombre con
sastre. Ford lo sabe, por lo que su versin del clsico
diseo no escatima en detalles. Cortes impecables, ojales
funcionales y tallas hechas a la medida.

The Business of Being Tom Ford, Part I

To accompany the launch of the BoF 500, Imran Amed sits down
with the one and only Tom Ford to understand how he built his
own brand projected to soon turn over $1 billion a year at retail
and the lessons he has learned along the way.

Tom Ford | Photo: Simon Perry

LONDON, United Kingdom Its much, much, much harder
starting from scratch, says Tom Ford on launching his own
brand. Fresh off a trans-Atlantic flight, but still looking every part
the superstar designer, Ford is immaculate in one of his dark,
signature, peaked-lapel suits, with a blue tie and white shirt,
fastened at the neck by a gold collar pin, all offset by glowing skin
and perfectly manicured stubble. I didnt have any idea how hard

it would be, and I have had every advantage that anyone could
possibly have.
Indeed, with a significant personal fortune estimated at more than
$200 million, name recognition around the world and invaluable
years of experience at the creative helm of Gucci and Yves Saint
Laurent, even the legendary Tom Ford has had to overcome some
of the same challenges faced by every other fashion start-up
albeit with a significant leg up.
Sure, he had a well-known name and a magnetic personality to
match, but the incipient business had no defined brand identity or
DNA to build upon. There were no established house codes or
signatures that could be re-interpreted and re-imagined each
season, no core products that could drive predictable recurring
revenues, and no stores to sell them in.
In order to succeed, Ford would have to create everything from
scratch.
LESSONS FROM THE GUCCI YEARS
There was a lot of me in Gucci, and a lot of me in Yves Saint
Laurent. However, there was also a framework, says Ford. At
Gucci I had a bamboo handle. I could stick it on anything and it
sold. A horse bit, I could stick it on anything and it was Gucci, or a
red and green stripe.
And when those products were created, they could rapidly be
distributed en masse at Gucci stores around the world. There
were 180 stores, so there was immediately a distribution network.
Six months later, all the things that I designed were all over the
world and boom, sales! It happened very fast, he says,
snapping his fingers for effect.
There was a period of time where it seemed as though everything
I touched turned to gold, Ford recalls. From the moment I

started at Gucci, our numbers doubled and then doubled and then
doubled again.
He is not exaggerating. The turnaround and subsequent growth of
the Gucci business is now the stuff of fashion industry legend.
Tom Ford first arrived at Gucci in 1990 as a womens ready-towear designer. But things were not going well with the business.
In 1993, Gucci lost $22 million on $230 million in sales. Maurizio
Gucci, the founders grandson, had over licensed the brand into
everything from ashtrays to coffee mugs. Creditors and employees
were chasing the company for payments. The truth is, Gucci was
on the verge of bankruptcy.
Then in 1994, Ford was appointed the brands creative director by
rising new chief executive Domenico de Sole, who had the support
of Guccis new majority owners, Investcorp, a Bahrain-based
investment group. Left to his own devices, Ford injected the brand
with a heady dose of sexy, cool glamour that took the
international fashion industry by storm with his ground-breaking
Autumn/Winter 1995 collection, changing the fortunes of the
Gucci brand seemingly overnight.
By 1999, Gucci was valued at more than $4 billion and had
attracted the interest of some of the luxury industrys biggest
business titans, includingBernard Arnault of LVMH, Patrizio
Bertelli of Prada and Franois Pinault of Pinault Printemps
Redoute. Eventually Mr Pinault, who rode in at the last minute as
a proverbial white knight, won the battle for the star brand and its
star designer.
Soon after, Ford and De Sole went on a buying spree, building
what eventually became the Gucci Group, starting with the
acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent, where Ford took the role of
creative director, in addition to his existing role at Gucci. Deals to
acquire Boucheron (2000), Sergio Rossi (2000), Balenciaga
(2001), and Bottega Veneta (2001) soon followed, as well as

investments in budding businesses helmed by Alexander

McQueen (2000) and Stella McCartney (2001).
If there was a superman in fashion, it was Tom Ford.
But it was not to last. After an acrimonious and public parting of
ways from Mr Pinault in April 2004 following disagreements over
control of the business, Tom Ford the man who built the
foundations of the Gucci Group fashion empire (today, known as
Kering, and run by Mr Pinaults son, Franois-Henri Pinault)
suddenly found himself without a job.
I was unsure of what Id do after [that] because, quite honestly, I
was shell-shocked. I was very depressed about it, says Ford. At
the time, he told the press that he had no interest in returning to
fashion and that he might turn his creativity to other activities.
BUILDING TOM FORD INTERNATIONAL
But that was then, this is now. Today, almost ten years later, Mr
Ford and I are sitting in his intimate, lair-like office at the global
headquarters of Tom Ford International (TFI) in Londons
Howick Place, where the designers touch is apparent everywhere
you look.
His office is dark, but perfectly lit, like a bar at a grand, five-star
hotel. The furniture is made of deep, rare Makassar ebony from
Indonesia. Elevated in the corner, under a spotlight, is a shocking
mutated mannequin sculpture by the artists Jake and Dinos
Chapman. There are dozens and dozens of identical black felt
pens, neatly organised into cups on his desk, and leaning on top of
a chest of drawers are several striking black-and-white images in
identical elegant black frames, nods to some of the defining
moments and people in Fords personal and professional life.
Front-and-centre is a photo of a then 30 year-old Richard
Buckley, Fords partner of more than 25 years. There is also a

sultry headshot of the stylist-cum-editor Carine Roitfeld who

worked closely with Ford during his years at Gucci, a Vanity
Fair portrait of Ford with Domenico de Sole (now the Chairman
of TFI), and a full-frontal nude image of martial arts champion
Samuel de Cubber from a controversial Ford-era Yves Saint
Laurent cologne ad.
An hour earlier, Ford had stepped off a plane from Los Angeles,
where he spends about half the year. Jack, his 10-month-old son,
is back at the ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Buckley. Ford
is in London for only three days to do fittings for his Spring/
Summer 2014 womenswear collection and to preview the first
stand-alone Tom Ford store in London which opened quietly on
Sloane Street in July, followed by a splashy London Fashion Week
party.
Yes, Mr Tom Ford is back in fashion, and in a big way.
By early 2014, if we continue to meet our business plan, we will
hit one billion dollars [a year] at retail of Tom Ford products, he
reveals. Thats all the products together: eyewear, fragrance,
cosmetics, ready-to-wear, mens and womens accessories. A
billion dollars of product with the label Tom Ford on it will be
selling at retail.
Its a staggering number and a milestone that takes most new
fashion brands decades to achieve. But Mr Ford has done it in less
than ten years.
How did he do it?
THE POWER OF A BOOK
I was very aware that I needed to promote my name, and so I was
conscious of that from the very beginning, he begins. I realised
after I left Gucci, that I needed to own what I had done, so the
first thing I did was a Tom Ford book. I did it within 4 to 5

months of leaving, he explains. I thought, Im very proud of

what Ive done and Im going to claim it, and Im going to put it all
in a big thick book and label it Tom Ford.

Tom Ford by Rizzoli | Illustration: Patrick Morgan for BoF

The book, published in 2004 by Rizzoli, with its bold
monochromatic Tom Ford branding in 214-point type,
according to Vanity Fairs Graydon Carter is now in its fifth
print run.
It also set the branding template for the slew of Tom Ford
products that would come in its wake, and provided opportunities
for Ford to connect with his global fan-base and the luxury
industry more broadly, keeping his name in the increasingly
crowded mix of fashion brands vying for attention.
It gave me the ability for magazine stories, gave me the ability to
go do signings at Bergdorfs, Neimans, he explains. It was a link
to keep my name alive.
TWO LICENSING DEALS

Then in April 2005, Ford announced two global licensing deals:

with Marcolin for eyewear and Este Lauder for beauty. Whereas
most luxury fashion businesses start off with very expensive inhouse ready-to-wear collections, which require significant upfront
investment, the Tom Ford brand would launch with products at
more accessible price points, run by trusted partners and
requiring little to no cash investment from Mr Ford himself, only
his time, taste and sensibility.
At the time, it was seen as a highly unusual, contrarian move. But
in hindsight, it was a masterstroke. Deals like these come with
multi-million dollar budgetary commitments by the licensee to
advertise the product lines. These global campaigns, which Ford
directed and oversaw himself, would give further visibility to the
Tom Ford brand and help to reach a vast consumer base from day
one.
I realised that [the licensing deals] would keep my name very
public, [so] that if I chose to go back into fashion it would even
make my name bigger, he adds.
But Ford cautions that none of this would have been possible
without his strong track record at Gucci. Name recognition is
only as good as what you produce, just as a logo is as only as
valuable as what its on. So had I produced collections, which had
not been well received, it would have been meaningless.
It was also Fords experience at Gucci that helped him to think big
and develop an overall vision for Tom Ford, the global luxury
brand.

Tom Ford Parfum | Illustration: Patrick Morgan for BoF

I didnt have a fear of scale, he says. Im used to designing a
world because even as I was thinking of the perfume bottles, I was
[already] thinking about how would they look in our packaging,
how would they look sitting in our case lines, how they would look
next to each other. So everything has a cohesive look which is
what gives a brand a personality.
Another important branding component was the use of discreet
signifiers which would signal the label to people in the know,
without being too overt. The first example was in eyewear: a
horizontal T that runs from either side of the front of the frames
and extends down the arms.
When working with our partner who manufactures and
distributes the glasses I said This is our logo, and they said Well
we need something that says Tom Ford on the side, and I said
No. Like you can spot a pair of Persols, that is now our signifier
and its on virtually every pair of glasses we make. Its very, very
hard to find those initial identifiers when you are starting your
own company.

Last year, more than 1 million pairs of Tom Ford frames were sold
globally, says Mr Ford. Thats the equivalent of a platinum record
in the United States, albeit at an average price tag of about $350,
resulting in an eyewear business that alone sells around $350
million at retail.
As for Tom Ford Beauty, by the end of the fiscal year ended June
2014, the business is expected to turn over more than $275
million at retail in more than 40 countries around the world,
according to market reports.
I dont think [this] is anywhere near where we are going to be,
says Ford, when asked to comment on the further potential of the
beauty business. I would like to see us easily at $500 million, but
it depends how far in the future we are projecting. I would like to
be one of the five major brands in the world, in terms of scale.
The Business of Being Tom Ford, Part II
In Part 2 of a special interview to accompany the launch of
the BoF 500, Imran Amed sits down with the one and only Tom
Ford to understand how he built his own brand projected to
soon turn over $1 billion a year at retail and the lessons he has
learned along the way.

Tom Ford | Photo: Simon Perry

LONDON, United Kingdom It was not long before Ford
jumped back into the fashion mix, but surprising observers again,
he started with menswear.
[Menswear] is a detail-driven business. It really is about the
fabrics, or the make, or the buttonholes, or the lapels. At the
designer level, it is a very, very different business than womens,
he says. So I thought OK, I am ready to go back to fashion, and
this is a kindler, gentler way to do it.
But unlike the easier price points of his fragrance and eyewear
collections, the menswear offering was decidedly expensive, with
off-the-rack suits retailing at over $5,000, about the same price as
a bespoke suit from Savile Row.
One of the reasons that a designer is successful is [because of]
intuition. Everything I have done has been quite organic, insists

Ford. Maybe it would sound better if I sat here and told you it
was all a pre-mapped strategy and maybe in my subconscious it
was, but it wasnt. It was organic.
Nonetheless, Fords entry into the menswear market was very
well-timed indeed. After a short, sharp fall in luxury spending
following the financial crisis of 2008, it was not long before the
kind of ultra-high net worth men Ford was targeting were
shopping again, driving a surge of demand in the luxury
menswear market, which according to consultants Bain &
Company, has been growing at 12-16 percent per year since 2010,
even faster than womenswear.
And, like his entres into beauty and eyewear, Ford did not try to
do everything in house. Instead, he tapped a longstanding
relationship this time with Gildo Zegna, chief executive of
Ermenegildo Zegna to get a quick start.
Zegna has built an entire business just on menswear. It can be a
very profitable business, he says. I could have started with my
own office, and I know all the factories and I could go to this
factory to get my jacket and that factory to get my shirts, but I
needed to go fast. I had worked with Zegna [on] both Gucci and
YSL, and Zegna was the only partner which had the ability to
make everything from suits, shirts, ties, sportswear, all of it, all at
once.
So, Ford inked yet another deal and soon, he was back in the thick
of the ready-to-wear fashion business. As with every business line,
he maintains significant control to ensure he gets the results he
desires.
We develop all of our own fabrics. Thats very important for our
customer. They dont want to come to us and spend $5,000 on a
mens suit and see that exact same fabric in someone elses line,
he explains. And we control our distribution. They handle the

manufacturing and the shipping. Its our showroom, and our staff,
our merchandising team, and we decide where we are sold.
BUILDING A RETAIL NETWORK
But selling was another challenge altogether.
The main challenge in starting your own company is [creating] a
distribution network especially when youre starting a luxury
business, says Ford. And whereas other brands may have chosen
to begin by wholesaling their ready-to-wear collections in
department stores and boutiques, Ford decided not to go down
that route at first. To coincide with the menswear launch, Ford
realised he needed his own retail presence, and fast.
I wanted the very first store to be in London, he recalls. I
needed to be either on Bond Street or Sloane Street and there
[were] no properties available. When anything would come up, Id
get into a bidding war with LVMH, Richemont or Gucci Group.
There was no way I could compete.

Tom Ford Los Angeles Store | Illustration: Patrick Morgan for BoF
So Ford set his sights on New York instead. Stumbling across a
space that became vacant when the Gianfranco Ferr store at 845
Madison Avenue moved to a new location, he pounced. I went
right upstairs and called someone and said Get on the phone and
find out what this is, and that became our first store, he recalls.

The store opened in April 2007, to coincide with the move into
menswear, reflecting, as always, his own personal tastes and
aesthetic, and creating a retail template that could be translated
for future store locations. It was initially just a replica of my
London living room, right down to taking mirrors off my wall and
having them copied, he remembers.
Then, once again he quickly turned to leverage a set of global
relationships built during his time at Gucci Group to set in place
franchise deals for Tom Ford retail stores around the world. We
sat with potential franchise partners that we worked with at Gucci
and YSL, and [they] committed even before the first store was
built, he says.
Indeed, driven by Mr de Sole, the list of signed partners is
formidable and spans the biggest and best luxury retail partners
around the globe: The Lane Crawford Joyce Group in Asia, Villa
Moda and UAE Trading in the Middle East, Mercury in Russia,
Harrods in the UK, Holt Renfrew in Canada and Neiman Marcus
Group in the United States.
By the end of this year, Fords retail network will begin to rival
that of some of the biggest luxury brands in the business, in some
of the worlds best locations, with 97 stores and more than
240,000 square feet of space, including 25 directly-operated
stores, 23 franchised stores, and 49 shop- in-shops in 23 countries
around the world.
A RETURN TO WOMENSWEAR
But Fords return to fashion wouldnt have been complete without
a womenswear collection, something that he actively resisted at
the beginning.
It wasnt that it wasnt appealing, he says. Ive been a fashion
designer for 25 years, and I was doing 16 collections a year. It
wasnt specifically clothes, it was just kind of the entire industry,

he continues. I was very worn out from having generated all of

that. I think the womens fashion business is probably the hardest,
toughest business in the world.
But he finally returned to womenswear in September 2010 in a
way that only Tom Ford could pull off. At a secretive show held in
his New York store, Ford caught the industry completely by
surprise, with a highly exclusive approach that went counter to
the prevailing winds that were beginning to transform and
democratise the industry.
Only one hundred of fashions super-elite editors were invited.
Only Terry Richardson, who acted as house photographer, was
allowed to shoot the show, and his images would not be released
to the public until months later when the collection was available
to buy. Attendees were banned from tweeting and taking their
own photos in what amounted to a social media blackout.
Whats more, instead of just using models, a diverse coterie of
some of the most worlds most famous and beautiful women
including Beyonc, Julianne Moore, Lauren Hutton, Victoria
Fernandez and Rachel Feinstein stepped in to show Mr Fords
new wares, alongside star models like Joan Smalls, Natalia
Vodianova and Liya Kebede.
At first, his return to womenswear was seen as triumphant by the
industry. In her review of his comeback show in the International
Herald Tribune, Suzy Menkes said Ford brought vibrant emotion
to a collection of superbly crafted clothes that, while not new or
edgy, filled the needs and stoked the desires of women as diverse
as those famous and fabulous females in his show.
This is exactly what he was hoping to achieve. I wanted to make
clothes for every single woman. [She] should be able to walk into
my store and we will either have, or be able to make, clothes for
that particular woman, in the way that old couture houses did, he
explains. So I had these different personalities in my show and I

made things specifically for them, and I thought Aha this is the
new concept!"
BUMPS IN THE ROAD
But the following season, Ford faced the first major bumps on his
comeback journey. Doing away with the idea of a show altogether,
he invited a select few journalists to see his collection in his
London showroom. This approach ruffled more than a few
feathers, especially on social media and blogs, and led the
influential online community at The Fashion Spot to weigh in on
the debate: Tom Fords Secret Shows Brilliant or Arrogant?
The next season, the criticism continued. Virginie Mouzat was the
most vocal and public critic, using words like nightmare and
old-fashioned in her review for Le Figaro, criticising not only
Fords collection and its borrowed inspirations, but also the
make-up, styling and invitation process.
I agree with her that it was a terrible collection. It was probably
the worst collection that I have ever done. It was a terrible,
terrible show, admits Ford, while adding that he thought her
review crossed the line, amounting to a personal attack. It was
not meant to be a show, it was a showroom collection that 4 days
before we decided to put on a little runway, because everyone kept
calling and getting really angry.
Without those [real women] in it, when you put those things on a
model, what you end up with is a mess. You end up with an outfit
that looks like this, and an outfit that looks like that, but it doesnt
give a cohesive point of view, of what you as a designer, house,
brand, believes in for the season, he says, adding later: it was
also not a good collection because my initial concept for womens
did not work.
But this only emboldened Ford to find a new path. I thrive on
failure. I thrive on things that are not perfect. It sends me back

into the ring to get it right, he says. About three seasons ago, we
started focusing things more, and I think the two collections we
did previous to this last one were really good and I had great press
coverage ... but no one saw them, he admits, acknowledging that
by limiting exposure of his collections online and restricting
media from reporting on them, he was doing his business a
disservice.
EMBRACING THE INTERNET
So, Ford changed his tack again. At his show in London in
February, he put on the first full-scale show since his days at
Gucci and invited a few new media mavens, including Susanna
Lau of Style Bubble, to attend his show for the first time. And
while the reviews of his latest collection were mixed, the move
signaled Fords newfound understanding of todays media
landscape.
I think one of the reasons I was really resisting digital, was
because its less controllable. The thing about a journalist
like Cathy Horyn or Suzy [Menkes], [is] that they have a certain
integrity. They fact check. They have a history. They know what
they are watching. A blogger today could have a lot of followers,
but maybe doesnt have that sense of history or that level of
professionalism. You cant control that so you have to just let go,
says Ford.
I was talking to a friend whos a journalist and he said Youll
never have that kind of hit in the way that youre used to in the
days when the Internet wasnt so powerful. You had a consensus
of five or ten people who decided whether something was a hit
and thats what the world read, and thats what the world
believed.' Now its very diverse and ultimately the customer
decides, which is nice.

Ultimately, thats what I wanted to do and why I wasnt showing

to the press because I wanted to design for the customer and
not necessarily for editorial.
Indeed, Ford is perplexed by how digital is changing the fashion
industry. I love black dresses, I think everyone should own a lot,
but black dresses dont sell online because on the computer they
dont read like anything. Fashion has changed so much because of
the Internet, not only because of the way its reported, but more
and more [because of] the way its sold.
But make no mistake. Ford realises the power of the Internet as a
commercial vehicle and expects that his own online store will
soon become the top door for TFI globally when it launches early
next year. Partially, he has arrived at this understanding through
his own online buying behaviour, a byproduct of his hectic,
peripatetic lifestyle.
I live, I shop almost exclusively on the Internet, he says. Ive
bought cars on the Internet. I watch television, I do everything on
it. I even watch my son online, referring to the baby monitor
camera app that he is able to check on his iPhone.
THE FUTURE
Despite the ups and downs, Ford remains sanguine about the
future of his business and seems genuinely excited about the
prospects of his soon-to-be billion-dollar brand. [Now that] we
have our distribution network, its about to tip, he says.
So, does that means things are easier for him personally now than
when he was at the helm of the Gucci Group empire?
I feel more worn out now, he says. Ive just had a week in LA
with my son, so Im less worn out than when I left two and half
weeks ago, but I dont think Ive ever worked as hard in my life.

That said, the company is profitable, it runs itself and I dont

have to sell paintings, he says jokingly, referring to the Andy
Warhol self-portrait that he sold for $32.6 million in 2010 to help
finance the expansion of TFI. It takes a lot of the stress off of it.
But, it does beg the question, how long can Tom Ford go on
working this hard? Though he refused to even entertain questions
about selling his business, he would certainly be in a position to
make a considerable amount of money from an exit one day.
I dont have to think about it yet, because we are just at the
tipping point. Im still only 51, he reminds me. I do know that I
want to work til the day I drop dead. I might not be doing exactly
what Im doing now, but absolutely Ill be working until the day I
die. I might be making a movie, I might be doing something else,
but I will be getting up and doing something.
And perhaps, this, more than anything, is the secret to the
business of being Tom Ford: an indefatigable work ethic
combined with an innate desire to build things.
I think its primitive, he says. Its the same thing as if you put a
kid in a sandbox. He stacks blocks and he knocks them down and
re-stacks them. Its the same thing: Im stacking blocks. Im
making a business. Im building something and when I feel its
completely built, or Im bored building it, Ill build something
else.