On his return to womenswear: “My first [women’s] collection was really about returning to womenswear and establishing a framework for what the collection will be. My second collection is much more developed in its size and scope, yet it is still about individuality. It consists of real clothes for real women. I want my shops to be somewhere a woman knows she can go when she wants a great jacket, a great pair of pants, a beautiful shoe, or a great bag.”
This season Tom Ford launches a comprehensive 132-piece collection that ranges from cosmetics to skincare to brushes and contains three additions to his fragrance line: Jasmin Rouge, Violet Blonde, and Santal Blush. With beauty counters brimming with choices these days, how does Ford view his collection as a solution? “There are a lot of promises and products out there you don’t even need, so when I started designing the skincare and cosmetics collection, like with anything else I design, I did a lot of research,” he says. “I spent time trying to understand how to compensate for the architecture of the face and designed products that were practical. My formulas are proprietary and really the best money can buy. The colors are rich and original, and the finishes flawless. That is what sets us apart: quality and straightforward products to help every woman amplify her beauty.”
Ford appears in the ad campaign with supermodel Lara Stone, whom he calls “graceful and striking, [possessing] an unusual and individual kind of beauty that is rare in today’s world.” His presence in the campaign sparked some conversation—whispers about the vanity of a man who inserts himself into his ads. But Ford is unapologetic. “I am a very practical and pragmatic person, and the reality is that I am in the ads because I am still in the phase of brand development where I need to make sure people realize there is an actual person behind the brand, designing literally everything we make and creating the language of the brand,” he says. “I am not in the ads because I am vain. A lot of people still do not know who I am, and the product sells better with me in the ads, which we know from the men’s perfume ads I have appeared in.”
On crafting the ideal wardrobe. “Every woman needs a perfectly cut, tailored suit for day; a black cocktail dress; a smoking; a perfect pair of pumps with high heels. The most important key to being well dressed, however, is for a woman to wear something that suits her style and body shape. A woman who is confident and knows what looks best will always look great.”
Actress Rita Wilson (wife of Tom Hanks and Ford's longtime friend) about Tom Ford: “He understands glamour and doesn’t apologize for it. He understands what women want to feel like—that the clothes on a woman’s body must match the feeling of the mood he is creating for his client, so when you put on one of his pieces, you are transported to a place of fantasy, even though you are wearing his clothes in a very real way in the real world.”
(Pictured on the right: Tom Ford with Rita Wilson at the opening of his Beverly Hills store earlier this year. Right below: A look into the 9,200-square-foot Rodeo Drive boutique that Tom Ford opened in February 2011.)
On if he’d ever be interested in once again signing on as the creative director of a house built by another: “Why? Been there, done that. I have my own brand. Why would I need anything else?”
Courtesy of Los Angeles Confidential
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